Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments 2025: What They Mean

The new amendments to Saudi Arabia Labour Law include many articles that contribute to enhancing the work environment and attracting investments in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments 2025

Below you can find a summary of the amendments to the Labor Law in Saudi Arabia: ^[1]

• Article 2: Adding an explanation for the terms (assignment – resignation).
• Article 7: Amending the exceptions to the Labor Law.
• Article 22: Amending the Ministry’s provision of employment channels.
• Article 30: Regarding the licensing of recruiting workers and employing Saudis.
• Article 35: Amending the Ministry’s prohibition of renewing the work permit.
• Article 37: Specifying the duration of the employment contract in the event that the duration is not mentioned in the text of the contract.
• Article 43: Regarding the percentage of Saudi workers who have to be trained and qualified in the facility.
• Article 46: Specifying the content of the qualification and training contract.
• Article 61: Adding new duties for the employer.
• Article 75: Procedures for terminating the employment contract by the worker and by the employer.
• Article 151: Regarding the leave of a working woman after childbirth.
• Article 195: Deleted.
• Article 197: Deleted.
• Article 203: Deleted.
• Article 205: Deleted.
• Article 206: Deleted.
• Article 207: Deleted.
• Article 208: Deleted.
• Article 229: The fine for violating Paragraph (1) of Article 30, which included practicing the activity of employing Saudis and recruiting workers, was determined.

See More: Labor Office Contact Number | Labour Office Service Inquiry |  Labor Law New Working Hours | Labor Law end of Service Calculator | End of Service Benefits | Labor Law Article 81

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 2

New terms have been added to Article 2 of the Saudi Labor Law, which includes defining assignment as a service to provide a worker to work for someone other than the employer through a facility licensed for that purpose. The term resignation has also been added, which means the worker’s written expression of his desire, without coercion, to terminate a fixed-term employment contract without any condition or restriction and the employer’s acceptance of it.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 7

The amendments to Article 7 of the Labor Law include removing seafarers who work on ships with a capacity of less than five hundred tons from the exceptions to the provisions of the law. The employer’s family members who work in the facility have also been exempted from the violations and penalties stipulated in Article 129 of the Labor Law. The amendments to Article 7 require the inclusion of domestic workers and those in their position, private agricultural workers and those in their position in the procedures that would improve the performance of the labor market.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 22

Article 22 of the Saudi Labor Law added new duties to the Ministry regarding employment, including matching job seekers’ requests with vacant jobs according to their qualifications.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 30

A paragraph was added to Article 30 of the Labor Law that included allowing the Ministry to propose the value of the fees imposed on practicing the activity of recruiting workers and employing Saudis and the method of disbursing them.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 35

Article 35 of the new Saudi Labor Law allowed the Ministry to refrain from renewing the work permit if the employer violates the criteria for localizing jobs set by the Ministry, and any of the other conditions or controls included in the regulations, provided that the procedures that ensure that the worker is not affected by the failure to renew the work permit are explained, including the possibility of transferring the worker’s service to another employer without the approval of the violating employer.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 37

Article 37 of the Saudi Labor Law stipulated that the employment contract have to be written and include the term of the contract. If the contract does not state its term, the term of the contract shall be considered one year from the date of the worker’s actual commencement of work, and if the work continues after the expiration of this period, the term of the contract shall be considered renewable for a similar period.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 43

Article 43 of the Saudi Labor Law allowed the Minister to issue a decision to determine the percentage of Saudi workers that the employer have to train, after the percentage in the law before the amendment was 12% of the total number of workers.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 46

Article 46 of the Labor Law stipulates that the qualification and training contract have to be written and include the following:

• The type of profession contracted for training.
• The duration of the training and its successive stages, and the skill targeted to be acquired from it.
• The amount of the reward given to the trainee at each stage, provided that it is not determined on a piece or production basis.
• The rights and duties of the trainee and the employer, and whether the qualification or training is in a facility affiliated with the employer or in another facility.
• Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 61
• Article 61 of the Labor Law specifies the following new duties of the employer:
• It is prohibited to employ the worker in forced labor.
• It is not to withhold the worker’s wages or part thereof without a judicial basis.
• It is to treat workers with appropriate respect, and to refrain from any word or action that affects their dignity and religion.
• It is to give workers the necessary time to exercise their rights stipulated in the Labor Law without reducing wages for this time, and it is the right to regulate the exercise of this right in a manner that does not disrupt the workflow.
• The employees of the competent authorities have to facilitate every task related to the implementation of the provisions of this system.
• The employer have to refrain from actions that would invalidate or weaken the application of equal opportunities or treatment in employment and profession.
• Provide suitable housing for his workers, or pay a cash allowance with the wage.
• Provide a suitable means of transportation for his workers from their place of residence to the workplace. He may replace this with an appropriate cash allowance paid to them with the wage.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 75

The employment contract may be terminated by the employer and the worker as follows:

• The worker’s wage is monthly: If the contract is terminated by the worker, he have to give written notice to the employer at least 30 days before the termination date. If the termination is by the employer, he have to give written notice to the worker at least 60 days before the termination date.
• The worker’s wage is not paid monthly: If the contract is of indefinite duration, the party terminating the contract have to send a written letter explaining the reason for the termination at least 30 days before the termination date

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 151

Article 151 defines the leave of a working woman after childbirth as follows:

• A working woman is granted a leave after childbirth with full pay for a period of 12 weeks, the first six weeks of which are granted after the birth process, and the working woman may distribute the remaining six weeks as she sees fit, starting four weeks before the expected date of birth. Based on a medical certificate certified by a health authority. If the remaining leave period is less than 6 weeks due to the delay of the birth from its expected date, the supplementary period shall be considered unpaid leave. In all cases, the working woman has the right to extend this leave for a month without pay.
• The working woman has the right – in the event that she gives birth to a sick or disabled child whose health condition requires a companion – to request a one-month 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.

Saudi Arabia’s Labour Law Amendments to Article 229

Article 229 of the amended Saudi Labor Law has set a fine for anyone who violates the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 30 of the Labor Law regarding the practice of employing Saudis and recruiting workers at a minimum of 200,000 Saudi riyals and not exceeding 500,000 Saudi riyals.

New Labour Law in Saudi Arabia 2025 pdf

The new Saudi Labor Law can be downloaded immediately after the amendment “from here” and then review the new articles in which the Saudi legislator was keen to improve the reality of work and control the relationship between the worker and the employer.

Conclusion

The Saudi legislator was keen to amend the Labor Law in a way that guarantees the rights of the worker and the employer and defines the duties of each towards the other under the employment contract.