Article 6 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 6 of the Labor Law deals with the position of three categories of workers who are not linked to the employer by a permanent relationship: the casual worker, the seasonal worker and the temporary worker, according to the definitions in the law's chapter of definitions. Instead of subjecting them to all of the law's provisions or excluding them from it entirely, the law chose a middle course: applying only a specified set of provisions to them.

The provisions that apply to these categories, according to the text of the article, are:

• Duties and disciplinary rules: that is, the worker's obligations toward the employer and the disciplinary penalties that may be imposed on him.
• Maximum working hours.
• Daily rest periods and weekly rest.
• Overtime (additional work and its compensation).
• Official holidays.
• Occupational safety and health rules.
• Work injuries and compensation for them.
• What the Minister decides of additional provisions.

In practice this means that an employer who uses a worker for a short period or a particular season remains bound to protect that worker in basic respects: he may not be made to work beyond the maximum working hours without applying the overtime provisions, he must be given rest periods and official holidays, a safe work environment must be provided, and he must be compensated if injured during work. In return, the worker is bound by the duties set in the law and is subject to the disciplinary rules.

This article complements Article 5, which sets the scope of application of the law in general, and which followed the same approach with part-time workers when it limited what applies to them to occupational safety and health, work injuries and what the Minister decides, which is a narrower scope than that granted to the casual, seasonal and temporary worker. As for Article 7, it specifies the categories excluded from the application of the law altogether, including the non-Saudi worker who comes for a specific task for a period not exceeding two months, which is a different category from those in Article 6.

The article left the Minister the power to add other provisions that apply to these categories, so reference is made to the decisions he issues. In case of disagreement over the classification of the worker or the provisions that apply to him, it is advisable to consult a lawyer who specializes in labor cases.