Wage Payment Dates and the Final Settlement Under the Saudi Labor Law

When is the wage paid, in what currency, through what channel, and when are entitlements settled at the end of the relationship: four questions the Saudi Labor Law answers in Article 90, Article 88 and Article 64.

These are Articles that get cited in contract templates in an abridged form that drops a constraint or attributes to the Article something it does not contain. This guide sets them out as they appear, distinguishing what the Article says from what is said in its name.

1. The wage payment schedule in Article 90

The first paragraph of Article 90 lays down that the worker’s wage and every amount due to him is paid on a schedule that differs according to the type of wage:

• Workers paid daily: once a week at least.
• Workers on a monthly wage: once a month.
• Piecework taking more than two weeks: a weekly payment proportionate to the work completed, with the remaining amount paid in full during the week following delivery of the work.
• Anything else: once a week at least.

The piecework item alone lays down a two-payment mechanism rather than a single due date: weekly payments during performance proportionate to what is completed, then the remainder in full during the week following delivery. The second time condition is therefore tied to delivery of the work, not to the lapse of a period.

Two of these four items carry the phrase at least: workers paid daily, and cases other than those listed. Two do not carry it: the monthly wage in the text is once a month, and the piecework item lays down a two-payment mechanism rather than a minimum frequency.

The difference between the two formulations is not a matter of wording: “once a week at least” permits payment more than once, and it is a floor on frequency, not a ceiling on it.

2. In what currency?

Article 90 lays down that payment shall be “in the official currency of the country”.

That is the phrase of the text. In the Kingdom this phrase applies to the Saudi riyal, so a template that writes “in Saudi riyals” is not in breach as to substance. But it is not a quotation from Article 90, and it may not be presented as its text.

Distinguishing the two matters in every document where a phrase is attributed to an Article by its number: what sits between quotation marks must be what is in the Article, not what it leads to.

3. The channel: bank transfer in Article 90(2)

The second paragraph of Article 90 lays down that establishments are obliged to pay wages into workers’ accounts through banks accredited in the Kingdom, provided that the due date does not go beyond the schedule set out in the first paragraph.

The second paragraph therefore does not replace the schedule and does not license delaying it; it adds the channel constraint to it. An establishment that transfers by bank but after the due date has not satisfied the first paragraph, and an establishment that pays on time in cash has not satisfied the second.

Citing Article 90 for the obligatory nature of bank transfer is sound, because the ruling is indeed in it. Precision requires only noting that it sits in the second paragraph of it.

4. The ministerial exception

That same second paragraph lays down that the Minister may exempt some establishments from the bank-transfer obligation.

The obligation in the text is therefore not absolute and without exception, and this is a constraint frequently dropped when quoting. As for identifying which establishments are actually exempt, and the scope and conditions of the exception, reference on that is to the decisions issued by the competent authority.

5. Final settlement: a general rule and one carve-out

Article 88 lays down a deadline for settling the wage and entitlements at the end of the relationship, and it is built as a general rule and one carve-out, not as two matching branches:

• The general rule: «if 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. The rule turns on the ending of the service itself, not on who ended it, so it covers expiry of the term, mutual agreement and the other causes of ending, as well as a termination by the employer.
• The one carve-out: «where the worker is the one who ended the contract», the entitlements are settled in full within a period of no more than two weeks.

A template that conditions the one week on the employer having terminated carries half the Article, and puts outside the rule every ending that is neither by the employer nor by the worker.

Note that the phrase at most is a time ceiling, not a fixed due date.

An example of counting the deadline

Assumed inputs (the example’s own figures, not a statutory rule): the employment relationship ended on the first of the month.

What the text says: one week at most whenever the worker’s service ends, whatever caused it to end, and no more than two weeks where the worker is the one who ended the contract.

Applying it: the ceiling falls one week after the first of the month in every case, whether the term expired, the employer terminated, or the relationship ended by mutual agreement. It moves to two weeks in one case only, where the worker is the one who ended the contract.

This means the establishment sets its statutory date from the date the relationship ended, and needs a second fact only to check one thing: did the worker end the contract? That is a fact usually recorded in the text of the termination or resignation letter, not in the payroll system. Assuming two weeks in any other case doubles the deadline the text lays down.

6. The right of set-off

Article 88 also lays down that the employer may deduct any debt owed to him by the worker arising out of the work.

The constraint is in the description: that the debt be arising out of the work. The Article ties the right of deduction to the source of the debt, not merely to its existence.

As for characterising a particular debt and whether it arises out of the work within the meaning of this Article, and the effect of the other wage-protection provisions on it, that is a matter to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

7. The service certificate and the documents: Article 64

Article 64 lays down two obligations on the employer at the end of the relationship:

The first: the service certificate. The employer gives the worker, upon his request and free of charge, a service certificate stating:

• The date he joined the work
• The date the relationship ended
• His occupation
• The last wage he received

The Article lays down that the certificate shall not include anything that may harm the worker’s reputation or reduce his employment opportunities.

The second: returning the documents. The employer returns all the certificates and documents the worker deposited with him.

