BD50 Wage Dispute Leads to Barber's Unfair Dismissal

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: ashen@newsofbahrain.com

A barber has successfully won a labour case against his former employer, a women's hair salon, after he was unfairly dismissed for filing a complaint about unpaid wages. The court ruled in favour of the barber, ordering the salon to pay him a total of 628 Bahraini dinars in back pay, compensation for wrongful dismissal, and other benefits.

The barber had been employed at the salon since October 2023, earning a monthly salary of just 50 Bahraini dinars. Despite the low wage, the salon failed to pay him his dues. When he filed a complaint, the salon retaliated by terminating his employment on April 14, 2024.

His lawyer, Mariam Al Sakran, argued the case before the labour court. Al Sakran pointed to Bahrain's Labour Law, which states that an employer's obligation to pay wages is not discharged unless the employee signs a receipt confirming payment. "The salon failed to provide any such proof of payment for the period of employment," she stated.

Furthermore, Al Sakran cited an article of the Labour Law which grants employees the right to compensation for unlawful termination of employment. She argued that the dismissal was directly caused by the barber's complaint about unpaid wages, making the termination unlawful.

She also referenced to another article of the Labour Law which mandates compensation equal to the remaining contract period's wages if a fixed-term contract is terminated without cause or for an unlawful reason. The barber's contract was for one year, starting October 2023.

The court's ruling ordered the salon to pay the barber 291.6 Bahraini dinars in back wages plus annual interest, 300 Bahraini dinars in compensation for wrongful dismissal, 50 Bahraini dinars as notice pay, 24 Bahraini dinars for annual leave, and 14 Bahraini dinars as end-of-service gratuity.