Surgeon wins BD42,000 payout from private hospital

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A plastic surgeon owed more than BD35,000 in unpaid wages has secured a court order forcing a private hospital to pay him BD42,000 in total, after it failed to meet its contractual obligations.

The High Labour Court also directed the hospital to cover court fees, enforcement charges and the doctor’s legal expenses.

Lawyer Hanan Hammouda, acting for the claimant, said her client had joined the hospital in January 2022 as a plastic surgeon, with a monthly salary of BD3,000.

Amicable terms

Two years later, in October 2024, both parties agreed to end the employment on amicable terms. But the goodwill stopped there.

The hospital, according to the claim, failed to pay what it owed. The outstanding dues included BD35,100 in unpaid wages, BD6,000 for unused annual leave, and BD3,250 as an end-of-service lump sum. The doctor also asked that the hospital pay the cost of legal fees.

In response, the hospital’s representative claimed the surgeon had only been earning BD1,000 a month.

He accepted liability for the end-of-service payment and a flight ticket but denied the remainder of the claims.

Hammouda maintained her position. She presented the original employment contract, signed by both sides, and cited Article 19 of Bahrain’s Labour Law. That article states contracts must be written, in Arabic, with each side keeping a signed copy. Where no contract exists, a worker may prove their case by other means.

In this instance, both a written contract and a valid work permit under the hospital’s name had been provided.

The breakdown of earnings, according to the claim, ran as follows.

The doctor was employed for roughly 26 months and 10 days. Of this, 20 months and 15 days were spent working; the remainder was unpaid leave.

During that time, the hospital paid him BD26,400. Based on the agreed monthly pay, he was entitled to BD61,500 — leaving BD35,100 outstanding.

The court examined the paperwork. It found that the surgeon had begun work on 1 January 2022, under a two-year contract with a monthly salary of BD3,000.

Evidence The hospital said the original contract had gone missing and offered no credible response or evidence to challenge the claim. Despite a mutual agreement to end the employment, the hospital still failed to pay what was due. The court ruled in favour of the doctor.