The new Saudi Labor Law 1445 pdf and the most important expected amendments

The new Saudi Labor Law 1445 pdf allows citizens and residents of the Kingdom’s territories to view the amended provisions and what has been added to the Labor Law as approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers. These amendments include a number of texts that improve the contractual relationship between the worker and the employer, and guarantee the workers their rights in particular. After the expiration of the employment contract, and through موقع Contents will be presented موقع Contents of all details related to the amendments to the work system and the new version thereof.

What is the working system?

The labor system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the law that regulates the legislative relationship between the worker and the employer, whether the worker is a Saudi or an expatriate to work in the Kingdom, as the Saudi labor market is one of the global markets that attracts workers from all countries and specializations. And to guarantee the worker’s right to fair wages, humane working hours, fair wages, and the entitlements that the worker receives at the end of his service, as well as the rights owed to the employer, such as performing the work to the fullest extent, not violating the job duties required of the worker, regularity in work, and not intentionally Harmful to the employer and the facilities in which he works.

All these provisions and other methods of employment, and the reasons upon which the employment contract is terminated, whether by mutual consent between the two parties to the employment contract, or by either party; Due to the other party's release from the contract requirements. This is in addition to the provisions and penalties that result from termination of the contract if it is terminated without mutual consent between the two parties.

In order for any law to be implemented, it must include penalty mechanisms for violating any of the provisions it includes. Therefore, the law includes those penalties, punishments, and mechanisms designated for imposing those penalties. In addition to determining the authorities to be resorted to in the event of disputes between the worker and the employer in order to preserve the rights of both parties.[1]

New Saudi Labor System 1445 pdf

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that it is considering introducing a number of amendments to the Saudi labor system within the framework of the development plan for the laws and regulations undertaken by the Kingdom in implementation of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to advance the various sectors in the country and transform the Saudi labor market into one of the best labor markets. In the region to parallel global markets, which helps bring competencies in various fields from all over the world, which in turn is reflected in the national economy. The Ministry has worked to present the proposed amendments to specialists in legal systems, opinion makers, and those interested in the Saudi labor system in order to obtain an opinion on the effectiveness of these proposals and their impact on the labor market in the Kingdom.

The proposed amendments consist of 29 articles, in addition to adding a new article that was not included in the labor system before. So far, the new amendments have not been officially issued and approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz. It is expected that these amendments will be issued in the coming period, and the work system and its amendments, the last of which was on the seventh of Muharram of the year 1442, can be downloaded in a form. “Directly in pdf format”from here“.

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Explanation of the new Saudi labor system

By mentioning the laws of the new Saudi Labor System 1444 pdf and its amendments, we present below an explanation of some important points in the system:

• Localization of professions: The employer must commit to localization of professions, and without doing this he cannot renew the worker’s license.
• Terminating the contract during the training (trial) period: The manager or official grants the worker – who left work during the trial period – a service certificate, not an experience certificate. It does not require writing the reason for termination of employment, and it is not a requirement for the employer to grant the worker a release certificate.
• Absence without excuse or permission: This is governed by Article 80 of the Labor Law, and regardless of the location of the leave, the worker is given a violation of it.
• Failure to document the employment contract: leads to a fine imposed on the employer, and he is deprived of some powers and privileges.
• Number of weekly working hours: It has been approved to be 40 hours per week. The employer may not employ the worker for more than this time, and for Ramadan the weekly hours are 30 hours.

Summary of amendments to the Saudi Labor Law 2023

The actual amendments that have occurred to the Saudi labor system, some of the most prominent of which are briefly explained below:

• Amending Paragraph (21) Article (14): The worker is no longer bound by the approval of the current employer, until he moves to another employer, provided that he has spent 12 months from the date of his arrival in Saudi Arabia, and stipulates that the current employer must be notified 3 months before leaving work. The contract did not stipulate otherwise.
• Amendment to Article 51: Two copies of the contract shall be issued, one for the worker and the other for the employer, so that the worker can prove his rights. As for workers in the public sector, the appointment order shall be considered the contract.
• Amendment to Article 99: The minimum working time in industries and businesses is 7 hours in the case of hazardous industries, and a maximum of 9 hours per day.
• Amendment to Article 134: Work injury is defined in accordance with the social insurance system, and occupational diseases fall within this scope, and the first date of detection of the case is the date of injury.

