Ending a Kuwaiti Government Employee's Service for Medical Unfitness: When Is It Lawful, What Are the Rights, and How to Challenge It

Government employees fall ill like everyone else, and most illnesses are temporary: a period of sick leave, recovery, and a return to the office. Some cases, however, drag on. A chronic condition worsens, an injury leaves a lasting impairment, or a psychological condition prevents the employee from attending work regularly. At some point the employee may receive a letter referring him to the competent medical authority to assess his fitness, and later find himself facing a decision ending his service for "medical unfitness". Unlike a disciplinary dismissal, this decision is not based on anything the employee did wrong. It rests on a condition he did not choose, and that difference shapes the safeguards, the consequences and the way the decision can be challenged.

This article focuses on that specific situation. It does not re-explain the Civil Service framework as a whole, which we covered in Kuwait's Civil Service Law: Rights and Duties of Government Employees and Appointment, Rights and the Disciplinary System. Nor does it deal with disciplinary penalties, which have their own guide in Disciplinary Action in the Kuwaiti Civil Service, or with abusive transfers and secondments, explained in Arbitrary Transfer or Secondment of a Public Employee.

We answer three practical questions that every employee in this position asks. When may the administration end service for medical unfitness, and what safeguards must come first? What is the employee entitled to financially if his service does end? And how does he file a grievance and a court challenge if the decision was rushed, based on an incomplete examination, or in reality a disguised removal? The rules are stated in general terms and refer back to the texts in force at the relevant time, because the detailed periods and pay percentages come from regulations and administrative resolutions that are amended from time to time.

The Short Answer

Kuwait's civil service system allows an employee's service to be ended if he is proven medically unfit for service. But this is not a decision the line manager or the employing body can take on its own impression. The starting point is that unfitness is a technical fact established by the competent medical authority after a genuine examination of the employee, and that the employee will normally have exhausted the sick leave the system grants him, together with any exceptional leave that may follow depending on the case, or that the medical authority has found his condition to be one from which recovery sufficient to perform his work is not expected.

Before ending service, the question must be asked whether the employee is unable to do his current job only, or any job at all. If he can perform other work suited to his condition, sound administrative practice calls for considering a transfer or an adjustment of duties before termination. How far this is a binding legal obligation depends on the texts in force and on the facts, and is ultimately for the judge to assess.

If the decision is issued, the employee has financial rights, chiefly what he is owed by the Public Institution for Social Security (a pension or a lump-sum award, depending on his contribution period and the nature of his condition) and payment for his leave balance under the applicable rules. He may file an administrative grievance and then challenge the decision before the Administrative Circuit of the Court of First Instance, seeking annulment and compensation. All of this must happen within the statutory time limits, which usually run from notification of the decision or certain knowledge of it. They are short, and missing them bars the annulment claim, so verify them immediately.

The Legislative Framework

The rules on ending service for medical unfitness sit at several levels:

• The Civil Service Decree-Law (No. 15 of 1979): the general framework for public employment in bodies subject to it. It lists the grounds on which service ends, including medical unfitness, alongside others such as reaching the retirement age, resignation, disciplinary dismissal and unauthorised absence.
• The Civil Service System Decree and Civil Service Council resolutions: these contain the implementing detail, including the types and periods of sick leave, how unfitness is established, which medical body is competent, and the steps that precede the decision. This is the layer that changes most often, so always check the text in force on the date of the decision.
• Special regimes: some government bodies have their own employment systems (military and uniformed services, certain independent authorities, the oil sector). The competent medical body, the procedure or the consequences may differ there, so a rule from one body should not be assumed to apply to another.
• The Law establishing a Circuit of the Court of First Instance for administrative disputes (No. 20 of 1981): gives the Administrative Circuit jurisdiction over applications to annul final administrative decisions concerning public employees and claims for compensation, regulates the requirement of a prior grievance for certain categories of decision, and sets the time limits for annulment actions.
• The Social Security Law (No. 61 of 1976) and its regulations: determine what a Kuwaiti insured person receives when service ends. The treatment differs according to the reason for termination, the contribution period, whether the disability is total or partial, and whether it results from a work injury.
• The Civil Code (No. 67 of 1980): its general liability principles are drawn upon when claiming compensation for an unlawful administrative decision, while respecting the particular nature of administrative liability as developed by the administrative courts.
• The law on the rights of persons with disabilities: may be relevant if the employee's condition is classified as a recognised disability by the competent body, since it grants specific employment benefits to that group and to those who care for them. Whether it applies is confirmed through the government authority responsible for disability affairs.

