In force Last amended 8/2/1446 AH
Saudi Labor Law
نظام العمل
The Labor Law covers definitions and general provisions, recruitment, employment of non-Saudis, training, employment relations, working conditions, part-time work, occupational safety and health, work of women and juveniles, maritime work, mines and quarries, labor inspection, labor dispute settlement bodies, and penalties.
- Articles
- 247
- In force
- 211
- Amended
- 108
- Issued
- 23/8/1426 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم م/51 بتاريخ 23 / 8 / 1426 · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 219 بتاريخ 22 / 8 / 1426
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Labor Law by topic
Definitions and General Provisions of the Labor Law34 articlesThe Employment Contract27 articlesProbation Period3 articlesWages24 articlesWorking Hours and Overtime21 articlesLeave15 articlesTerminating the Employment Contract21 articlesEnd-of-Service Award10 articlesDisciplinary Penalties13 articlesSafety and Work Injuries46 articlesEmployment of Women11 articlesEmployment of Juveniles9 articlesRecruitment and Employing Non-Saudis25 articlesTraining and Qualification13 articlesPart-Time Work3 articlesMaritime Work and Mining27 articlesLabor Inspection13 articlesLabor Disputes3 articlesPenalties and Fines8 articles
Articles of the Saudi Labor Law
الباب الأول: التعريفات والأحكام العامةArticles 1–21
- Article 1Article 1 gives this law its official name, the "Labor Law", the name used in contracts, decisions and all other articles of the law.
- Article 2Article 2 defines the terms used in the Labor Law, such as worker, employer, basic and actual wage, continuous service, types of work, secondment and resignation.Amended M/44
- Article 3The article provides that work is a right of the citizen, that others may not practice it except on the law's conditions, and that citizens are equal in the right to work without discrimination based on sex, disability, age or otherwise.Amended
- Article 4Article 4 requires the employer and the worker alike to observe the provisions of Islamic Sharia in everything relating to the application of the Labor Law.
- Article 5Article 5 sets the scope of the Labor Law: every paid employment contract under an employer's management, government and public-body workers, charity workers, training contracts, and part-time workers within set limits.Amended
- Article 6Article 6 sets the provisions that apply to the casual, seasonal and temporary worker: duties, discipline, working hours, rest, overtime, official holidays, safety, work injuries and what the Minister decides.
- Article 7Article 7 excludes five categories from the application of the Labor Law, requiring the Minister to issue special regulations for four of them whose violation is punished under Article 229.Amended M/44
- Article 8Article 8 voids any term that contravenes the Labor Law, and any release or settlement of the worker's legal rights during the contract unless it is more beneficial to the worker.
- Article 9Article 9 requires Arabic in employment contracts, records, data and the employer's instructions, and makes the Arabic text alone the one relied on where a foreign translation exists.
- Article 10All periods and dates in the Labor Law are calculated by the Hijri calendar, unless the employment contract or work organization regulation provides otherwise.
- Article 11Article 11 requires anyone entrusted with the employer's original work, or part of it, to give his own workers all the rights and benefits that the original employer gives his workers.Amended
- Article 11 bisThe article gives the Minister the power to take measures that ensure better labor market performance and regulate the movement of labor, without prejudice to the provisions of the law and related laws.Amended
- Article 12Article 12 directs the Ministry to prepare one or more unified models of the work organization regulation covering benefits, violations and disciplinary penalties, and to set controls and mechanisms for approving these regulations.Amended
- Article 13Article 13 requires every employer to prepare a work organization regulation according to the Ministry's model, allows adding provisions that do not conflict with the law, and requires the regulation and its amendments to be announced to workers.Amended
- Article 14يصدر الوزير بقرار منه نموذجًا أو نماذج للوائح تنظيم العمل ليسترشد بها أصحاب العمل.Repealed
- Article 15Article 15 requires the employer, when starting work in any establishment, to notify the competent labor office in writing of the establishment's data, activity, number of workers and the name of its responsible manager.
- Article 16Article 16 requires an employer who does not run his establishment himself to appoint a resident responsible manager to represent him and to notify the labor office of his name and any change within 7 days, while his own responsibility remains.
- Article 17Article 17 requires the employer to keep at the workplace the records and files the Regulations specify, and to post a visible schedule of working hours, rest periods and shifts.
- Article 18Employment contracts stay in force and service continues when an establishment changes ownership or legal form, and the previous and new owners are jointly liable for workers' earlier rights.
- Article 19Article 19 makes sums due to the worker or his heirs first-degree privileged debts on all of the employer's property, with an advance of one month's wage paid on bankruptcy or liquidation.
- Article 20Article 20 bars both employer and worker from misusing the law and its regulations, and from pressuring the freedom of the other or of others in a way contrary to freedom of work or the competence of the body that settles disputes.
- Article 21Article 21 requires the Minister to coordinate with the relevant bodies whenever needed in order to implement the provisions of the Labor Law.
الباب الثاني: تنظيم عمليات التوظيفArticles 22–31
- Article 22Article 22 requires the Ministry to provide free employment channels that connect workers and employers, collect labor market data, register job seekers and guide them toward suitable training.Amended M/44
- Article 23Article 23 gives every citizen of working age who is able and willing to work the right to ask for their name to be registered with the employment channels, providing basic personal details.Amended M/44
- Article 24Article 24 refers to the Regulations the rules of operation, procedures, forms of records and notices, and occupational classification tables of the employment channels, as the basis for organizing hiring operations.Amended M/44
- Article 25Article 25 requires every employer to send periodic data to the Ministry on vacant and newly created jobs, nominated citizens, its workers, and an annual report on the state of work.Amended M/44
- Article 26Article 26 requires every establishment, whatever its size or activity, to attract, hire and train Saudis, with Saudis making up at least 75% of workers, which the Minister may temporarily reduce.
