Leaving a job in Saudi Arabia: what you're owed and by when

Your end of service award

The award is worked out on your last wage (Art. 84). Our figures use your total pay, basic plus fixed allowances. Ask HR which allowances they count.

• Half a month's wage for each of your first 5 years.
• A month's wage for each year after that.
• Part years count in proportion.

If your employer ended the contract, or a fixed-term contract ran out, you get the full award.

If you resigned

• Under 2 years: no award.
• 2 to 5 years: one third. Exactly 5 years still counts as one third.
• Over 5 and under 10 years: two thirds.
• 10 years or more: the full award.

These shares come from Article 85. A woman who resigns within 6 months of marrying, or 3 months of giving birth, gets the full award. So does anyone who leaves because of force majeure (Art. 87).

Probation and dismissal

Probation can last up to 180 days. If the contract ends during probation, no award is due (Art. 54).

A dismissal for one of the reasons in Article 80 ends the contract without an award.

Next: Your leaving plan

Notice and unused leave

On an open-ended contract with monthly pay, you give 30 days' written notice. Your employer must give you 60 days (Art. 75).

If you are not paid monthly, the notice is 30 days either way.

Your resignation counts as accepted if your employer does not answer within 30 days. Your employer can put acceptance off for up to 60 days, with a written reason (Art. 79 bis).

You can withdraw your resignation within 7 days, unless your employer has already accepted it.

Whoever skips the notice period pays the other side the wage for it (Art. 76).

Unused annual leave is paid when you leave (Art. 111). Ask HR which wage they use for it.

Final pay

If your employer ended the contract, or it ran out, your employer has one week to settle everything. If you ended it, two weeks.

That covers your award, your wages and your other entitlements. Check each line before you sign a final clearance.

Next: Was my final pay late?

SANED unemployment insurance

SANED covers Saudi nationals only (SANED Law, Arts. 3 and 8). Expats cannot claim it.

Saudi nationals register within 90 days of leaving work (Art. 10). It pays 60% of the average wage for the first 3 months, then 50%.

The monthly caps are SAR 9,000 for the first 3 months and SAR 7,500 after (Art. 12). Resigning, or a dismissal that is your own fault, rules it out.

Next: Can expats claim SANED in Saudi Arabia?

Your visa

Leaving Saudi Arabia for good? Your employer issues a final exit visa while you are still in the country. Any traffic fines must be paid first.

Use it within two months of the day it is issued. After that, fines apply (Absher).

Have a new job offer in Saudi Arabia? Ask your new employer about a transfer before any exit visa is issued.

If you are not paid

File on the HRSD friendly settlement service, then sign in on the HRSD sign-in page. The service is for workers who are not classed as domestic workers. See all six countries side by side.

1. File for friendly settlement online through HRSD's Wedi service. It is free.
2. File with the settlement office for the city where you last worked.
3. If it does not settle, it goes to the labour court within 21 working days of your claim.
4. The labour court case runs on the Najiz platform.

Workers pay no court costs when they claim their dues (Judicial Costs Law, Art. 17).

The labour court will not hear a claim 12 months after the job ends. The exceptions are a reason the court accepts, or your employer admitting the debt (Art. 234).

The HRSD helpline is 19911, in Arabic, English and Urdu.

Next: Complaint deadline checker