To organize its majority expat workforce, Qatar has designed a complex visa system.

With it comes a confusing set of rules that can make switching employers and/or getting a better job difficult.

Khalifa Saleh, a national who runs ILoveQatar.net, rails against one aspect of the system – the dreaded No Objections Certificate (NOC) – in a recent blog post.

Saleh questions the purpose of the NOC, which expats must obtain to transfer employment to another company, and lists various scenarios in which the requirement exposes employees to exploitation.

One such scenario: An individual moves to Qatar to work as a manager, but quits after three months of no pay. The employee’s boss, incensed by his resignation, refuses to give him an NOC. Does that mean the individual is trapped?

Saleh concludes:

It’s like one of the most basic rules of life. Something my father taught me when I was younger. “Before doing something, ask yourself whether you’d like it if someone did it to you. If the answer is no, then don’t do it”.

I know I wouldn’t like to be trapped under an NOC law.If someone gets a better offer, why not let them take it? Why force an employee to remain in the company and work unhappily? They’re definitely not going to be efficient workers. They’re not going to have the company’s best interest.

In fact, from an economical point of view, if companies were worried of employees leaving them, perhaps more companies would treat them with respect and provide for better work environment.

Read the full post here.

And tell us what you think!

We all know NOCs put expats at a disadvantage. But could they actually be hurting businesses too?