Employee Performance and Misconduct Report Template (Saudi Labor Law Compliant)

HR management in a Saudi establishment is not just about payroll and attendance. The hardest moment for an HR manager or a direct supervisor is the one in which they have to document an employee’s underperformance or a misconduct incident. This sensitive moment leaves no room for emotion, no room for impulsiveness, and no room for writing in an impressionistic style, because every word in the report may later turn into evidence before the Labor Office or the Labor Court.

The biggest problem we see in many Saudi establishments is that performance or misconduct reports are written in emotional language: “the employee is bad”, “uncommitted”, “exhausting”, “unreliable”. This kind of wording, however honest from the manager’s point of view, strips the report of its legal value entirely and makes it unusable as a basis for any disciplinary action under the Saudi Labor Law. A labor judge does not read feelings, they read facts, dates, and evidence.

This template gives you an integrated legal framework for writing an objective report on an underperforming employee or an employee with conduct in breach of policy, in Excel and Google Sheets format, built on the Saudi Labor Law and its executive regulations, and aligned with the requirements of the Labor Office and the Qiwa platform. The template turns impressions into facts, and a complaint into a documented file that can be defended.

When you should write a report on an employee’s performance or conduct

Writing a formal report on an employee is not an emotional option a manager turns to when patience runs out. It is a regulated step with clear boundaries. A report is written when the situation reaches a point where a verbal note or a passing reminder is no longer enough, and when the employer needs legal documentation that protects the establishment from any later dispute.

Situations that require a formal report

• Repeated tardiness: when lateness exceeds the threshold set in the establishment’s internal regulations and verbal warnings are no longer enough to stop the behavior.
• Absence without a legitimate excuse: repeated or continuous absence without notice or a lawful reason, especially when it exceeds the period allowed by the Labor Law.
• Continuous underperformance: failure to deliver assigned tasks, repeated operational errors, or failure to meet agreed performance indicators.
• Breach of work instructions: refusing lawful orders from the direct manager, breaching information confidentiality, or misusing company assets.
• Unprofessional conduct: fighting, verbal abuse of colleagues, harassment, smoking in prohibited areas, or any behavior that breaches the rules of conduct.
• Harming the establishment’s interests: causing financial losses, leaking information, or damaging client relationships.

The line between a verbal note and a written report

The practical rule: if the incident could lead to a financial penalty, a deduction from salary, contract termination, or denial of the end-of-service award, it requires a written report. Simple day-to-day notes can be handled with a verbal reminder plus a note in the employee file. The difference between the two is the difference between a situation that can be handled internally, and one that may end up in the Labor Court.

The difference between a performance report and a misconduct report

Mixing the two is the most common mistake in HR departments across Saudi Arabia. Each type has its own methodology, its own measurement tools, and its own legal consequences, and merging them into a single report weakens the establishment’s legal position.

Performance report

A performance report measures an employee’s ability to execute the tasks agreed in their job description and KPIs. This report does not address intentions or morals, it addresses numbers and outcomes: sales count, completion rate, output quality, delivery time. Underperformance is not addressed by direct punishment, but by a written Performance Improvement Plan that gives the employee a defined time window to correct course.

Misconduct report

A misconduct report documents a specific act committed by the employee that breaches the internal regulations or the Saudi Labor Law. This report does not need an improvement plan, it goes directly into the disciplinary ladder set in the internal regulations. A conduct breach has a specific time of occurrence, a specific location, usually witnesses, and sometimes physical evidence such as CCTV recordings or access logs.

When the two overlap

In some cases, weak performance results from intentional behavior, such as repeated absence causing project failures, or refusal to cooperate with the team lowering productivity. Here the two reports must be separated: a conduct report documenting the absence or refusal to cooperate, and a performance report measuring the impact on output. Each report follows its own independent regulated path.

The legal framework under the Saudi Labor Law

Every report on an underperforming employee or one with breaching conduct must rest on a specific regulatory reference. A general reference to “the Labor Law” without citing the article weakens the report. The following three articles are the backbone of any disciplinary action in a Saudi establishment.

