Sick Leave and Occasion Leave in the Saudi Labor Law

Alongside annual leave, the Saudi Labor Law lays down leaves with their own grounds and independent provisions. This guide sets out from among them sick leave in Article 117, occasion leave in Article 113, leave for feasts and official occasions in Article 112, and iddah leave in Article 160.

Among these leaves are those where no single request can be judged in isolation from the employee’s history: the pay for sick leave depends on the days that preceded it in the same year, and the duration of occasion leave depends on the occasion and the degree of kinship in it.

1. Sick leave: three stages with graduated pay

Article 117 lays down for a worker who falls ill a sick leave within the single year, with pay graduated over three stages:

• 30 days at full pay
• The following 60 days at three quarters of the pay
• The 30 days after that without pay

The three stages are successive rather than parallel, and each stage begins where the one before it ends.

2. The starting point for counting the year

The year in this Article is counted from the first sick leave, not from the beginning of the calendar year and not from the date the worker joined the work.

This is a point where mistakes are made in applying the Article: an establishment that resets the balance in January each year applies a starting point other than the one in the text. What the text requires is that each employee have their own year, beginning from their first sick leave.

3. Continuous or intermittent

The Article lays down that these periods apply whether the leave is continuous or intermittent.

That means the days accumulate: five days here and three there all fall within the same stage until 30 days are complete. The stage is therefore measured by the total of days, not by the length of any single absence.

It follows that applying this Article requires a running balance for each employee, not a judgement on each leave on its own.

An example of intermittent days accumulating

Assumed inputs (the example’s own assumption, not a statutory rule): an employee is absent through illness for 10 days in March, then 12 days in June, then 9 days in September, and their first sick leave was in March.

What the text says: 30 days at full pay, then the following 60 days at three quarters of the pay, whether the leave is continuous or intermittent, and the year is counted from the first sick leave.

Applying it: each absence on its own is less than 30 days. But the total after September is 31 days, so the first stage has been passed within the year counted from March. An establishment that treats each absence as a fresh start therefore pays full pay for a day that has entered the second stage.

This is the same paradox that appears in every annual balance: every decision on its own within the limit, and their total outside it, and it becomes visible only to whoever keeps a running balance for each employee starting from the date of their first sick leave.

Maternity leave in Article 151 has its own independent text and a different starting point, one that turns on two medical dates, and Royal Decree M/44 changed it. The detail of the ruling in force for it and what the amendment changed in it, and the nursing hour and the protection from dismissal that accompany it, are outside the scope of this guide.

4. Occasion leave

Article 113 lays down for the worker paid leave on specified occasions:

• 5 days in the case of their marriage
• 5 days in the case of the death of their spouse or of one of their ascendants or descendants
• 3 days in the case of the death of their brother or sister

The duration therefore differs with the occasion and the degree of kinship in it: ascendants, descendants and the spouse in one rank, and siblings in another.

Article 113 opens with the phrase “without prejudice to the leaves of the female worker specified under this Law”. It is therefore read with what the Law laid down for the female worker by way of leaves in their own texts preserved alongside it.

5. Feasts and official occasions

Article 112 lays down that the worker has paid leave on the feasts and occasions determined by the regulation.

The text therefore refers the determination of these occasions to the regulation, and this guide has not established their list. Reference on that is to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.

6. Iddah leave and its distinction from bereavement leave

Article 160 lays down a ruling independent of Article 113 for the female worker whose husband dies:

• The Muslim female worker whose husband dies: iddah leave at full pay of not less than 4 months and 10 days from the date of the death. And if she is pregnant during this period, she may extend the leave without pay until she delivers, and she does not benefit after the delivery from the remainder of the iddah leave laid down for her under the Law.
• The non-Muslim female worker whose husband dies: leave at full pay of 15 days.

The wording of the two paragraphs differs: the first is a floor in the words “not less than”, and the second is a specified duration. They are therefore not presented as two matching forms of a single ruling.

And in all cases the female worker whose husband has died may not carry on any work for others during this period, and the employer may request the documents supporting these cases.

This ruling is other than the bereavement leave in Article 113, which is 5 days on the death of the spouse or of one of the ascendants or descendants. For the Muslim female worker whose husband dies, Article 160 applies.

7. Leaves with their own grounds

Sick leave, occasion leave, the leave for feasts and official occasions, and iddah leave each have their own ground and their independent text. They are distinct from annual leave laid down in Article 109, which has its own texts.

