Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law

What the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law are

The Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law (اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام العمل) are a regulatory text that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issues to implement the Articles of the Labor Law. They give the detail that the Labor Law leaves to regulation. The version in force was issued by Ministerial Decision No. 115921 dated 19/8/1446H. It took effect on 20/8/1446H, which corresponds to 19 February 2025. That is the date on which the amendments of Royal Decree M/44 to the Labor Law took effect.

The Ministry publishes the Implementing Regulations with their five annexes in one file titled «اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام العمل وملحقاتها» (the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law and their annexes). They are not the Labor Law. They are not the work organisation regulation (لائحة تنظيم العمل) that each establishment prepares, and they are not the ministerial decisions to which some of their Articles refer.

How the Articles of the Implementing Regulations are built

Apart from the repealed Articles, each Article of the Implementing Regulations opens by naming the Article of the Labor Law that it implements, in the form «في تنفيذ أحكام (المادة …) من النظام» (in implementation of the provisions of Article … of the Law). The form varies in three ways:

• Paragraph first. Articles 3, 4, 8 and 38 of the Implementing Regulations name the paragraph or the paragraphs before the Article.
• Several Articles. Articles 7 and 18 of the Implementing Regulations name more than one Article of the Labor Law.
• A different opening. Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations opens with «في تنفيذ حكم» (in implementation of the provision of).

For example, Article 4 bis of the Implementing Regulations implements Article 15 of the Labor Law. Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations implements Article 53 of the Labor Law, and Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations implements Article 58 of the Labor Law. A reader who starts from an Article of the Labor Law can look in the Implementing Regulations for the Article that opens by naming it.

In the consolidated version that the Ministry publishes, the text of each implemented Article of the Labor Law appears above the Article of the Implementing Regulations that implements it.

In the body of the Implementing Regulations and in Annex 1, the edition writes Articles of the Labor Law with the ordinal in words, for example «المادة الثالثة والخمسون» (Article 53, written in words). It writes Articles of the Implementing Regulations with a number in brackets, for example «المادة (19)» (Article 19).

The distinction does not hold in Annexes 3 and 4. The Articles of each of those annexes are numbered in words, for example «المادة الأولى» (the first Article), so their numbers look like Articles of the Labor Law. The distinction is a feature of the edition, so no rule should be built on it when the text is moved to another source.

The Articles of the Implementing Regulations are numbered from 1 to 40. Three of them, Articles 2, 36 and 37 of the Implementing Regulations, carry the word «(ملغاة)» (repealed). Five more carry bis numbers: Articles 4 bis, 15 bis, 16 bis (1), 16 bis (2) and 22 bis of the Implementing Regulations. That makes 45 numbered Articles, three of them repealed.

A search for Article 16 bis of the Implementing Regulations alone finds nothing, because the edition has no single Article with that number. It has Article 16 bis (1) and Article 16 bis (2) as two Articles.

Which Article implements which

The list below groups the Articles of the Implementing Regulations by subject. It shows what each group implements, according to the opening line of each Article:

• Temporary and casual work. Article 1 of the Implementing Regulations implements Article 6 of the Labor Law. A temporary or casual work contract becomes a contract subject to all the provisions of the Labor Law if work under the contract continues for more than ninety days. The labour courts have jurisdiction over disputes that arise from a casual, seasonal or temporary contract.
• The establishment and its records. Articles 3, 4, 4 bis, 5 and 6 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 12, 13, 15, 17 and 20 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the adoption of the model work regulation (النموذج الموحد للائحة تنظيم العمل), the two ways of preparing an establishment’s regulation, the updating of establishment data on the approved platform, the data that the statements, registers and files contain, and the employer’s refraining from keeping the passport of a non Saudi worker. The updating of establishment data is covered under establishment data update.
• Localisation, employment and recruitment. Articles 7 to 14 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 22 to 25, 26 (paragraph 2), 28, 30, 36, 37, 39 and 41 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the coordination between the Ministry and the Human Resources Development Fund on employment channels, the programmes for localisation rates, the definition of a person with a disability, the licensing of the activities of employing Saudis, recruiting workers and outsourcing, the occupations in which a non Saudi may not be employed, the fixed term contract of a non Saudi worker, the work of a non Saudi through the Ajeer programme, and the conditions for recruitment. The Ajeer programme is covered under Ajeer.
• Occupational description and training. Articles 15, 15 bis, 16, 16 bis (1), 16 bis (2) and 17 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 42, 43, 44, 47, 48 and 49 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the preparation of the occupational description of jobs according to the Saudi Unified Classification of Occupations, the training of a percentage of Saudi workers, the training programme, the training of students and graduates, the ending of a training contract, and the jurisdiction of the labour courts over disputes on training and qualification. The classification is covered under Saudi occupational classification.
• Contract, probation, transfer and duties. Articles 18 to 21 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 51, 52, 53, 58 and 61 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the unified models of the work contract and the electronic authentication of contracts, the probation period, the transfer of a worker to another place of work, and the duties of the employer. The authentication of contracts is covered under contract authentication.
• Wages, hours and leave. Articles 22, 22 bis and 23 to 27 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 106, 107, 108, 112, 116, 117 and 120 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the annual ceiling on overtime, the crediting of paid rest in place of overtime pay, preparatory work, Eid holidays, unpaid leave, sick leave and part time work.
• Injuries and safety. Articles 28 to 30 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 141, 142 and 146 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the procedures for reporting work injuries in an establishment that is not subject to the occupational hazards branch, the first aid cabinet, and the identification of places far from urbanisation.
• Women workers and juveniles. Articles 31 to 35 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 154, 161, 162, 163 and 167 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the rest periods for nursing a newborn child, the prohibition of a juvenile’s work in jobs that endanger health, safety or morals, the minimum age of employment, the exceptions for the night work of juveniles, and the conditions for the education and vocational training of a juvenile.
• Violations and penalties. Articles 38 to 40 of the Implementing Regulations implement Articles 230, 231 and 232 of the Labor Law. The subjects are the authority that imposes the penalties, the removal of a violation after a penalty is imposed, and the payment of a fine.

Articles 2, 36 and 37 of the Implementing Regulations are repealed and implement nothing.

The five annexes and what each contains

Five annexes are attached to the Implementing Regulations. They do not share one structure:

• Annex 1. It is the model work regulation, and it contains seventy two numbered Articles. The schedules of violations and penalties follow it. Article 3 of the Implementing Regulations refers to the adoption of the model, and Article 4 of the Implementing Regulations sets the two ways of preparing the regulation of an establishment.
• Annex 2. It is a schedule, not a series of Articles. It lists the accommodations and facilitating services in the work environment for workers with permanent or temporary disabilities, and for workers whose illness puts them in the position of a person with a disability. Its subject is covered under employment of persons with disabilities.
• Annex 3. It contains numbered Articles that set the controls and rules for practising the activity of intermediation in employing Saudis.
• Annex 4. It contains numbered Articles that set the rules for practising the activity of recruiting workers and providing labour services.
• Annex 5. It holds the unified models of the work contract, one for each type of contract.

Article numbers shared by the Labor Law, the Implementing Regulations and the annexes

The same Article number appears in the Labor Law, in the Implementing Regulations, in Annex 1 and in Annexes 3 and 4, so a number quoted without its instrument is not enough. The examples below show one number used by different instruments:

• Number 58. Article 58 of the Labor Law is on the transfer of a worker to another place of work, and Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations implements it. Article 58 of Annex 1 is on the definition of a violation and on the penalties.
• Number 18. Article 18 of the Implementing Regulations is on the unified models of the work contract and their electronic authentication. Article 18 of Annex 1 is on performance reports, which are covered under annual performance report.
• Number 19. Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations is on the probation period. Article 19 of Annex 1 is on the performance rating scale of five levels.
• Number 71. Article 71 of the Labor Law is on the investigation of the worker before a penalty is imposed. Article 71 of Annex 1 is on the grievance.