- Article 27Article 27 empowers the Minister to require employers in specified activities, occupations and regions to hire workers only after they are registered with the employment channels, on conditions set by ministerial decision.Amended M/44
- Article 28Article 28 requires every employer with 25 or more workers, where the nature of its work allows, to employ at least 4% of its workers from vocationally qualified persons with disabilities and report their details to the Ministry.Amended M/44
- Article 29Article 29 requires an employer to employ a worker injured at work in its establishment, whose abilities are reduced, in a suitable job at that job's wage, without affecting the worker's right to compensation for the injury.
- Article 30Article 30 requires a license from the Ministry to practice the activity of hiring Saudis, recruiting workers or outsourcing, refers the controls to the Regulations, and assigns the Ministry to propose the fees.Amended M/44
- Article 31Article 31 provides that a Saudi worker hired through an office or company, and a worker recruited on an employer's behalf, are workers of the employer with a direct contractual relationship.Amended M/44
الباب الثالث: توظيف غير السعوديينArticles 32–41
- Article 32Article 32 requires the Ministry's prior approval before anyone is recruited from outside the Kingdom for work.
- Article 33Article 33 requires a non-Saudi worker to obtain a work permit from the Ministry before doing any work, and sets 3 conditions for granting it.
- Article 34Article 34 provides that any permit or license required by another body to practice the work or profession does not replace the work permit issued by the Ministry to a non-Saudi.
- Article 35Article 35 allows the Ministry to refrain from renewing a non-Saudi worker's work permit if the employer violates localization standards or the Regulations, while protecting the worker by allowing transfer of service without the violating employer's consent.Amended M/44
- Article 36Article 36 requires the Minister to issue a decision specifying the professions and jobs that non-Saudis are prohibited from working in.
- Article 37Article 37 requires a non-Saudi's employment contract to be written and for a fixed term, treats its term as one year from actual commencement if not stated, and renews it for a similar term if work continues.Amended M/44
- Article 38Article 38 prohibits an employer from employing a worker in a profession other than the one recorded in their work permit, and prohibits the worker from working outside their profession before the statutory procedures for changing it are completed.
- Article 39Article 39 prevents a worker from working for anyone other than their employer or on their own account, and prevents an employer from employing another's worker, except by following the statutory rules and procedures, and regulates inspection and referral between the two ministries.Amended M/44
- Article 40Article 40 sets out the fees and costs the employer bears for a non-Saudi worker, and the exceptional cases in which the worker bears the cost of their return to their country.Amended M/44
- Article 41Article 41 refers to the Regulations the conditions for recruiting non-Saudi labor, transferring its services and changing its profession, and the related controls and procedures.
الباب الرابع: التدريب والتأهيلArticles 42–49
- Article 42Article 42 requires every employer to set a policy for training and qualifying its Saudi workers to raise their skills in technical, administrative and professional work, and leaves the detailed provisions to the Implementing Regulations.Amended M/44
- Article 43Article 43 requires an employer to qualify or train, for its work, the Saudi workers who complete their studies at its expense, subject to the terms of franchise agreements, and refers the details to the Regulations.Amended M/44
- Article 44Article 44 requires a training program to state the target skill, its rules, duration, hours, theoretical and practical programs, testing method and certificates, and refers the detailed standards to the Regulations.Amended M/44
- Article 45Article 45 defines the qualification and training contract as a contract under which an employer undertakes to qualify or train a person to prepare them for a particular profession.
- Article 46Article 46 requires a qualification or training contract to be in writing and to state the type of profession, the remuneration at each stage without linking it to piece-rate or output, the rights and duties of the parties, and the place of training.Amended M/44
- Article 47Article 47 empowers the Minister to require establishments to accept a number or percentage of university and institute students and graduates for training under a training contract governed by this chapter, with remuneration optional.Amended M/44
- Article 48Article 48 regulates termination of a training or qualification contract by either party on one week's notice, and allows the employer to require the trainee to work for it for a similar period or reimburse the costs.Amended M/44
- Article 49Article 49 applies the Labor Law provisions on leave, holidays, working hours, rest periods, occupational safety and work injuries to the trainee and the person undergoing qualification.
الباب الخامس: علاقات العملArticles 50–88
- Article 50Article 50 defines the employment contract as an agreement between an employer and a worker under which the worker undertakes to work under the employer's management or supervision for wages.
- Article 51Article 51 requires the employment contract to be written in two copies and authenticated, treats the contract as existing even if unwritten, and gives the worker alone the right to prove it by all means of proof.Amended M/44
- Article 52Article 52 requires the Ministry to prepare a uniform model for each type of employment contract with specified basic particulars, requires contracts to follow it, and allows added terms that do not conflict with the Law.Amended M/44
- Article 53Article 53 requires the probation period to be expressly stated in the employment contract with its duration clearly set, up to a maximum of 180 days, with each party free to end the contract during it.Amended M/44
- Article 54Article 54 prevents placing a worker on probation more than once with the same employer except on conditions, and provides that ending the contract during probation gives rise to no compensation or end-of-service award.Amended
- Article 55Article 55 provides that fixed-term contracts end on expiry, and become open-ended if the parties continue performing them, or if renewed 3 successive times or reaching 4 years, whichever is less, subject to the rule for non-Saudis.Amended
- Article 56Article 56 provides that the term to which a fixed-term contract is renewed is treated as an extension of the original term when calculating the worker's rights linked to length of service.
- Article 57Article 57 provides that an employment contract concluded to perform a specific job ends automatically once the agreed work is completed.