We explained the general framework for challenging administrative decisions in Challenging Administrative Decisions in Kuwait: Annulment and Compensation and the grievance process in Administrative Lawsuits and Grievances in Kuwait. Here we stay with what is specific to medical unfitness.

The Substantive Rules

1. What does medical unfitness mean?

Medical unfitness is not simply having an illness, nor is it simply taking a lot of sick leave. It means that the employee's health, as assessed technically by the competent medical authority, prevents him from performing the duties of his post on a regular basis, and that this incapacity is permanent or not expected to end within the timeframe the system contemplates. An employee with a stable chronic condition who continues to work is not unfit merely because of the diagnosis. An employee undergoing long but promising treatment remains, in principle, within the sick leave regime rather than the termination regime.

In practice, several forms of unfitness are distinguished. Total unfitness prevents any work. Partial unfitness prevents the employee from his current job by its nature (field work, night shifts, physically demanding duties) but not from office or lighter work. Temporary unfitness is expected to resolve with treatment. Each has its own consequence: total and permanent unfitness is the natural ground for termination; partial unfitness opens the question of transfer or adjusted duties; temporary unfitness is, in principle, handled through leave.

2. Who decides that an employee is unfit?

The essential rule is that medical unfitness is established by the competent medical authority, not by the employer. A manager may notice repeated absences or declining performance and may request that the employee be referred for examination, but he cannot himself declare the employee medically unfit. For bodies subject to the civil service system, the competent authority is usually the medical boards or committees of the Ministry of Health; bodies with special regimes may have their own medical committees.

It follows that the administrative decision ending service rests, as its legal cause, on the medical report. If the decision is issued without a medical report, on a report that does not clearly find unfitness, or on a report from a body that was not competent (a private doctor or clinic that was not officially tasked, for example), the decision is defective, whether in its cause, in competence, or in form and procedure, depending on the case.

3. Exhausting sick leave

The civil service system grants employees sick leave on full pay and then on reduced pay in stages, and may then provide exceptional leave for certain illnesses or situations, each with its own conditions and approval process. The precise periods and pay percentages are set out in the regulations and must be checked as at the relevant date.

The link between leave and unfitness is that termination normally follows only after the employee has used up his sick leave without regaining the ability to work, or after the medical authority has decided that his condition is not expected to improve, so that waiting for the leave to run out would be pointless. A recurring question is whether the administration may end service before the leave is exhausted when the medical authority finds the condition hopeless. This is governed by the text in force, and readings differ: some consider leave a right of the employee that cannot be cut short, others consider that a medical finding of no recovery makes waiting unnecessary. The answer turns on the text and on the judge's assessment of each case. In practical terms, the employee should insist in writing on any remaining leave balance and record it in his grievance.

4. Transfer to suitable work before termination

Many cases of unfitness are not total. A nurse with a back injury may be unable to work on the wards but able to do administrative work in the hospital. A field engineer with a knee injury may be unable to visit sites but able to review drawings. In such cases the question arises: should the administration have considered transfer or rehabilitation before ending service?

Sound administrative practice, and what certain regulatory texts provide in particular situations, is that the medical authority states in its report what kind of work the employee can still do, and the administration considers that before terminating. Whether this is a binding legal duty in every case, or a discretionary power reviewable by the courts for abuse, depends on the text in force and on the wording of the medical report itself. Views differ, and the judge decides case by case. What is clear in practice is that a report finding the employee unfit for "his current job" only, followed by a decision ending his service entirely without any consideration of alternatives, is a strong basis for a challenge.

5. Medical termination versus disciplinary dismissal or termination for absence

Termination for medical unfitness is not a penalty. It requires no disciplinary investigation and no proven misconduct, but by the same token it must not be used as a cover for a penalty. If the reality is that the administration wants to be rid of an employee because of a dispute, a complaint or performance it disliked, and chooses the medical referral route instead of the disciplinary route with its safeguards, the decision is tainted by misuse of power, because a tool designed for one purpose has been used to achieve another. The burden of proving this lies on the employee, who may rely on circumstantial evidence: the timing of the referral, prior conflict, how serious the examination was, and how colleagues in similar situations were treated.

