Saudi Labor Law Amendments 2025: 10 Changes and Your HR Checklist

Royal Decree M/44 of 8/2/1446H amended dozens of articles of the Saudi Labor Law, in force since 20/8/1446H, which is 19 February 2025. The consolidated Labor Law on the Bureau of Experts portal (in Arabic) shows each amended article beside its old wording, and the Ministry of Human Resources published a before-and-after guide in August 2024.

Ten changes HR teams must act on:

• Probation: up to 180 days in total, stated in the contract (Article 53).
• Notice on a monthly-paid indefinite contract: 30 days from the worker, 60 from the employer (Article 75).
• Resignation: a new definition (Article 2) and a timeline, with acceptance after 30 days without a reply (Article 79 bis).
• Maternity leave: 12 weeks on full pay (Article 151).
• Family leave: a new 3 days for the death of a brother or sister, and a father's 3 days for a new child must now be taken within 7 days of the birth; marriage and the death of a spouse, parent or child stay at 5 days (Article 113).
• Overtime: paid compensatory leave may replace overtime pay if the worker agrees (Article 107).
• Non-Saudi contracts: with no term stated, one year from the actual start, renewed for the same period (Article 37).
• Contracts: documented under the Ministry's rules, on a unified model for each contract type (Articles 51 and 52).
• Employer duties: no discrimination in hiring or at work, plus decent housing and transport, or a suitable cash allowance for each (Article 61).
• Outsourcing: supplying workers to another employer needs a Ministry licence; operating without one risks a fine of SAR 200,000 to SAR 500,000 (Articles 30 and 229 bis).

Unchanged: annual leave (21 days, 30 after five years), sick leave, the end-of-service formula (Articles 84 and 85) and the 1436H (2015) non-compete rule in Article 83. These are the published texts as of November 2026; check the implementing regulations before changing a policy.

Probation. Article 53 caps probation at 180 days in total, and either side may end the contract during it. Article 19 of the Ministry's implementing regulations (in Arabic) allows back-to-back split periods if the contract says so, and excludes the Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha holidays, National Day, Founding Day and sick leave. So a 180-day probation spanning the four-day Eid al-Fitr holiday and three sick days ends seven days later. Ending the contract during probation brings no compensation for either side and no end-of-service award (Article 54).

Notice. On an indefinite contract with a monthly wage, the worker gives at least 30 days' written notice and the employer at least 60; otherwise it is 30 days either way (Article 75). Whoever skips notice pays the worker's wage for the notice period (Article 76). On a SAR 8,000 monthly wage, an employer who ends the contract without notice owes SAR 16,000; a worker who walks out owes SAR 8,000. During the employer's notice, the worker may take a paid day, or eight hours, a week to job-hunt (Article 78).

Resignation. Article 79 bis sets the clock:

• No reply within 30 days: the resignation counts as accepted.
• You may defer acceptance by up to 60 days if the work requires it, with written reasons given before day 30; the 60 days run from that letter.
• The worker may withdraw within 7 days, unless you accepted first.
• It cannot name a later date; the contract runs as normal meanwhile.
• The worker keeps all rights under the Law, end of service included.

Example: a resignation handed in on 1 June can be withdrawn until 8 June. If you write on 20 June that the handover needs time, the contract runs to 19 August at the latest. Article 10 counts all periods by the Hijri calendar unless the contract or work regulations say otherwise, so state yours.

A copy-ready leave table, as of November 2026:

• Annual: at least 21 days, 30 after five continuous years, paid in advance (Article 109, unchanged).
• Sick: 30 days on full pay, 60 at three-quarters, then 30 unpaid, within a year from the first sick day (Article 117, unchanged).
• Maternity: 12 weeks on full pay. The 6 weeks after delivery are compulsory; she places the other 6 as she wishes, from 4 weeks before the expected date. If a late delivery leaves fewer than 6 weeks, the shortfall is unpaid; she may add one unpaid month (Article 151).
• Sick or disabled newborn needing constant care: one more month on full pay, plus an optional unpaid month (Article 151).
• New child (father): 3 days on full pay, within 7 days of the birth (Article 113).
• Marriage: 5 days on full pay (Article 113).
• Death of a spouse, parent or child: 5 days; of a brother or sister: 3 days. Marriage and bereavement days count from the date of the event (Article 113).
• Widow's iddah: at least 4 months and 10 days on full pay for a Muslim worker, 15 days for a non-Muslim (Article 160).
• Hajj: 10 to 15 days with pay, including the Eid al-Adha holiday, once if the worker has not performed Hajj before, after two continuous years (Article 114).

