Article 10 of the Saudi Employee Discipline Law
المادة 10 من نظام الانضباط الوظيفي
The article regulates referring the employee to the committee and the Minister's approval of its recommendations, considering dismissal in a special committee, proportionality and non-duplication of penalties, and the Minister's right to refer to the Authority.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
مع مراعاة ما نصت عليه كلٌّ من المادتين (الحادية عشرة) و(الثانية عشرة) من النظام:
1- إذا ظهر للجهة ارتكاب موظف لمخالفة، فيحال إلى اللجنة للتحقيق معه للنظر في إيقاع أحد الجزاءات وفقاً للنظام، وترفع توصياتها إلى الوزير، وتعتمد بقرار منه.
2- إذا أوصت اللجنة بإيقاع جزاء الفصل، ورأى الوزير مناسبته، فيحيل توصيتها إلى لجنة يشكلها لهذا الغرض بقرار منه يشارك في عضويتها ممثل من وزارة الموارد البشرية والتنمية الاجتماعية، ويراعى أن تكون هذه اللجنة برئاسة متخصص في الأنظمة؛ للنظر في التوصية بجزاء الفصل ومناسبته، وتعتمد توصياتها بقرار من الوزير، وإذا لم تر اللجنة الأخذ بجزاء الفصل؛ فلها التوصية بإيقاع أي جزاء آخر.
3- يراعى عند اختيار الجزاء أن يكون متناسبًا مع درجة المخالفة، مع الأخذ في الاعتبار السوابق، والظروف المخففة والمشددة، على ألَّا يوقع أكثر من جزاء واحد عن المخالفة نفسها، أو المخالفات المرتبطة بعضها ببعض.
4- لا يحول تطبيق الأحكام الواردة في هذه المادة دون صلاحية الوزير -لأي سبب يقدره- في إحالة أي موظف إلى الهيئة.
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 10 explained in plain English
This article sets out the path for imposing a penalty within the government body, subject to Articles 11 and 12.
1- Referral to the committee: If it appears to the body that an employee has committed a violation, he is referred to the committee for considering violations to be investigated and for it to consider imposing one of the penalties, and the committee submits its recommendations to the Minister, which are approved by his decision.
2- A recommendation of dismissal: If the committee recommends dismissal and the Minister sees it as appropriate, he refers the recommendation to a second committee that he forms by his decision, in which a representative of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development takes part, chaired by a specialist in laws. This committee considers the dismissal and its appropriateness, and its recommendations are approved by decision of the Minister; if it does not adopt dismissal, it may recommend any other penalty.
3- Choosing the penalty: It must be proportionate to the degree of the violation, taking into account precedents and mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and no more than one penalty is imposed for the same violation or for violations connected with one another.
4- Referral to the Authority: The Minister retains the right, for any reason he determines, to refer any employee to the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority.
The exceptions: Under Article 11, if the committee recommends dismissing an employee at grade 14 or 15 or their equivalents, the Minister refers the violation to the Authority to consider the dismissal before the competent court or return it to the body with a proposal for another penalty. Article 12 sets out other cases in which violations are referred to the Authority, including a violation in a body other than the employee's own, an employee whose service ended before the investigation of him was completed, and one whom the Minister refers under paragraph 4 of this article.
Anyone facing a recommendation of dismissal is advised to consult a lawyer specializing in administrative cases.
Practical example
The violations committee in a government body in Al-Qassim recommended dismissing an employee at grade 8. The Minister saw the recommendation as appropriate, so he referred it to a committee he formed for this purpose with the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. That committee found that dismissal was not proportionate to the violation and recommended forfeiting an annual increment instead, and the Minister approved the recommendation.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 10 of the Saudi Employee Discipline Law
Who approves the penalty decision against an employee?
The committee for considering violations submits its recommendations to the Minister, and they are approved by his decision.
May an employee be punished with more than one penalty for the same violation?
No. The article bars imposing more than one penalty for the same violation or for violations connected with one another.