- Article 58Article 58 prevents transferring a worker to a place that changes their residence without their written consent, and permits temporary assignment out of occasional necessity for up to 30 days a year at the employer's expense.Amended
- Article 59Article 59 prevents moving a worker from monthly wages to daily, weekly, piece-rate or hourly pay except with their written consent, while preserving their acquired rights.
- Article 60Article 60 prevents assigning a worker to work that differs substantially from what was agreed except with their written consent, or out of occasional necessity for no more than 30 days a year.
- Article 61Article 61 imposes basic duties on the employer toward its workers: no forced labor or withholding of wages, respect, time to exercise rights, facilitating inspection, no discrimination, and housing and transport or a cash allowance.Amended M/44
- Article 62Article 62 requires the employer to pay a worker's wage for the period they did not work if they attended or showed readiness to work and were prevented by a reason attributable to the employer.
- Article 63Article 63 requires the employer and anyone with authority over workers to prevent any substance forbidden by Sharia from entering the workplace, and penalizes anyone found with it or using it.
- Article 64Article 64 requires the employer, on the end of the contract, to give the worker a free service certificate free of anything harmful to them, and to return all certificates and documents they deposited with it.Amended
- Article 65Article 65 sets six basic duties of the worker: performing the work skillfully per lawful instructions, caring for the employer's tools, good conduct, helping in emergencies, undergoing medical examination, and keeping the establishment's secrets.
- Article 66Article 66 sets out exhaustively the six disciplinary sanctions an employer may impose on a worker, from a warning to dismissal in the cases set in the Law.
- Article 67Article 67 prohibits an employer from imposing any disciplinary sanction on a worker unless it is stated in the Labor Law or in the establishment's work organization regulations.
- Article 68Article 68 prevents an employer from making a sanction more severe because of a repeated violation if 180 days have passed since the worker was notified of the sanction imposed for the previous violation.
- Article 69Article 69 gives the employer two deadlines: to accuse a worker of a violation within 30 days of discovering it, and to impose the disciplinary sanction within 30 days of the investigation ending and the violation being established.
- Article 70Article 70 limits the employer's disciplinary power: no punishing conduct outside work unless connected with it, one sanction per violation, and a ceiling of five days for fines, deductions and suspension without pay.
- Article 71Article 71 requires, before any disciplinary sanction, notifying the worker in writing of the violation, questioning them, hearing their defense and recording this in a record, with oral questioning permitted for minor violations.
- Article 72Article 72 requires notifying the worker in writing of a sanction decision, gives them 30 days to submit a grievance to the employer, then 30 days to object before the labor courts if the grievance is rejected or not decided within 15 days.Amended M/44
- Article 73Article 73 requires the employer to enter fines imposed on workers in a special register, and bars disposing of them except for the benefit of the establishment's workers, through the workers' committee or with the Ministry's approval.Amended
- Article 74Article 74 lists the cases in which an employment contract ends, including written agreement of the parties, expiry of the term, resignation, reaching retirement age, force majeure, permanent closure of the establishment, and bankruptcy.Amended M/44
- Article 75Article 75 sets the written notice period for ending an open-ended contract for a legitimate reason: 60 days from the employer and 30 days from the worker if wages are monthly, and 30 days for both otherwise.Amended M/44
- Article 76Whoever ends an open-ended contract without observing the notice period in Article 75 must pay the other party a sum equal to the worker's wage for that period, unless they agree on more.Amended
- Article 77Article 77 sets the compensation due to the party harmed by termination of an employment contract for an illegitimate reason, where the parties have not agreed a specific compensation in the contract.Amended
- Article 78Article 78 gives a worker whose employer has given notice of termination the right to be absent with pay for a day or 8 hours a week to look for work, and allows the employer to excuse them from work while their pay continues.Amended
- Article 79An employment contract does not end with the employer's death unless the employer's person was taken into account in contracting, but it does end with the worker's death or incapacity established by an approved medical certificate.
- Article 79 bisArticle 79 bis regulates resignation: it is deemed accepted after 30 days without a reply, acceptance may be deferred up to 60 days by written explanation, and the worker may withdraw it within 7 days.Amended M/44
- Article 80Article 80 sets out nine exhaustive cases in which an employer may terminate a contract without an award, notice or compensation, provided the worker is allowed to state the reasons for objecting.Amended
- Article 81Article 81 gives a worker the right to leave work immediately without notice, keeping all legal rights, in 7 situations where the employer is the one breaching the contract or its duties.
- Article 82Article 82 bars an employer from ending a worker's service because of illness before the statutory sick leave periods are used up, and lets the worker ask to add annual leave to sick leave.
- Article 83Article 83 lets an employer require in writing that a worker not compete or disclose secrets after the contract ends, with a two-year maximum for non-competition and a one-year window to sue.Amended
- Article 84Article 84 requires the employer to pay the worker an end-of-service award when employment ends, based on the last wage: half a month per year for the first five years and a month per year after.
- Article 85Article 85 sets a resigning worker's share of the end-of-service award: one third after two to five years, two thirds after five up to ten years, and the full award at ten years.
- Article 86Article 86 allows an agreement to exclude commissions, sales percentages and other naturally variable pay from the wage on which the end-of-service award is calculated, as an exception to Article 8.
- Article 87Article 87 grants the full end-of-service award to a worker who leaves because of force majeure, and to a female worker who ends her contract within 6 months of marriage or 3 months of childbirth.
- Article 88Article 88 requires the employer to pay the worker's wages and settle all rights within a week of the end of service, or two weeks if the worker ended the contract, with the right to deduct work-related debts.
الباب السادس: شروط العمل وظروفهArticles 89–118
- Article 89Article 89 gives the Council of Ministers the power to set a minimum wage when needed, on the Minister's proposal, without itself stating any amount.