Article 80 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 80 sets out the cases in which the employer may terminate the contract without an award, without notice, and without compensation, provided the employee is given the opportunity to state their reasons. These cases include: assault on the employer, the manager, or colleagues, failure to perform the essential obligations under the contract, disclosure of industrial or trade secrets, absence without a legitimate reason for more than 30 non-consecutive days or 15 consecutive days in a single year, resorting to fraud to obtain the job, and being present in a clearly intoxicated state or under the influence of a narcotic inside the workplace.

Article 77 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 77 deals with unlawful termination of contract and sets the compensation an employee is entitled to if the employer ends their contract without a regulated cause. The importance of this article is that it reminds the employer that any termination not supported by an objective report and conclusive evidence exposes them to paying compensation equal to 15 days’ wages for every year of service in indefinite-term contracts, or what remains of a fixed-term contract, whichever is greater.

Article 66 of the Saudi Labor Law

Article 66 and the articles that follow require every establishment to have internal work regulations approved by the Ministry of Human Resources, setting out the disciplinary penalties and the rules for applying them. The employer cannot impose any penalty that is not provided for in these regulations, even if the penalty is as small as a salary deduction. The approved internal regulations are the first reference, before resorting to the general articles of the Labor Law.

The establishment’s internal regulations

The internal regulations are the collective contract between the establishment and its employees. Every breach must be tied to a specific clause in the regulations, and every penalty must be stated with its maximum limit. An objective report names this explicitly: “based on clause number X of the internal regulations approved by the Ministry of Human Resources on date Y”. This grounding turns the report from a personal opinion into a regulated procedure.

Components of an objective report

A sound legal report is not a narrative page, it is a structured document made up of clear fields. Each field has a defined legal function, and the absence of any field opens the door to challenge. The table below shows the core components included in the Qoyod template and the importance of each one.

Drafting the incident description

The incident description is the most sensitive field in the report. The golden rule: write what the camera sees, not what you feel. Instead of “the employee does not respect work hours”, write: “on 12 May 2026, the employee arrived at 9:42 a.m., while official work hours start at 8:00 a.m., for the fourth time this month according to the biometric attendance log on the Qiwa platform”. This kind of wording cannot be challenged.

The disciplinary ladder

The principle of progressive discipline is the cornerstone of the Saudi labor system. The employer cannot jump straight to dismissal except in the cases set out in Article 80. Otherwise, the employee must move through a chain of progressive warnings before reaching the most severe penalties. The table below shows the ladder adopted in most internal regulations.

Rules for applying the penalty

• Progressive principle: do not move to a harsher penalty before exhausting the lesser one, except in cases explicitly stated in the Labor Law.
• Time limits: a penalty cannot be imposed on a breach more than 30 days after it is discovered, or more than 15 days from the date of investigation.
• No double punishment: an employee cannot be punished for the same breach twice with two different penalties.
• Deduction cap: salary deductions cannot exceed 5 days’ wages in a single month, even if breaches are multiple.
• Prior documentation: a penalty must be stated in the approved internal regulations before the breach occurs.

Employee rights during the investigation

A sound legal report is not issued unilaterally. The Saudi Labor Law guarantees core rights for the employee that must be respected, and any disciplinary action that overrides these rights is subject to annulment in the Labor Court. This balance is not an obstacle to the employer, it is a safeguard that protects the decision from later challenge.

The right to be heard

Before any penalty is imposed, the employee must be given the chance to see the charge attributed to them and to present their statements and defense. This is not a formality, it is a foundational element of the validity of the decision. An employee who receives a disciplinary decision without being heard has the right to challenge it on the basis of denial of defense rights.

The right to a written defense

The employee has the right to submit a written defense responding to the report and naming their witnesses and evidence. This defense is attached to the original report and becomes part of the case file. Ignoring the written defense strips the report of its neutrality.

The right to internal appeal

The internal regulations must provide an internal appeal mechanism that allows the employee to challenge the disciplinary decision within a defined period, usually 15 days. The appeal committee must be different from the body that issued the original decision, so that the appeal is meaningful.

