Part One:

Definitions

Article 1: 

This Law shall be named the Labor Law.

Article 2: 

The following terms and expressions, wherever mentioned in this Law, shall have the meanings assigned of them unless the context otherwise requires 

- Ministry: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. 

- Minister: The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. 

- Labor Office: The administrative body responsible for labor affairs within a spatial scope defined by a ministerial decision.

- Employer: Any natural or legal person who employs one or more workers in exchange for wages

- Worker Any natural person – male or female – who works for the benefit of an employer, under their management or supervision, in exchange for wages, even if away from their direct oversight.

- Juvenile:  A person who has completed fifteen years of age and has not reached eighteen years of age.

- Work: The effort exerted in all human activities in implementation of an employment contract (written or unwritten), regardless of its nature or type, whether industrial, commercial, agricultural, technical, or otherwise, whether physical or mental.

- Original Work: For individuals: The subject of their usual activity and as for establishments: the work for which the establishment was created to perform and stipulated in its articles of incorporation or in the concession contract - if it is a concession company - or in the commercial register.

- Temporary work: Work that, by its nature, falls within the employer's activity and requires a specific duration to complete, or focuses on a specific task and ends with its completion, and in both cases does not exceed ninety days.

- Occasional work: Work that is not part of the usual activity of the employer and does not take more than ninety days to complete.

- Seasonal work: Work that is performed during established periodic seasons.

- Part-time work: Refers to work performed by an employee who is not fully dedicated to the employer and works fewer than half of the standard daily working hours at the establishment, whether the employee works daily or only on certain days of the week.

- Continuous service Refers to the uninterrupted service of an employee with the same employer or their legal successor, starting from the commencement of service. The service is considered continuous in the following cases: 

1. Statutory holidays and leave.

2. Periods of absence for exams as stipulated in this system.

3. Cases of employee absence without pay, provided the total duration does not exceed twenty intermittent days during the work year.

- Assignment: The service of providing a worker to work for someone other than the employer, through an establishment licensed for this purpose.

- Resignation: The worker's written declaration of their desire, without coercion, to terminate a fixed-term employment contract without any condition or stipulation, and the employer's acceptance of it.

- Basic Salary: Everything given to the worker in return for their work, based on a written or unwritten employment contract, regardless of the type of wage or method of payment, in addition to periodic allowances.

- Actual wage: The basic wage plus any other due increments granted to the worker in return for effort exerted in the work, risks faced in performing the job, or as stipulated in the employment contract or work regulations, including the following: 

1. Commission, or a percentage of sales, or a percentage of profits, paid in return for what the worker markets, produces, collects, or achieves in terms of increased production or improvements.

2. Allowances that the worker is entitled to receive in exchange for the effort exerted or risks encountered while performing their work.

3. Increases that may be granted based on the cost of living or to meet family burdens.

4. Grant or Bonus: Refers to payments made by an employer to an employee in recognition of their honesty, efficiency, or similar qualities, provided such payments are specified in the employment contract, the establishment's work regulations, or are regularly provided as a customary practice, such that employees regard them as part of their wages rather than a voluntary gift.

5. Benefits in kind: Refers to benefits that the employer is obligated to provide to the worker in exchange for their work, as specified in the employment contract or the establishment's work regulations. They are valued at a maximum equivalent to two months' basic salary for each year, unless the employment contract or the work regulations specify a higher value.

- Wage: Means the actual wage

- Establishment: Any project managed by a natural or legal person who employs one or more workers in return for a wage of any kind..

- Month: Thirty days unless otherwise stipulated in the employment contract or the establishment's work regulations.

- Regulation: Implementing Regulations of this Law.

Section 2

General Provisions

Article 3: 

Work is a right for citizens. Non-citizens may not practice it except after fulfilling the conditions stipulated in this Law. Citizens are equal in the right to work without any discrimination based on sex, disability, age, or any other form of discrimination, whether during the performance of work, upon recruitment, or in job advertisements.

Article 4: 

When applying the provisions of this Law, the employer and the worker shall adhere to the requirements of the provisions of Islamic Sharia.

Article 5: 

The provisions of this Law shall apply to the following: 

  1. Every employment contract whereby any person undertakes to work for the benefit of an employer and under their management or supervision, in return for wages.

  2. Government workers and workers in public authorities and institutions, including those employed in pastures or agriculture.

  3. Workers in charitable organizations.

  4. Qualification and training contracts with individuals not employed by the employer, within the limits of the special provisions stipulated in this Law.

  5. Part-time workers, within the scope of occupational safety and health, work injuries, and matters determined by the Minister.

Article 6: 

The provisions pertaining to duties, disciplinary rules, the maximum working hours, daily and weekly rest periods, overtime work, official holidays, safety regulations, occupational health, work injuries and compensation thereof, and any matters determined by the Minister shall apply to casual, seasonal, and temporary workers.

Article 7: 

1. The following are exempt from the application of the provisions of this Law:

 A‌. The family members of the employer, including the spouse, parents, and children, who work in the establishment and who are the only employees there.

B‌. Players and coaches of sports clubs and federations.

C‌. Domestic workers and those considered as such.

D‌. Agricultural workers, private herders, and those in similar roles.

 F‌. Non-Saudi workers who come to perform a specific task for a period not exceeding two months.

