Resignation in the Saudi Labor Law: Article 79 bis

Resignation was not, before 2025, a standalone article in the Saudi Labor Law. Royal Decree M/44, in force since 19 February 2025, added Article 79 bis to regulate it in six paragraphs: a deadline for the reply, deemed acceptance on silence, conditional deferral, a window for withdrawal, a prohibition on a deferred date, and the continuation of obligations until the end.

This guide explains the six paragraphs as they were laid down, and states clearly what the text does not address, because most practical resignation questions fall in matters the law left undetailed.

1. Resignation is not the only route out of work

Article 79 bis regulates resignation, and alongside it there are other routes by which the contract ends from the worker’s side, each with its own article and rules:

• Resignation, regulated by Article 79 bis, which is the subject of this guide. Article 74 treats it as a standalone case of ending.
• Terminating an indefinite-term contract by unilateral will for a legitimate reason under Article 75, which has a prescribed notice period. Article 74 likewise treats it as a standalone case.
• Leaving work without notice while retaining statutory rights in full in the cases provided for in Article 81.

These routes are distinct in the text. As for determining which of them applies to a particular occurrence, and how their rules interact, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

2. The deadline and deemed acceptance

The first paragraph of Article 79 bis provides that a resignation request is deemed accepted if 30 days pass without a reply from the employer.

This is the core of the article: silence is not refusal. A request that goes unanswered turns, after the deadline expires, into a resignation accepted by operation of law, without the need for express consent.

For that reason the date the request was submitted is the date from which the 30-day deadline and the 7-day window are measured, and for that reason it helps for it to be recorded precisely rather than inferred from the context of correspondence.

3. Deferral: 60 days on two conditions

The employer may defer acceptance of the resignation for a period not exceeding 60 days if the interest of the work so requires. The deferral has two conditions in the text itself:

• That it be with a written justification.
• That it be given to the worker before the 30-day period expires.

A deferral that reaches the worker after the deadline has expired does not satisfy the condition in the text, and neither does a verbal deferral. These two conditions are what make the date the justification was handed to the worker a fact worth adding to the record, just as the date of the request itself is recorded.

4. When exactly does the contract end?

The second paragraph identifies three moments at which the contract ends:

• On acceptance, if the employer accepts the resignation expressly.
• On the expiry of the 30-day period without a reply.
• On the expiry of the deferral period, if the employer deferred under the first paragraph.

Which of them applies to a particular occurrence is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority. Identifying this moment is not a procedural detail: the last working day and the deadline for settling entitlements are built on it.

The sequence of deadlines

Article 79 bis rests on successive deadlines, and the starting point of each is either fixed by the text or left unsaid:

• The 7-day withdrawal window: reckoned from the date the request was submitted, and closed before that if the employer accepts the resignation.
• The 30-day deadline: likewise reckoned from the date the request was submitted, and within it the employer replies or hands over the written deferral justification.
• The 60-day deferral period: the text sets its maximum and does not fix its starting point. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

The method of counting the days itself, and whether the day the request was submitted enters the count, is something the text does not detail. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

The practical value of tracking these deadlines is that each one of them works as an advance alert, since the useful alert is not “you have a pending resignation” but “the deadline to reply to this request is approaching expiry”.

5. Withdrawing a resignation within 7 days

The third paragraph grants the worker the right to withdraw the resignation within 7 days of the date it was submitted, unless the employer has accepted it before then.

The window is therefore conditional on there having been no prior acceptance. An early express acceptance closes it, which makes the date of acceptance a third fact deserving to be recorded alongside the date of the request and the date of the justification.

6. No deferred date in a resignation request

The fourth paragraph provides that a resignation request may not include a deferred date.

That is, the request is submitted to be acted on under the deadlines of the article itself, not to take effect on a later date set by the worker.

7. The contract stands until the end

The fifth paragraph provides that the contract remains in force during the resignation period, and the obligations of both parties continue.

The period between submitting the request and the end of the contract is therefore not a void: the worker is bound by their work, and the employer is bound by their wage and by everything else the contract and the law entail.

8. The worker’s rights when the contract ends by resignation

The sixth paragraph provides that a person whose contract ended by resignation is entitled to the rights prescribed in the Labor Law.

A careful distinction is required here. Article 85 provides for a reduction in the end-of-service award when the relationship ends by the worker’s resignation, according to their length of service. That reduction has exceptions: Article 87 makes the award due in full whatever the length of service if the worker left work as a result of force majeure beyond their control, or if a female worker terminated the contract within 6 months of the date of her marriage contract or 3 months of the date of her giving birth. And Article 81 preserves the worker’s statutory rights in full in the cases provided for in it.