- Article 90Article 90 requires the employer to pay wages in the official currency on dates that depend on the type of wage, and by transfer to the worker's account through approved banks.Amended
- Article 91Article 91 lets an employer deduct from a worker's wage compensation for machines or products the worker damaged through fault, up to 5 days' wage per month, with both parties able to file a grievance within 15 working days.
- Article 92Article 92 bars deducting any amount from a worker's wage for private claims without the worker's written consent, with 6 specific exceptions, limits and an order of priority for debts.
- Article 93Article 93 caps total deductions from a worker's wage at half of the wage due, with limited exceptions decided by the Labor Disputes Settlement Authority.
- Article 94Article 94 gives a worker the right to turn to the Labor Disputes Settlement Authority to recover wages deducted without right or to collect late wages, with the employer liable to a fine of up to twice the amount.
- Article 95Article 95 sets how to determine a worker's wage and the type and scope of work when the contract or work organization regulations do not state them, through a stepped order ending with the Labor Disputes Settlement Authority.
- Article 96Article 96 sets how to calculate the wage of a worker paid by the piece, by output or by commission, using the average actually received over the days actually worked.
- Article 97Article 97 requires the employer to pay 50% of the wage of a worker detained in a case connected with the work, for up to 180 days, and to refund the deducted half if the worker is acquitted or the investigation is closed.
- Article 98Article 98 sets the maximum actual working hours at 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, reduced for Muslims during Ramadan to 6 hours a day or 36 a week.
- Article 99Article 99 allows the Minister to raise daily working hours to 9 for certain categories or non-continuous work, or lower them to 7 in dangerous or harmful work.
- Article 100Article 100 allows an employer, with the Ministry's approval, to exceed 8 hours a day or 48 a week in establishments that work in rotation, provided the average over 3 weeks or less stays within these limits.
- Article 101Article 101 requires working days to be organized so that a worker does not work more than 5 consecutive hours without a rest of at least half an hour, or stay at the workplace more than 12 hours a day.Amended
- Article 102Article 102 provides that rest, prayer and meal periods are not counted as actual working hours, the worker is not under the employer's authority during them, and cannot be required to stay at the workplace.
- Article 103Article 103 allows the Minister to specify work that must continue without a rest period, while requiring the employer to give a period for prayer, food and rest organized by the establishment's management during work.
- Article 104Article 104 makes Friday the weekly rest day with full pay of at least 24 consecutive hours, allows it to be replaced by another day under conditions, and bars compensating it with cash.
- Article 105Article 105 permits, as an exception, accumulating weekly rest days for workers in remote places and continuous operations for up to 8 weeks, provided the parties agree and the Ministry approves.
- Article 106Article 106 allows an employer to exceed the legal limits on working hours, rest breaks and the Friday rest day in 4 specific cases, up to a maximum of 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week.
- Article 107Article 107 requires the employer to pay for each overtime hour the regular hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage, or give compensatory leave with the worker's consent, and counts hours on holidays and feast days as overtime.Amended M/44
- Article 108Article 108 exempts four categories from the daily and weekly working-hour limits in Article 98 and the rest-period rules in Article 101, leaving the Implementing Regulations to specify the work and its maximum hours.
- Article 109Article 109 gives a worker paid annual leave, paid in advance, of at least 21 days, rising to 30 days after 5 continuous years, and bars waiving it or replacing it with money during service.
- Article 110Article 110 allows annual leave, or part of it, to be postponed to the next year with the employer's consent, lets the employer postpone it for 90 days for work reasons, then longer only with the worker's written consent, up to the end of the next year.
- Article 111Article 111 gives a worker who leaves work the right to pay for the days of earned annual leave not used, with parts of a year counted in proportion to the time actually worked.
- Article 112Article 112 gives every worker the right to leave with full pay on the holidays and occasions set by the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law.
- Article 113Article 113 gives a worker paid leave: 5 days for marriage or the death of a spouse, ascendant or descendant, 3 days for the death of a brother or sister, and 3 days on the birth of a child.Amended M/44
- Article 114Article 114 gives a worker Hajj leave with pay of 10 to 15 days, once during their service, provided they have completed two continuous years with the employer.
- Article 115Article 115 gives a worker enrolled in an educational institution leave to take examinations, with or without pay depending on the employer's approval, under set conditions and procedures.Amended
- Article 116Article 116 allows a worker to take unpaid leave with the employer's consent, for a period they agree on, with the contract considered suspended for any period beyond 20 days unless they agree otherwise.
- Article 117Article 117 gives a worker whose illness is proven sick leave of up to 120 days a year: 30 days at full pay, then 60 at three quarters of pay, then 30 without pay.
- Article 118Article 118 bars a worker from working for another employer during their leaves, and allows the employer, once the violation is proven, to deprive the worker of leave pay or recover it.
الباب السابع: العمل لبعض الوقتArticles 119–120
- Article 119A full-time worker does not become a part-time worker if their ordinary hours are reduced collectively and temporarily for economic, technical or structural reasons.
- Article 120Article 120 authorizes the Minister to set the rules for part-time work and each party's obligations; the law applies to these workers only within the limits he sets, with safety, occupational health and work injury protection fully ensured.
الباب الثامن: الوقاية من مخاطر العمل والوقاية من الحوادث الصناعية الكبرى وإصابات العمل والخدمات الصحية والاجتماعيةArticles 121–148
- Article 121Article 121 requires the employer to keep the establishment clean and healthy, lit, and supplied with drinking and washing water, and to follow the occupational safety and health rules the Minister sets by decision.
- Article 122Article 122 requires the employer to take precautions protecting workers from work hazards and machinery, and to post safety instructions in Arabic and a language the workers understand, without charging them anything.
- Article 123Article 123 requires the employer to inform the worker of their occupation's hazards before work begins, require use of the prescribed protective means, provide suitable personal protective equipment, and train workers in using it.
