Article 21 of the Saudi Labor Law
المادة 21 من نظام العمل · الفصل الأول: التعريفات
Article 21 requires the Minister to coordinate with the relevant bodies whenever needed in order to implement the provisions of the Labor Law.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
على الوزير- في سبيل تنفيذ أحكام هذا النظام- التنسيق مع الجهات ذات العلاقة كلما اقتضى الأمر ذلك.
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 21 explained in plain English
Article 21 of the Labor Law sets an organizational rule addressed to the Minister himself, not to the employer or worker. It provides that the Minister, in order to implement the provisions of this law, must coordinate with the relevant bodies whenever the matter requires.
The following is understood from the text:
- Who is addressed by the rule? The Minister responsible for applying the Labor Law, as the body supervising its implementation.
- What is required? Coordination with the other bodies whose work relates to applying the law, meaning the Ministry does not work in isolation from the bodies whose competences intersect with labor affairs.
- When? The text does not specify particular cases but leaves it to the assessment of need with the phrase "whenever the matter requires", so coordination is required whenever implementing the law calls for it.
- What is the purpose? Implementing the provisions of the Labor Law correctly and in an integrated way.
This article does not give the worker or the employer a direct right that can be claimed before the courts, and does not impose an obligation on them; it is a rule that organizes the work of the Ministry and its relationship with other bodies.
The article comes within Part Two on the regulation of recruitment, so it paves the way for what Article 22 contains of tasks the Ministry undertakes, such as providing channels for recruitment free of charge and collecting and analyzing information about the labor market so that it is available to public and private bodies concerned with economic and social planning, which are tasks that are hard to perform without coordination with other bodies. Article 21 also complements what appears in Article 20, which prohibits the two parties to the relationship from misusing the provisions of the law, since coordination among the bodies contributes to controlling the sound application of the law and its regulations.
The text did not specify the mechanism of coordination or the bodies meant exclusively, and the details remain subject to the Minister's assessment and the implementing decisions.
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 21 of the Saudi Labor Law
What does Article 21 of the Labor Law require?
It requires the Minister to coordinate with the relevant bodies whenever the matter requires, in order to implement the provisions of the Labor Law.
Does Article 21 impose an obligation on the employer or the worker?
No. The article is addressed to the Minister alone and does not create a direct obligation or right for the employer or worker, but organizes how the Ministry works with other bodies.
Which bodies does the text mean by "the relevant bodies"?
The text did not name these bodies, but used the phrase broadly to cover every body whose competence relates to implementing the provisions of the Labor Law, and the assessment of the need to coordinate with them is left to the Minister.
What is the relationship of Article 21 to Article 22 of the Labor Law?
Article 22 directs the Ministry to tasks such as providing recruitment channels and collecting labor market information and making it available to public and private bodies, which are tasks served by the coordination Article 21 provides for.
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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.