Leave Policy in Saudi Arabia

Adoption Leave in Saudi Arabia

• Currently, there is no provision for any adoption leave in Saudi Arabia. 
• Although not legally written, you can provide additional leave to your employees who have adopted children. 

Earned Leave in Saudi Arabia

Earned leave in Saudi Arabia is guaranteed by the country’s Labor Code. Its details are:

• An employee in Saudi Arabia gets 21 paid annual leaves for five or less than five years of service.
• With an increase in tenure beyond 5, an employee gets 30 annual leaves.
• Workers in Saudi Arabia must take annual leave within the year it's due. Earned leaves can not be carried forward to next year.  
• Employers must notify workers of leave dates at least 30 days prior. 
• Workers cannot waive leave or receive cash compensation; instead, they must ensure rest and compliance with regulations.
• You can also postpone the employee’s leave for specific work requirements. However, it cannot be postponed for more than 90 days.
• If an employee is terminated and they have outstanding annual leaves, then it is mandatory to provide salary for the accrued leaves.

Maternity Leave in Saudi Arabia

Article 151 of Part 9 of the Labor Code deals with maternity leave in Saudi. It mandates:

• All female workers in Saudi Arabia must be given ten weeks of paid maternity leave, which can be extended to an additional two months of unpaid leave.
• The total leave can be split according to the employee’s choice into prenatal and postnatal phases.
• Employees can opt for maternity leave at most four weeks before their due date, which a medical examiner must mention.
• Following delivery, an employee cannot be forced to work for at least six weeks.
• As an employer, you are mandated by law to provide medical care for their pregnant employees.
• Employees are also given an additional one-hour nursing break to care for their children in Saudi Arabia.

Parental Leave in Saudi Arabia

• As per the Labor Code, there is no provision for parental leave in Saudi Arabia. 
• However, the employees can take paid maternity and paternity leave.

Paternity Leave in Saudi Arabia

• Paternity leave in Saudi Arabia is also guaranteed by law. 
• Article 113 of LC states that employers should provide three paid paternity leaves to expecting fathers.

Public Holidays in Saudi Arabia

As per the government norms, public holidays in Saudi Arabia are given on the following days:

• If any employee works on any public holiday, they must be given overtime pay. The employer has to pay the hourly salary and an additional 50% of the employee’s basic pay as overtime pay.

Sick Leave Policy in Saudi Arabia

Article 117 of the Labor Code 2005 outlines details on the sick leave policy in Saudi Arabia. It specifies:

• Any staff with proof of illness can take paid sick leave for 90 days (3 months) and unpaid sick leave for another 30 days (1 month).
• The payment details are:

Casual Leave in Saudi Arabia

The Labor Code does not provide for casual leave in Saudi Arabia. Employees can opt for annual, sick, or other leaves sanctioned by the LC.

Unpaid Leave in Saudi Arabia

• Unpaid leave is available to employees in Saudi Arabia, on agreement between the employer and employee. These unpaid leaves can be taken for any reason.

Other Leaves

Let’s look at some additional leaves that employees are entitled to:

Bereavement leave

• Article 113 of the Labor Code 2005 entitles workers to a 3-day paid bereavement leave.
• Such leaves can be availed in case of the death of a spouse, ascendants, or descendants who pass away.
• Special paid ‘iddah’ leaves are given to female Muslim employees in case of their spouse’s death.
• Iddah leaves are given for four months and ten days. 
• For non-muslim female employees, bereavement leave is 15 days.

Disability leave

• Saudi Labor Code provides disability leave to employees when they are injured at work. 
• An employee can apply for 30 days of sick leave at full wage. The next 60 days are 3/4th the salary. After that, employees can take unpaid leave. 

Hajj leave

• Employees in Saudi Arabia are entitled to Hajj leaves once in their total service year.
• Employees can take 10 to 15 fully paid Hajj leaves, which include the Eid-Al-Adha holidays.

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FAQs

Q1: What is the leave policy in Saudi Arabia?

The Labor Code of 2005 guides Saudi Arabia's leave policy. It mandates various kinds of leave, including annual, maternity, paternity, sick, bereavement, and educational leave.

Q2: How many annual leave days are there in Saudi Arabia?

An employee in Saudi Arabia is entitled to 21 days of prepaid annual leave for less than five years of service. When an employee has been engaged in service for more than five years, the leave entitlement is 30 days or more.

Q3: What is the resignation policy in Saudi Arabia?

According to the resignation policy in Saudi Arabia, an employee must give a 60-day notice period to their employer. The End of Service Benefits (ESB) are given as follows:

Q4: What is the compassionate leave policy in Saudi Arabia?

According to Saudi Arabia's compassionate leave policy, employees are entitled to 3 days of paid leave in case of their spouse's, ascendant's, or descendant's death.