Under the Labour Law (نظام العمل), a wage is not the basic salary alone, and your entitlements do not stop on your last day of work. This page explains what counts as a wage, when it must be paid, what may be deducted from it, overtime and paid leave, and the end-of-service award (مكافأة نهاية الخدمة) — with article numbers as published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (وزارة الموارد البشرية والتنمية الاجتماعية).

What counts as a wage?

• Basic wage (الأجر الأساسي): everything given to the worker in return for work under a written or unwritten contract, plus periodic increments (Article 2).
• Actual wage (الأجر الفعلي): the basic wage plus all other due increases — commissions and percentages of sales, allowances for effort or risk, increases linked to the cost of living or family burdens, bonuses set out in the contract or the work regulation or customarily granted, and in-kind benefits (Article 2).
• Wherever the Law says “wage” without qualification, it means the actual wage (Article 2), and many entitlements are calculated on it. A “month” is 30 days unless otherwise stipulated.
• If neither the contract nor the work regulation states the wage, the wage set for similar work in the establishment applies; failing that, the custom of the profession; failing that, the Labour Court (المحكمة العمالية) assesses it (Article 95).
• The Council of Ministers may, where necessary and on the Minister’s proposal, set a minimum wage (Article 89).

When wages must be paid, and the Wage Protection System

• Daily-paid workers are paid at least once a week and monthly-paid workers once a month. For piece work needing more than two weeks, the worker receives a weekly payment proportionate to the work completed, and the balance within the week following delivery (Article 90).
• Establishments must pay wages into workers’ accounts through banks approved in the Kingdom, provided the due date is no later than the deadlines above; the Minister may exempt some establishments (Article 90). The Wage Protection System (نظام حماية الأجور), through which the Ministry monitors whether establishments pay wages on time, rests on this statutory basis.
• If the employer delays payment without lawful justification, or deducts from the wage without written consent and for a reason not provided for, the worker, the worker’s representative or the head of the labour office may apply to the Labour Court to order repayment or payment of arrears. The court may impose a fine of up to twice the amount deducted or twice the delayed wage (Article 94).

Deductions from wages: what is allowed and what is not

No amount may be deducted from the wage for private claims without the worker’s written consent, except in the cases the Law specifies (Article 92) — among them recovery of employer loans, capped at 10% of the wage; social insurance contributions and the like; disciplinary fines and the cost of damage caused by the worker; and settlement of a debt in execution of a court judgment, capped at one quarter of the wage per month.

• Deductions for damage caused by the worker’s fault may not exceed five days’ wage a month, and the worker may complain to the Labour Court (Article 91).
• In no case may total deductions exceed half the wage due, except as the Labour Court decides (Article 93).
• A fine for a single offence may not exceed five days’ wage, and no more than five days’ wage a month may be deducted for fines (Article 70).
• If the worker is suspended or detained in a matter connected with the work, the employer keeps paying 50% of the wage until the matter is decided, for no more than 180 days; if the worker is acquitted, the withheld amount is refunded (Article 97).

Working hours and overtime

• The maximum is eight hours a day or 48 hours a week, reduced in Ramadan for Muslims to six hours a day or 36 hours a week (Article 98).
• A worker may not work more than five consecutive hours without a break of at least half an hour for rest, prayer and food, may not stay at the workplace more than 12 hours a day, and rest periods do not count as actual working hours (Articles 101 and 102).
• Friday is the weekly rest day, with full pay and not less than 24 consecutive hours. It may be replaced with another day after notifying the labour office, and it may not be exchanged for cash (Article 104).
• Overtime: paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage. With the worker’s agreement, the employer may instead grant paid compensatory leave days. All hours worked on holidays and Eid count as overtime (Article 107).
• In the exceptional cases where the usual limits may be exceeded, actual working hours may not exceed ten hours a day or 60 hours a week (Article 106).

Paid leave

• Annual leave: not less than 21 days, rising to at least 30 days after five continuous years with the employer, paid in advance. It cannot be waived or exchanged for cash during service, and the employer must notify the worker of its timing at least 30 days ahead (Article 109).
• A worker who leaves is entitled to pay for accrued leave days not taken, pro rata for the part of the year worked (Article 111).
• Occasion leave: five days on full pay for marriage or the death of a spouse, parent or child; three days on the death of a brother or sister; and three days on the birth of a child, within seven days of the birth (Article 113).
• Hajj leave: not less than ten days and not more than 15, including the Eid al-Adha holiday, once during the whole period of service, conditional on two continuous years with the employer (Article 114).
• Maternity leave: 12 weeks on full pay, six of them compulsory after the birth (Article 151).
• Unpaid leave requires the employer’s agreement, and the contract is considered suspended for any part of it beyond 20 days (Article 116).

Sick leave

A worker whose illness is established is entitled to sick leave within a single year, whether continuous or intermittent; that year runs from the date of the first sick leave (Article 117):

• First 30 days: full pay.
• Next 60 days: three quarters of the wage.
• The following 30 days: without pay.

The employer may not end the worker’s service because of illness before these periods are exhausted, and the worker may ask to join annual leave to sick leave (Article 82).

End-of-service award

• The last wage is the basis for calculating the award (Article 84), and it may be agreed that commissions and percentages of sales are excluded from the wage on which it is settled (Article 86).
• The full award is due if the worker leaves because of force majeure beyond their control, and to a female worker who ends the contract within six months of her marriage or three months of giving birth (Article 87).

When final dues are settled, and what the employer bears

• Wages are paid and entitlements settled within one week at most of the relationship ending, or within two weeks if the worker is the party who ended the contract. The employer may deduct any debt owed to it because of the work (Article 88).
• The employer must provide suitable housing and suitable transport, and may substitute an appropriate cash allowance paid with the wage (Article 61).
• The employer bears the recruitment fees of a non-Saudi worker, the fees for the residence permit (الإقامة) and work licence and their renewal, any fines resulting from delays it causes, fees for changing profession and for exit and re-entry, and the worker’s return ticket home when the relationship ends (Article 40).
• Amounts due to the worker or their heirs are first-class preferred debts; in bankruptcy or liquidation the worker is paid an advance equal to one month’s wage before any other expense (Article 19).

When you need a consultation

Wage and award figures are usually settled by arithmetic rather than argument, but the arithmetic depends on correctly identifying the actual wage and the length of service. If you disagree with your employer about the basis of the calculation, or months of unpaid wages have built up, going through the numbers with a specialist before filing anything saves time and improves the chance of a settlement.

This page is general information intended to explain the Labour Law in plain terms; it is not legal advice on any particular case.