2. The Minister, in coordination with the relevant authorities, shall issue one or more regulations for the categories mentioned in paragraphs (A), (C), (D), and (E), of paragraph (1) of this Article, outlining the rights, duties, and other relevant provisions specific to each category. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this article, the penalties specified in Article (229) of this law shall apply to violations of the provisions of those regulations.

3. The regulations issued for the two categories mentioned in subparagraphs (c) and (d) of paragraph (1) of this article should include clear procedures and mechanisms to improve the performance of the labor market for these categories. They should also regulate the movement of workers, define the responsibilities of employers, and outline the duties of offices and companies involved in mediating their recruitment.

Article 8:

Any condition that contravenes the provisions of this Law shall be null and void. Any waiver or settlement of rights arising for the worker under this Law during the term of the employment contract shall also be null and void, unless it is more beneficial to the worker.

Article 9:

The Arabic language shall be mandatory for use in data, records, files, employment contracts, and other matters stipulated in this Law or in any decision issued in its application, as well as instructions issued by the employer to their workers.

If the employer uses a foreign language alongside the Arabic language in any of the aforementioned cases, the Arabic text shall be the prevailing and authoritative version.

Article 10: 

All periods and dates stipulated in this Law shall be calculated according to the Hijri calendar, unless the employment contract or the work regulations stipulate otherwise.

Article 11: 

If the employer entrusts any natural or legal person with the performance of any of their original tasks or a part thereof, the latter shall be obligated to grant their workers all the rights and benefits that the original employer grants to their own workers.

Article 11 Bis: 

Without prejudice to the provisions of this Law and related regulations, the Minister may take the necessary measures to ensure the improvement of labor market performance and the regulation of the movement of the workforce.

Article 12: 

  1. The Ministry shall establish a unified template, or more, for the work regulations, which shall be comprehensive of the rules governing work organization and related provisions, including those pertaining to benefits and the provisions specific to violations and disciplinary penalties.

  2. The Ministry shall establish the controls and mechanisms for the approval of work regulations.

Article 13: 

  1. Every employer shall be obligated to prepare work regulations for their establishment in accordance with the template prepared by the Ministry. The Minister may grant exemptions from this requirement. 

  2. The employer may include additional terms and conditions in the regulations, provided that they do not contradict the provisions of this Law, its implementing regulations, and the decisions issued in its execution.

  3. The employer shall be obligated to announce the work regulations and any amendments thereto in a conspicuous place within the establishment or through any other means that ensures those subject to its provisions are aware of its contents.

Article 14: 

(Repealed)

Article 15: 

Upon commencing work in any establishment, the employer shall notify the competent labor office in writing with the following information: 

  1. The name, type, and headquarters of the establishment, the address to which correspondence should be directed, and any information that would facilitate communication with the establishment.

  2. The licensed economic activity, along with the commercial registration or license number and its date, the issuing authority, and a copy thereof shall be attached.

  3. The number of workers intended to be employed in the establishment.

  4. The name of the responsible manager of the establishment.

  5. Any other information requested by the Ministry.

Article 16:

  1. If the employer is unable to personally carry out the work, they shall appoint a representative to act on their behalf at the workplace. In the event of multiple partners or managers in the establishment, one of the residents at the workplace shall be designated to represent the employer and shall be responsible for any violation of the provisions of this Law.

  2. The employer shall notify the competent labor office in writing of the name of the partner or manager. In the event of a change, the employer shall notify the office of the name of the new partner or manager within a maximum of seven days from the date the latter assumes their duties.

  3. If no specific person is designated as the responsible manager of the establishment – or if the designated person does not commence their duties – the individual who actually performs the functions of the manager or the employer themselves shall be considered the responsible manager of the establishment.

In all cases, the employer's original liability shall remain in effect.

Article 17: 

The employer shall maintain at the workplace the records, registers, and files, specifying their nature and the data they must contain, as determined by the regulations.

The employer shall also display in a conspicuous place at the work site a schedule of working hours, rest periods, the weekly day off, and the start and end times of each shift in the case of shift work.

Article 18:

If the ownership of the establishment is transferred to a new owner, or if its legal form undergoes a change through merger, division, or otherwise, the employment contracts shall remain in effect in both cases, and the service shall be considered continuous.

As for the workers' rights arising from the period preceding this change, such as wages, the end-of-service award presumed due on the date of the transfer of ownership, or other rights, both the predecessor and the successor shall be jointly and severally liable for them. In the case of the transfer of individual establishments for any reason, the predecessor and the successor may agree on the transfer of all prior workers' rights to the new owner with the worker's written consent. In the event of their non-consent, the worker may request the termination of their contract and receive their entitlements from the predecessor.

Article 19: 

The amounts due to the worker or their heirs under this Law shall be considered first-class privileged debts. The worker and their heirs shall have a lien on all the employer's assets to recover these amounts. 

In the event of the employer's bankruptcy or the liquidation of their establishment, the aforementioned amounts shall be registered as privileged debts, and the worker shall be paid an advance equivalent to one month's wage before the settlement of any other expenses, including judicial expenses and bankruptcy or liquidation expenses.

Article 20: 

Neither the employer nor the worker may take any action that constitutes an abuse of the provisions of this Law or the decisions and regulations issued in its implementation. Likewise, neither party may take any action that would pressure the freedom of the other party or the freedom of other workers or employers to achieve any interest or viewpoint they adopt that is inconsistent with the freedom to work or the jurisdiction of the competent authority for settling disputes.

Article 21:

The Minister shall, for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Law, coordinate with relevant authorities whenever necessary.