A citation that names the instrument with the number avoids confusion, for example Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations, Article 19 of Annex 1 to the Implementing Regulations, or Article 53 of the Labor Law.

Two examples: probation and the transfer of a worker

The probation period. Article 53 of the Labor Law provides that the total probation period may not exceed 180 days. It refers to the Implementing Regulations for the leave that is not counted. Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations then applies, and it has two paragraphs. Paragraph 1 requires the contract to state the period expressly and not to exceed 180 days. It allows the period to be divided into several periods on two conditions: the periods must be consecutive, and the contract must state the division clearly when it is concluded.

Paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations excludes from the calculation of the probation period the holidays of Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha, the National Day holiday, the Founding Day holiday and sick leave.

We apply this to assumed figures, not to a particular case. Suppose a contract with a probation period of 90 days that began on a given day. An Eid holiday of six days and sick leave of three days fell within the period. Nine days are excluded from the calculation, so the 90 counted days are complete only after 99 days from the start. An employer who counted all calendar days without the exclusions would end the probation nine days early.

The transfer of a worker. Article 58 of the Labor Law bars transferring a worker from the original place of work to another place that requires a change of residence, unless the worker consents in writing. In cases of necessity that arise from temporary circumstances, it allows the employer to assign the worker to work in another place without consent for no more than thirty days a year. The employer must bear the costs of the transfer and of the stay during that period.

Article 20 of the Implementing Regulations adds a provision that does not appear in Article 58 of the Labor Law. If the work contract has a clause that specifies the place of work as anywhere in the Kingdom, or allows the employer to transfer the worker as the needs of the work require, that clause counts as the written consent of the worker to the transfer. A reader of Article 58 of the Labor Law alone would miss that a clause of the contract can take the place of a separate consent. The transfer is covered under transfer to another place of work.

How the Implementing Regulations differ from neighbouring instruments

• The Labor Law. It was issued by Royal Decree M/51 dated 23/8/1426H. In the edition we read, the latest amendments to the Labor Law are those of Royal Decree M/44. The Implementing Regulations implement the Labor Law and do not amend it.
• The work organisation regulation. It is a document that each establishment prepares and adopts. Articles 3 and 4 of the Implementing Regulations set its model and the two ways of preparing it.
• The decisions on violations. Article 38 of the Implementing Regulations refers to a ministerial decision on violations and the penalties that correspond to them, and it does not state the number of that decision. The table of violations and penalties now in force is Ministerial Decision 112377 dated 21/8/1447H, a decision separate from the Implementing Regulations. The table is covered under violations and penalties schedule.

How the Implementing Regulations are cited and when their edition changes

A citation names the instrument, the Article number and the approving decision, for example Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law issued by Ministerial Decision 115921. The edition we cite from is the consolidated one that the Ministry published on its website in April 2025. It runs to 109 pages. The Ministry publishes the Implementing Regulations from time to time under a new dated path, so the address of the file changes even if its name stays the same. A reader should check the Ministry’s page for the Implementing Regulations and not a saved link.

Ministerial decisions amend Articles of the Implementing Regulations. Ministerial Decision 153307 dated 11/11/1445H amended item second of Article 27 of the Implementing Regulations. The decision amended items 7, 8, 10 and 11 of that item and added items 12 and 17, and the April 2025 edition includes it. We cannot state that Article 27 of the Implementing Regulations is free of an amendment made after that edition, so the Ministry’s website should be checked before the Article is quoted.

Our practical recommendation, which is not a text in the Implementing Regulations, is that an establishment records the date of the edition on its saved copy, because the difference between two editions may fall in a single Article.

This is an explanation of the concept and of the statutory provisions cited, not legal advice.