Health and safety in the work environment

With regard to wages, Saudi Labor Law requires the following:

• Worker's wages shall be paid in the official currency of the country.
• Worker's wages shall be paid in working hours and workplace.
• Worker's wages entitlement dates must be adhered to according to the specified and agreed upon dates.
• Worker's wages must be paid through the approved banks in the Kingdom.
• The percentage of the amounts deducted may not exceed half of Worker's due wage, unless it is proven to the Labor Disputes Settlement Authority that the deduction is possible to exceed that percentage.
• Employer shall pay Worker an additional wage for overtime equal to the hourly wage plus 50% of his/her basic wage.

Cases in which sums may be deducted from Worker’s wages without his/her written consent:

• Refund of Employer loans provided that the deduction from Worker does not exceed 10% of his/her wages.
• Social insurance contributions.
• Worker's contributions to the Saving Fund and loans payable thereto.
• Installments for any project undertaken by Employer, such as building housing with the intention of owning the same to Workers or any other advantage.
• Fines imposed on Worker due to the violations committed by him/her, as well as the sums deducted from him/her in return for what he/she destroyed.
• Repayment of a debt in implementation of any judgment, provided that the monthly deduction for the same does not exceed a quarter of the wage, unless the judgment stipulates otherwise.
• If Worker is arrested by the specialized agencies in cases related to the work or because of it, Employer shall continue to pay 50% of the wage to Worker until his/her case is decided, provided that the period of arrest does not exceed 180 days. If Worker is acquitted, the amount deducted from his/her wages shall be returned, but if the judgment is concluded by convicting Worker, what was previously paid to him/her shall not be recovered unless the judgment stipulates otherwise.

With regard to working hours and breaks, Labor Law has specified the following:

• Workers may not work for more than eight hours per day or more than forty-eight hours per week, taking into account the reduction of working hours in the month of Ramadan; thus the working hours shall not exceed six hours per day or thirty-six hours per week.
• No worker shall work for more than five consecutive hours without a break, period for prayer and food, thus, the break shall not be less than half an hour at a time during the total working hours, and so that Worker shall not remain in the workplace for more than twelve hours per day.
• A worker shall not be under the authority of the Employer during breaks.
• As for the weekend, Friday shall be the weekend for all Workers, and this day can be replaced for some types of work with any day of the week after informing the competent labor office.

With regard to vacations, Labor Law specified the following:

• Worker is entitled to an annual leave for each year of no less than twenty-one days and shall be increased to thirty days if Worker has served Employer for five consecutive years.
• Leave pay shall be paid in advance.
• Leave may not be waived in return for cash, and Worker must enjoy it at the time of its entitlement.
• Employer shall inform Worker of the date of his/her leave thirty days prior to the leave.
• With the approval of Employer, the leave or part thereof may be postponed to the following year.
• Worker has the right to receive the leave wages that he/she did not enjoy if he/she leaves the work.
• Worker has the right to leave three days in the event of the birth of a newborn, and five days on the occasion of his marriage or in the event of the death of his spouse or one of his ascendants and descendants.
• Worker has the right to leave with full pay for the number of actual exam days to perform exams if he/she is affiliated with an academic institution.
• Worker may take an unpaid leave with the approval of Employer.
• Worker shall have the right to obtain a proven sick leave, and Worker is entitled to the full wage of the first thirty days and three quarters of the wage for the next sixty days and without pay for the following thirty days during one year, whether these leaves are continuous or intermittent.
• Worker may not work for another employer while enjoying the aforementioned leaves.
• Female Worker shall have the right to maternity leave with full pay for a period of ten weeks, shall be distributed upon her discretion, beginning with a maximum of four weeks before the likely date of confinement.
• Under no circumstances may Female Worker be employed after childbirth during the six weeks following childbirth.
• Female Worker shall have the right to extend the maternity leave for a period of one month without pay.
• Female Worker shall have the right, in the event that she gives birth to a sick child or a PWD and whose health condition requires an accompanying person, to a month-long leave with full pay starting after the end of the maternity leave period, and she has the right to extend the leave for a month without pay.
• Muslim female worker shall have the right to leave with full pay for a period of no less than four months and ten days in the event of her husband death.
• Non-Muslim worker shall have the right to leave with full pay for a period of fifteen days in the event of her husband death.

Labor Law ensures that Worker receives end-of-service benefits at the end of the work relationship, as Employer shall pay Worker benefits for the period of his/her service calculated on the basis of a half-month wage for each of the first five years and a month’s wages for each of the following years for calculating the end-of-service benefits. Worker shall be entitled to end-of-service benefits for parts of the year in proportion to what he/she spent at work, and the last wage shall be taken as the basis for calculating the end-of-service benefits. In the event that the work relationship ends due to Worker resignation, Worker shall be entitled in this case to one third of the end-of-service benefits after a service of no less than two consecutive years and not more than five years, and Worker shall be entitled to two thirds thereof if Worker service period exceeds five consecutive years and has not reached ten years, and Worker is entitled to the full end-of-service benefits if Worker service period has reached ten years or more.

As per Labor Law, Worker shall have the right to leave work without notice, while retaining all his/her statutory rights, in any of the following cases:

•  If Employer fails to fulfill its essential contractual or statutory obligations towards Worker.
•  If it is proven that Employer or his representative has deceived Worker at the time of the contract, in relation to the terms and conditions of work.
•  If Employer assigns Worker, without his/her consent, a work that is fundamentally different from the work agreed upon.
•  If Employer, a member of his family, or the responsible manager has committed a violent assault or immoral behavior towards Worker or a member of his/her family.
•  If the treatment of Employer or the responsible manager was characterized by manifestations of cruelty, injustice or humiliation.
• If there is a serious danger in the workplace that threatens the safety or health of Worker, provided that Employer was aware of its existence, and no measures were taken to indicate its removal.
•  If Employer or his representative, by his behavior, especially his unfair treatment or violating the terms of the contract, causes Worker to terminate the contract.