Amendments to the Saudi Labor Law 2023 PDF

The number of articles in the Saudi Labor Law that regulates interests between companies, business owners, and expatriate, resident, and Saudi workers. Due to the rapid changes on the ground, this requires a number of amendments to the articles from time to time. Therefore, we provide the Saudi Labor System Amendments Guide for download in PDF format for download via the link “from here“.

The most important expected amendments to the labor system in Saudi Arabia

In light of the announcement issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of its intention to introduce a number of amendments to the work system, many of those interested in this matter in Saudi Arabia would like to know about the amendments that are expected to be issued after approval by the Saudi Council of Ministers, and the following is We present to you the text of the current article in the labor system, and the text proposed in the amendment:

• The third paragraph of Article Twenty-Two of the current labor system stipulates: Referring workers’ applications for appropriate vacant jobs.
  • It is proposed that this paragraph be amended to “match job seekers’ applications with available jobs according to their qualifications.”
• The second paragraph of Article 26 of the Labor Law stipulates that “the percentage of Saudi workers employed by the employer must not be less than 75% of his total workers, and the Minister may, in the event of a lack of technical competencies or academic qualifications, or the inability to fill jobs with citizens, may reduce this percentage temporarily.” “
  • It is proposed that the 75% percentage of Saudi workers be abolished so that the appropriate percentage for the establishment can be determined in accordance with the decision of the competent minister. The proposal to amend the paragraph states: “The percentage of Saudi workers employed by the employer must not be less than the percentage determined by a decision of the minister.” In the event of a lack of technical competencies or academic qualifications, or if it is not possible to fill jobs with citizens, the Minister may temporarily reduce this percentage.
• Article 30 of the Labor Law states: “No natural or legal person may practice the activity of employing Saudis or the activity of recruiting workers unless he is licensed to do so by the Ministry. The regulations specify the tasks of each of these two activities, the conditions for granting and renewing the license for each of them, the duties and prohibitions, the rules for non-renewal and cancellation of the license, the consequences resulting from that, and other conditions and controls that are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of them.
  • It is proposed that this article be amended so that its wording becomes as follows: “No natural or legal person may practice the activity of recruiting or supporting Saudis or the activity of recruiting workers unless he is licensed to do so by the Ministry. The regulations specify the tasks of each of these activities, the conditions for granting and renewing the license for each of them, the value of the fees prescribed for it and the means of disbursing it, the obligations of the licensee, the rules for non-renewal and cancellation of the license, the consequences resulting from that, and other necessary conditions and controls to ensure the proper functioning of it. “
• Article 35, related to the penalty for violating the established nationalization rates, stipulates that “the Ministry may refrain from renewing the work license if the employer violates the standards for nationalization of jobs set by the Ministry.”
  • It is proposed that the reason for withdrawing a work permit related to nationalization be canceled and expanded to include violating any of the decisions issued by the Ministry, so that the new text of the article is as follows: The Ministry may refrain from renewing the work license if the employer violates the decisions set by the Ministry.

The most important articles that are expected to be amended in the new work system

There are many amendments to be introduced to the labor system. Some of them relate to workers’ rights, some relate to employers, and some regulate the contractual relationship between the worker and the employer. The most prominent articles expected to be amended are as follows:

• Article 37 of the Labor Law regarding indefinite-term employment contracts, which stipulates that “the employment contract of a non-Saudi must be written and of a fixed term.” If the contract does not state its duration, the work permit is considered the duration of the contract.”
  • It is expected that the article will be amended to make employment renewal annual, and its text will be as follows: “The employment contract of a non-Saudi must be written, documented, and have a fixed term. If the contract is devoid of a statement of its duration, it shall be considered concluded and renewed for a period of one year from the date of commencement of work.”
• The first paragraph of Article 39 related to the impermissibility of working for someone other than the sponsor, which stipulates that “It is not permissible – without following the established legal rules and procedures – for an employer to let his worker work for another, and it is not permissible for the worker to work for another employer, nor is it permissible for an employer to work for another employer.” The work employs another worker, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development is responsible for inspecting establishments, investigating the violations that are detected by its inspectors, and then referring them to the Ministry of Interior to apply the prescribed penalties in their regard.”
  • The text of the paragraph related to allocating the imposition of penalties for violating the provisions of this article to the Ministry of Human Resources instead of referring it to the Ministry of the Interior shall be amended so that the paragraph stipulates that “it is not permissible – without following the established statutory rules and procedures – for the employer to let his worker work for others, and the worker is not permitted to He works for another employer, and the employer may not employ another worker, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development is responsible for inspecting establishments, controlling and imposing penalties.”
• The first paragraph of Article 40, related to the financial work burdens incurred by the employer, stipulates that “the employer shall bear the fees for recruiting the non-Saudi worker, the fees for the residency and work permit and their renewal, and the resulting fines for delaying that, and the fees for changing professions, exit and return, and a ticket.” The worker returns to his homeland after the relationship between the two parties ends.”
  • This article will be amended and exit and return tickets to Saudi Arabia will be deleted for the worker during the work period, to stipulate: “The employer shall bear the fees for bringing in the non-Saudi worker, the fees for the residence and work permit and their renewal, and any other fees decided by the state for the purpose of renewing the work permit, and the fines resulting from delaying that.” , profession change fees, and a ticket for the worker to return to his home country after the end of the relationship between the two parties.”
• Article 74 related to the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract, which stipulates that “If the contract is of indefinite duration, either party may terminate it based on a legitimate reason that must be stated by notice addressed to the other party in writing before the termination for a period specified in the contract, but not less than For 60 days if the worker’s wage is paid monthly, and not less than 30 days for others.”
  • It is scheduled to be amended to stipulate the procedures to be followed in terminating an employment contract to be as follows:
    • The worker must give notice to the employer in writing no less than 30 days before leaving work.
    • The employer must give written notice to the employee no less than 60 days before termination.
    • If the contract is of indefinite duration and the wage is not paid monthly, the notice period for both parties must not be less than 30 days.

Compensating the worker harmed by the termination of the employment contract in the Saudi labor system

Article 77 of the Saudi Labor Law regulates the provisions resulting from the termination of the employment contract. The current article stipulates:

“Unless the contract includes specific compensation in exchange for its termination by one of the parties for an illegal reason, the party harmed by the termination of the contract is entitled to compensation as follows:
– 15 days’ wages for each year of the worker’s service, if the contract is of indefinite duration.
– Wage for the remaining period of the contract if the contract is for a fixed term.
The compensation referred to in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article must not be less than the worker’s wage for two months.

It is expected that Article 1442 pdf will be amended in the new Saudi Labor Law to include the procedures and controls by which the worker will be compensated as a result of the expiration of his employment contract in the event that the employer terminates the contract illegally, and the compensation to be paid in those cases has not been determined, so the employer is obligated to With the following:

• Compensation includes one month's wages for each year of service if the contract is indefinite.
• Compensation must include the wage due to the worker for the remaining period of the contract if the contract is for a fixed term.
• The worker's compensation in all cases should not be less than two months' wages.
• It is permissible for the two parties to the contract to agree on compensation in an amount greater than that included in the article.
• In the event that the value of compensation is not determined, the worker is obligated to return to the employer the compensation resulting from his termination of the contract for an unlawful reason, as follows:
  • If the contract is of indefinite duration, the worker is obligated to return to the employer the value of 15 days for each year of service.
  • If the contract is for a limited period, the worker is obligated to return the wage for the remainder of the contract.

Resignation provisions in the new work system

The current labor law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not regulate the provisions for a worker’s resignation, and it is expected that Article 79 bis will be introduced in the new Saudi Labor Law 1442, which includes the permissibility of submitting resignation for all types of employment contracts concluded between the worker and the employer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The worker submits a written resignation request to the employer, and in the event that the employer does not respond to the resignation request, the resignation will be effective after thirty days. The employer also has the right to postpone a response to the resignation letter for a period of sixty days from the date of its submission whenever work circumstances require it. He must respond to the request within the thirty days specified in the law.

In the event that a resignation request is submitted, within the thirty-day period stipulated in the system, the employment contract will be valid and the employee will be committed to his work with all job duties due to him, and he will also be entitled to full wages for that period. After the expiration of the employment contract through resignation, the worker has the right to obtain all his rights in accordance with this system.

And here, we have reached the conclusion of the article; Through it, we learned about the new Saudi Labor System 1445 pdf and the most important provisions that were amended in the new system.