What a notice period is
A notice period (فترة الإشعار) is the length of time by which one party to an employment contract must inform the other, in writing, before ending the employment relationship, so that the relationship does not end without warning. The notice is given first, the period runs, and the contract ends when the period has run its course.
Which contracts carry a notice period
Under the Saudi Labor Law (نظام العمل), notice concerns the contract of indefinite duration (العقد غير محدد المدة) when it is ended for a legitimate reason. Article 74 of the Labor Law lists the unilateral will of either party in a contract of indefinite duration among the ways a contract ends, and refers that case to Article 75 of the Labor Law, which sets the period of notice.
A fixed term contract is different, as our guide to fixed term and indefinite term contracts explains. It ends when its term expires, under Article 74 of the Labor Law, and Article 75 of the Labor Law prescribes no notice period for it. Ending a fixed term contract early without a legitimate reason gives rise to compensation, not to a notice period. That compensation is set by Article 77 of the Labor Law and is explained under unlawful termination compensation.
So the type of contract decides which of the two rules applies. A contract of indefinite duration ended for a legitimate reason calls for notice; a fixed term contract calls for none under Article 75 of the Labor Law, and its early ending without a legitimate reason is a question of compensation instead.
How long the notice period is today
Since the amendment made by Royal Decree M/44, in force from 19 February 2025, the notice periods in Article 75 of the Labor Law are not the same for the two parties. Each is a minimum, stated as written notice given at least the stated number of days before the date of termination:
- Wage paid monthly, contract ended by the worker: at least 30 days.
- Wage paid monthly, contract ended by the employer: at least 60 days.
- Wage not paid monthly: at least 30 days, whichever party ends the contract.
The earlier wording of Article 75 of the Labor Law was symmetric. The notice period was the one fixed in the contract, but not less than 60 days for either party where the wage was paid monthly, and not less than 30 days otherwise. Royal Decree M/44 amended Article 75 of the Labor Law and replaced that symmetric rule with the split above.
The consequence for documents is direct. Any contract template or work regulation that still prints “60 days from either party” states a longer notice obligation for the worker than the Labor Law imposes today. It is a clause worth reviewing in older contracts, because the figure it carries is the one the amendment replaced.
What the written notice that starts a notice period should contain
Four points apply to the notice:
- Written form. Article 75 of the Labor Law requires written notice in each of its cases, and an oral notice leaves nothing by which to prove it was given.
- A clear date. The notice states the date from which the period starts, because the period is counted from that date and the date of termination follows from it.
- The party ending the contract. The notice states who is ending the contract, because the length of the period differs depending on which party that is.
- Filing. A copy of the notice is kept in the employee file.
What happens during a notice period
The employment relationship continues until the end of the notice period. The contract does not end on the day the notice is given: the wage remains due for the whole period, and the obligations of both parties remain in place until it ends.
Where the notice comes from the employer, the worker has an additional right during the period. Under Article 78 of the Labor Law, the worker may be absent for one full day in the week, or for eight hours during the week, to look for other work, and remains entitled to the wage for that day or those hours. The worker chooses the day or the hours of the absence, on condition of informing the employer at least on the day before the absence. Article 78 of the Labor Law ties this right to notice given by the employer.
In practice, the notice period is also the time in which the work is handed over and the exit clearance (إخلاء الطرف) is completed. For that reason the procedure starts from the date of the notice, not from the last working day.
How a notice period differs from pay in lieu of notice
A notice period is a period that is given. Pay in lieu of notice is a sum that is paid when that period is not given.
Under Article 76 of the Labor Law, a party who ends a contract of indefinite duration without observing the notice period set by Article 75 of the Labor Law must pay the other party a sum equal to the worker’s wage for that same period, unless the two parties have agreed on more. The obligation falls on whichever party ended the contract, the worker or the employer, and in both directions the sum is measured by the worker’s wage for the period that should have been observed.
Pay in lieu of notice is also separate from the compensation for ending a contract without a legitimate reason under Article 77 of the Labor Law. The first concerns the period of notice that was not observed; the second concerns the reason for the ending.
The provisions relied on are those of the Saudi Labor Law as published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development: Article 74 (the cases in which a contract ends), Article 75 (the notice period), Article 76 (the sum due when notice is not observed), Article 77 (compensation for ending a contract without a legitimate reason) and Article 78 (time off to look for work during notice). Royal Decree M/44 amended Articles 74 and 75 of the Labor Law. That decree did not amend Articles 76, 77 or 78 of the Labor Law, which were last amended by Royal Decree M/46.
This is an explanation of the concept and of the statutory provisions cited, not legal advice.
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