Medical termination is also different from termination for unauthorised absence. A sick employee who stays away without submitting approved sick leave may face a decision ending his service for absence rather than illness, which has a different basis and different consequences. The first piece of advice to any sick employee is therefore to cover every day of absence with approved sick leave under the applicable procedure, so that illness is never recast as abandonment.

6. The elements of the decision and possible defects

A decision ending service for medical unfitness is an administrative decision like any other, and its legality is reviewed through its elements:

• Competence: it must be issued by the authority empowered to end service in that body, not by a junior official who lacks that power.
• Form and procedure: referral to the competent medical authority, an actual examination, a written report, and any re-examination or objection the rules provide for.
• Cause: unfitness established by a valid medical report that is current at the time of the decision. An old report followed by a change in the employee's condition may no longer support the decision.
• Subject matter: the consequence imposed, termination, must be the one the law permits in this situation.
• Purpose: the decision must serve the public interest and the proper functioning of the service, not the removal of the employee for some other reason.

7. Safeguards in the medical examination

The medical examination is the heart of these decisions, and its safeguards deserve close attention. Above all, the examination must be genuine: the employee should appear before the medical authority, it should review his complete medical file and recent reports, and its report should be reasoned enough for its basis to be understood. The employee is entitled to submit reports and test results from his treating doctors for the authority to consider.

The employee will normally be able to ask to see the medical authority's decision or obtain a copy, and to object to it or request a re-examination as the regulations allow. If a copy is refused, his right of access to his medical file remains, and we explained how to enforce it in When a Hospital Refuses to Release Your Medical File. When the challenge reaches court, the judge may order the report and file to be produced and may appoint a neutral medical expert where appropriate, as discussed in Medical Expertise Before the Kuwaiti Courts.

8. Illness caused by work

If the condition behind the unfitness results from a work injury or an occupational disease, this matters in several ways: for leave (injury leave may be treated differently from ordinary sick leave), for social security entitlements (disability resulting from a work injury is subject to special rules under the Social Security Law), and for compensation (a claim may be available if its conditions are met). The employee should therefore establish the link between the injury and the work from the outset, through an official report of the injury when it happens and contemporaneous medical reports.

9. Financial rights after termination

When service ends for medical unfitness, the employee's financial rights fall into two parts:

• From the employer: salary up to the date of termination, payment for his accrued annual leave balance within the conditions and limits set by the rules, and any other entitlements already earned before termination, such as allowances or bonuses.
• From the Public Institution for Social Security: for a Kuwaiti insured person, the Social Security Law determines whether he receives a retirement pension or a lump-sum award. The treatment varies with the contribution period and with whether termination results from total or partial disability or from a work injury. In general, the law treats termination for disability or medical unfitness in a way that reflects the fact that the employee did not choose to leave, but the detailed conditions and calculation must be confirmed with the Institution itself. We outlined the general framework in Social Security in Kuwait: Contributions, Pensions and Disputes.

It is important to understand that challenging the termination before the Administrative Circuit and pursuing the social security claim with the Institution are separate tracks. Disputes with the Institution over whether a pension is due or how it is calculated follow their own route, through the Institution's grievance committees and then court, and an annulment action against the termination does not resolve them. Drawing a pension or award does not in itself mean waiving a challenge to the decision, since the employee needs an income, but it is wise to record a written reservation whenever a step might be read as acceptance.

A non-Kuwaiti employee is generally not covered by the social security system in the same way. His entitlements depend on his contract and on the rules governing his employing body, such as an end-of-service gratuity under the applicable provisions.

