Article 28 of the Saudi Basic Law of Governance

This Article contains two obligations on the State in the field of work:

1. Facilitating work opportunities for everyone able to work: the text ties this to the ability to work, and it says "everyone able" in general terms.
2. Enacting laws that protect the worker and the employer: the protection in the text covers both parties together and is not limited to one of them.

The wording of the second obligation indicates that the details of protection do not appear in this Article but in the laws that the State enacts for this purpose. The Article does not specify wages, working hours, leave, rights on termination of the contract or anything similar, and it contains no procedures for making claims. Anyone looking for their rights or obligations in an employment relationship refers to the laws that specifically govern labor.

This Article is linked to Article 27, which provides that the State guarantees the right of the citizen and his family in emergencies, illness, disability and old age, supports the social security system, and encourages institutions and individuals to contribute to charitable works. Article 27 deals with those who cannot work in those cases, while Article 28 deals with those able to work. It is also linked to Article 29, which provides for the State's care for sciences, arts and culture and its encouragement of scientific research.

This Article matters to workers, employers and the bodies concerned with the labor market, and to anyone who wants to know the basis on which labor laws rest in the Basic Law of Governance.