Major-Hazard Establishments and the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents

The Saudi Labor Law devotes an independent chapter to the prevention of major industrial accidents. This chapter does not apply to every establishment; it applies to a category the text describes as major-hazard establishments, and the scope of this category is set by a description rather than a list of activities: an establishment falls within it according to the hazardous substances it deals with, the manner in which it deals with them, and their quantities as measured against standards the Ministry sets.

This guide sets out Articles 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 and 131 bis as they appear in the body of the Law, and stops at the limits of what they delegate to decisions and regulations. Work injuries and the obligations that follow from them are the subject of a different chapter, detailed in work injury under the Saudi Labor Law: Article 132 and employer liability.

1. The chapter’s scope: Article 127

Article 127 sets the scope of this chapter, providing that its provisions apply to major-hazard establishments.

The scope of application here is set by a description rather than a list of activities. The first question facing any establishment is not “does this chapter concern my activity,” but whether it falls within the description the next article defines.

2. The definitions in Article 128

Article 128 sets the definitions the whole chapter rests on:

• Major-hazard establishment: an establishment that, permanently or temporarily, produces one or more hazardous substances or categories of them, or processes, disposes of, handles, uses or stores them, in quantities exceeding the permitted standards, the exceeding of which places the establishment in the major-hazard category.
• Hazardous substance: any substance or mixture of substances that is hazardous by virtue of its chemical, physical or toxic properties, alone or in combination with others.
• Major accident: any sudden accident, such as a major leak, a fire, or an explosion, occurring in the course of an activity inside a major-hazard establishment, involving one or more hazardous substances, and leading to a greater danger to workers, the public or the environment, whether immediately or in the longer term.

These definitions carry limits set out in their own wording. The establishment’s status in the first definition is established by permanent or temporary status alike; the fact that the dealing is temporary does not take it out of the description. The standard in it is quantitative: it is the exceeding of the permitted-standard quantities that places the establishment in the category. And the description of a major accident extends in the text to the public and the environment, not to workers alone, and to the longer-term effect, not only the immediate one.

3. Who draws the line: Article 129

Article 129 provides that the Ministry sets the standards by which major-hazard establishments are identified, based on a list of hazardous substances, or categories of them, or both.

The effect of this article on reading Article 128 is direct: the definition sets the criterion, and the standards are what turns it into a measurable threshold. The phrase “quantities exceeding the permitted standards” in the definition draws its numerical content from these standards.

This guide did not locate these standards, or the list they reference, from an official source. Establishing their content is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

4. Determining status: Article 130

Article 130 provides that employers must, in coordination with the Ministry, determine the status of their establishments in light of the standards referenced in Article 129.

Two limits sit in this article. First, the determination is set in the text on the employer, not on a body that notifies them of it from the outset. Second, it is tied to coordination with the Ministry, so it is not an internal determination made unilaterally.

As for the form this coordination takes, its procedures and its timing, the article’s text does not address that, and the specific case is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

5. What Article 131 delegates

Article 131 provides that the Minister issues the regulations and decisions covering:

• the arrangements required at establishment level to prevent major hazards;
• employers’ duties in that regard;
• arrangements for protecting the public and the environment outside the site of each major-hazard establishment;
• workers’ rights and duties; and
• whatever other measures are needed to prevent major accidents, reduce the risk of their occurrence, and limit their effects.

The article sets out who sets these arrangements and what their subject is, and leaves their content to another instrument. This guide did not locate these regulations and decisions. Establishing their content is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

Note that the arrangements in this article are distributed across inside and outside the site together: arrangements at establishment level, and arrangements to protect the public and the environment outside the site.

6. Article 131 bis and its place

Article 131 bis was added to the Law by Royal Decree M/5 dated 7/1/1442H. Its subject is that the Minister determines by decision the professions and jobs that are hazardous or harmful, or liable to expose a worker to unusual hazards or harm, and the categories barred from working in them permanently or temporarily, or permitted to work in them only on special conditions, including the extent of the need to set working hours for any of those categories, and doing so in a manner consistent with the Kingdom’s relevant obligations under international conventions.

It departs from the articles before it in its subject: Articles 127 to 131 address the establishment, its status and its arrangements, while this article addresses professions and categories. This guide did not locate the decision issued under it, and determining it is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

This article has also been referenced in the context of employing women, in the nursing hour and medical care for the working woman, as the instrument now in force after the repeal of Articles 149 and 150.

7. What the text does not address

• The standards for identifying major-hazard establishments and the list of hazardous substances under Article 129. This guide did not locate them, and determining them is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The quantities whose exceeding counts as exceeding the permitted standards. No figure can properly be stated here; this is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The coordination procedures with the Ministry in Article 130 and their timing. The specific case is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The regulations and decisions referenced in Article 131 and the content of the arrangements, employers’ duties and workers’ rights within them. This guide did not locate them, and establishing them is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The decision issued under Article 131 bis on hazardous or harmful professions and the categories barred from them. This guide did not locate it, and determining it is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The effect of a breach of these articles. No fine amount can properly be stated here; this is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

8. What your system should record

• The hazardous substances the establishment deals with, and the manner of dealing with them: producing, processing, disposing of, handling, using or storing them, because the definition lists these manners.
• The quantities dealt with and their dates, because the standard in the definition is quantitative, not descriptive.
• The nature of the dealing: permanent or temporary, because the definition covers both cases.
• The outcome of determining the establishment’s status under Article 130, its date, and the fact of coordination with the Ministry, a fact worth adding to the record because it cannot be recovered later.
• The locations where hazardous substances are stored or handled, because Article 131 distributes arrangements across inside and outside the site.
• The workers concerned at each location and the time they spend there, because the definition’s description of a major accident’s effect extends to them and to others.