Principles of the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation has settled a number of principles in administrative disputes that bear on decisions ending service for medical unfitness. We set them out in general terms:

• An administrative decision must rest on a cause that genuinely justifies it. The administrative judge may verify the material existence of the facts relied on and the correctness of their legal characterisation; if the cause is absent, or is not reasonably derived from established facts in the file, the decision is unlawful.
• The opinion of the competent medical authority on purely technical matters carries particular weight, and the judge does not substitute his own diagnosis. This does not prevent the court from reviewing the legality of the procedure by which the report was issued and whether it was based on a genuine examination, and the court may seek expert assistance where needed.
• Misuse or abuse of power is an intentional defect, the burden of proving it lies on the party alleging it, and it may be proved through circumstantial evidence drawn from the circumstances in which the decision was made.
• Where the law requires a grievance before an annulment action for certain employee decisions, the grievance is a condition for the action to be admissible. Its purpose is to let the administration reconsider, and the lapse of the response period without an answer is treated as a rejection that opens the time limit for the lawsuit.
• The time limit for annulment runs from publication or notification of the decision, or from certain knowledge of it that covers its content and reasons. Certain knowledge is not presumed; it must be proved by conclusive evidence.
• Administrative liability requires a fault, consisting in the unlawfulness of the decision, damage, and a causal link between them, and the assessment of compensation is for the trial court provided its reasoning is sound.
• Annulment of an administrative decision erases it retroactively and obliges the administration to restore the position as it was, with whatever employment and financial consequences the court determines under the established rules.

Methodological note: we have deliberately not cited appeal numbers or judgment dates, because accurate citation of a judgment requires reference to its full text and facts. These principles are presented in their general, settled form in administrative case law. When preparing a statement of claim or a defence memorandum, the relevant judgments should be consulted in full, and it should be confirmed that they fit the facts of the case and have not been departed from.

Practical Steps and Documents

The following sequence is what we recommend in practice, from the first sign of a referral to the court's decision:

• At the first long illness: submit sick leave on time and through the approved channel, and keep a copy of every certificate and proof of submission. Do not rely on a phone call or a manager's verbal assurance.
• Track your leave balance: ask HR for a written statement of your sick leave and annual leave balances and of the pay you received during leave. This will be a key document if the decision comes before your leave is exhausted.
• On referral to the medical authority: ask for a copy of the referral letter to see its reasons and what exactly the authority was asked. Attend the examination on time and bring your complete medical file and recent reports from your treating doctors, particularly those showing your ability to work or improvement.
• Ask for the medical report: once issued, request a copy or inspect it, and check its wording. Does it find total unfitness or unfitness for a particular job? Permanent or temporary? Does it mention alternative work you can do?
• Object to the report: if the regulations allow an objection or re-examination, file it in writing within the set period, attaching any contrary medical reports.
• Request transfer to suitable work: if you can do other work, submit a written request to your employer before the termination decision or in your grievance. It removes any argument that you showed no willingness to work.
• When the decision is issued: record precisely the date you received it or learned of it, and keep the envelope, email or any other proof of that date. The time limits run from it.
• The grievance: file a written, reasoned grievance with the issuing body or the competent superior authority within the statutory time limit, and obtain proof of the filing date, such as an incoming reference number or stamp.
• Waiting for a reply or filing suit: if the grievance is expressly rejected, or the response period passes without an answer, the time limit for the annulment action begins. Calculate the deadlines carefully, or have a lawyer do it, because an error can cost you the case.
• The action before the Administrative Circuit: filed by a statement of claim seeking annulment and its consequences, compensation where its elements exist, and, where the conditions of seriousness and urgency are met, a stay of execution.
• The social security track in parallel: check your insurance position with the Public Institution for Social Security, and preserve your right to object to any decision on the calculation of your pension or award through its procedures.

Key documents

• The appointment decision, the latest promotion or transfer decisions, and the job description.
• All sick leave certificates and their approvals, and the leave balance statement.
• The referral letter, the medical authority's report, and any examination record.
• Reports from your treating doctors, especially recent ones.
• Any request you made for transfer or adjusted duties, and any reply.
• The termination decision and proof of when you learned of it.
• The grievance, proof of its filing date, and any reply.
• Previous performance reports and any correspondence showing an earlier dispute with management, if the challenge will rely on misuse of power.
• Salary statements showing what was paid and what was withheld.

Hypothetical Cases

Case one: termination before leave was exhausted

Facts: an employee at a service ministry developed a heart condition, underwent surgery and took successive periods of sick leave. Before he had used up his sick leave entitlement, his employer referred him to the medical authority, which found him "unfit for his current job", and a decision ending his service followed. His treating doctor had stated that he would be able to return to office work after convalescence.

