How Many Months Probation Period Under Kuwait Labour Law

If you're starting a new job in Kuwait, or hiring someone, the probation question matters more than people think. Get it wrong and the whole clause is void. Here's what the Private Sector Labour Law actually says.

Quick answer

Under Kuwait's Private Sector Labour Law (Law No. 6 of 2010), the maximum probation period is 100 days — roughly three and a half months, not six, not twelve. During that window either party can terminate without notice. The employer owes end-of-service indemnity for the probation days worked if they terminate. An employee can only be put on probation once with the same employer, and the probation clause must be written into the contract. No written clause, no probation. ^[1][2]

What the law says about how many months probation period is allowed

Article 29 of Law No. 6 of 2010 is the controlling text. It caps probation at 100 days of actual work — that's calendar days of service, not three fixed calendar months. So if you're asking how many months probation period in Kuwait, the honest answer is "a hair over three." ^[1]

A few hard rules sit on top of that cap:

• The probation clause must be in writing inside the employment contract. Verbal probation doesn't exist in Kuwait law.
• You can only probate the same employee once. If you rehire someone you employed before — same role, same company — a fresh probation is not valid.
• The 100 days are working days of actual service. Extended unpaid leave or long sick absences don't eat into the count the way people assume.

Anything longer than 100 days written into a contract is simply unenforceable to the extent it exceeds the cap. Courts in Kuwait read Article 29 strictly.

Termination during probation

Either side can walk during probation. The employer doesn't owe notice. The employee doesn't owe notice. That's the trade-off for the trial window. ^[1][2]

But — and this part gets missed — if the employer is the one terminating, the worker is still entitled to:

• Salary for days actually worked
• End-of-service indemnity calculated on the probation period served
• Any accrued leave payout
• Return ticket to country of origin for non-Kuwaiti workers, per Article 51

If the employee quits during probation, they generally forfeit end-of-service indemnity for that short period and, depending on contract terms, may owe repayment of recruitment costs the employer fronted (common with domestic hires brought in on a visa).

Also worth saying plainly: terminating "during probation" one day after the 100-day mark is not probation termination. It's an ordinary dismissal, and all notice, cause, and indemnity rules under Articles 44–51 kick in. Date your paperwork carefully.

Common mistakes employers and employees make

Honestly, most of the disputes come from the same handful of errors.

Writing "six-month probation" into the contract. Doesn't matter what the offer letter says — the enforceable period caps at 100 days. The excess is void. You cannot contract around Article 29.

Not putting probation in writing at all. No clause, no probation. The employee is treated as a confirmed worker from day one, with full notice entitlements.

Re-probating a returning employee. If someone worked for you two years ago and comes back, you don't get another trial window on them. ^[1]

Confusing probation with the limited-contract trial. Fixed-term contracts still allow probation, but termination during probation on a fixed-term deal doesn't trigger the "remaining-contract compensation" rules under Article 44. After probation ends, it does. Timing matters.

Assuming the Public Sector rules apply. They don't. Government employees fall under separate Civil Service Law provisions with different probation lengths — typically one year. The 100-day cap is a private-sector rule only.

If you're on the employee side and your contract shows a six- or twelve-month probation, don't panic — the clause is capped automatically by statute. You just need to know the actual date your probation ends and start counting from your first day of actual work.

Does the 100 days include weekends and holidays?

Short version: yes, the clock runs on calendar days of service, including weekly rest days and public holidays that fall within your continuous employment. What it doesn't count is any period you were not actually in service — for example, if your contract start was delayed or you took unpaid leave before confirmation.

For a 100-day probation starting on a Sunday, you'd typically clear probation about three and a half calendar months later. Mark the exact date. Both sides should.

Want more on contract terms, notice periods, and end-of-service calculations? See our employment law answers for Kuwait.