沙特劳工法 Saudi labor law.docx

SAUDI LABOR AND WORKMEN LAW

Important Note: This English translation of the regulations is for general information only.
The Arabic text is the official text that has legal force.
 Rules & Regulation
 Labor Law : 6-2007
Annouced By : Labor and Civil Care Laws
Section : Labor Law
 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Official Translation Department
Translation of Saudi Laws
 LABOR LAW
Royal Decree No. M/51
23 Shaban 1426 / 27 September 2005 
First Edition
2006 
In the name of God
the Compassionate
the Merciful 
This translation is provided for guidance. The governing text is the Arabic text.

PART I
DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
Chapter One
Definitions
Article (1):
This law shall be called the Labor Law.
Article (2):
The following terms and phrases, whenever mentioned in this Law, shall have the meanings expressed next to them, unless the context requires otherwise:
Ministry: Ministry of Labor.
Minister: Minister of Labor.
Labor Office: The administrative authority assuming jurisdiction over the labor affairs within an area specified by a decision of the Minister.
Employer: Any natural or corporate person employing one or more workers for a wage.
Worker: Any natural person working for an employer and under his management or supervision for a wage, even if he is not under his direct control.
Minor: Any person of fifteen and below eighteen years of age.
Work: The effort exerted in all human activities in execution of a (written or unwritten) work contract regardless of their nature or kind, be they industrial, trade, agricultural, technical or otherwise, whether physical or mental.
Original Work: For individuals: Their usual business activities. For firms: The activities for which the firm has been established as stated in its articles of incorporation, franchise contract ?if a franchise company- or Commercial Register.
Temporary Work: Work considered by its nature to be part of the employer抯 activities, the completion of which requires a specific period or relates to a specific job and ends with its completion. It shall not exceed ninety days in either case.
Incidental Work: Work that is not considered by its nature to be part of the usual activities of an employer, and its execution does not require more than ninety days.
Seasonal Work: Work that takes place in known periodical seasons.
Part-time Work: Work performed by a part-time worker for an employer and for less than half the usual daily working hours at the firm, whether such a worker works on a daily basis or on certain days of the week.
Continuous Service: Uninterrupted service of a worker for the same employer or his legal successor from the starting date of service. Service shall be deemed continuous in the following cases:
(1) Official holidays and vacations.
(2) Interruptions for sitting for examinations in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
(3) Worker抯 unpaid absences from work for intermittent periods not exceeding twenty days per work year.
Basic Wage: All that is given to the worker for his work by virtue of a written or unwritten work contract regardless of the kind of wage or its method of payment, in addition to periodic increments.
Actual Wage: The basic wage plus all other due increments decided for the worker for the effort he exerts at work or for risks he encounters in performing his work, or those decided for the worker for the work under the work contract or work organization regulation. This includes:
(1) The commission or percentage from sales or profits paid against what the worker markets, produces, collects or realizes from increased or enhanced production.
(2) Allowances the worker is entitled to for exerted effort, or risks he encounters while performing his job.
(3) Increments that may be granted in accordance with the standard of living or to meet family expenses.
(4) Grant or reward: What the employer grants to the worker and what is paid to him for honesty or efficiency and the like, if such grant or reward is stipulated in the work contract or the work organization regulation of the firm or if customarily granted to the extent that the workers consider it part of the wage rather than a donation.
(5) In rem privileges: what the employer commits himself to provide to the worker for his work by stating it in the work contract or the work organization regulation and its estimated at a maximum of two months basic wage per annum, unless it is otherwise determined to exceed that in the work contract or the work organization regulation.
Wage: actual wage.
Firm: Any enterprise run by a natural or corporate person who employs one or more workers for a wage of any kind.
Month: Thirty days, unless it is otherwise specified in the work contract or the work organization regulation.
Regulations: The Implementing Regulations of this Law.

Chapter Two
General Provisions
Article (3):
Work is the right of every citizen. No one else may exercise such right unless the conditions provided for in this Law are fulfilled. All citizens are equal in the right to work.
Article (4):
When implementing the provisions of this Law, the employer and the worker shall adhere to the provisions of Shariah.
Article (5):
The provisions of this Law shall apply to:
(1) Any contract whereby a person commits himself to work for an employer and under his management or supervision for a wage.
(2) Workers of the government and public organizations and institutions including those who work in pastures or agriculture.
(3) Workers of charitable institutions.
(4) Workers of agricultural and pastoral firms that employ ten or more workers.
(5) Workers of agricultural firms that process their own products.
(6) Workers who operate or repair agricultural machineries on a permanent basis.
(7) Qualification and training contracts with workers other than those working for the employer within the limits of the special provisions provided for in this Law.
(8) Part-time workers with respect to safety, occupational health and work injuries, as well as what is decided by the Minister.
Article (6):
Incidental, seasonal and temporary workers shall be subject to the provisions on duties and disciplinary rules, the maximum working hours, daily and weekly rest intervals, overtime work, official holidays, safety rules, occupational health, work injuries and compensation therefore as well as whatever is decided by the Minister.
Article (7):
The following shall be exempted from the implementation of the provisions of this Law:
(1) The employers family members, namely, the spouse, the ascendants and descendants who constitute the only workers of the firm.
(2) Domestic helpers and the like.
(3) Sea workers working on board of vessels with a load of less than five hundred tons.
(4) Agricultural workers other than the categories stated in Article (5) of this Law.
(5) Non-Saudi workers entering the Kingdom to perform a specific task for a period not exceeding two months.
(6) Players and coaches of sports clubs and federations.
The Ministry shall, in coordination with the competent authorities, draft regulations for domestic helpers and the like to govern their relations with their employers and specify the rights and duties of each party and submit the same to the Council of Ministers.
Article (8):
Any condition that contradicts the provisions of this Law shall be deemed null and void. The same applies to any release or settlement of the worker抯 rights arising from this Law during the validity of the work contract, unless the same is more beneficial to the worker.
Article (9):
Arabic shall be the language used for data, records, files, work contracts and the like as provided for in this Law or in any decision issued in implementation of its provisions as well as the instructions issued by the employer to his workers.
If the employer uses a foreign language beside Arabic in any of the mentioned cases, the Arabic text shall prevail.
Article (10):
All periods and schedules provided for in this Law shall be according to Hegira calendar, unless otherwise stated in the work contract or the work organization regulation.
Article (11):
(1) If the employer assigns all or part of his original business to a natural or corporate person, the latter shall give his workers all the rights and privileges which the original employer gives to his workers, and both of them shall be jointly and severally liable.
(2) In case of multiple employers, all of them shall be jointly and severally responsible for the fulfillment of the obligations arising from this Law and the work contracts.
Article (12):
Both the employer and the worker shall be familiar with the provisions of the Labor Law in all its contents so that each of them shall be aware of his position and of his rights and duties. Any employer who employs ten or more workers shall submit to the Ministry, a work organization regulation including internal work provisions, within a year of the effective date of this Law or from the date of reaching the quota. Such regulations shall include the work organization rules and all related provisions including the provisions related to privileges, violations and disciplinary penalties, not contradicting the provisions of this Law.
Article (13):
The Ministry shall approve the work organization regulation and all amendments to it within sixty days from the date of its submission to the Ministry.
If such period elapses without approval or objection, the regulation shall be considered effective as of the end of such period.
The employer shall announce the regulation by displaying it in a prominent location in the firm or by any other means that ensures the workers?awareness thereof.

