Working Age in Saudi Arabia and Limits on Employing Juveniles

Working age in Saudi Arabia is not one number in one article. The Saudi Labor Law defines a juvenile in its second article, sets a minimum age in Article 162, reserves an exception for a younger band to the Minister, then sets the juvenile hours and a night-work ban that depart from the general rules, and finally excludes certain educational and training cases from the whole chapter in Article 167.

This guide sets out these rules as they appear in Articles 2, 162, 163, 164 and 167 and what the Implementing Regulation executes under them. For the work prohibited for juveniles, their employment documents and the establishment’s register, see work prohibited for juveniles and their employment documents.

1. Who is a “juvenile” under the Law

Article 2 defines a juvenile as a person who has completed 15 years of age and has not reached 18. The definition is bounded by two limits, and the rules addressed to juveniles in this chapter are built on that band.

This lower limit in the definition carries a reading consequence: a person who has not completed 15 is not a juvenile under this article, and the chapter’s provisions are drafted around a category that starts at 15.

2. The minimum age: the first paragraph of Article 162

The first paragraph of Article 162 provides that no person who has not completed 15 years of age may be employed, and such a person is not permitted to enter workplaces.

The paragraph carries two rulings, not one: the prohibition on employment, and the prohibition on entering workplaces. The second stands in the text independently of the first.

The paragraph then provides that the Minister may raise this age in certain industries, in certain regions, or for certain categories of juveniles, by decision. The raise in the text is conditional on a decision, and its direction under this paragraph is upward, not downward.

As for which industries, regions or categories have actually had the age raised, this guide did not find that in a primary source, and the specific case is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

3. The second paragraph of Article 162: a power vested in the Minister, not a permission in the text

The second paragraph provides that, by exception to the first paragraph, the Minister may permit the employment or work of persons aged between 13 and 15 in light work, subject to two conditions:

• that the work is not likely to be harmful to their health or growth; and
• that it is not disruptive of their school attendance or their participation in guidance or vocational-training programmes, and does not impair their ability to benefit from the education they receive.

This paragraph must be read on its own terms: it is a power vested in the Minister, not a permission set out in the text. Nothing in Article 162 permits an employer to employ a 13-year-old; what it contains is that the Minister may permit that, subject to the two stated conditions.

A ministerial decision issued under this paragraph was not found by this guide. Locating it, and its limits, is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

4. The Implementing Regulation and where it stands on this paragraph

Article 33 of the Implementing Regulation, executing Article 162, provides that “under no circumstances may a person who has not completed fifteen years of age be employed, except for the cases stipulated in Article 167 of the Labor Law.”

What can properly be stated here is defined: the minimum working age is 15; the text reserves for the Minister an exception for light work in the 13-to-15 band; the Regulation states the ban on employing anyone under 15 in absolute terms, with no exception other than the cases in Article 167; and this guide did not find a decision issued under the second paragraph.

Reconciling these two formulations, and ranking the effect of one against the other, is a legal question that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority. Neither of the two possibilities should be built on in either direction: neither that a 13-year-old may be employed, nor that the second paragraph has no effect at all.

5. Night work: Article 163

Article 163 provides for a ban on employing juveniles during a night period of not less than 12 consecutive hours, except in the cases the Minister determines by decision.

In the wording, the 12 hours are phrased as “not less than,” i.e. a floor for the length of the protected night period, and it is described as consecutive.

Article 34 of the Implementing Regulation executes this provision, permitting, by exception to its general rule, the employment of juveniles during periods of the night in:

• an establishment where the work is confined to family members;
• work in vocational schools and training centers;
• work in bakeries, except the period from 9 pm to 4 am;
• cases of force majeure and emergencies.

The bakery item carries an exception within the exception: bakeries are excepted from the night ban, then the ban returns for the period from 9 pm to 4 am. Both halves of this item travel together, and carrying only the first half reverses its ruling.

These exceptions are set out in the Implementing Regulation, not in the body of the Law itself, and attributing them to their correct instrument is part of citing them accurately.