- Article 124Article 124 requires the worker to use the protective means designated for their work, look after them and follow safety instructions, and bars any act or omission that disables or misuses these means.
- Article 125Article 125 requires the employer to take fire-prevention precautions, provide firefighting means, keep escape exits usable at all times, and post detailed fire-prevention instructions in a visible place.
- Article 126Article 126 requires an employer to compensate persons other than its workers who enter the workplace by virtue of their jobs or with its consent if injured because it neglected the technical precautions its type of work requires.
- Article 127Article 127 defines the scope of the chapter on major industrial accidents, limiting its provisions to establishments with major hazards and no others.
- Article 128Article 128 defines three key terms: an establishment with major hazards, a hazardous substance and a major accident, to set the scope of the provisions on preventing major industrial accidents.
- Article 129Article 129 tasks the Ministry with setting the controls by which establishments with major hazards are identified, based on a list of hazardous substances, their categories, or both.
- Article 130Article 130 requires employers to determine, in coordination with the Ministry, the status of their establishments under the controls for establishments with major hazards referred to in Article 129.
- Article 131Article 131 authorizes the Minister to issue regulations and decisions on preventing major accidents in establishments with major hazards, employers' duties, protection of the public and the environment, and workers' rights and duties.Amended
- Article 131 bisArticle 131 bis authorizes the Minister to specify by decision the dangerous or harmful occupations and work, and the categories barred from them or employed only on special conditions, consistent with international conventions.Amended
- Article 132Article 132 exempts establishments subject to the occupational hazards branch of the Social Insurance Law from the work injuries chapter of the Labor Law.
- Article 133Article 133 requires the employer to treat a worker with a work injury or occupational disease and bear all treatment costs, including hospital stay, tests, X-rays, prosthetic devices and travel.
- Article 134Article 134 refers the definition of a work injury to the Social Insurance Law, treats occupational diseases as work injuries, and takes the date of the first medical observation of the disease as the date of injury.
- Article 135A relapse or any complication arising from a work injury is treated as the injury itself, and the same assistance and treatment rules set for the original injury apply to it.
- Article 136Article 136 refers the determination of occupational diseases and degrees of total or partial permanent disability to the occupational diseases table and the disability percentage guide table in the Social Insurance Law.
- Article 137Article 137 gives an injured worker with temporary disability full pay for 60 days, then 75% throughout treatment, and treats the injury as total disability if treatment reaches a year or recovery is ruled out.Amended
- Article 138Article 138 sets work injury compensation: 3 years' wage with a minimum of SAR 54,000 for total permanent disability or death, and a percentage of that amount for partial permanent disability.
- Article 139Article 139 relieves the employer of its obligations to treat, support and compensate an injured worker if it is proven the worker deliberately injured themselves, engaged in intentional misconduct, or refused treatment without legitimate reason.
- Article 140Article 140 spreads responsibility for compensating a worker with an occupational disease among former employers, each in proportion to the worker's time with them, provided their trade caused the disease.
- Article 141The article provides that the procedures for reporting work injuries are not set by the Law itself but issued by decision of the Minister responsible for labor affairs.
- Article 142The article requires every employer to provide one or more first aid cabinets stocked with medicines and supplies, and refers to the Implementing Regulations the contents, storage and conditions for the person providing first aid.
- Article 143The article requires the employer to have workers exposed to occupational diseases examined comprehensively at least once a year and to record the results in its records and the workers' files.
- Article 144Article 144 requires the employer to provide its workers with preventive and curative health care at the levels set by the Minister, with regard to what the Cooperative Health Insurance Law provides.
- Article 145The article allows an employer, with the Minister's approval, to establish a savings fund, provided workers' contribution is voluntary and the rules governing its operation are announced.
- Article 146The article requires the employer, at its own expense, to provide living, health, education and religious services for workers in places far from populated areas, all or some of them as the Minister determines.
- Article 147The article requires employers in remote places, mines, quarries and oil exploration centers to provide workers with housing, camps and meals, on conditions set by the Minister.
- Article 148Article 148 requires the employer to provide daily transportation for workers between their housing or a gathering point and the workplace, if regular transport does not serve the site at times suiting working hours.
الباب التاسع: تشغيل النساءArticles 149–160
- Article 149مع مراعاة ما ورد في المادة الرابعة من هذا النظام، تعمل المرأة في كل المجالات التي تتفق مع طبيعتها، ويحظر تشغيلها في الأعمال الخطرة أو…Repealed
- Article 150لا يجوز تشغيل النساء أثناء فترة من الليل لا تقل عن إحدى عشرة ساعة متتالية إلا في الحالات التي يصدر بها قرار من الوزير.Repealed
- Article 151The article gives a working woman 12 weeks of maternity leave on full pay, with the right to extend it by one month unpaid, and an extra month on full pay to care for a sick or disabled child.Amended M/44
- Article 152على صاحب العمل أن يدفع إلى المرأة العاملة أثناء انقطاعها عن عملها في إجازة الوضع ما يعادل نصف أجرها، إذا كان لها خدمة سنة فأكثر لدى صاحب…Repealed
- Article 153Article 153 requires the employer to provide medical care for its woman worker during pregnancy and childbirth.
- Article 154Article 154 gives a working woman, after she returns from maternity leave, a nursing break or breaks of no more than one hour a day, counted as actual working hours and without reduction in pay.
- Article 155The article prohibits the employer from dismissing a woman worker or giving her notice of dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave or illness arising from them, provided the illness is medically proven and absence does not exceed 180 days a year.Amended
- Article 156لا يجوز لصاحب العمل فصل العاملة أثناء فترة مرضها الناتج عن الحمل أو الوضع، ويثبت المرض بشهادة طبية معتمدة، على ألا تتجاوز مدة غيابها مائة…Repealed
- Article 157A woman worker's rights under the part on women's employment lapse if she works for another employer during her authorized leave, and the employer may deny her leave pay or recover it.