The right to access the case file

The employee has the right to obtain a copy of the report and all attached documents. This right is guaranteed by the Labor Law, and documents cannot be withheld under the pretext of investigation secrecy. Transparency strengthens the employer’s position, it does not weaken it.

Writing the report without emotional or biased language

This is the chapter that decides the report’s fate in the Labor Court. A report written in emotional language loses its legal value, even if the facts it describes are 100% accurate. The labor judge does not build a ruling on a manager’s impressions, but on documented, neutral facts.

Words to avoid entirely

• “Bad employee”: replace with “underperforming employee” or “employee with conduct in breach of policy”.
• “Lazy, careless, reckless, failure”: replace with a factual description of the behavior alongside dates.
• “Always, never stops, impossible”: replace with a precise count: “three times within two weeks”.
• “I think, I feel, it seems”: replace with “according to log X, based on report Y”.
• “Difficult personality, bad temperament”: do not describe personality, describe behavior.

Objective wording

Write the report as if you were narrating events to someone who was not there, using past tense, names, and numbers. Avoid adjectives and judgments. Example: “on 14 April 2026 at 11:20 a.m., during the sales department meeting, the employee raised his voice at the department manager using offensive words, according to two witnesses present (named in the relevant field)”. This wording is neutral, specific, and provable.

The overall tone of the report

The report is not a place to vent the manager’s frustration with the employee. It is a professional document written in a calm, objective tone, similar to that of a neutral investigator. Even if the employee has personally offended the writer, the report does not reflect that. Revenge in the report destroys the establishment’s legal position.

Legally admissible evidence

Every claim in the report must rest on verifiable evidence. A claim without evidence falls, however logical it sounds. Labor courts in Saudi Arabia rely on specific categories of evidence, and each piece of evidence has conditions for being admissible.

Attendance and exit records

Biometric logs from the Qiwa platform or the establishment’s internal attendance system are the strongest evidence in lateness and absence cases. The records must be certified with the extraction date and must cover the full disputed period, not handpicked days. The Mudad platform provides wage compliance records that can also be used.

CCTV recordings

Internal CCTV recordings are admissible provided the cameras are disclosed to employees in the work contract or internal regulations, and the location is appropriate (does not breach privacy). The recording must carry a visible date and time, and must be stored on a non-editable medium.

Electronic correspondence

Work emails, professional messaging app messages, and ticketing system logs are all admissible evidence, provided they come from an official and verified account. Screenshots alone are not enough, the original message must be retained along with its metadata.

Colleague testimony

A single witness statement is not enough, at least two witnesses are needed to strengthen the position. The witness must write their statement by hand or sign it digitally, stating their relationship to the employee and their location at the time of the incident. Testimony from a colleague who has a prior dispute with the employee may be rejected.

Technical reports

In cases of damage to establishment assets or operational negligence, a technical report from a qualified expert (technician, accountant, engineer) that quantifies the loss precisely is an important piece of evidence. The expert must be neutral and not reporting to the employee in question.

Operational performance records

In underperformance cases, CRM reports, performance dashboards, and task completion logs inside project management systems are objective evidence. Records must cover a sufficient period (at least 3 months) to reflect a pattern, not an isolated case.

Investigator signature and the HR approval chain

A report without a clear approval chain is a paper without value. Every report must pass through defined review and approval loops before it becomes an official document. The absence of any loop opens the door to challenge.

The approved sequence

• Direct manager: writes the initial report, signs and dates it, and attaches the initial evidence. The signature means assuming professional responsibility for the facts.
• Department head: reviews the report for consistency with department policy, adds notes if any, then signs.
• HR business partner: checks the report for alignment with internal regulations and the Labor Law, and sets the proposed penalty according to the disciplinary ladder.
• Legal department: in larger establishments, or for serious breaches, the legal department reviews the report before final approval.
• HR director: provides the final signature on the disciplinary decision within the authority delegated in the organizational structure.
• The employee concerned: receives a signed copy and signs to acknowledge receipt (the signature does not mean admission, only receipt).

