By Kuwait has set a minimum wage of KD75 per month for workers under the country’s Labour Law, according to a report published by Legit.ng on 15 October 2026. The report, by Basit Jamiu, states that employers are now legally required to pay salaries directly into workers’ bank accounts and that all salary payments must be made in Kuwaiti Dinars, with no other currency permitted.
The payment schedule is set out in Article 56 of Kuwait’s Labour Law. Workers must receive wages either every two weeks or once a month, depending on the nature of their employment arrangement, with monthly workers falling under the once-a-month cycle. Wages must not be held back for more than seven days beyond the agreed payment date. Any delay beyond that puts the employer in breach of the Labour Law, and workers who are paid late, paid in cash rather than through a bank, or have payment withheld beyond the seven-day limit have grounds to raise a complaint under Article 56.
The KD75 floor has a longer history than the payment rules
The KD75 minimum wage is not new. Kuwait Times reported in June 2017 that the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and State Minister for Economic Affairs, Hind Al-Sabeeh, issued a decision setting a KD75 monthly minimum for private and oil sector workers. That report described the move as the first time Kuwait had set a minimum wage for private sector labourers. It followed a separate Interior Ministry decision the previous year setting a KD60 minimum for domestic helpers.
The 2017 decision required the wage amount to appear in the work contract and applied to new or renewed work permits and contracts in both the private and oil sectors. Around 1.5 million people worked in the private sector at the time, the overwhelming majority expatriates. Workers paid less than KD75 could sue their employers.
What the October 2026 report adds is the enforcement layer around payment mechanics: mandatory bank transfers, payment exclusively in Kuwaiti Dinars, and the seven-day delay cap. The KD75 figure itself appears unchanged from the 2017 decision, though the Legit.ng report does not state whether a new ministerial decision introduced the payment rules or whether they stem from existing Labour Law provisions now being enforced more strictly.
How the seven-day cap works in practice
The seven-day rule means an employer cannot withhold wages for more than seven days beyond the date the worker and employer agreed payment would be made. For monthly workers, that agreed date is typically the end of the month or a specific day stated in the contract. If the contract says salary is due on the 28th and payment arrives on the 5th of the following month, the employer is in breach.
The bank transfer requirement removes cash as a payment method for salaries. Employers who continue to pay in cash expose themselves to complaints under Article 56, even if the amount is correct and on time. The currency rule is equally strict: payment in any currency other than Kuwaiti Dinars is not compliant, regardless of any private agreement between employer and worker.
The Legit.ng report does not specify penalties for employers who breach these rules, nor does it name the enforcement authority. Workers who are paid late, paid in cash, or have wages withheld beyond seven days can raise a complaint under Article 56, but the report does not detail the complaint process, timelines, or possible outcomes. HR and payroll teams should confirm enforcement procedures with Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower or legal counsel before relying on any assumption about penalties.
What this means for payroll teams in Kuwait
Payroll managers with staff in Kuwait need to verify three things for every worker covered by the Labour Law: the wage is at least KD75 per month, payment is made by bank transfer, and the transfer is in Kuwaiti Dinars and arrives within seven days of the agreed date.
The domestic helper minimum of KD60 sits outside the KD75 private sector floor. Employers with domestic staff should confirm which category applies to each worker, because the two minimums are set by different authorities and may have different payment rules. The Legit.ng report does not state whether domestic workers are covered by the bank transfer and seven-day requirements.
For employers using global payroll providers or employer of record services, the practical question is whether the provider can guarantee bank transfers in Kuwaiti Dinars within the seven-day window. A provider that batches payments or converts currency before transfer may create compliance risk. Payroll teams should ask for confirmation that the payment instruction is issued in Kuwaiti Dinars and that the value date falls within the legal window.
Common payroll mistakes to avoid
The most obvious mistake is treating the seven-day cap as a grace period. It is not. The cap is the maximum delay allowed before the employer is in breach, not a standard payment date. Payroll should aim for payment on the agreed date, with the seven days reserved for genuine operational failures.
Another mistake is paying in a foreign currency at an agreed exchange rate. The rule as reported is absolute: salary payments must be made in Kuwaiti Dinars. An employer cannot pay the equivalent amount in US dollars or Nigerian naira, even if the worker agrees.
A third mistake is assuming the KD75 floor applies to every worker. The domestic helper minimum is KD60, set by the Interior Ministry, and the Legit.ng report does not confirm whether the new payment rules extend to that category. Employers with mixed workforces should map each worker to the correct legal category before making payroll changes.
Workers who believe they have been paid late, paid in cash, or paid in a foreign currency have grounds to raise a complaint under Article 56. The Legit.ng report does not specify which ministry or department handles those complaints, so workers should seek guidance from Kuwait’s labour authorities or a legal representative.
Sources: Legit.ng
Photo: Kuwaiti Dinar boats @ kuwait seashore by Hasdelight, CC BY-SA 4.0