- Article 158Article 158 requires every employer with women workers, in all places and occupations, to provide seats for them to rest during work.
- Article 159The article requires an employer with 50 or more women workers to provide a place to care for their children under 6, and lets the Minister require an employer with 100 women workers to set up a nursery.
- Article 160Article 160 gives a woman worker whose husband has died paid waiting-period (iddah) leave: at least 4 months and 10 days for a Muslim woman, and 15 days for a non-Muslim woman.Amended
الباب العاشر: تشغيل الأحداثArticles 161–167
- Article 161Article 161 prohibits employing juveniles in hazardous work, harmful industries and any occupation that may threaten their health, safety or morals, with the Minister specifying such work by decision.
- Article 162Article 162 prohibits employing anyone under 15 or letting them enter workplaces, while allowing the Minister to permit light work for those aged 13 to 15 under set conditions.
- Article 163Article 163 prohibits employing juveniles during a night period of at least 12 consecutive hours, except in cases the Minister specifies by decision.
- Article 164Article 164 sets juveniles' working hours at six a day and four in Ramadan, regulates their rest breaks, and prohibits employing them on leave days and for overtime.
- Article 165Before employing any juvenile, the employer must obtain proof of his identity or birth, a certified medical fitness certificate and his guardian's consent, and keep them in his file.
- Article 166The article requires the employer to notify the competent labor office of each juvenile it employs within the first week of employing him, and to keep a special register of juvenile workers at the workplace.
- Article 167Article 167 excepts educational and training work by children and juveniles in schools and training institutions, and training work by those aged 14 or over in establishments on the Minister's conditions, from the rules on employing juveniles.
الباب الحادي عشر: عقد العمل البحريArticles 168–184
- Article 168Article 168 provides that the terms ship, shipowner, master, seaman and maritime work contract in this Part have the meanings given in the Commercial Maritime Law.Amended M/44
- Article 169Article 169 provides that everyone who works on board a ship, whatever his capacity, is subject to the master's authority and must carry out his orders.
- Article 170Article 170 requires seamen's work contracts to be recorded in the ship's registers or attached to them, written clearly, and to state whether they are for a fixed term or a voyage, with its end specified.
- Article 171Article 171 sets the mandatory particulars a maritime work contract must contain and requires it to be drawn up in three copies: for the shipowner, for the master on board the ship, and for the seaman.
- Article 172Article 172 requires work rules and conditions to be posted on board the ship and in the crew's section, and sets 9 mandatory elements they must contain, from wages to the end-of-service award.
- Article 173Article 173 sets three conditions for working as a seaman: completing 18 years of age, holding a certificate that allows work in maritime service, and medical fitness.
- Article 174All of a seaman's entitlements are paid in the official currency, and may be paid in foreign currency if they fall due while the ship is outside territorial waters and he agrees; he may ask for his cash wages to be paid to someone he names.
- Article 175If a sea voyage is shortened for any reason, voluntary or compulsory, the pay of a seaman contracted for a single voyage may not be reduced.
- Article 176If a seaman's pay is a share of profits or of the ship's freight, he gets no compensation if the voyage is canceled and no increase if it is delayed, unless the shippers caused the delay, in which case the shipowner compensates him.
- Article 177The article provides that a seaman is entitled to his pay up to the day of the incident if the ship is captured, sinks or becomes unfit for navigation.
- Article 178The article requires the Minister to issue a regulation organizing the maritime work contract, in coordination with the Transport General Authority, and lists the subjects the regulation must cover.Amended M/44
- Article 179Article 179 caps a seaman's working hours on board a ship on the high seas at 14 hours in any 24 hours and 72 hours in any 7 days.
- Article 180Every seaman who contributed to assisting or salvaging another ship has a share in the reward his ship earns, however his pay is calculated.
- Article 181Article 181 sets what the heirs of a seaman who dies during the voyage are owed of his pay according to how it is calculated, and requires dues of a dead or missing seaman to be deposited with the labor office at the port of arrival.
- Article 182The article lets the shipowner end a seaman's contract without notice or compensation if the voyage is canceled before it begins for a reason beyond his control and pay was by the single voyage, unless agreed otherwise.Amended M/44
- Article 183On expiry or termination of a seaman's contract, the article requires the employer to return him to the port from which he traveled and provide his food and lodging until he reaches it.
- Article 184Article 184 requires the shipowner to repatriate a seaman to his country in 6 specific cases, including canceling the voyage, removal for illness or injury, sale of the ship abroad, or dismissal without legal justification.
الباب الثاني عشر: العمل في المناجم والمحاجرArticles 185–193
- Article 185Article 185 defines work in mines and quarries as covering prospecting, exploration, extraction, processing and concentration in the licensed area, with the construction and installations attached to them.
- Article 186Article 186 prohibits employing anyone who has not completed eighteen years of age in a mine or quarry, with no exception or condition.Amended
- Article 187Article 187 requires a full medical examination proving fitness before work in mines and quarries, repeated periodically without charging the worker any cost, as the Minister specifies.
- Article 188Article 188 sets actual working hours below ground at a maximum of 7 hours a day, and bars keeping a worker at the workplace more than 10 hours including the time of descent and ascent.
- Article 189Article 189 prohibits anyone other than those working there, those assigned to inspection, or holders of special permission from the competent authority from entering workplaces in mines and quarries and their annexes.
- Article 190The article requires the employer in mines and quarries to prepare a special register to record and account for workers before they enter the workplaces and when they leave them.
