Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Qatar, and how often must it be reviewed?

Partly. Qatar's Labour Law does not contain a general article that requires a written risk assessment for all hazards, but Ministerial Decision No. 17 of 2021 makes a written heat-stress risk assessment mandatory, prepared with the workers, kept at the workplace and updated regularly. No fixed review interval is set in law; in practice, clients and inspectors expect written assessments that are reviewed when work changes.

Short answer

• General duty: the employer must inform every worker of the risks of the work and the preventive measures (Labour Law No. 14 of 2004, Article 99) and take all precautions against injury, disease, accident, fire and breakdown (Article 100). Doing that reliably requires a risk assessment, even though the law does not use the term.
• Heat stress: a written risk assessment to mitigate heat stress, done together with the workers, updated regularly, with a copy kept on site for labour inspectors (Decision No. 17 of 2021, Article 4).
• Working conditions study: Decision No. 16 of 2005 asks the employer to study working conditions with a view to improving them and to use the study when planning medical examinations.
• Review: no statutory interval (unlike Türkiye, where the Regulation on OSH Risk Assessment requires renewal at the latest every 2, 4 or 6 years for very hazardous, hazardous and less hazardous workplaces). Review when tasks, equipment, sites or the season change, after accidents and as the contract requires.
• Contracts: large clients, including the energy sector, require hazard identification and risk assessment as part of the contractor's HSE plan. The national energy company's contractor regulations (QP-REG-S-001, Rev. 3 of 2009), for example, require procedures to identify and assess all HSE hazards and effects, with job hazard analyses and health risk assessments as necessary.

Why a written assessment is expected anyway

Article 99 requires the employer to tell workers, on starting work, of the risks and how to protect themselves, and to post detailed instructions. Article 100 requires all precautions. An inspector who finds an accident or an unsafe machine will ask how the employer identified the risk; without a record, the employer has little evidence that it met these duties. The Ministry of Labour's inspectors can examine documents and take samples (Article 138), and the Minister can close a site where precautions are missing (Article 100).

The heat-stress decision is the clearest written duty. The assessment must be done with the workers and kept at the workplace, and it sits beside other heat duties: WBGT measurement, a stop at 32.1 °C WBGT, water, shade, training by the beginning of May and an annual health check. The decision does not apply to companies working on oil and gas projects, which follow their operators' rules.

How to set up and review the assessment

The excodex guide on the risk assessment process explains methods and records that meet international expectations, including ISO 45001.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the heat-stress assessment at head office: the decision requires a copy at the workplace.
• Writing the assessment without workers: the heat-stress decision requires it to be done together with them.
• Assuming that no fixed review interval means no review: it must be "updated regularly", and contracts often set annual or per-project reviews.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Qatar: law, authorities and employer duties
• Workplace risk assessment: process, team, records and review
• Heat stress, WBGT, cold stress and thermal comfort
• What OSH training must employers provide to workers in Qatar?

Standards and further reading

• Law No. 14 of 2004 promulgating the Labour Law, Articles 99 and 100, Al Meezan legal portal: almeezan.qa (search for Law No. 14 of 2004); English text used: Al Meezan export.pdf)
• Ministerial Decision No. 17 of 2021 specifying measures to protect workers from heat stress (unofficial translation): gulfmigration.grc.net
• Decision No. 16 of 2005 on medical care for workers (summary): gulfmigration.grc.net
• HSE Regulations for Contractors QP-REG-S-001, Rev. 3, 2009, section 4.5 (hazard identification, risk assessment and control): qatarenergy.qa
• ISO 45001, occupational health and safety management systems, requirements with guidance for use

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.