Last updated on: January 17th, 2024
Labor Requirements
Employment in Saudi Arabia is regulated by the Labor Law, the Social Insurance Law, and provisions of Shari’a (Islamic law). The Labour Code governs the terms and conditions of employment such as working hours, holidays and rest periods, wages, overtime, and employment relationships.
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
The standard working hour of an employee shall not exceed 8 hours a day and 48 hours per week (exclusive of overtime). The working days shall be 6 or 5 days a week according to the working conditions determined by the company.
The number of working hours provided above may be raised to 9 hours a day for certain categories of workers or in certain industries and jobs where the employee does not work continuously. It may likewise be reduced to 7 hours a day for certain categories of employees or in certain hazardous or harmful industries or jobs.
In an organization where work is done in shifts, an employer may increase the number of working hours as long as the average hours in a 3-week period is not more than 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. The employees must not work more than 12 hours per day including overtime.
During the month of Ramadan, the working hours for Muslim employees are reduced to a maximum of 6 hours per day or 36 hours per week. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 98-105 (Arabic).
Exceptions
An employer may not comply with the provisions of working hours, breaks and weekly rest in the following cases:
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- Annual inventory activities, preparation of the budget, liquidation, closing of accounts, and preparations for discounts and seasonal sales, provided that the number of days during which the employees work shall not exceed 30 days a year.
- If the work is intended to prevent a hazardous accident, remedy its impact, or avoid an imminent loss of perishable materials.
- If the work is intended to meet unusual work pressure.
- Eids, other seasons and occasions, and seasonal activities specified pursuant to a decision by the Minister. In all of the above cases, actual working hours shall not exceed 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week. The maximum overtime hours allowed per year shall be determined by a decision of the Minister.
- Annual inventory activities, preparation of the budget, liquidation, closing of accounts, and preparations for discounts and seasonal sales, provided that the number of days during which the employees work shall not exceed 30 days a year.
Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 106 (Arabic).
Recording Requirements
An employer shall maintain at the workplace records, statements, and files the nature and contents of which shall be specified in the regulations. He shall display at a prominent location at the workplace a schedule of working hours, breaks, weekly rest days, and time of start and end of each shift when operating in shifts. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 17.
Overtime
Any hours worked after 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week are considered overtime.
Pay for Overtime
The employer shall pay the employee an additional amount equal to the hourly wage plus 50% of their basic wage for overtime work. All work on rest days, holidays, and on Eid is considered overtime. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, art. 107 (Arabic)
Breaks
Working hours and rest periods during the day shall be scheduled in such a way so that no employee shall work for more than 5 consecutive hours without a break of no less than 30 minutes each time during the total working hours for rest, prayer, and meals, provided that a worker does not remain at the workplace for more than 12 hours a day.
The periods designated for rest, prayers, and meals shall not be included in the actual working hours. During such periods, the employee shall not be under the employer’s authority. The employer shall not require the employee to remain at the workplace during such breaks.
The Labor Minister may specify, pursuant to a decision, the cases and jobs where work shall continue without breaks, for technical reasons or operational conditions. In such cases and jobs, the employer shall allow prayer, meals, and rest periods to be scheduled during working hours. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 98-105 (Arabic).
Rest Days
Friday is the weekly rest day for all employees. The weekly rest day shall be fully paid and shall not be less than 24 consecutive hours. After proper notification to the government, the employer may replace this rest day for some employees with any other day of the week. Additional wages or payments may not be substituted for a weekly rest day.
In jobs where the nature of work and operational conditions require continuous operation, weekly rest periods may be consolidated for up to 8 weeks if the employer and the employee agree, subject to government authorities’ approval. In order the calculate the consolidated rest period, it should be taken into consideration that the period shall begin at the hour the workers arrive at the nearest city with transportation services and end at the hour the workers return to it. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 98-105 (Arabic).
Work On Rest Days
All hours of work on a holiday or rest day are considered overtime. The employer shall pay the employee an additional amount equal to the hourly wage plus 50% of their basic wage for overtime work on rest days. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 98-105 (Arabic).
Public Holidays
Employees are entitled to the following paid public holidays annually, the dates of some of which vary year to year:
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- Saudi Founding Day: February 22
- Saudi Flag Day: March 11
- Eid Al-Fitr: (date varies), lasts 10 days, but most employers observe only 3 day
- Sept. 23: Saudi National Day
- Eid Al-Adha (date varies), lasts 10 days, but most employers observe only 5 days
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If National Day falls on a weekend, a day in lieu is granted either on the day preceding or following the weekend.
Pay for Work on Public Holidays
All hours of work on a holiday are considered overtime. The employer shall pay the employee an additional amount equal to the hourly wage plus 50% of their basic wage for overtime work on public holidays. Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 112(Arabic).
Annual Leave
An employee is initially entitled to 21 days of paid annual leave, which increases to 30 days after five consecutive years with one employer. Employers may set the dates of employees’ leave based on work requirements and must notify the employee of the date of leave at least 30 days in advance of the leave.
An employee should avail of the annual leave in the year it is due. Employees may not waive the leave or receive cash in lieu of vacation during their period of service. The employer may set the dates of such leave according to work requirements or may grant them in rotation to ensure the smooth progress of work. The employer shall notify the employee of the date of the employee’s leave in-sufficient time of not less than 30 days.
