What is reviewed in the employment contract, a non-Iraqi's work permit, and social-security enrolment?
The Law Office of Ali Barakat, from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk, sets out what is reviewed in an employment file when the contract is examined, together with a work permit for a person who is not Iraqi, if there is one, and with social-security enrolment. The source is Labour Law No. 37 of 2015, together with Instructions No. 1 of 2026 on the recruitment, employment and work permits of foreign workers, and the Workers' Retirement and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023.
The page describes the elements the statute names. The elements are those the statute names.
The employment contract and what is kept in the worker's file
An employment contract may be concluded orally or in writing by agreement of the parties, under article 37. If it is written, the employer prepares three signed copies: one for the worker, one for the employer, and one to be kept with the Department of Employment and Loans. The statute requires the contract to show at least the parties and the project's type and address; the worker's identity, date of birth, qualifications, occupation, place of stay and nationality; a description of the work, its length and the day it begins; the wage and any benefits, and how, when and where they are paid; and the division of working hours.
A trial period of no more than three months may precede the relationship, and it is not repeated with the same employer, where the worker has no vocational certificate establishing skill in the assigned work. If during the trial the worker is shown unfit for the work, the contract may be ended after notice of at least seven days. If there is no written contract, both parties bear the burden of proving the contract and its particulars.
Those particulars identify what is looked for when the contract is read: the identity of the parties, a description of the work and its duration, the wage and the hours, and where the third copy was lodged. The distinction between a fixed-term contract and an open-ended contract, and the effect of renewal more than once, is set out on the page Fixed-term and open-ended contracts.
Under article 41, the employer must keep a personal file for each worker, in which a copy of the appointment decision is placed, together with the documents, certificates and information that relate to the worker, and to which any later change in the work, the wages, bonuses or penalties is added. On starting work the worker is given a receipt for documents deposited, and those documents are returned when the contract ends or when the worker asks for them, unless their return would harm the employer. When the contract ends, a certificate is given stating the period of service and the type of work, and a clearance document is given if the worker has fulfilled the obligations owed to the employer. The file is the record from which these elements are read together.
A work permit when one party to the relationship is a foreign worker
Article 30 forbids administrations and employers to engage a person who is not Iraqi, in whatever capacity, until a permit has been issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Article 31 forbids that person from starting the work until the permit has been issued. The Minister may issue special instructions on recruitment and employment, under article 33. The instructions in force in this field are Instructions No. 1 of 2026 on the recruitment, employment and work permits of foreign workers, published in the Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4863, of 30/3/2026.
Filings under those Instructions are presented to the Department of Labour and Vocational Training at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. That Department is not the Department of Employment and Loans defined in article 1 of the Labour Law. A permit file is reviewed for lawful entry and stay under Foreigners' Residence Law No. 76 of 2017, for the conditions the Instructions set for employing a person who is not Iraqi, and for the employer's duties after the permit is issued. The path for issuance and renewal is set out on the page A work permit for a non-Iraqi, and on the page Rules on employing non-Iraqis. Duties connected with residence, including notice to the residence officer on employment, are set out on the page The employer's duties toward a foreign worker's residence.
A valid permit does not take the place of a contract that meets the particulars in article 37, nor of enrolment in social security if the worker is covered. The absence of a permit makes the employment forbidden under article 30, whatever the capacity in which the person is engaged.
Social-security enrolment and what it adds to the file
An insured worker, under article 1 of the Labour Law, is a person who works on a project and for whom the social-security contribution is paid to the Workers' Pension and Social Security Fund. The Department that administers this path under the Workers' Retirement and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023 is the Department of Pension and Social Security for Workers. The detail of coverage, the employer's duties and an objection to a decision of the Department is on the page Workers' social security.
What is reviewed here is how the paths meet: whether the worker is among those covered by the Social Security Law; whether enrolment has been completed before that Department; and whether contribution duties remained in place during the period of service. Article 32 of the Social Security Law provides that a period for which contributions were not paid is not counted as insured service, subject to the exceptions the text states, and the insured person may bring a claim against the employer for payment of the contributions. That rule shows the effect of a default in the file.
If the work is in the Kurdistan Region, registration of the contract and social-security enrolment are read before the Region's institutions, as explained on the page Federal and Kurdistan Region labour rules, without being confused with lodging the third copy with the federal Department of Employment and Loans.
The office follows a reading of these elements from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk. No contract or The elements are those the statute names.
Legal basis and sources
- Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4386 of 9/11/2015) — Articles 30–34 and 37
- Instructions No. 1 of 2026 on the recruitment, employment and work permits of foreign workers (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4863 of 30/3/2026)
- Workers' Retirement and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4734 of 28/8/2023)
Frequently asked questions
Must the employment contract be in writing in order to be relied on?
It may be oral or written, under article 37. If it is written, it is drawn up in three copies and the third is lodged with the Department of Employment and Loans. The absence of writing does not negate the contract, but both parties bear the burden of proof.
Does a work permit take the place of the contract and of social-security enrolment?
No. A permit is a condition for employing a person who is not Iraqi, under article 30. The contract is read from article 37, and enrolment is a path before the Department of Pension and Social Security for Workers. Each path is reviewed under its own rule.
With which department is the copy of a written employment contract lodged?
With the Department of Employment and Loans, under articles 1 and 37 of the Labour Law. That is not the Department of Labour and Vocational Training, to which work-permit applications are presented under Instructions No. 1 of 2026.
Which elements make up the employment file?
The elements the statute names in the contract, the permit and social-security enrolment.
Related topics and articles
- 01Fixed-term and open-ended employment contractsFixed-term and open-ended contracts under articles 37–42 of Labour Law 37/2015: the one-year limit, renewal more than once, and equal rights.
- 02End-of-service entitlements under Labour Law No. 37 of 2015The end-of-service gratuity under Labour Law 37/2015: the two-week formula, the statutory exceptions, and how it differs from benefits under Law 18/2023.
- 03Which labour and social-security rules apply in the governorates and in the Kurdistan Region?The reach of Labour Law 37/2015 and Law 18/2023 in the governorates not organised in a region, and how work is organised in the Kurdistan Region.
- 04When a job ends in Iraq: who ends it, on what ground, and what followsA practical map of ending a private-sector employment contract in Iraq: what ends it automatically, when the employer or the worker may end it, barred grounds, and the challenge deadline.
- 05What does the Labour Law require of workplace internal rules? A statutory readingWhat Labour Law 37/2015 requires of workplace internal rules: the content in article 136, and posting under article 107, not the filing steps.