Article 9 of the Saudi Civil Service Law

المادة 9 من نظام الخدمة المدنية · الفصل الأول: شغل الوظيفة

The article provides that an employee appointed for the first time is on probation for one year.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

يعتبر الموظف المعين ابتداء تحت التجربة مدة سنة.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 9 explained in plain English

This article provides that an employee appointed initially to the civil service is considered on probation for one year. Initial appointment means the employee's first appointment.

The following can be drawn from the text:

The probation period is tied to the initial appointment, as the article's wording states.
Its length is one year, as the article sets it.

The text of the article does not state what follows from the probation period, how the employee is assessed during it, or what happens when it ends; these details cannot be drawn from the text itself, and the relevant regulatory provisions should be consulted for them.

This article is linked to Article 8, which provides that the appointment decision of an employee who does not start his duties within 15 days of being notified of it, without a legitimate excuse, is canceled and treated as if never made. Article 10 also deals with promoting and transferring employees to vacant posts under the classification rules, and provides that a promotion does not take effect before the date the decision for it is issued.

Anyone with a question about their position during the probation period, or about a decision issued concerning them during it, would do well to consult a lawyer specializing in administrative matters and civil service affairs.

Practical example

Noura was appointed for the first time to a government post in Medina and started work. Under this article she is considered on probation for one year.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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