9. Checklist

• Does the establishment have a written inventory of the hazardous substances it deals with and their quantities?
• Does the inventory cover temporary dealing as well as permanent?
• Does it cover all manners of dealing the definition lists, not storage alone?
• Was the establishment’s status determined under Article 130, and was it done in coordination with the Ministry?
• Is this determination dated and documented, not verbal?
• Is it revisited when quantities, substances, or manners of dealing change?
• Are any internal arrangements attributed to their correct instrument: the body of the Law, or the Minister’s regulations and decisions?

10. Why this turns into a problem

The difficulty in this chapter is that the criterion for falling within it cannot be read from the activity alone. Article 128 describes the establishment by the hazardous substances it deals with, the manner of dealing with them, and their quantities as measured against permitted standards, and Article 129 places those standards in another instrument. An establishment that knows its activity well may not know its own position under this description unless its quantities are inventoried and recorded.

Add to that the fact that Article 130 places determining status on the employer itself, in coordination with the Ministry. It is a step the employer takes, not one taken toward them, and its date and outcome are two facts that are recorded when they occur.

One further note on drafting is useful in dealing with this chapter: the body of the Law sets responsibility and subject matter, and delegates the detail. What falls directly into an establishment’s hands from this chapter is the inventory of its substances, quantities, locations and dates: the material of the determination Article 130 requires.

This is where having every employee fact in one file earns its keep. That is what Qoyod HR provides: a single employee file holding the contract, documents and their expiry dates with advance alerts, an attendance record for every employee, and their leave, salary and end-of-service dues. End-of-service, overtime and leave-balance calculations are built into the system. It is a standalone HR system on its own subscription, and the connection to Qoyod Accounting is now available.

For an establishment’s duties when a work injury occurs, see work injury under the Saudi Labor Law, and for the wider framework of inspection and establishment duties, see labor inspection. For more guides and templates, browse the HR resource center.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are major-hazard establishments under the Saudi Labor Law?

Article 128 defines a major-hazard establishment as one that, permanently or temporarily, produces one or more hazardous substances or categories of them, or processes, disposes of, handles, uses or stores them, in quantities exceeding the permitted standards, the exceeding of which places the establishment in the major-hazard category.

What is meant by a hazardous substance?

Article 128 defines it as any substance or mixture of substances that is hazardous by virtue of its chemical, physical or toxic properties, alone or in combination with others.

What is meant by a major accident?

Article 128 defines it as any sudden accident, such as a major leak, a fire, or an explosion, occurring in the course of an activity inside a major-hazard establishment, involving one or more hazardous substances, and leading to a greater danger to workers, the public or the environment, whether immediately or in the longer term.

Who determines whether an establishment is a major-hazard establishment?

Article 129 provides that the Ministry sets the standards by which these establishments are identified, based on a list of hazardous substances or categories of them or both. Article 130 provides that employers, in coordination with the Ministry, determine the status of their establishments in light of those standards. This guide did not locate these standards, and establishing their content is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

What does Article 131 delegate to the Minister?

Article 131 provides that the Minister issues the regulations and decisions covering the arrangements required at establishment level to prevent major hazards, employers’ duties, arrangements for protecting the public and the environment outside the site, workers’ rights and duties, and whatever other measures are needed to prevent major accidents, reduce their risk, and limit their effects. This guide did not locate these regulations and decisions.

What is the subject of Article 131 bis?

Article 131 bis was added by Royal Decree M/5 dated 7/1/1442H, and its subject is that the Minister determines by decision the hazardous or harmful professions and jobs, or those liable to expose a worker to unusual hazards or harm, and the categories barred from them permanently or temporarily or permitted on special conditions, including the extent of the need to set working hours for those categories, consistent with the Kingdom’s obligations under international conventions. This guide did not locate the decision issued under it.

Regulatory references

This guide is based on the Saudi Labor Law issued by Royal Decree M/51 dated 23/8/1426H, in its updated text, in the second chapter of the eighth part: Article 127 (the chapter’s scope), Article 128 (the definitions of a major-hazard establishment, a hazardous substance, and a major accident), Article 129 (the Ministry’s standards and the list of hazardous substances), Article 130 (determining the establishment’s status in coordination with the Ministry), Article 131 (the Minister’s regulations and decisions), and Article 131 bis (hazardous professions and barred categories, added by Royal Decree M/5 dated 7/1/1442H).

On the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446H, in force since 19 February 2025: the 2025 amendments did not change any article within the range of Articles 121 to 167 other than Article 151, according to both the updated text’s footnotes and the official amendments table.

This guide is regulatory explanation, not legal advice. In an active dispute or a specific case, the regulatory text and the competent authority remain the reference.