6. A juvenile’s hours: Article 164

Article 164 sets rules on hours that depart from the general rules:

• Actual working hours for a juvenile may not exceed 6 hours a day in all months of the year, except Ramadan, when actual working hours must not exceed 4;
• hours must be organized so that the juvenile does not work more than 4 consecutive hours without one or more periods for rest, food and prayer, not less than half an hour at a time;
• and the juvenile may not remain at the workplace for more than 7 hours;
• a juvenile may not be employed on the weekly rest day, on Eid days, on official holidays, or during annual leave.

The limit on remaining at the workplace is a separate limit from the one on actual working hours. The first is set in the text on the time the juvenile spends at the workplace, and the second on their actual hours of work.

The rest period in this article is set as a floor phrased as “not less than,” added to each single occasion rather than to the whole day, and the text permits it to be one period or more.

7. The Article 106 exceptions do not apply to a juvenile

Article 164 states expressly that the exceptions in Article 106 do not apply to juveniles. This is the operative sentence in the chapter, and its position at the end of the article makes it the one most likely to drop out when the article is summarized.

Article 106 is what lets an employer disregard Articles 98, 101 and 104(1) in a limited number of listed cases: annual stock-taking, budget preparation, liquidation, closing accounts, preparing for a discounted sale and the seasons around it; averting a dangerous accident or repairing its effects, or preventing the loss of perishable goods; meeting unusual pressure of work; and Eids, seasons, occasions and seasonal work the Minister designates. In those cases it carries a ceiling of 10 actual hours a day or 60 a week. None of that is available for a juvenile. The 6-hour ceiling in Article 164 carries no overtime escape hatch. For the general rules on hours and the weekly rest, see working hours and the weekly rest; for how overtime pay is calculated for the employees to whom Article 106 does apply, see the overtime calculator.

8. Article 167: what this chapter does not reach

Article 167 provides that the provisions of this chapter do not apply to:

• work performed by children and juveniles in schools for purposes of general, vocational or technical education, and in other training institutions;
• work in establishments by a person who has reached at least 14 years of age, where that work is carried out under conditions the Minister sets, and forms an essential part of: an educational or training course whose principal responsibility rests with a school or a training institution; a training program carried out mostly or wholly in an establishment, which the competent authority has approved; or a guidance or orientation program intended to facilitate the choice of a profession or type of training.

Two points in this article are lost when it is summarized. First, the 14 here is not a second minimum working age; it is the threshold for a narrow educational and training exception on conditions the Minister sets, and this guide did not find those conditions. Second, the exception in the text is from the provisions of this chapter, i.e. Articles 161 to 166, not from the Labor Law as a whole.

9. What the text does not address

• The ministerial decision issued under the second paragraph of Article 162 on light work for the 13-to-15 band. This guide did not find it, and locating it is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The industries, regions and categories in which the age was raised under the first paragraph of Article 162. This is a matter that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority for the specific case.
• Reconciling the body of the Law and the Regulation on the 13-to-15 band. This is a legal question that is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The exact start and end of the night period meant in Article 163, beyond what the Regulation states in the bakery item. The specific case is referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.
• The conditions the Minister sets under Article 167. This guide did not find them, and determining them 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.

10. What your system should record

• The date of birth of every employee, because every provision in this chapter turns on age, not on job title.
• Whether the employee falls within the definition’s two limits, 15 and 18, because the rules addressed to juveniles in this chapter are drafted around that category.
• The actual working hours of every juvenile each day, kept separate from the time spent at the workplace, because Article 164 sets a distinct limit for each.
• Rest periods, their timing and length, because the limit applies to each single occasion and to their being consecutive beforehand.
• Ramadan hours kept separate, because the limit differs from the rest of the year.
• Night-work occasions, if any occur, and the exception relied on for each, a fact worth adding to the record.
• The weekly rest day, Eid days, official holidays and annual leave for every juvenile, because Article 164 bars employing them on those days.