Analysis: the decision has two weak points. First, the report did not find total and permanent unfitness, only unfitness for a particular job, which opens the question of alternatives. Second, the employee had not exhausted his leave and the report did not find his condition hopeless. He should file a grievance asking for the decision to be withdrawn, attaching his doctor's report and a written request for transfer to office work, and challenge it for annulment if the grievance fails. The court's assessment will depend on the text in force and on its examination of the report, and it may appoint a medical expert.

Case two: medical referral after a workplace dispute

Facts: an employee at a government authority filed a complaint against her director. Weeks later he referred her to the medical authority for "repeated absence", although her absences were covered by approved sick leave and were not unusual. A brief report found her unfit without reviewing her full medical file, and a termination decision followed.

Analysis: the challenge rests on two defects. A defect of cause, because the report was not based on a genuine examination and did not explain its basis; and misuse of power, because the circumstantial evidence (the referral's timing after the complaint, the modest absences, and colleagues with longer absences who were not referred) suggests the aim was to remove her rather than to serve the department. She files her grievance and then her lawsuit, asking for her medical file and the examination record to be produced and for a medical expert to be appointed. The burden of proving misuse of power is hers, and weighing the evidence is for the court.

Case three: total unfitness and a dispute over entitlements

Facts: an employee with an advanced neurological condition was found, after a full examination and a re-examination, to be totally and permanently unfit for service, and his service was ended. He does not dispute the decision, but his employer has not paid for his annual leave balance, and the pension figure given to him by the social security institution is lower than he expected.

Analysis: the decision appears sound and an annulment challenge may serve no purpose. His entitlements, however, are a separate dispute. Payment for the leave balance is claimed from the employer under the applicable rules and, if refused, may be pursued before the Administrative Circuit as a financial entitlement claim. The pension calculation is challenged with the Institution through its own procedures, checking whether his condition falls within the type of disability that attracts special treatment. He should have the calculation reviewed, because a mistake in how the reason for termination is recorded with the Institution can change the entitlement.

Quick Comparison of the Ways Service Can End

• Termination for medical unfitness: based on a health condition established by the competent medical authority; no disciplinary investigation needed; key safeguards are a genuine examination and the right to object to the report; challenged for annulment and compensation after a grievance.
• Disciplinary dismissal: based on proven misconduct; requires a written investigation and a hearing of the employee's defence; different employment and social security consequences; see our guide on disciplinary action.
• Termination for unauthorised absence: based on absence without permission or acceptable excuse for a period set by the system, usually after a warning; a sick employee who did not document his leave is exposed to it.
• Resignation: the employee's own choice; it may be treated differently for social security purposes than termination for disability, so a sick employee should not resign without advice.
• Transfer or adjusted duties for health reasons: not a termination but an alternative to it, subject to the rules and safeguards on transfers described in our article on arbitrary transfer.
• Sick private-sector worker: governed by the Private Sector Labour Law (No. 6 of 2010), not the civil service system, with different rules on leave and termination; see Sick Leave in Kuwait: Rights and Duties in Detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my manager end my service because I take a lot of sick leave?

Not on his own. Frequent approved sick leave is not in itself a ground for termination. Ending service for unfitness requires a report from the competent medical authority finding you unfit, followed by a decision from the competent authority. The most your manager can do is request a referral for examination, and you may ask for a copy of the referral letter.

Can my service be ended before I use up my sick leave?

The norm is that termination follows exhaustion of leave without recovery, unless the medical authority finds the condition incurable and the text allows earlier action. Whether early termination is permitted depends on the text in force and the wording of the report, and the judge decides. Assert your remaining balance in writing in your grievance.

Am I entitled to see the medical committee's report?

Yes. The report is the basis of a decision affecting your employment status, and you need to know its grounds in order to object. Ask for a copy in writing and keep evidence of any refusal. In a court challenge, the judge can order it to be produced.

Can I object to the medical committee's decision or ask for a re-examination?

The regulations often allow a request for re-examination or an objection to a higher body or another committee. The procedure and deadline vary with the body and regime, so ask about them in writing as soon as you are told of the report, and do not settle for a verbal objection.

