New amendments to Labour Law executive regulations proposed

At a glance

• The Saudi government has approved amendments to the Labour Law, including 38 new articles, the deletion of seven, and the addition of two, aiming to align with the Saudi employment market strategy and international agreements.
• The amendments will take effect 180 days after their publication in the official gazette and aim to improve the labour market, enhance job stability, preserve contractual rights, develop human resources, and increase job opportunities.
• Key changes include an expansion of the item on holidays and labour contracts, the addition of definitions for ‘resignation’ and ‘assignment’, and the specification of resignation procedures.

The Saudi government has approved key amendments to several articles of the Labour Law, aiming to create a more attractive work environment and contribute to sustainable development in line with the goals of 'Vision 2030'.

The Human Resources and Social Development Ministry has stated that the new amendments include 38 articles, deleting seven articles, and adding two new articles to the Labour Law. These amendments align with the Saudi employment market strategy as well as international agreements ratified by the country.

The ministry has stated that the new amendments will take effect after 180 days from the date of their publication in the official gazette. The amendments aimed to improve the labour market in the country, enhance job stability, preserve the rights of parties to the contractual relationship, in addition to developing human resources, enhancing training opportunities for workers, and increasing job opportunities for citizens. The amendments considered the interests of all parties to the contractual relationship. These include;

• an expansion of the item on holidays and labour contracts;
• adding definitions of the terms: Resignation and assignment;
• adding an article specifying the procedures for resignation;
• amending the grievance procedures for the worker; and
• adding penalties for practicing the activity of employing workers without a license from the ministry.

The new amendments also stipulate that the employer must formulate a special policy for the training and qualification of employees in order to raise their skills and improve their standard.