- Article 191Article 191 requires the employer or responsible manager in mines and quarries to draw up a written regulation containing the orders and instructions on general safety at the work site.
- Article 192Article 192 requires the employer in mines and quarries to set up a rescue point near the workplace equipped with rescue and first aid tools and an immediate means of communication, and to appoint a trained technical worker to supervise it.
- Article 193Article 193 requires the employer in every mine or quarry with 50 or more workers to prepare rooms for rescue and first aid, nursing and changing clothes, with special arrangements for smaller sites.
الباب الثالث عشر: تفتيش العملArticles 194–209
- Article 194Article 194 assigns labor inspection to inspectors from the Ministry's employees or other Saudis specified by the Minister or his delegate, who hold the powers provided in the Law.Amended
- Article 195يشترط في مفتش العمل عند ممارسته لعمله- بالإضافة إلى الشروط العامة في تعيين الموظفين- ما يأتي: 1 - أن يكون متصفًا بالحياد التام. 2 - ألا…Repealed
- Article 196Article 196 sets the six competences of labor inspectors: monitoring implementation of the Law, guiding employers and workers, reporting deficiencies, recording violations, verifying referred violations, and proposing fines.Amended M/44
- Article 197يُقسم مفتشو العمل- قبل مباشرة أعمال وظائفهم- أمام الوزير بأن يؤدوا أعمالهم بأمانة وإخلاص، وألّا يفشوا سر أي اختراع صناعي، أو غير ذلك من…Repealed
- Article 198Article 198 gives labor inspectors the right to enter any establishment covered by the Law during its working hours without notice, carry out examinations and investigations, question the employer and workers, inspect records, and take samples of harmful materials.Amended M/44
- Article 199Article 199 requires employers and their agents and officials to facilitate labor inspectors' work, provide the data requested, appear before them, and send a representative on request.Amended M/44
- Article 200Article 200 requires the labor inspector to notify the employer or his representative of his presence during inspection, unless he considers that the nature of the task requires not notifying.
- Article 201Article 201 gives the labor inspector power to require an employer to amend work rules for devices and equipment within a period he sets, and to request immediate procedures when there is a danger to workers' health and safety.
- Article 202Article 202 binds the labor inspector to absolute confidentiality regarding complaints that reach him about a deficiency in devices or a violation of the Law, and bars him from telling the employer or his stand-in that they exist.
- Article 203إذا تحقق للمفتش أثناء التفتيش وجود مخالفة لأحكام هذا النظام، أو القرارات الصادرة بمقتضاه، فله إسداء النصح والإرشاد لصاحب العمل بشأن كيفية…Repealed
- Article 204Article 204 allows doctors, engineers, chemists and occupational safety and health specialists to take part in labor inspection when needed, and authorizes the labor office director and inspectors to request help from executive authorities when necessary.
- Article 205يعد رئيس تفتيش العمل في مكتب العمل تقريرًا شهريًّا عن نشاط تفتيش العمل، ونواحي التفتيش، والمنشآت التي تم التفتيش عليها، وعدد المخالفات…Repealed
- Article 206يقدم وكيل الوزارة للشؤون العمالية تقريرًا سنويًّا شاملًا عن تفتيش العمل في المملكة، وذلك خلال مدة لا تتجاوز مائة وثمانين يومًا من نهاية…Repealed
- Article 207تضع الوزارة نماذج محاضر ضبط المخالفات، وسجلات التفتيش والتنبيهات والإنذارات، كما تضع الأحكام اللازمة لكيفية حفظها واستعمالها، وتعميمها على…Repealed
- Article 208ينظم تدريب مفتشي العمل في دورات تدريبية تشتمل بصورة خاصة على الأمور الآتية: 1 - أصول تنظيم الزيارات التفتيشية والاتصال بأصحاب العمل…Repealed
- Article 209Article 209 authorizes the Minister to issue the Implementing Regulations that govern the conduct of labor inspection and organize how it is carried out.Amended M/44
الباب الرابع عشر: هيئات تسوية الخلافات العمالية (repealed)Articles 210–228
- Article 210هيئات تسوية الخلافات العمالية هي: 1 - الهيئات الابتدائية لتسوية الخلافات. 2 - الهيئة العليا لتسوية الخلافات.Repealed
- Article 211يسمى بقرار من الوزير بعد موافقة رئيس مجلس الوزراء أعضاء الهيئات الابتدائية من حملة الإجازة في الشريعة أو الحقوق.Repealed
- Article 212تؤلف بقرار من الوزير في كل مكتب عمل يحدده الوزير هيئة ابتدائية تشتمل على دائرة أو أكثر من عضو واحد وتفصل كل دائرة من هذه الدوائر فيما يطرح…Repealed
- Article 213إذا لم تؤلف هيئة ابتدائية في أحد مكاتب العمل، يكلف الوزير- عند الاقتضاء- الهيئة المؤلفة في أقرب مكتب عمل بمهمات الهيئة التي لم تؤلف…Repealed
- Article 214تختص الهيئة الابتدائية بما يأتي: 1 - بالفصل نهائيًّا في الآتي: 1 /1 - الخلافات العمالية، أيًّا كان نوعها التي لا تتجاوز قيمتها عشرة آلاف…Repealed
- Article 215تكون الهيئة العليا لتسوية الخلافات من عدة دوائر لا تقل الدائرة الواحدة عن ثلاثة أعضاء، ويصدر قرار من مجلس الوزراء- بناءً على ترشيح الوزير-…Repealed
- Article 216تختص كل دائرة من دوائر الهيئة العليا بالفصل نهائيًّا، وبالدرجة القطعية في جميع قرارات دوائر الهيئات الابتدائية التي ترفع للاستئناف أمامها.Repealed
