Reviewed: 10 October 2026. This is general information. Official sources are linked below; individual cases and applicable rules should be checked with the relevant authority or a qualified adviser.
When the statutory allowance applies
Article 65 applies after three consecutive months with the employer, where illness and the need for sick leave are certified by a government medical centre or a clinic retained by the employer. A more favourable employment benefit may also need to be considered.
Do not substitute an unverified rule that a certificate is needed only after three days. Check the evidence required under the applicable policy and legal provision.
Official sources: Bahrain EDB: Labour Law for the Private Sector, Law No. 36 of 2012 (English text with listed amendments)
The pay stages
Article 65 provides, during the same year, fifteen days on full pay, twenty days on half pay and twenty days without pay. These are different payment stages, not 55 days all on full salary.
The provision permits accumulation of the eligible full-pay and half-pay balance up to 240 days. This should not be described as automatic accumulation of every unpaid day. Keep the underlying record and applicable balance clear.
Official sources: Bahrain EDB: Labour Law for the Private Sector, Law No. 36 of 2012 (English text with listed amendments)
Medical disagreements and annual leave
Article 65 assigns disagreement over the duration of treatment to the specified Medical Committee. Article 66 allows a sick worker to use an available annual-leave balance in addition to sick-leave entitlement.
Keep medical certification, absence dates and each type of leave identifiable. An employer’s general attendance rule should not be treated as a medical determination.
Official sources: Bahrain EDB: Labour Law for the Private Sector, Law No. 36 of 2012 (English text with listed amendments)
Illness is not an automatic dismissal trigger
Do not assume employment can end automatically on the last paid sick-leave day. Article 117 sets conditions concerning exhaustion of sick and annual leave and a separate notice requirement before illness-related termination; Article 102 also addresses termination during leave.
Seek advice about the actual circumstances before applying those provisions. Keep work-injury and ordinary sickness cases distinct, since separate insurance and injury rules can apply.
Official sources: Bahrain EDB: Labour Law for the Private Sector, Law No. 36 of 2012 (English text with listed amendments)
Related guides
- Bahrain employment law: a private-sector checklist
- Bahrain employment contracts: terms and documents
- Probation in Bahrain: contract, duration and notice
- Bahrain working hours: ordinary limits, breaks and rest
- Bahrain overtime pay: day, night and rest-day work
- Annual leave in Bahrain: entitlement and unused balance
- Ending employment in Bahrain: notice, reason and settlement
- Bahrain gratuity calculations: service, salary and SIO
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