On 26 May, a new Ministerial Decision specifying measures to protect workers from heat stress came into force. The decision expands prohibited summertime working hours by six weeks and introduces requirements for annual health checks for workers as well as mandatory risk assessments to be prepared by enterprises to ensure workers' safety and well-being.

According to the new decision, working under the sun or in open workplaces is prohibited between 10 am and 3:30 pm. These special summertime working hours apply from June 1 until September 15.

Representatives of employer and workers have welcomed the new decision. ILO has published a video interview with Dr Andreas Flouris, Director of the FAME Laboratory and Associate Professor at the University of Thessaly presenting the main Finding of a study into heat stress in Qatar which was conducted in 2019 by ADLSA, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

London-based human rights and advocacy organization Fair Square has posted a thread on Twitter criticising the new law, saying that it will provide only slightly more protection to workers, and considerably less protection than is required. According to Fair Square, extending prohibited summertime working hours is slightly effective as heat and humidity can cause lethal effects at all time of the day, even in the middle if the night. Fair Square further adds that activity modification guidelines are the cornerstone of heat protection system.