The Qatari cabinet on Wednesday gave its consent to a draft law that specifies the rights and duties of domestic workers and their sponsors, and regulates the relationship between them.

The law defines household work as the services a domestic help provides to his/her sponsor or those living with the sponsor in family residences, in line with the terms of the contract between them, reported Gulf Times.

Domestic workers include drivers, nannies, cooks, gardeners and others doing similar jobs.

Domestic workers carry out household work under the management and supervision of sponsor in return for wages in line with the contract and ‘established norms.’

This is a major step towards regulating services of domestic workers as they are not currently covered under Qatar’s labour law. When the law comes into effect, it is expected to be hugely beneficial for the workers.

Sharing images/video of accident victims

The Cabinet also took necessary measures to issue a draft law that includes penalties for clicking, recording and sharing images and videos of accident victims.

It stipulates that anyone who takes or circulates photographs/videos of accident victims through any device in any unauthorised way will be punished.

This is expected to stop the prevalent practice of sharing accident victims’ pictures mostly on social media platforms.

It is understood that the law punishes offenders by one-year imprisonment and/or a fine of not more than QR5,000.

The law further says that “whoever spreads news, photographs or comments related to a person’s private life, or that of his family, even if true”, can be punished with a maximum jail term of one year and a fine of up to QR5,000, or either.