An employer may postpone the employee’s leave for not more than 90 days after the end of the year it is due if required by work needs. If work conditions require a further extension, the employee’s consent must be obtained in writing. The postponement cannot extend beyond the end of the year following the year in which the leave becomes due to an employee.
Annual Leave after Termination of Employment
The employee is entitled to a wage for the accrued days of the leave if the employment is terminated without using such leave. This applies to work periods where the employees have not used the leave entitled to them. The employee will be entitled to be paid for the leave for the part of the year in proportion to the time the employee worked. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 109-111 (Arabic).
Special Leave
An employee is entitled to 30 days of sick leave at full pay annually, an additional 60 days at 75 percent pay and following 30 days of unpaid leave during a single year, whether such leaves are continuous or intermittent. A single year for this purpose begins from the date of the first sick leave.
A domestic employee is also entitled to 30 days of sick leave as long as a medical report is provided certifying the need for leave.
If the employee is injured while performing his work or feels that he cannot continue performing his work due to sickness, the employee shall submit a request to his line manager on the same day for referral to the competent medical committee for medical examination and determining necessary actions in this regard. In addition, the referral shall be according to the form prepared for this purpose. If the employee’s health condition requires granting him sick leave, the competent medical committee that examined him shall issue a report on the same and send the original thereof to his employer on the same day on which the employee is examined or in no later than the next day, while providing the employee with an approved copy thereof.
An employer may not terminate an employee’s services because of illness without first letting the employee exhaust sick leave. The employee may request that sick leave be combined with annual leave. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, art. 137 (Arabic).
Female employees shall be entitled to fully paid maternity leave for a period of 10 weeks to be divided at the female worker’s discretion. The employer must allow the female employee to begin the maternity leave at least 3 weeks prior to the date of birth, as determined by a medical certificate authenticated by a health agency. The expected date of delivery shall be determined pursuant to a medical report certified by a health authority. The female employee may not, under any circumstances, work during the 6 weeks immediately following delivery. The employee shall be entitled to extend the leave for an additional 2 months as unpaid leave.
In the event of giving birth to a sick child or a child with special needs whose health condition requires a constant companion, a female employee shall be entitled to a 1-month leave with full pay starting at the end of the maternity leave and she shall be entitled to extend the leave for an additional month as unpaid leave.
Female employees in all cases are entitled to fully paid maternity leave in addition to fully paid annual leave. An employer shall provide medical care for female employees during pregnancy and delivery.
An employer may not terminate the employment of a female employee or give her a warning while she is on maternity leave. An employer also may not terminate her employment for the duration of an illness resulting from pregnancy or delivery if such illness is established by a certified medical report and the period of her absence does not exceed 180 days.
Breastfeeding Break – When an employee returns to work following maternity leave, she is entitled, in addition to the rest periods granted to all employees, to a paid rest period or periods not exceeding in aggregate 1 hour per day for nursing her infant. Such periods are considered part of her working hours and the employee’s wage is not deducted for taking the break. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2015, arts. 151-156 (Arabic).
A father is entitled to 3 days of paid paternity leave for a child’s birth. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005 (Arabic).
Employees are entitled to 5 days of paid leave following the death of their spouse, ascendants, or descendants.
A female Muslim employee whose husband has passed away shall be entitled to 4 months and 10 days of paid leave. and if the female Muslim employee is pregnant during this period, the leave may be extended on an unpaid basis until birth. Any period of leave remaining after birth may not be rolled over.
Note: The amended labor also states that such paid leave period shall not be provided to a Muslim female employee in case of her divorce.
A Non-Muslim female employee whose husband has passed away shall be entitled to receive 15 days of paid leave. The employer is permitted to request supporting documentation of death in all cases. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 113.
An employee, subject to the employer’s approval, may obtain leave without pay for a length of time agreed to between the employer and employee. The work contract will be considered suspended for any leave over 20 days unless both parties agree otherwise. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 116.
Short-term work-related disability leave gives an employee the right to fully paid leave for 60 days, and 75% of the wages owed to the employee for the entire duration of his treatment up until 1 year. After 1 year lapses, or it is medically determined that the injured employee’s chances of recovery are improbable or that the employee is no longer physically fit to work, the injury shall be deemed a total disability. In this case, the contract shall be terminated and the employee shall be compensated for the injury. The employer shall not be entitled to recover payments made to the injured employee during that year. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 137 (Arabic).
An employee enrolled in an educational institution is entitled to paid leave to sit for an examination of an un-repeated year. However, for the examinations of a repeated year, the employee shall be entitled to unpaid leave to sit for the examinations. Days of leave shall be based on the actual number of examination days.
The employer may require the employee to submit documents in support of the leave application as well as proof of having taken the examination. The employee must apply for the leave at least 15 days ahead of the examination date. If it is proven that the employee did not take an examination, the employee shall be denied payment for the time. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 115.
An employee is entitled to paid leave of 10 to 15 days to perform Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca, including the Eid Al-Adha holiday. This paid leave may be granted only once during an employee’s service with one employer, after at least two consecutive years of work, and if the employee has not performed Hajj before. The employer may determine the number of employees who are given this leave annually in accordance with work needs. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 114.
An employee is entitled to 5 working days’ paid leave for marriage. Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/46, 2005, arts. 113.