They will also face legal action if they dismiss employees for taking on new family or social obligations, such as getting married or accepting community roles.

Bosses, who victimise employees out of spite over issues between them outside of work, will also face legal action under the new Private Sector Law, Shura Council members heard yesterday.

Any form of discrimination will be outlawed, Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi told members as they continued discussions over the new 198-article law.

"Sacking or other action against employees because of their race, colour, gender or sect, will become illegal with the introduction of the new law," he said.

"It means that if tomorrow someone buys a firm and decides to fire white or dark employees because he doesn't want or like them, he would be prosecuted."

The new law will also protect employees who marry, have children, or take on extra social duties, such as working for charity, said Dr Al Alawi.

But he said this would not give workers free rein to abandon their duties in favour of family, social or community commitments.

The law would protect employees from bosses who seek revenge at work over unrelated issues that arise outside, said Dr Al Alawi.

For example, if an employer and employee each run for election to a community post and the boss loses, he would be prosecuted if he sacked the worker or victimised him in revenge.

Bosses would be banned under the law from sacking men or women just because they get married, or married employees who become pregnant.

"The law would also work in favour of someone who is married to a relative of the employer, then decides to marry a second wife and because of that he gets sacked," said Dr Al Alawi.

Council member Shaikh Abdulrahman Abdulsalam was worried that the wording could be taken to mean that an employee could leave work at any time to attend family or social issues.

Dr Al Alawi said that Shaikh Abdulsalam's comments were valid, but that this was not the case.

"For someone to drop and collect his children from school during working hours, to take time out to solve marital problems, that's something the employer is not forced to suffer," he said.

"That of course affects work productivity and is something the employer has the right to question, but here we are not referring to that."

The council will continue discussions.

The Shura yesterday congratulated His Majesty King Hamad, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, on the success of the first Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS).

It also congratulated the leadership on the launch of the Bahrain Oil Field development, which is expected to raise the field's productivity by three times in the next 20 years.