You may ask for supporting documents for the Article 113 cases.

Overtime is paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage (Article 107). New: with the worker's agreement, paid compensatory leave can replace that pay. Article 22 bis of the regulations sets the terms: at least 1.5 hours of leave per overtime hour, scheduled by the employer within 60 days unless agreed otherwise, no more than 30 days a year, and paid out if unused when the worker leaves.

Example: an hourly wage of SAR 40 and a basic of SAR 30 an hour. Ten overtime hours cost 10 × (40 + 15) = SAR 550, or at least 15 hours of paid leave.

Start with the contract. Article 18 of the regulations requires employers to document staff contracts electronically on the Ministry's approved platform. With the free Contract Management service you enter the job title, duration, working hours and financial terms in Qiwa; the employee accepts, rejects or asks for changes in Qiwa Afrad, and an unanswered request is cancelled after 10 days. Since 15 April 2026, Nitaqat counts Saudization from contracts documented on Qiwa, and the Ministry raised its documentation target to 85% from 30 April 2026 and 90% by 30 June 2026.

The checklist:

• Rebuild templates on the unified model for each contract type: probation in days (180 at most, any split stated), 30- and 60-day notice, the calendar for periods, housing and transport (provided or as an allowance), and each side's rights.
• Non-Saudi contracts: always state the term; otherwise it is one year from the actual start, renewed for the same period.
• Match every Qiwa contract to the signed one, for current staff and new hires.
• Work regulations: under Article 4 of the regulations, clauses that conflict with the Law are void and must be amended. With fewer than 50 workers you may adopt the Ministry's unified model online, unchanged; otherwise your own needs review and certification by a law firm accredited on the Ministry's website.
• Discipline: add the grievance route of Article 72: 30 days to complain internally, 15 days for your written answer, then 30 days to go to the labour courts; both 30-day periods exclude official holidays.
• Training contracts: you may end one on a week's notice if periodic evaluation reports show the trainee cannot complete it, and the trainee may end it on the same notice; neither side owes compensation unless the contract says so (Article 48). After training you may require an equal period of work; a trainee who refuses repays the cost, or the share for the time left.
• Non-compete: unchanged; written, limited in time, place and type of work, and no longer than two years after the job ends (Article 83).
• Manpower suppliers: confirm their Ministry outsourcing licence.

For contracts, attendance and leave in one system, see Odoo HR and payroll for Saudi companies.

Payroll feels the amendments in three places:

• Allowances: if a contract has neither housing nor transport, Article 61 now expects you to provide them or pay a suitable cash allowance for each. The Law sets no amount.
• Leave pay: 12 weeks of full-pay maternity leave and the new sibling bereavement days reach the payslip, and a new father's 3 paid days must fall within 7 days of the birth.
• Final settlements: a worker who resigns gets one-third of the end-of-service award after two to five years, two-thirds after more than five and under ten, and all of it after ten (Article 85). On a SAR 9,000 wage after four years, the full award is 4 × 4,500 = SAR 18,000, so a resignation pays SAR 6,000, plus unused leave. Settle within a week when you end the contract, two weeks when the worker does (Article 88).

In Odoo 20, the leave table goes into Time Off ‣ Configuration ‣ Time Off Types. Odoo's time off documentation lists the settings that matter: a Payroll Code (required), the pay Rate, Requires Allocation, Require Supporting Document and the approval route. Odoo ships no public holidays, so add both Eids, National Day and Founding Day each year. For annual leave, an accrual plan of 1.75 days a month with a five-year milestone at 2.5 days gives 21, then 30 days; milestones count from the allocation start, so use the joining date.

The Saudi payroll localization holds housing, transport and other allowances, applies the full, 75% and unpaid sick-leave tiers through one Sick Time Off type, and computes end of service by termination reason. Contract templates sit under Employees ‣ Configuration ‣ Contract Templates (Salary Configurator module). Test a seven-year resignation against the two-thirds rule before go-live.

For the WPS file, see our Mudad payroll guide; for licence costs, the Odoo price guide for Saudi Arabia. METCH, an official Odoo partner in Saudi Arabia, can set this up with your HR team.