Article 72 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 72 of the Labor Law regulates the step that follows the employer's decision to impose a disciplinary sanction on the worker, namely notifying them of the decision and their right to object to it. This article comes after Article 71, which requires, before any sanction, notifying the worker in writing of what is attributed to them, questioning them and hearing their defense; Article 71 protects the worker before the decision is issued, and Article 72 protects them after it is issued.

The article imposes a clear obligation on the employer:

• Notice must be in writing; oral notification is not enough.
• If the worker refuses to receive the notice or is absent, it is sent to them by registered letter to their address shown in their file, so it is in the worker's interest to keep their address up to date in their file with the establishment.

The article then gives the worker a two-stage path for objecting to the sanction:

1. Internal grievance: the worker has the right to submit a written grievance to the competent body with the employer within 30 days of the date they were notified of the decision, and official holidays are not counted within this period.
2. Judicial objection: if the grievance is rejected, or no written reply is issued on it within 15 days of submitting it, the worker has the right to object to the sanction decision before the labor courts within 30 days, excluding official holidays, starting from the date the grievance was rejected or the 15-day period ended, whichever is earlier.

Note that the employer's silence does not forfeit the worker's right; it opens the door of the court as soon as 15 days pass without a written decision. These are also fixed deadlines, and missing them may affect the admissibility of the objection, so it is advisable to document in writing the date of receipt and the date the grievance was submitted.

The current text of the article was issued by Royal Decree No. M/44 dated 8/2/1446 AH, and has applied since 20/8/1446 AH. If the sanction is a financial fine, Article 73 completes the picture by requiring the employer to enter it in a special register and not to dispose of it except for what benefits the establishment's workers. In complex cases or when the deadlines are close to expiring, it is advisable to consult a labor lawyer.