Dating each step

Every signature must carry both a Hijri and a Gregorian date. The chronological sequence of approvals is evidence of neutrality, and that the decision was not an impulse but the product of a layered review. Timestamps that are too close together (minutes apart) may be read as formal sign-off without actual review.

Impact of the report on end-of-service entitlements and the Qiwa platform

The report’s impact does not end when the penalty is signed. It is a document that remains in the employee’s file and affects their financial entitlements and their status on the Ministry of Human Resources platforms. Understanding this impact helps the employer make balanced decisions.

Impact of dismissal under Article 80

If the report ends with a dismissal decision under Article 80, the employee is denied the end-of-service award. This is the most severe financial impact, which is precisely why courts apply the highest standards of proof in this case. A dismissal not backed by a conclusive report turns into an unlawful dismissal, with full entitlements restored along with compensation.

Impact of termination under Article 77

If the employer ends the contract for operational reasons based on performance reports (not under Article 80), the employee is entitled to the full end-of-service award, and may be entitled to additional compensation if the termination is not supported by a regulated reason. A documented report protects the employer from an unlawful dismissal claim.

Recording on the Qiwa platform

Contract termination is recorded on the Qiwa platform of the Ministry of Human Resources, with the reason for termination stated. The recorded reason affects the employee’s ability to move to another job, and the duration of any work visa ban in certain cases. A precise report protects the employer’s right to record the correct reason.

Impact of accumulated penalties

Multiple deductions and warnings recorded in the employee file affect their entitlement to raises, promotions, and annual bonuses, within the approved HR policy. This is a long-term impact that the employee should be aware of when signing for receipt of the warnings.

The most common mistakes that make a report unlawful

These mistakes have recurred in hundreds of labor cases in Saudi Arabia, and all of them could have been avoided with basic awareness of the Labor Law’s requirements. Avoiding them protects the establishment from heavy financial losses.

The ten most common mistakes

• Emotional wording: using judgment words instead of describing facts, turning the report into a personal complaint.
• Missing date and time: reports without precise dates are rejected because regulatory deadlines cannot be verified.
• Jumping the disciplinary ladder: imposing a harsh penalty for a minor breach without prior warnings.
• Failing to hear the employee: issuing a disciplinary decision before hearing the employee’s defense invalidates the decision.
• Exceeding the regulated time limit: imposing a penalty on a breach more than 30 days after it was discovered.
• No reference to the regulations: failing to cite the breached clause in the internal regulations strips the report of its basis.
• Double punishment: punishing the employee twice for the same breach with different penalties.
• Exceeding the deduction cap: deducting more than 5 days’ wages in a month makes the excess recoverable.
• No witnesses: relying on the manager’s account alone with no second witness.
• Obvious bias: repeated reports from the same manager against the same employee without similar reports about peers, suggesting personal targeting.

The impact of a single mistake

A single procedural mistake can bring down the entire report before the Labor Court, even if the underlying facts are correct. That is why a review by the HR business partner is essential before final approval. The preventive cost is much lower than the cost of a lost labor case.

How Qoyod helps you document attendance, performance, and deductions

Employee reports are not written in a vacuum, they rest on documented operational data. Qoyod provides an integrated HR and payroll platform that captures the records and evidence a legal report needs, and ties deductions and warnings directly to the payroll system, closing the gap between an administrative decision and its financial execution.

HR and payroll module

The payroll module in Qoyod documents every deduction, warning, or suspension and links it to the employee and the salary record. Every disciplinary decision is attached to a supporting document and shows up transparently on the payslip. This protects the employer from the employee claiming the deduction was undocumented, and protects the employee from undocumented deductions.

Performance records linked to the employee

Every employee in Qoyod has a file containing their personal data, contract, salary change dates, leaves, deductions, and warnings. This file is the reference document when writing any report, and when the Labor Court reviews the case if needed. A well-organized electronic record is far stronger than scattered papers in drawers.

