Qatar announced changes to its labor laws on Sunday, raising the minimum wage by 25 percent to 1,000 riyals ($275) a month and scrapping a requirement for workers to get permission from their employers to change jobs.

Employees of Qatar's Barzan facility are pictured at the headquarters in the capital Doha, Qatar on May 4. Photo: AFP

They are the latest in a series of labor reforms by the 2022 FIFA World Cup host which in the lead up to the tournament has faced accusations that migrant workers are exploited.

The new minimum wage, which comes into effect in six months, is nondiscriminatory and applies to all workers. Companies must also provide accommodation and food or a combined monthly stipend of 800 riyals.

The removal of employer permission to change jobs is effective immediately. 

"This is a huge step towards our labor reforms," labor ministry assistant undersecretary Mohammed Hassan al-Obaidly told Reuters.

"These reforms are in the best interest of Qatar, its guest workers and employers."

Companies who do not pay wages or provide adequate accommodation will face harsher penalties under the new reforms, the labor ministry said.

The United Nations' labor agency hailed the changes, which it said were significant and gave workers more freedom and protection, and employers more choice.

Qatar would be the first in the region with a nondiscriminatory minimum wage and the kafala system was effectively dismantled now that employees would no longer need permission to change jobs, it said.

The kafala sponsorship system is common in Gulf States, where foreign worker visas are linked to the employer. 

Amnesty International said the changes were a significant step but that the minimum wage remained relatively low and should be increased.