The Probation Period in the Saudi Labor Law: Duration, Repetition and Termination

The probation period in the Saudi Labor Law is not a presumed period running on every contract. It arises only by an express stipulation in the employment contract, it has a single ceiling, it has a restriction on repetition, and it has a defined effect on the award and on compensation.

Royal Decree M/44, in force since 19 February 2025, changed its structure substantially: the 90-day extendable rule was abolished, and the exception that allowed the right of termination to be confined to one party was abolished.

1. No probation without an express stipulation

Article 53 provides that if the worker is subject to a probation period, that must be expressly stipulated in the employment contract, and its duration clearly specified.

The two conditions are therefore paired: the express stipulation of being subject to probation, and the clear specification of the duration. A contract that mentions probation without a duration does not satisfy the second condition.

The practical effect of this pairing is that probation is not a default state every new employee enters by custom, but a rule the contract creates. So if the contract contains no stipulation of it, there is nothing in the law that creates it of its own accord. For that reason the first question in any dispute over probation is not “how long is it?” but “where is it stipulated in the contract, and was its duration specified?”

Note that the stipulation is required in the employment contract itself, not in a job offer letter nor in an acceptance message. As for characterising a particular document and whether it is deemed part of the contract, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

2. A single ceiling: 180 days

Article 53 provides that the total of the probation period may not in any circumstances exceed 180 days.

The article refers the determination of the provisions connected with that to the regulation, among them the leave that does not count within the period.

What M/44 changed here

The text before the amendment provided for a maximum of 90 days, extendable by written agreement between the two parties to a maximum of 180 days. And it excluded from the reckoning the two Eid leaves and sick leave.

The text in force provides for a single ceiling of 180 days. The structure of “90 days then a written extension” no longer stands.

As for determining the leave that does not count within the period, the article referred that to the regulation. Whether the regulation has carried the same old exceptions is something this guide has not established, so reference on it goes to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.

3. The right of termination during probation

Article 53 provides that each of the two parties has the right to terminate the contract during this period.

The old exception was abolished

The previous text allowed the contract to include a stipulation giving the right of termination to one party rather than the other. That exception was deleted, so the right of termination during probation is established for both parties.

Accordingly, any contract template still granting the right of termination during probation to the employer alone is conveying a superseded rule, and it is a clause worth reviewing in every contract prepared before 2025.

This amendment and the one before it share a single effect: each of them invalidates a clause common in the contract templates in circulation. A template that writes “a probation period of 90 days, extendable” carries a structure that no longer stands, and a template that confines the right of termination to the employer carries an exception that was deleted. Both pass without anyone noticing, because they are old clauses copied from contract to contract.

As for the effect of the amendment on contracts that were actually in existence before 19 February 2025 and included one of these two clauses, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

4. No probation twice except by exception

Article 54 provides that a worker may not be placed under probation more than once with a single employer.

An exception applies to that by written agreement of the two parties, and it arises only in one of two cases:

• That the second probation be in another occupation or other work.
• Or that at least 6 months have passed since the end of the previous relationship with the same employer.

There are two restrictions within this exception: that the agreement be in writing, and that one of the two cases be met. As for reckoning the duration of the second probation within the ceiling prescribed in Article 53, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

5. The effect of termination during probation

Article 54 provides that if the contract is terminated during the probation period:

• Neither party is entitled to compensation.
• And the worker is not entitled to an end-of-service award for that period.

These are two rules laid down in the article itself, not an inference from the relationship being short.

6. Probation in contracts with non-Saudis

Article 37 provides that an employment contract with a non-Saudi be in writing and fixed-term, and that if it does not state its term, its term is one year starting from the date the worker actually commenced work.

The 180-day probation ceiling applies in all circumstances, so it stands whatever the term of the contract. As for the detail of applying that to a particular contract, reference on it goes to the statutory text and the competent authority.

7. Probation and the dismissal cases in Article 80

The sixth of the cases in Article 80 is the worker being appointed under probation. It is one of nine cases in which the employer may rescind the contract without an award, without notice and without compensation, provided that they enable the worker to state the reasons for their objection to the rescission, which is a procedural condition in the article itself.