- Article 217مدة الاستئناف ثلاثون يومًا من تاريخ النطق بقرار الدائرة الابتدائية في القرارات الحضورية، ومن تاريخ التبليغ بالقرار في غيرها.Repealed
- Article 218إذا لم يستأنف قرار الدائرة الابتدائية خلال المدة المحددة في المادة السابقة يعد القرار نهائيًّا واجب التنفيذ، وتعد قرارات دوائر الهيئة…Repealed
- Article 219كل هيئة من هذه الهيئات لها وحدها- دون غيرها- حق النظر في جميع الخلافات المتعلقة بهذا النظام، وبالخلافات الناشئة عن عقود العمل، ولها إحضار…Repealed
- Article 220ترفع الدعاوى عن طريق مكتب العمل المختص أمام الهيئات الابتدائية، التي يقع مكان العمل في مقرها أو في دائرة اختصاصاها، وعلى مكتب العمل- قبل…Repealed
- Article 221تنظر الدعاوى المترتبة على أحكام هذا النظام على وجه الاستعجال.Repealed
- Article 2221- لا تقبل أمام الهيئات المنصوص عليها في هذا النظام أي دعوى تتعلق بالمطالبة بحق من الحقوق المنصوص عليها في هذا النظام أو الناشئة عن عقد…Repealed
- Article 223لا يجوز لأي هيئة من الهيئات المنصوص عليها في هذا الباب أن تمتنع عن إصدار قرارها بحجة عدم وجود نص في هذا النظام يمكن تطبيقه، وعليها في هذه…Repealed
- Article 224يجوز لطرفي عقد العمل تضمينه نصًّا يقضي بتسوية الخلافات بطريقة التحكيم. كما يمكن لهما الاتفاق على ذلك بعد نشوء النزاع، وفي جميع الأحوال…Repealed
- Article 225لا يجوز لأي من الطرفين المتنازعين إثارة النزاع الذي صدر قرار نهائي بشأنه من إحدى الهيئات المنصوص عليها في هذا الباب أمام هذه الهيئة أو…Repealed
- Article 226لا يجوز لصاحب العمل أثناء السير في إجراءات المصالحة أو التحكيم أو أثناء نظر الدعوى أمام إحدى الهيئات المنصوص عليها في هذا الباب أن يغير من…Repealed
- Article 227يجوز للهيئة أن تحكم على من خسر الدعوى بأن يدفع إلى الطرف الآخر كل ما تكبده من نفقات أو بعضه.Repealed
- Article 228يصدر مجلس الوزراء لائحة المرافعات أمام هيئات تسوية الخلافات العمالية.Repealed
الباب الخامس عشر: العقوباتArticles 229–241
- Article 229Article 229 sets the general penalties for violating the Labor Law, its Regulations and decisions: a fine up to SAR 100,000 or temporary or permanent closure of the establishment, with doubling for repeat offenses and fines multiplied by the number of workers.Amended
- Article 229 bisThe article imposes a fine of SAR 200,000 to SAR 500,000 on anyone who engages in recruiting Saudis, recruiting foreign workers, or outsourcing without a license from the Ministry.Amended M/44
- Article 230Article 230 sets the Ministry's power to impose a fine or temporary closure up to half the maximum, refers the more serious violations to the court, and allows grievance and settlement.Amended M/44
- Article 231The article requires the violator to remove the violation within a period set by the Implementing Regulations, and failure to remove it within that period counts as a new violation.Amended
- Article 232Fines under the Labor Law are collected under the procedures for collecting public funds, and the amounts go to the Human Resources Development Fund.Amended
- Article 233The article allows the Minister to grant a financial reward of up to 25% of the fine collected to anyone who helps uncover violations of the Labor Law.Amended
- Article 234Labor courts do not accept a claim for labor rights filed more than 12 months after the employment relationship ends, unless the court accepts an excuse or the defendant admits the right; labor cases are heard urgently.Amended
- Article 235While a case is pending before the labor courts, the article bars the employer from changing the terms of employment in force before the proceedings began, in a way that harms the worker's position in the case.Amended
- Article 236يعاقب كل من يخالف أحكام الفصل الأول والثاني من الباب الثامن من هذا النظام والقواعد الصادرة وفقًا لحكم المادة الحادية والعشرين بعد المائة…Repealed
- Article 237مع عدم الإخلال بما تقرره الأنظمة الأخرى من عقوبة خاصة بحق من يحول دون قيام موظف بأعمال وظيفته، يعاقب كل من يخالف حكم المادة التاسعة…Repealed
- Article 238يعاقب بغرامة لا تقل عن عشرة آلاف ريال ولا تزيد على ثلاثين ألف ريال كل صاحب عمل أو رئيس مشروع وكل عامل رفض أو أرجأ تنفيذ قرار تحكيم أو أي…Repealed
- Article 239يعاقب كل من يخالف أي حكم من أحكام هذا النظام واللوائح والقرارات الصادرة بمقتضاه- فيما لم يرد بشأنه نص خاص بالعقوبة- بغرامة لا تقل عن ألفي…Repealed
- Article 241يجوز للمخالف في كل الأحوال دفع الغرامة المقررة في هذا الباب بحدها الأعلى دون اللجوء إلى هيئة تسوية الخلافات العمالية.Repealed
الباب السادس عشر: أحكام ختاميةArticles 243–245
- Article 243The article requires the Minister to issue the decisions and regulations needed to implement the Labor Law within 180 days of its entry into force, with the Implementing Regulations published in the Official Gazette.
- Article 244Article 244 provides that the Labor Law replaces the 1389 AH Labor and Workmen Law and repeals what conflicts with it, while earlier regulations and decisions continue until amended.
- Article 245The article provides that the Labor Law is published in the Official Gazette and takes effect 180 days after the date of its publication.
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