Qoyod integration with Ministry of Human Resources platforms

Qoyod integrates with the Mudad platform to prove wage payment compliance on time, which is a regulatory requirement. Mudad compliance protects the employer from any claim of late salary payment, which can turn a labor case against the establishment even if the employee is the one in breach. Linking employee data with the Qiwa platform keeps updates automatic.

E-invoicing and financial impact

In cases where the employee damages company assets or causes operational losses, the e-invoicing system in Qoyod quantifies the financial impact precisely. The numbers in the report are not estimates, they are extracted from an accounting system aligned with Phase 2 of e-invoicing under the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).

To see which plan fits your establishment size, visit the pricing page and pick the plan that includes the HR and payroll module.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I dismiss an employee on the first serious breach without prior warnings?

Yes, but only if the breach falls within the cases explicitly stated in Article 80 of the Saudi Labor Law, such as assault on the employer or colleagues, disclosure of work secrets, fraud, or being intoxicated inside the workplace. In these cases the employer may terminate the contract without an award and without notice, provided the employee is given the opportunity to state their reasons before the decision. Any breach outside Article 80 requires progressive penalties according to the disciplinary ladder in the internal regulations, and jumping straight to dismissal is not allowed.

What is the difference between a written warning and a Performance Improvement Plan?

A written warning is a disciplinary penalty for a conduct breach or violation of instructions, and it sits within the disciplinary ladder of the internal regulations. A Performance Improvement Plan is a managerial tool to address operational underperformance, giving the employee a defined time window (usually 30 to 90 days) with clear measurable goals. A warning is recorded as a penalty in the employee file, while a PIP is a development framework, not a punishment. Mixing the two is a common mistake, since each has its own independent legal and administrative track.

What is the maximum allowed suspension as a disciplinary penalty?

Under the Saudi Labor Law and its executive regulations, suspension from work without pay as a disciplinary penalty cannot exceed 5 days per single breach. The total deduction resulting from suspension cannot exceed 5 days’ wages in a single month, even if the breaches are multiple. This cap cannot be exceeded even if the internal regulations specify a harsher penalty, because the Labor Law is the higher reference.

Can an employee refuse to sign a written warning?

Yes, the employee can refuse to sign, but this does not invalidate the warning. In case of refusal, the employer records this on the warning itself in the presence of two witnesses who sign that the warning was read out to the employee and that the employee refused to sign. The warning then takes effect from the date it was read. Signing does not mean admission of the breach, only receipt, which is why refusing to sign does not protect the employee from the impact of the warning.

Are office CCTV recordings legally admissible evidence?

Yes, provided two main conditions are met: the cameras must be disclosed to employees in the work contract, internal regulations, or a written notice, and the camera locations must be in shared work areas (not violating employee privacy, such as restrooms or changing rooms). The recording must be stored on a non-editable medium, extracted in the presence of a witness, and attached to the report with the date and time of the incident clearly stated.

How do prior warnings affect the end-of-service award?

Written warnings on their own do not deny the employee the end-of-service award. The award is only denied in the case of dismissal under Article 80 of the Labor Law. However, accumulated warnings are the basis that justifies applying Article 80 if the same breach is repeated. In other words, a warning alone does not deduct money, but it builds the file that enables the employer to dismiss without an award on the next similar incident.

How long does a written warning remain in effect, and does it expire?

The internal regulations set the validity period of a warning, usually from 6 to 12 months depending on the type of breach. After this period passes without repetition of the breach, the warning falls out of the employee’s file and is no longer counted in the disciplinary ladder. This principle encourages the employee to improve and prevents indefinite accumulation of penalties. Regulations that do not specify a validity period are open to challenge for breaching the principle of proportionality.

Can an employee go to the Labor Office before exhausting the internal appeal?

Yes, the Saudi Labor Law does not require exhausting the internal appeal before going to the Labor Office or the Labor Court. The employee can file a complaint directly through the Qiwa platform or by visiting the Labor Office. However, an effective internal appeal mechanism in the regulations reduces the likelihood of the employee escalating, and gives the employer a chance to review their decisions before they reach the official authorities, which preserves the work relationship and saves costs for both parties.