Article 24 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 24 of the Labor Law does not set a rule that applies directly to the worker or the employer. It is a delegating article: it refers to the Regulations (the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law) the task of setting the organizational details on which the employment channels rest. According to the text of the article, the Regulations determine the following:

• The rules of operation and procedures in the employment channels: that is, how these channels receive job seekers' applications, how they nominate them for jobs, and what steps the work involves.
• The forms of the records, notices and papers used in the work of these channels, so that they are uniform for everyone.
• The occupational classification tables according to the approved occupational classification, so that occupations are named and arranged in one way across all bodies.

The article provides that these rules, forms and tables are to be a basis for organizing hiring operations; that is, they are the reference on which dealings between the citizen seeking work, the employment channels and the employer are built.

How does it relate to the neighboring articles? Article 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, stating their qualifications, previous jobs and preferences. Article 25 requires the employer to send specified data to the Ministry, including a statement of vacant jobs within 15 days of their becoming vacant, a notice of what it did regarding a nominated candidate within 7 days of receiving the nomination letter, and data on workers and a report on the state of work during the month of Muharram each year. Article 24 supplies the practical framework for these two sets of obligations: the forms in which applications and data are submitted, and the classification by which occupations are described in them.

This article was amended by Royal Decree No. M/44 dated 8/2/1446 AH, with the amendment effective from 20/8/1446 AH, and the text shown above is the text in force after the amendment.

What does this mean in practice? If a job seeker or an employer needs to know a particular procedure or a specific form in the employment channels, the reference is the Regulations and not the text of the article itself, since the article does not state the details of these rules. Where there is a dispute over the application of a hiring procedure, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specialized in labor cases.