As for the effect of each of them on annual leave or on the period of service in a particular case, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

What matters in application is that each type have its own balance in the record, because the starting point for counting differs from one type to another: the sick year begins from the first sick leave, occasion leave is tied to a particular event, and iddah leave begins from the date of the death.

8. What the text does not address

• Proving the illness and the medical body accredited to establish it. Reference on that is to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The effect of the Article 117 periods being exhausted on the relationship. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The list of feasts and occasions determined by the regulation. Reference on those is to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.
• Counting the leaves of these Articles within the period of service or their effect on annual leave. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The supporting documents the employer may request in the cases of Article 160, and their kind, is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

9. What your system should record

• The date of the first sick leave for each employee, because the Article 117 year begins from it.
• A running balance of sick days, because the periods apply whether continuous or intermittent.
• The current stage for each employee, because the pay differs with it.
• The days of occasion leave and the type of occasion, because the duration differs with it.
• The degree of kinship in cases of death, because it is the difference between 5 days and 3 days.
• The date of the death in the case of iddah leave, because the period begins from it.

10. A checklist

• Does the sick-leave year begin from the employee’s first sick leave, or from the beginning of the calendar year?
• Does the system gather intermittent days into a single balance?
• Does the pay move automatically to three quarters after 30 days, and to without pay after 90 days?
• Does the occasion leave distinguish between 5 days and 3 days according to the occasion and the degree of kinship?
• Does it refer the feasts and official occasions to the regulation, rather than to a list written inside the policy?
• Does your policy distinguish between bereavement leave in Article 113 and iddah leave in Article 160?
• Does it record iddah leave as a floor rather than a fixed duration?

11. Why this turns into a problem

Among these leaves are those where no single request can be judged in isolation from the employee’s history: the pay for sick leave depends on the days that preceded it in the same year, the duration of occasion leave depends on the degree of kinship, and the duration of iddah leave depends on a description that differs with the case.

Hence the error does not stop at ignorance of the duration, but falls in a correct application of a duration to a wrong balance: an establishment that resets the sick balance in January, or treats every short absence as a fresh start, or pays out 5 days under Article 113 for a Muslim female worker whose husband has died where Article 160 is the one that applies.

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 working hours and the weekly rest, see working hours and the weekly rest. For calculating leave balances, the leave balance calculator is useful. For more guides and templates, browse the HR Resource Centre.

Frequently asked questions

How long is sick leave under the Saudi Labor Law?

Article 117 lays down within the single year 30 days at full pay, then the following 60 days at three quarters of the pay, then the 30 days after that without pay, whether the leave is continuous or intermittent.

When does the sick-leave year begin?

The year in Article 117 is counted from the worker’s first sick leave, not from the beginning of the calendar year. What that requires is that each employee have their own year.

Do intermittent sick-leave days accumulate?

Article 117 lays down that its periods apply whether the leave is continuous or intermittent. What that requires is that the days accumulate within the same stage until its duration is complete, so the stage is measured by the total of days and not by the length of any single absence.

How many days is marriage or bereavement leave?

Article 113 lays down paid leave of 5 days in the case of the worker’s marriage, 5 days in the case of the death of their spouse or of one of their ascendants or descendants, and 3 days in the case of the death of their brother or sister.

How long is iddah leave for a female worker whose husband dies?

Article 160 lays down for the Muslim female worker whose husband dies iddah leave at full pay of not less than 4 months and 10 days from the date of the death, and for the non-Muslim female worker leave at full pay of 15 days. She may not in all cases carry on any work for others during this period.

Who determines the days of the feasts and official occasions?

Article 112 lays down that the worker has paid leave on the feasts and occasions determined by the regulation. This guide has not established their list, and reference on that is to the implementing regulation and the competent authority.

Statutory references

This guide is based on the Saudi Labor Law: Article 112 (leave for feasts and occasions), Article 113 (personal occasion leave), Article 117 (sick leave), and Article 160 (iddah leave). Article 109 (annual leave) and Article 151 (maternity leave) are referred to in it for distinction, not for detail.

As to the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446 AH, in force since 19 February 2025: as for Articles 112, 113 and 117, this guide has not established an explicit case of amendment for them, so it is not sound to assert that they were amended or were not, and reference on that is to the updated statutory text. As for Article 109, referred to for distinction, it was not changed by the 2025 amendments. As for Article 160, it was amended by Royal Decree M/46.

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.