Paid Time Off
In Saudi Arabia, (Article 109 of the Labour Law), the annual leave entitlement is dependent on the employee’s seniority as follows:
For employees with one to five years of service, the employee receives 21 days of annual leave. Employees with more than five years of service are entitled to 30 days of annual leave.
Employees may carry over any untaken leave to the following vacation leave with the employer’s written consent.
Employees may request ten additional days of unpaid leave per year, subject to the employer’s approval.
Public Holidays
There are 3 public holidays.
Sick Days
Employee is entitled to a sick leave provided they have a satisfactory medical report for:·
The first thirty days of illness on full pay.
The next sixty days on three-quarters pay.
Maternity Leave
Female employees are entitled to 10 weeks of paid maternity leave commencing four weeks before the expected due date. The payment of maternity leave is dependent on the employee’s seniority; employers will compensate employees with service of at least one year at 50.00% of the employee’s pay rate. Employees with at least three years of service receive compensation at the rate of 100.00% of the employees’ regular pay.
An employee receiving full maternity leave entitlement may not also take the payment of annual leave in the same year. In contrast, an employee receiving 50.00% of their salary as a maternity benefit may also take an annual leave entitlement of 50.00% in the same year.
Paternity Leave
A father is entitled to 3 days of paid paternity leave for a birth of a child.
Parental Leave
There are no provisions in the law regarding parental leave.
Compassionate Leave
Employees are entitled to 5 days of paid leave following the death of their parents or children.
Female Muslim employees whose spouse dies are entitled to 4 months and 10 days of compassionate leave. Non-Muslim female employees receive 15 days of compassionate leave
Other Leave
Depending on the Collective Agreement/Employment Contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, once approved between the employer and employee, for the following:
Bereavement leave: In the event of the death of an immediate member, an employee is entitled to two days of bereavement leave.
Marriage leave: An employee is entitled to 3 days of leave in the event of their wedding.
Hajj leave/Pilgrimage leave: As per Article 114 of the Labour Law, an employee is entitled between 10 to 15 days (including the Eid Al-Adha holiday) to perform Hajj if the employee has completed at least 2 consecutive years of service with the employer. However, this entitlement arises only if the employee has not performed Haj previously.