Saudi Arabia

• Founding Day
• Eid Al Adha
• Arafat Day
• Eid al-Adha
• National Day.

Working Hours

The standard workweek in Saudi Arabia is eight hours per day, six days per week. Work in excess of 48 hours a week must be compensated at overtime rates, except for certain categories of work such as the catering trade.

Minimum Wage

In Saudi Arabia, the minimum wage is SR 6000 per month for Saudis and SR 4000 per month for expatriate workers.

Employee Tax

Tax rate	0%
Social security contribution	10%

Bonuses

Employees in Saudi Arabia receive a Ramadan bonus. This is usually equivalent to one month’s base salary and is paid annually during the holy month of Ramadan.

In Saudi Arabia, the labour law sets out an employee’s minimum entitlements and applies to all employer-employee relationships. Employers are free to impose different working terms on an employee, provided that they are more generous to the employee.

The employment contract should be concluded in Arabic.

A Saudi Arabian work contract must include the name of the employer and employee; venue; nationality; identification number; agreed remuneration; type and location of work; date of employment and duration of the contract (if it is a fixed-term contract).

There are two types of work contract permitted by law. Term contracts include fixed-term and indefinite contracts. Project-based contracts terminate with the completion of the work agreed upon.

Annual Leave

In Saudi Arabia employees are entitled  to 21 days' leave, which increases to 30 days after five years of service.

Sick Leave

In Saudi Arabia, an employee whose illness has been proven shall be eligible for paid annual sick leave as follows:

• First 30 days: full pay
• Next 60 days: three quarters of normal pay
• Following 30 days: unpaid

The year begins from the day of the first sick leave.

Parental Leave

Maternity leave: in Saudi Arabia, female employees are entitled to 10 weeks of maternity leave – and must take a six-week period of leave after the birth, with the remaining four weeks to be taken either before or after the birth.

Paternity leave: male employees are entitled to three days' paid leave, following the birth of their child.

Termination Process

In Saudi Arabia, there are various circumstances in which an employer may terminate an employment contract without notice or an end-of-service indemnity.

An indefinite contract can be terminated by either party for a valid reason. This reason must be specified in a written notice, which should be presented to the other party at least 30 days prior to the termination date if the employee is paid monthly and 15 days in other cases.

Severance Pay

In Saudi Arabia, when a fixed-term employment agreement comes to an end, or when an employer terminates an indefinite-term agreement other than for cause, the employee is entitled to half a month’s wages for each of the first five years of employment and a full month’s wages for each year of employment thereafter, in both cases pro-rated for part of a year’s service.

An employee who resigns during the term of a contract receives no end-of-service award for the first two years of employment.

Under a Mauve Group Employer of Record solution, clients and workers can reap the benefits of Mauve’s Global Master Insurance Programme – a market-leading unified corporate insurance programme that connects all Mauve entities to its two preferred providers.

The insurance provides coverage in overseas locations through a combination of the master policy and its linked local policies, where required by law in certain jurisdictions.  The policies include:

• Employer’s Liability and Public Liability - £10,000,000 combined limit.
• Professional Indemnity - £5,000,000 limit.
• Worker’s Compensation – Limit is dependent on location of work.

For specific information about statutory and recommended insurances in your chosen country, get in touch with Mauve.