If I am only unfit for my current job, should I be transferred rather than terminated?

Sound practice is to consider alternatives before termination, especially when the medical report says you can do other work. How binding that is depends on the text in force; views differ and the judge decides in each case. Submit a written transfer request, as it strengthens your position considerably.

Is termination for medical unfitness a penalty recorded on my file?

No. It is not a disciplinary sanction and is not based on fault. If it turns out to have been used as cover for a penalty, that is a ground of challenge for misuse of power. The difference between the two routes is explained in our disciplinary action guide.

What am I owed financially if my service ends for unfitness?

From your employer: salary up to the termination date, payment for your annual leave balance within the applicable conditions and limits, and any other entitlements already earned. From the Public Institution for Social Security: a pension or award depending on your contribution period and condition. Confirm the calculation directly with the Institution.

Does accepting my pension affect my right to challenge the decision?

Receiving a pension or award does not in itself waive your challenge; you need something to live on. Still, it is prudent to record a written reservation whenever a step might be read as accepting the decision, and to keep strictly to the grievance and lawsuit deadlines.

What is the deadline for the grievance and the lawsuit?

The time limits are set by the Administrative Circuit law. They are short, run from notification or certain knowledge of the decision, and missing them bars the annulment action. Do not rely on a general estimate: calculate them as soon as you receive the decision, or contact a lawyer the same day.

Is a verbal complaint or a meeting with the official enough?

No. The grievance must be in writing and filed with the competent body with proof of its filing date, because the response period and then the lawsuit deadline are calculated from it. Friendly meetings are useful but do not stop the clock.

Can I ask for the termination to be suspended until the case is decided?

A stay of execution may be requested together with the annulment action where both seriousness and urgency are present, meaning the challenge rests on serious grounds likely to lead to annulment and enforcement would cause consequences that are hard to reverse. The court decides.

If the court annuls the decision, do I go back to work?

Annulment removes the decision retroactively and requires the administration to restore the previous position. If your health has genuinely changed, however, the administration may repeat the process correctly. The financial consequences of annulment are for the court to assess and may be the subject of a separate compensation claim.

Does it make a difference if my illness was caused by work?

Yes. A work injury or occupational disease has special rules on leave and under the Social Security Law, and it may open a claim for compensation. Establish the link to your work from the start with an official injury report and contemporaneous medical records.

Should I resign instead of waiting for a termination decision?

Not without advice. Resignation is your own act, may be treated differently for social security purposes than termination for unfitness, and may cost you the right to challenge. Compare the options carefully with the Institution and your lawyer before signing anything.

Conclusion

Ending a public employee's service for medical unfitness weighs heavily on the employee and his family, because it comes at his most vulnerable moment, when he is ill and needs stability. That is why the system surrounds it with safeguards built on one idea: whether an employee is fit is a technical judgment made by a competent medical body after a genuine examination, not an administrative impression, and termination is the last resort, not the first.

An employee who manages his file well from the start is in a much stronger position. He documents his sick leave, tracks his balance, attends the examination with his full file, requests and objects to the committee's report in time, asks in writing for transfer to suitable work, and files his grievance and lawsuit on time if a decision is issued. By contrast, an employee who delays his grievance or relies on verbal follow-ups may lose the right to annulment simply because a deadline passed, however flawed the decision was.

If the decision is sound in substance, the focus shifts to entitlements: the leave balance, the social security pension or award, and any compensation for a work injury. These need careful follow-up too, because a mistake in recording the reason for termination can change what is due. If you face another employment issue such as being passed over for promotion, see When a Junior or Less Qualified Colleague Is Promoted Over You, and for the wider picture of administrative litigation see Administrative Justice in Kuwait.

Legal Notice

This article provides general legal information about Kuwaiti law. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The rules described are subject to legislative and regulatory amendment and to judicial application on the facts of each case, and details differ between bodies subject to the civil service system and those with special regimes.

If you have been referred to a medical committee or your service has been ended for medical unfitness, the team at Yumnaak Law Firm can review the medical report and the decision, calculate your deadlines, draft your grievance, bring an annulment and compensation action before the Administrative Circuit, and follow up on your entitlements. Contact us through our contact page, or book an in-office appointment through our booking page.