How is a government employee dismissed on disciplinary grounds?
If the committee recommends dismissal and the Minister sees it as appropriate, the recommendation is referred to a committee formed by the Minister with the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and its recommendation is approved by decision of the Minister, subject to Articles 11 and 12.
Can the Minister refer an employee to the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority?
Yes. The Minister may, for any reason he determines, refer any employee to the Authority.
Articles this article refers to
- Article 11
The article provides that a recommendation to dismiss an employee at grade 14 or 15 or their equivalents is referred to the Authority, which considers the dismissal before the competent court or returns it to the body with a proposal for another penalty.
إذا أوصت اللجنة بإيقاع جزاء الفصل على من يشغل أيًّا من المرتبتين (الرابعة عشرة) و(الخامسة عشرة) أو ما يعادلهما؛ فيحيل الوزير المخالفة المرتكبة من الموظف إلى اله
- Article 12
The article sets the cases in which employee violations are referred to the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, which files the claim before the competent court, and that court may impose any penalty provided for in the Law.
أ- مع مراعاة اختصاصات الهيئة -المقررة نظامًا- يحال إليها الآتي: 1- الموظف الذي نسب إليه ارتكاب مخالفة في جهة حكومية غير التي يعمل فيها، أو الذي نقل منها بعد ارت
More articles on Administrative Investigation of an Employee
- Article 4
The article requires the employee to be investigated, confronted and heard in writing before any penalty, with a reasoned decision, and bars filling the dismissed employee's job before the decision becomes unchallengeable or the judgment final.
1- لا يجوز إيقاع أي جزاء على الموظف إلَّا بعد التحقيق معه، ومواجهته بالمخالفة المنسوبة إليه، وسماع أقواله، وتحقيق دفاعه، وإثبات ذلك كتابة في محضر. ويكون القرار
- Article 9
The article provides for forming, by decision of the Minister, one or more committees in each government body to consider and investigate employee violations, chaired by a legal specialist.
تشكل لجنة -أو أكثر بحسب الحال- بقرار من الوزير في كل جهة حكومية، تتولى النظر في المخالفات التي يرتكبها الموظفون والتحقيق فيها، وتحدد اللائحة عدد أعضاء كل من الل
- Article 14
The article allows the body employing an employee finally sentenced to a criminal penalty that does not require dismissal by operation of law to refer him to the committee if it considers his act breaches his job duties.
إذا صدر على الموظف حكم قضائي نهائي في دعوى جزائية بعقوبة غير موجبة للفصل بقوة النظام؛ فلجهة عمله إذا رأت أن ارتكابه للفعل يمثل إخلالًا بواجبات وظيفته، أن تحيل ا
- Article 15
The article allows the Authority, in the cases it considers, to close the investigation or propose a penalty specifying the acts attributed, and to refer the file to the employee's body to issue the penalty decision as it sees fit.
للهيئة -في الحالات التي تنظرها- أن تحفظ التحقيق، أو أن تقترح الجزاء المناسب على الموظف، مع بيان الأفعال المنسوبة إليه على وجه التحديد، وتحيل المعاملة إلى جهته ا
- Article 16
The article requires the government body to give the Ministry of Human Resources, the Authority, the General Court of Audit and the employee a copy of the penalty decision, with the Regulations setting the procedures.
تزود الجهة الحكومية المختصة وزارة الموارد البشرية والتنمية الاجتماعية، والهيئة، والديوان العام للمحاسبة، والموظف صاحب الشأن؛ بصورة من القرار الصادر عنها بإيقاع
- Article 19
The article suspends administrative proceedings on the violation and violations connected with it if the employee is referred to criminal investigation or trial over it, until those proceedings end.
في الأحوال التي يتقرر فيها إحالة الموظف إلى التحقيق، أو المحاكمة جنائيًّا، في مخالفة بوشرت فيها إجراءات إدارية أو في مخالفات مرتبطة بها؛ توقف الإجراءات الإدارية
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.