As for the relationship between this case and the right of termination established for both parties in Article 53, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

8. What the text does not address

• The leave that does not count within the probation period. Article 53 refers it to the regulation, and this guide has not established its text. Reference on that goes to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.
• The effect of the probation period on the length of service beyond what Article 54 provided as to the award not being due for it. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• What counts as “another occupation” or “other work” in the exception in Article 54. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The effect of the amendment on contracts in existence before 19 February 2025 that included an extendable probation period or a right of termination for one party. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• Whether the ceiling in Article 53 applies to the total of two probations where the second was conducted under the exception in Article 54. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

9. What your system should record

• Whether probation was expressly stipulated in the contract, and whether its duration was clearly specified.
• The start and end dates of the probation, and the total duration where there is more than one.
• The fact of a previous probation with the same establishment if there was one, and the date the previous relationship ended, because the 6-month period is measured from it.
• The occupation or the work in each probation, because a difference between them is one of the two limbs of the exception.
• The written agreement on the second probation.
• The date of termination if it occurred during probation, for its effect on the award and on compensation.

10. A checklist

• Is the probation expressly stipulated in the contract? And is its duration clearly specified?
• In all circumstances, does the total not exceed 180 days?
• Does your template still use the structure “90 days, extendable“? It no longer stands.
• Does your template still grant the right of termination during probation to one party rather than the other? That exception was abolished.
• If this is a second probation with the same establishment: is the agreement in writing? And has one of the two cases been met: another occupation or other work, or the passing of 6 months since the end of the previous relationship?

11. Why this turns into a problem

Probation clauses are among the things copied in templates without review, because they look like a procedural detail. Two substantive things changed in them in 2025: the ceiling became a single one, and the right of termination became one for both parties. An un-updated template does not merely lag behind the text; it grants one of the parties something the law no longer grants.

The facts on which all of this rests are simple and dated: the text of the contract, the start and end dates of the probation, the fact of a previous probation if there was one, and the date the previous relationship ended.

This is where it pays to have an employee’s facts in a single file. That is what Qoyod HR provides: a single employee file holding the contract, the documents and their expiry dates with an alert before them, an attendance record for each employee, and their leave, salary and end-of-service entitlements. End-of-service, overtime and leave-balance calculations are built into the system. It is a standalone HR system with its own subscription, and the link with Qoyod accounting is available now.

For the cases of rescission without an award, without notice and without compensation, see Articles 80 and 81.

For more guides and templates browse the HR Resource Centre.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the probation period in the Saudi Labor Law?

Article 53 provides that the total of the probation period may not in any circumstances exceed 180 days. This is a single ceiling, after the text before the M/44 amendment had provided for 90 days extendable by written agreement to 180.

Does the probation period apply automatically?

No. Article 53 requires it to be expressly stipulated in the employment contract and its duration clearly specified. A contract that does not stipulate it does not carry it, and a contract that mentions it without a duration does not satisfy the second condition.

May the right of termination during probation belong to the employer alone?

No. Article 53 provides that each of the two parties has the right to terminate the contract during the probation period. The previous text allowed the contract to include a stipulation giving this right to one of them rather than the other, and that exception was deleted.

May an employee be placed under probation twice?

Not more than once with a single employer, except by written agreement of the two parties and in one of two cases: that the probation be in another occupation or other work, or that at least 6 months have passed since the end of the previous relationship with the same employer.

Is an employee entitled to an end-of-service award for the probation period?

Article 54 provides that if the contract is terminated during the probation period, neither party is entitled to compensation, and the worker is not entitled to an end-of-service award for that period.

What leave does not count within the probation period?

Article 53 referred the determination of that to the regulation. This guide has not established its text, so reference on that goes to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.

Statutory references

This guide rests on the Saudi Labor Law: Article 53 (the probation period, stipulating it, its duration and the right of termination), Article 54 (repeating probation and the effect of termination during it), Article 80 (the cases of rescission without an award, without notice and without compensation) and Article 37 (contracts of non-Saudis and their default term).

On the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446 AH, in force since 19 February 2025: Articles 53 and 37 were amended by it, and their amendment is the subject of the second and third sections of this guide. And the last amendment to Articles 54 and 80 was by Royal Decree M/46 and M/44 did not touch them.

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