Dentist wins BD20,000 pay dispute with Manama clinic

TDT | Manama

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Nine years drilling teeth for a Manama dental clinic ended bitterly for one dentist after he spent the final three without proper pay.

Now, the centre has been ordered to hand over nearly BD20,000 in unpaid dues.

The High Labour Court ruled the clinic must pay BD8,624 in delayed wages for part of 2019 and all of 2020, along with BD11,146 as an end-of-service payout.

Interest was added to both sums, along with BD50 in legal costs and a share of court expenses.

Open-ended contract

Lawyer Zuhair AbdulLatif, speaking on behalf of the claimant, told the court his client began working at the clinic on 15 September 2014 under an open-ended contract signed the month before.

His starting pay was BD600 per month, plus BD250 for housing. In March 2017, the salary rose by BD125, taking his total monthly income to BD1,400. Trouble started in 2018.

Wages stopped arriving on time. A cheque issued in 2019 to cover BD4,069 came to nothing, and unpaid sums swelled to BD7,151 by the end of that year.

In 2020, a further BD5,245 went unpaid. Although the clinic eventually settled BD3,250, more than BD13,000 remained outstanding when the matter reached court.

Change in management Zuhair explained that a change in management followed the death of the previous operator in 2020. The dentist was re-engaged under new terms on 18 July 2021, agreeing to a BD250 housing allowance and 30 per cent of earnings.