Article 5 of the Saudi Employee Discipline Law
المادة 5 من نظام الانضباط الوظيفي
The article provides that an employee proved to have committed a financial, administrative or conduct violation that breaches his duties is subject to the legal penalty, without prejudice to public-right or private-right claims.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
كل موظف ثبت ارتكابه مخالفة مالية أو إدارية أو مسلكية مما يعد إخلالًا بواجب من واجباته الوظيفية، يطبق عليه الجزاء المنصوص عليه في النظام، وذلك دون إخلال بالحق في رفع دعوى الحق العام، أو دعوى الحق الخاص.
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 5 explained in plain English
This article sets the rule of disciplinary accountability: every employee who is proved to have committed a violation that amounts to a breach of one of his job duties is subject to the penalty provided for in the Law.
The article mentions three types of violation:
- A financial violation.
- An administrative violation.
- A conduct violation, that is, one relating to the employee's behavior.
The condition is that the violation be established and amount to a breach of a job duty. This is consistent with Article 4, which allows no penalty to be imposed except after investigating the employee, confronting him with the violation, hearing his statements and examining his defense in a written record. It is also consistent with the definition of a disciplinary violation in Article 1.
No conflict with other claims: Applying a disciplinary penalty does not prevent bringing a public-right claim or a private-right claim. Disciplinary accountability is a track independent of those claims, and the article does not set out the procedures for those claims or the bodies that hear them.
The penalties that may be imposed are set out in Article 6. Anyone facing disciplinary accountability with the possibility of another claim over the same act is advised to consult a lawyer specializing in administrative cases.
Practical example
It was established after investigation that an employee of a government body in Dammam spent funds without legal basis. The penalty provided for in the Law is applied to him because it is a financial violation that breaches his duties, and this does not prevent a public-right claim being brought against him or a private-right claim by whoever was harmed.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
How we write and review contentCriminal Law lawyers: ask a specialist about your case
Describe your situation briefly and we'll suggest a lawyer who specialises in this law
Criminal Law lawyers
Lawyers who handle this kind of case
Ibrahim Al Salem Law Firm
Active contributor
Dr. Ali Al-Rubaie Law Office and Ittihad Al-Asr Legal Company
Frequently asked questions about Article 5 of the Saudi Employee Discipline Law
What types of violations is an employee punished for?
The article mentions financial, administrative and conduct violations that amount to a breach of one of the employee's job duties.
Does a disciplinary penalty prevent the employee being prosecuted?
No. The penalty is applied without prejudice to the right to bring a public-right claim or a private-right claim.
Is an accusation enough to punish an employee?
No. The article requires that commission of the violation be established, and Article 4 requires investigating him and hearing his defense before any penalty.
More articles on Employee Disciplinary Violations
- Article 1
The article defines the key terms of the Employee Discipline Law, such as public employee, disciplinary violation, penalty, suspension from duty and closing an investigation.
يقصد بالألفاظ والعبارات الآتية -أينما وردت في هذا النظام- المعاني الموضحة أمام كل منها: النظام: نظام الانضباط الوظيفي. اللائحة: اللائحة التنفيذية للنظام. الوزير
- Article 7
The article relieves the employee of the penalty if it is proved that he committed the violation in executing his superior's order despite alerting his superior to it in writing or by any means recognized by law.
يعفى الموظف من الجزاء إذا ثبت أن ارتكابه المخالفة كان تنفيذًا لأمر صدر من رئيسه، بالرغم من تنبيه الموظف لرئيسه بالمخالفة كتابة أو بأي من الطرق المعتبرة نظامًا.
- 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
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.