11. Checklist

• Does the system record a date of birth for every employee, not an approximate age?
• Do any juvenile’s actual working hours exceed 6 hours a day, or 4 in Ramadan?
• Does a juvenile work more than 4 consecutive hours without a break of at least half an hour?
• Does a juvenile remain at the workplace for more than 7 hours?
• Was a juvenile assigned work on a weekly rest day, an Eid, an official holiday, or during their annual leave?
• Was any arrangement built on the Article 106 exceptions applied to a juvenile, when they do not apply?
• If night work occurred: does it fall within what Article 34 of the Regulation lists, and was the bakery item’s 9 pm-to-4 am exclusion observed?

12. Why this turns into a problem

The place this chapter goes wrong is not the number itself, but where the rule comes from. The minimum age sits in the body of the Law, the night-work exception sits in the Regulation, and light work for the 13-to-15 band is left to a decision this guide did not find. Rules issued by different instruments are not read as one.

Add to that the fact that Article 164’s limits are measured against recorded facts: actual working hours, time spent at the workplace, the timing and length of breaks, and the month in which the work took place. The gap between clock-in and clock-out is not the same as actual working hours, and the limit on remaining at the workplace is a third, independent figure.

The definition itself works the same way: this chapter’s provisions apply by reference to a recorded date of birth, and stop applying once the employee turns 18. Age is a fact that changes with time, and a record that keeps the age without the date of birth loses that effect with the first year that passes.

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 the work prohibited for juveniles, their employment documents and the establishment’s register, see work prohibited for juveniles and their employment documents. For more guides and templates, browse the HR resource center.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum working age in Saudi Arabia under the Labor Law?

The first paragraph of Article 162 provides that no person who has not completed 15 years of age may be employed, and such a person is not permitted to enter workplaces. The Minister may raise this age in certain industries, regions, or categories of juveniles by decision.

May a 13-year-old be employed in light work?

The second paragraph of Article 162 provides that the Minister may permit the employment of persons aged between 13 and 15 in light work, subject to two conditions. This is a power vested in the Minister, not a permission set out in the text, and this guide did not find a decision issued under it. Article 33 of the Implementing Regulation bans employing anyone under 15 in absolute terms except for the cases in Article 167, and reconciling the two formulations is a matter referred to the regulatory text and the competent authority.

How many hours a day does a juvenile work?

Article 164 provides that a juvenile’s actual working hours may not exceed 6 hours a day in all months of the year, except Ramadan, when they must not exceed 4. The juvenile may not remain at the workplace for more than 7 hours, and may not work more than 4 consecutive hours without a rest, food and prayer period of not less than half an hour at a time.

May a juvenile work overtime?

Article 164 provides that the exceptions in Article 106 do not apply to juveniles. Article 106 is what lets an employer disregard the rules on hours in a limited number of cases, with a ceiling of 10 actual hours a day or 60 a week. The 6-hour ceiling in Article 164 carries no overtime escape hatch through Article 106.

May juveniles be employed at night?

Article 163 bans employing juveniles during a night period of not less than 12 consecutive hours, except in cases the Minister determines by decision. Article 34 of the Implementing Regulation permits this in a family-only establishment, in vocational schools and training centers, in bakeries except from 9 pm to 4 am, and in cases of force majeure and emergencies.

Does Article 167 set the working age at 14?

No. Article 167 excludes from this chapter’s provisions work performed by children and juveniles in schools and training institutions, and work in establishments by a person who has reached at least 14, where it is carried out on conditions the Minister sets and forms an essential part of an educational, training or guidance course or program as the article lists. The 14 there is the threshold for an educational and training exception, and the exception is from this chapter’s provisions, not from the Labor Law. This guide did not find the Minister’s conditions.

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: Article 2 (definition of a juvenile), Article 162 (the minimum age and the Minister’s power to raise it and to permit an exception), Article 163 (the night-work ban), Article 164 (hours, rest, remaining at the workplace, prohibited days, and the exclusion of Article 106), Article 106 (the cases of disregarding the general hour rules and their ceiling), and Article 167 (the educational and training exception); and to the Labor Law’s Implementing Regulation, Articles 33 and 34.

On the effect of the amendments made by Royal Decree M/44 of 1446H, in force since 19 February 2025: none of Articles 161 to 167 carries an amendment footnote in the updated text, and none of them appears in the official amendments table. This chapter stands as originally enacted under Royal Decree M/51.

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.