As for the relationship between the sixth paragraph of Article 79 bis and the table in Article 85, the statutory text states the two rules without expressly reconciling them. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

9. What the text does not address

Most practical resignation questions fall outside what Article 79 bis detailed. Stating these limits plainly is more useful than filling them with inference:

• The relationship with the notice period in Article 75. Article 74 treats resignation as a case standing apart from terminating the contract by unilateral will. As for whether the resigning worker still owes the notice of Article 75, and whether the two periods overlap or run consecutively, that is something the text does not detail. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• Refusing a resignation. The text addresses acceptance, silence and deferral, and does not address the effect of an express refusal nor what follows from it. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The content of the written justification. The text requires the deferral to be with a written, reasoned justification, and does not detail what that justification must include. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• Does Article 79 bis replace the Article 75 route? The text does not provide for that. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

10. What follows the ending of the contract by resignation

The ending of the contract by resignation opens two obligations on the employer, each with its own rule:

Settlement of entitlements

Article 88 lays down a general rule and one carve-out: whenever the worker’s service ends, the employer must pay the wage and settle the entitlements within one week at most of the date the contractual relationship ends, whatever caused the service to end; where the worker is the one who ended the contract, the period is no more than two weeks. The employer may deduct any debt owed by the worker that arose because of the work. As for characterising an ending by resignation within the carve-out, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

The deadline starts from the date the relationship ended, which makes identifying that date precisely, under the three moments in section four, a precondition for calculating the deadline itself.

The service certificate

Under Article 64 the employer must give the worker, upon their request and without charge, a service certificate stating their date of joining work, the date it ended, their occupation and the last wage they received, and it must not include anything that could damage their reputation or reduce their employment opportunities. The employer must also return to them all the certificates and documents deposited with them.

11. What your system should record

Article 79 bis rests on successive dates, and each one of them opens a deadline or closes one:

• The date the request was submitted, because it is the origin for reckoning both the 30-day deadline and the 7-day window.
• The date of the express reply if there was one, because it ends the contract and closes the withdrawal window.
• The date the written justification was handed to the worker, because the text requires it to precede the expiry of the 30 days.
• The deferral period and the date it ends.
• The fact of withdrawal if it occurred, and its date.
• The date the contract ended, identified by which of the three moments occurred.

These are facts that are not recovered from memory months later, nor from an email chain. The absence of one of them makes answering a simple question, such as when exactly the contract ended, a matter of estimation.

12. A checklist on receiving a resignation

• Was the date the request was submitted recorded precisely?
• Does the request include a deferred date? The fourth paragraph does not permit that.
• If deferral is wanted: is the justification in writing? Was it handed to the worker before the 30 days expired? And is the period within the limit of 60 days?
• Do both parties know which of the three moments will end the contract?
• Is the 7-day withdrawal window still open, or did a prior express acceptance close it?
• Is the worker treated during the period as though their contract is in force, in wage and in obligations?
• Will the entitlements be settled on the basis of the correct ending date?

13. Why this turns into a problem

Article 79 bis turns resignation from an occurrence into a sequence of deadlines. Three of them run in the background without anyone noticing: the 30-day deadline that passes so the resignation is accepted by operation of law, the 7-day window that closes with an express acceptance, and the requirement that the written justification precede the expiry of the deadline.

An establishment that manages these deadlines in email discovers their effect after they have passed: a request whose deadline has run, so it has become accepted without anyone noticing, or a deferral justification sent on the thirty-second day.

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 notice period and terminating the contract for a legitimate reason, see The notice period and terminating the employment contract. For dismissal without an award, see Articles 80 and 81.

To estimate the entitlements accompanying the end of service, the end-of-service award calculator will help you, and for more guides and templates browse the HR Resource Centre.

Frequently asked questions

When is a resignation deemed accepted if the employer does not reply?

The first paragraph of Article 79 bis provides that a resignation request is deemed accepted if 30 days pass without a reply from the employer. Silence is not treated as refusal, and the request turns after the deadline expires into a resignation accepted by operation of law.

May the employer defer acceptance of a resignation?

Yes, for a period not exceeding 60 days if the interest of the work so requires, on two conditions: that the deferral be with a written justification, and that it be given to the worker before the 30-day period expires.

Can an employee withdraw their resignation?

Yes, within 7 days of the date it was submitted, unless the employer has accepted it before then. An early express acceptance closes the withdrawal window.

When does a resigning worker’s contract end?

The second paragraph identifies three moments: on express acceptance, or on the expiry of the 30-day period without a reply, or on the expiry of the deferral period if there was one. Which of them applies to a particular occurrence is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

Does the contract remain in force during the resignation period?

Yes. The fifth paragraph provides that the contract remains in force during the resignation period and that the obligations of both parties continue, so the period between submitting the request and the end of the contract is not a void in the relationship.

Does a resigning worker still owe the notice of Article 75?

Article 74 treats resignation as a case standing apart from terminating the contract by unilateral will. As for whether the resigning worker still owes the notice of Article 75, and whether the two periods overlap or run consecutively, that is something the text does not detail, and the special case is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

Statutory references

This guide rests on the Saudi Labor Law: Article 74 (cases in which the contract ends), Article 79 bis (resignation in its six paragraphs), Article 81 (leaving work with rights preserved), Article 85 (reduction of the end-of-service award on resignation), Article 87 (the exceptions to the reduction in Article 85), Article 64 (the service certificate and the return of documents) and Article 88 (deadlines for settling entitlements).

On the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446 AH, in force since 19 February 2025: Article 79 bis was newly added by M/44, and Article 74 was amended by it, and Articles 81 and 87 were not touched by amendments. As for Article 85 and Articles 64 and 88, this guide has not established an explicit amendment status for them, so it is not sound to assert that they were or were not amended, and reference on that point goes to the updated statutory text.

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.