Article 112 of the Saudi Labor Law
المادة 112 من نظام العمل · الباب السادس: شروط العمل وظروفه
Article 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.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
لكل عامل الحق في إجازة بأجر كامل في الأعياد والمناسبات التي تحددها اللائحة.
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 112 explained in plain English
Article 112 of the Labor Law provides an independent right for every worker: to stop working on official holidays and occasions, and for their wage to continue to be paid in full during these days, without any deduction or reduction.
What the article means in practice:
- Who benefits: the text is worded "for every worker," and does not tie this right to a particular length of service or type of contract, so it is a general right for everyone covered by the Labor Law.
- The nature of the leave: leave with full pay; that is, the worker receives their wage for the day of the holiday as if they were at work.
- Specifying the holidays and their number: the article itself does not name the holidays or set the number of days of each occasion, but refers that to the Implementing Regulations. So the reference for knowing which occasions are covered and their duration is the Regulations, not the text of the article.
This article comes within a group of leaves to which the law devotes separate provisions; Article 111 deals with the worker's entitlement to pay for annual leave they did not use when leaving work, and Article 113 grants leave with full pay for specific personal occasions such as marriage, the death of a spouse, ascendants or descendants, and the birth of a child. Holiday leave in Article 112 is a right in its own right alongside those leaves, neither a substitute for them nor part of them.
Note that Article 112 does not address the case of someone asked to work on the day of a holiday, or how to compensate for that; these matters fall outside the scope of this text, and anyone facing a dispute over them is advised to review the Implementing Regulations or consult a lawyer who specializes in labor cases.
Practical example
Ahmed works for a contracting company in Riyadh under an employment contract only two months old. One of the holidays specified by the Implementing Regulations arrived, and work at the company stopped during the days of the holiday. When salaries were paid, Ahmed noticed that the company had deducted the value of the holiday days from him on the grounds that he was a new worker. This action violates Article 112, because the text grants leave with full pay "to every worker" without requiring a length of service, so Ahmed is entitled to his full wage for those days.
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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Active contributorFrequently asked questions about Article 112 of the Saudi Labor Law
Is holiday leave paid under the Saudi Labor Law?
Yes. Article 112 expressly provides that leave on holidays and occasions is with full pay, so the pay for these days may not be deducted from the worker.
Which holidays and occasions does Article 112 cover, and how many days are there?
The article does not name the holidays or set the number of days; it refers the specification of the occasions and their durations to the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law, which are the reference for that.
Is holiday leave deducted from the worker's annual leave?
Article 112 provides for holiday leave as an independent right by a special provision, separate from the annual leave that other articles such as Article 111 deal with, and from the personal-occasion leaves in Article 113.
Is a certain length of service required to be entitled to holiday leave?
No. The text of the article is general, in the words "for every worker," and sets no condition relating to length of service or type of contract.
More articles on Leave
- Article 49
Article 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.
تسري على عقد التأهيل والتدريب الأحكام الواردة في هذا النظام، الخاصة بالإجازات السنوية والعطلات الرسمية، والحد الأقصى لساعات العمل، وفترات الراحة اليومية والراحة
- Article 82
Article 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.
لا يجوز لصاحب العمل إنهاء خدمة العامل بسبب المرض، قبل استنفاذه المدد المحددة للإجازة المنصوص عليها في هذا النظام، وللعامل الحق في أن يطلب وصل إجازته السنوية بال
- Article 109
Article 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.
1- يستحق العامل عن كل عام إجازة سنوية لا تقل مدتها عن واحد وعشرين يومًا، تُزاد إلى مدة لا تقل عن ثلاثين يومًا إذا أمضى العامل في خدمة صاحب العمل خمس سنوات متصلة
- Article 110
Article 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.
1- للعامل بموافقة صاحب العمل أن يؤجل إجازته السنوية أو أيامًا منها إلى السنة التالية. 2 - لصاحب العمل حق تأجيل إجازة العامل بعد نهاية سنة استحقاقها إذا اقتضت ظر
- Article 111
Article 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.
للعامل الحق في الحصول على أجرة عن أيام الإجازة المستحقة إذا ترك العمل قبل استعماله لها، وذلك بالنسبة إلى المدة التي لم يحصل على إجازته عنها، كما يستحق أجرة الإج
- Article 113Amended by M/44
Article 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.
مع مراعاة إجازات المرأة العاملة المحددة بموجب هذا النظام، للعامل الحق في إجازة بأجر كامل لمدة (خمسة) أيام عند زواجه، أو في حالة وفاة زوجه أو أحد أصوله أو فروعه،
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.