Salaries and Working Conditions for Expats in Bahrain

If you are preparing to move abroad to take up employment overseas in Bahrain you may be wondering what you can expect in terms of salary and working conditions once you arrive in the country. What you will experience is likely to not be much different than what you are used to in your home country. The main difference you may encounter, depending on where you are from, is the presence of an employment contract before you begin working. Other than that your salary and working conditions should be the same if not better than what you are used to in your home country.

When you are told what your salary will be when you take up employment in Bahrain you will likely find that salaries in Bahrain are comparable to those in Western countries. In fact, you may even find that the salaries are higher in Bahrain. You will also notice that your net income is higher in Bahrain. This is due in part to the fact that there is no personal income tax in Bahrain. That is what makes it a desirable place to work. Of course, if you are an American citizen remember that the United States taxes its citizen's worldwide income.

You will be given a salary as well as an indemnity when you are employed in Bahrain. And indemnity is based on your salary without any bonuses and is paid to you at the end of your contract period. The longer you work the bigger your indemnity. It is basically a bonus for reaching the end of your contract. All expatriate workers get them and they are meant as a 'thank you' to foreign workers. It is required by law that these are given to foreign workers.

The work week in Bahrain is similar to that in the United States. Office hours typically start in the morning around 8:30 am or 9:00 am and the end of the work day is around 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm. Depending on the company, your work week will be between 40 and 48 hours total. In the month of Ramadan the work day is cut short to only six hours. However there are some companies that only apply this to the Muslim workers.

Friday will always be one of your days off as it is the Muslim day of rest. They typical 'weekend' in Bahrain is Thursday and Friday but some international companies choose to work on Thursdays and take Saturdays as the other day to be off during the week.