Two constraints in the first obligation are frequently dropped: that the certificate is given upon request, and that it is free of charge. As for the scope of the obligation to return the documents and its conditions, reference on that is to the statutory text and the competent authority.

8. The three deadlines at the end of the relationship

When any employment relationship ends, three obligations come together, each with its own source:

• Settling the wage and entitlements within the Article 88 deadline, which is one week for any ending of the worker’s service, and two weeks where the worker is the one who ended the contract.
• The service certificate upon request, free of charge, under Article 64.
• Returning the certificates and documents deposited, under Article 64.

The first alone is the one bound by an express deadline in these Articles. As for a deadline for handing over the certificate or returning the documents, this guide has not established one in Article 64, so reference on that is to the statutory text and the competent authority.

9. What the text does not address

• The effect of late payment beyond the schedule or beyond the settlement deadline. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The establishments exempt from bank transfer and the conditions of the exception. Reference on those is to the decisions of the competent authority.
• Characterising a debt arising out of the work and the limits of set-off. The particular case is to be referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.
• The deadline for handing over the service certificate and returning the documents. Reference on that is to the statutory text and the competent authority.

10. What your system should record

• The wage type of each employee: daily, monthly or piecework, because the schedule differs with it.
• The due date of each payment and the date it was actually executed, because the first paragraph constrains the timing.
• The payment channel and the bank account transferred to, because the second paragraph constrains the channel.
• Whether the worker is the one who ended the contract, because that alone moves the Article 88 deadline from one week to two.
• The date the relationship ended, because the deadline is counted from it.
• The components of the final settlement, what was deducted from it, and the source of each debt.
• The documents deposited with the establishment and the date they were returned, and requests for a service certificate and the date it was handed over.

11. A checklist

• Does the payment frequency for each category match the schedule in the first paragraph of Article 90?
• Is payment made through a bank account at a bank accredited in the Kingdom? And did it also fall on time?
• Does any template present the phrase “in Saudi riyals” as the text of Article 90?
• Does the end-of-service policy make one week the rule for any ending of the worker’s service, and two weeks a carve-out confined to the worker having ended the contract?
• Is every amount deducted from the settlement a debt arising out of the work?
• Is the service certificate given upon request free of charge, and does it include the four elements?
• Were the certificates and documents deposited returned?

12. Why this turns into a problem

Wage dates are among the things run by habit rather than by rule: salaries are disbursed on a customary day of the month, and entitlements are settled when the procedures are complete. Habit succeeds until a case outside it appears: an employee on a daily wage, or a contract the worker rather than the employer ended, or an end of service falling in the middle of the payroll cycle.

Everything needed to control these cases is a fact capable of being recorded: the wage type, the due date, the execution date, the party that ended the contract, and the date the relationship ended. Once these facts are absent from a single system, answering a simple question such as “when should this employee’s entitlements have been settled?” becomes a search through messages.

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 housing and transport allowances paid with the wage, see the housing and transport allowances and the obligations of both parties.

For estimating the end-of-service award among the components of the settlement, the end-of-service calculator is useful. For more guides and templates, browse the HR Resource Centre.

Frequently asked questions

When must a monthly employee’s wage be paid?

The first paragraph of Article 90 lays down that workers on a monthly wage are paid once a month. As for workers paid daily, it is once a week at least, and the same applies to cases other than those listed in the schedule.

Is it obligatory to pay salaries by bank transfer?

Yes. The second paragraph of Article 90 lays down that establishments are obliged to pay wages into workers’ accounts through banks accredited in the Kingdom, provided the due date does not go beyond the schedule set in the first paragraph. The Minister may exempt some establishments.

Does Article 90 provide for payment in Saudi riyals?

The text of the Article is payment “in the official currency of the country”. In the Kingdom this phrase applies to the Saudi riyal, so a template that writes “in Saudi riyals” is not in breach as to substance, but it is not a quotation from Article 90 and may not be presented as its text.

How long is the period for settling entitlements after the contract ends?

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.

May the employee’s debts be deducted from the final settlement?

Article 88 lays down that the employer may deduct any debt owed to him by the worker arising out of the work. The constraint is in the description: that the debt be arising out of the work. As for characterising a particular debt, that is referred to the statutory text and the competent authority.

What does the service certificate include?

Article 64 lays down that the employer gives the worker, upon his request and free of charge, a service certificate stating the date he joined the work, the date the relationship ended, his occupation and the last wage he received, and that it shall not include anything that may harm his reputation or reduce his employment opportunities. He also returns all the certificates and documents the worker deposited with him.

Statutory references

This guide is based on the Saudi Labor Law: Article 64 (the service certificate and returning the documents), Article 88 (settling the wage and entitlements and the right of set-off), and Article 90 (the dates of wage payment, its currency and its channel).

As to the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446 AH, in force since 19 February 2025: Article 90 was last amended by Decree M/46 and M/44 did not touch it. As for Articles 64 and 88, this guide has not established an explicit amendment for them, so it is not sound to assert that they were amended or were not, and reference on that point is 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.