Annual leave and other leave under the Saudi Labour Law

Annual leave under the Labour Law is at least 21 days with pay given in advance, rising to at least 30 days after 5 continuous years with the employer. A worker also gets paid leave for holidays, marriage, a death, a newborn, Hajj and sickness, and a working woman gets 12 weeks of maternity leave on full pay.

Steps

1. Annual leave: at least 21 days, and at least 30 days after 5 continuous years, with pay given in advance. The employer sets the dates and must tell you at least 30 days ahead; you may not give it up or take cash instead of it during your service (Article 109).
2. Postponing annual leave: with the employer's approval you may carry it, or some days of it, to the next year. The employer may postpone it after its year for up to 90 days; longer needs your written consent and may not go beyond the end of the following year (Article 110).
3. When you leave the job: you are paid for leave days you did not use, and for leave on parts of a year in proportion to the time you worked (Article 111).
4. Holidays on full pay for workers under the Labour Law: Eid al-Fitr, 4 days starting the day after 29 Ramadan by the Umm al-Qura calendar; Eid al-Adha, 4 days starting on the Day of Arafah; National Day, one day; Founding Day, one day on 22 February (Implementing Regulations Article 24).
5. If a holiday falls on the weekly rest day, you get the same number of days before or after it; if it falls during annual leave, the annual leave is extended by those days (Implementing Regulations Article 24).
6. Occasion leave on full pay: 5 days for your marriage or the death of your spouse or one of your ascendants (such as a parent) or descendants (such as a child); 3 days for the death of a brother or sister, all counted from the date of the event; 3 days for a newborn, within 7 days of the birth. The employer may ask for supporting documents (Article 113).
7. Hajj leave: paid, 10 to 15 days including the Eid al-Adha holiday, once during your service if you have not performed Hajj before, provided you have worked at least two continuous years for the employer. The employer may set how many workers get this leave each year (Article 114).
8. Sick leave: paid for the first 30 days, three quarters of the wage for the next 60 days, and unpaid for the following 30 days, whether continuous or not, within the year that starts on the first day of sick leave (Article 117).
9. Maternity leave: 12 weeks on full pay, of which the 6 weeks after the birth are mandatory; the worker spreads the other 6 weeks as she chooses, starting from 4 weeks before the expected delivery date, and may extend the leave by one month unpaid (Article 151).
10. Iddah leave: a Muslim working woman whose husband dies gets at least 4 months and 10 days on full pay; a non-Muslim working woman gets 15 days on full pay (Article 160).
11. Exam leave: full pay for a year that is not being repeated, if the employer agreed to your enrolment in an educational institution; apply at least 15 days before (Article 115).
12. If your employer refuses leave you are owed, or its pay: file an amicable settlement request for free on the HRSD portal; for help call 19911.