Article (14):
A model(s) work organization regulation shall be issued pursuant to a decision by the Minister for the guidance of employers.
Article (15):
An employer shall, upon commencement of work in the firm, notify the competent labor office in writing of the following data:
(1) Name, type and headquarters of the firm, as well as its mailing address and any information that facilitates contact therewith.
(2) Line of business for which it is licensed, providing the number of the Commercial Register or the license, its date and issuing authority, together with a copy thereof.
(3) Number of workers to be employed in the firm.
(4) Name of the firm抯 manager in-charge.
(5) Any other data required by the Ministry.
Article (16):
(1) If the employer is unable to run the business in person, he shall designate a representative at the workplace. In case of multiple partners or managers in the firm, one of them, from among those residing at the place of work, shall be nominated to represent the employer and be liable for any violation of the provisions of this Law.
(2) The employer shall notify the competent labor office in writing of the name of the partner or manager, and, in case of his replacement, he shall notify the labor office of the name of the new partner or manager within seven days at most of the date of the latter抯 assuming the job.
(3) In case no manager is appointed to be in charge of the firm, or if the appointed manager does not assume his duties, then the person who actually runs the firm or the employer himself shall be considered the manager in charge of the firm.
In all cases, the employer is ultimately liable.
Article (17):
An employer shall maintain at the workplace records, statements and files the nature and contents of which shall be specified in the regulations. He shall display at a prominent location at the workplace a schedule of working hours, breaks, weekly rest days and time of start and end of each shift, when operating in shifts.
Article (18):
If the ownership of a firm is transferred to a new owner or a change takes place in its legal form through merger, partition or otherwise, the work contracts shall remain in force in both cases and service shall be deemed continuous. As for workers?rights accrued for the period prior to the change such as wages or unrealized end- of- service award on the date of transfer of ownership and other rights, the predecessor and the successor shall be jointly and severally liable. However, in the case of transfer of ownership of individual firms, for any reason, the predecessor and the successor may agree to transfer all the previous rights of the worker to the new owner with the written consent of the worker. If the worker disapproves, he may request the termination of his contract and collect his dues from the predecessor.

Article (19):
Amounts due to the worker or his heirs under this Law shall be deemed first rate privileged debts and the worker and his heirs shall, for the purpose of settling them, be entitled to a privilege over all the employer抯 properties. In the case of bankruptcy of the employer or liquidation of his firm, the aforementioned amounts shall be entered as privileged debts and the worker is paid an expedited amount equivalent to one month wage prior to payment of any other expenses including judicial, bankruptcy or liquidation expenses.
Article (20):
An employer or a worker may not perform any act that may abuse the provisions of this Law or the decisions or regulations issued for its implementation. Neither of them may undertake any act that infringes upon the freedom of the other or the freedom of other workers or employers to realize any interest or impose a point of view that conflicts with the freedom of work or the jurisdiction of the competent authority in charge of settlement of disputes.
Article (21):
The Minister, in implementing the provisions of this Law, shall coordinate with relevant authorities whenever necessary.
PART II
ORGANIZATION OF RECRUITMENT
Chapter One
Employment Units
Article (22):
The Ministry shall provide employment units, free of charge, at locations convenient for employers and workers, which shall undertake the following:
(1) Assisting workers in finding suitable jobs and aiding employers in recruiting suitable workers.
(2) Gathering necessary information on the labor market and its developments and analyzing such information to make it available to various public and private organizations concerned with economic and social planning affairs.
(3) Performing the following duties:
(3-1) Registration of job seekers.
(3-2) Obtaining data on vacant jobs from employers.
(3-3) Referring workers?applications to suitable vacant jobs.
(3-4) Providing advice and assistance to job seekers with respect to vocational qualification and training or the required retraining to fill vacancies.
(3-5) Other matters decided by the Ministry.
Article (23):
Every citizen of working age who is capable of and willing to work may register his name at the employment unit, his date of birth, qualifications, previous employment, preferences and address.

Article (24):
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