At a Glance

• Council of Ministers limits unpaid leave for KRG public employees to a maximum of two years.
• Unpaid leave periods will no longer count toward total service years or pension benefits.
• Prior five-year leave approvals remain valid until expiration but are strictly non-renewable.

The Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers has officially limited unpaid leave for public sector employees to a maximum of two years, according to an official document obtained by Channel8. 

Signed by Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) caretaker government under Decision No. 300, the directive grants ministers and heads of independent bodies the exclusive authority to approve these two-year requests.

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Key Statements and Focus Areas

• The official document explicitly states that the newly designated two-year unpaid leave period will neither be counted as active public service nor factored into final retirement pension calculations.

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The Council of Ministers has suspended the implementation of its previous Decision No. 38, issued on April 5, 2015, which formerly governed long-term leave policies.

Employees who were already granted five-year unpaid leave prior to the issuance of this new directive are exempt; they may complete their existing leave terms, but their contracts will not be eligible for renewal upon expiration.

The Council of Ministers has officially instructed the Ministry of Finance and Economy, alongside the Civil Service Council, to draft and issue the necessary regulatory guidelines to enforce the decision.

The directive will officially take effect upon its publication in the region's formal gazette.

FYI:

The Kurdistan Regional Government has been undergoing a series of administrative and civil service reforms aimed at restructuring public sector payrolls and optimizing manpower across state entities.

The suspension of the 2015 regulations reflects an escalating fiscal policy shift by the caretaker government to tighten public sector employment terms and control long-term pension liabilities.

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