Sick Leave Request Form (Saudi Labor Law Article 117)

Sick leave is one of the most confusing areas for business owners and HR managers in Saudi Arabia. One employee misses two days with a note from a small clinic, another submits a 45-day report from a government hospital, and a third requests extended sick leave for surgery with follow-up from the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). Each case is calculated differently in payroll, and every mistake costs the company either extra cash or a labor complaint at the Ministry of Human Resources.

Article 117 of the Saudi Labor Law settled the framework: 30 days at full pay, 60 days at three-quarters pay, then 30 days unpaid, all within one year from the date of the first sick leave. But proper application requires a structured form, an accredited medical report, verification of the sick leave certificate through the Sehhaty platform and the Mawthooq platform, and accurate payroll deductions.

This ready-to-use form covers every requirement: employee data, leave type, dates, attachments, signatures from the direct manager and HR, and a reference to the medical report. You download it, log it inside Qoyod, and the deduction flows automatically into payroll with a monthly GOSI report ready for submission.

Sick Leave Rights Under the Saudi Labor Law and Article 117

Article 117 of the Saudi Labor Law states that a worker whose illness is medically confirmed has the right to paid sick leave within one year from the date of the first sick leave, following a specific tiered schedule that cannot be circumvented. A precise understanding of this tiered structure is the cornerstone of any valid sick leave request form.

Many companies make a fundamental mistake: the total period (120 days) is counted within the year starting from the date of the first sick leave, not within the calendar year or the company’s fiscal year. This difference flips pay calculations upside down if HR overlooks it.

The Complete Pay Entitlement Schedule Across 120 Days

How the One-Year Window Is Calculated in Practice

The year starts on the first day the employee was absent for medically documented reasons. If the first sick leave begins on 12 March 2025, the reference year ends on 11 March 2026. Any second or third sick leave within this window adds to the balance, and the counter does not restart.

• Scattered days accumulate: if the employee takes 8 days in March, 12 days in June, and 10 days in September, the total is 30 days (end of the first period), and any additional day falls under the 75 percent tier.
• Fridays and official holidays: they count within the sick leave period if they fall inside it, and the leave is neither extended nor shortened because of them.
• Sick leave is not deducted from the annual leave balance or from the emergency leave balance. Each type has its own independent balance.

Conditions for Sick Leave Entitlement and the Accredited Medical Report

The basic condition for accepting a sick leave request is a medical report issued by an accredited authority. The company is not entitled to accept a certificate from an unlicensed private clinic, nor is it entitled to reject a certificate from a government hospital or Ministry of Health primary care center simply because the employee did not give prior notice.

Authorities Authorized to Issue Sick Leave Certificates

• Government hospitals and primary care centers: their certificates are automatically accredited through the Sehhaty platform and appear with an official verification code.
• Licensed private hospitals and medical complexes: accepted on the condition that the certificate is issued through Sehhaty with a verification code, not as a hand-signed paper.
• Small unlicensed clinics: their certificates are rejected and are not considered an accredited medical report, even if the clinic stamps them.
• Reports issued outside Saudi Arabia: require attestation from the Saudi embassy in the country of issue, then from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inside the Kingdom.

Notification Within 24 Hours

The employee is required to notify the employer of the illness within 24 hours from the start of the leave, except in exceptional cases (ICU admission, accident, loss of consciousness). The notification can use any documented channel: a WhatsApp message to the department manager, an email to HR, or a phone call followed by a written confirmation.

Failure to notify does not forfeit the employee’s right to the entitled pay, but it gives the employer the right to apply disciplinary measures for violating internal procedures. Every company needs a clear internal work regulation on this point.

Components of a Complete Sick Leave Request Form

A good form goes beyond a name and date field. It must cover all the data HR needs to calculate the pay, link the medical certificate to its verification code from the Sehhaty platform, and clearly identify the direct manager who approved the leave.

Mandatory Core Fields

Preferred Additional Fields

• Nature of the illness: an optional field to preserve employee privacy, but it helps HR plan workforce coverage if the absence is long.
• Backup employee name: who will cover the employee’s tasks during the absence, especially in critical roles (accounting, operations, customer service).
• Physician notes: complete rest, avoid heavy lifting, no return to work before a medical review, and so on.
• Medical follow-up date: important if the illness requires periodic check-ups that may require extending the leave.

The Sehhaty Platform and Submitting the Sick Leave Certificate Electronically

The Sehhaty platform, operated by the Ministry of Health, is the official unified channel for issuing sick leave certificates in Saudi Arabia. Any certificate from an accredited medical authority appears in the employee’s Sehhaty app within minutes of issuance and carries a verification code (QR Code) that the company can scan to confirm the certificate’s authenticity.

Employee Steps to Submit the Certificate

1. Log in to the Sehhaty app using the Nafath unified national access account.
2. Open the sick leaves section, then select the required certificate.
3. Tap the share option and send the certificate to the employer’s establishment number.
4. The certificate appears in the company’s account on the Sehhaty platform for establishments with a unique verification code.

Verifying the Certificate Through the Verification Code

Each certificate carries a unique code. HR can enter the code on the verification page of the Ministry of Health website and instantly confirm three elements:

• Authenticity of issuance: whether the certificate was actually issued by the stated authority.
• Leave duration: the actual start and end dates, to prevent tampering with the number of days.
• Employee identity: matching the name and ID number printed on the certificate.

Any certificate that does not appear in the Sehhaty platform and does not carry an active verification code is a rejected certificate, and the company has the right not to count it as an official sick leave.

The Difference Between Sick Leave, Emergency Leave, and Unpaid Leave

Confusion between these three leave types is the cause of more than half the wage disputes between employees and employers in Saudi Arabia. Each type has its own conditions, duration, and pay calculation method, and cannot be mixed or counted as another type.

When an Employee Shifts From One Leave to Another

If the employee exhausts the 120-day sick leave balance without recovery, the employee may request unpaid leave in coordination with the employer, or the employer may terminate the contract under Article 82 if the illness is not the result of a work injury. Sick leave cannot be converted into emergency leave simply because a medical report is missing, as that would be a circumvention of the law.

Long-Term Sick Leave and Its Relationship With GOSI

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) does not pay the employee during regular sick leave days, because the wage falls on the employer per Article 117. But in specific cases (work injury, occupational diseases, temporary disability), GOSI steps in through its occupational hazards insurance branch and pays a work disability allowance.

When GOSI Covers the Wage Replacement

• Documented work injury: an accident during or because of work, reported to GOSI within 3 days. GOSI covers the temporary disability allowance from day one.
• Occupational illness: an illness whose cause is established in the work environment per the approved list of occupational diseases, treated the same as a work injury.
• Total permanent disability: if total disability is confirmed, the employee transitions to the disability pension system and is removed from the payroll.

What the Employer Must Record

Every day of extended sick leave is entered into the monthly GOSI report in a dedicated field, especially if the leave results from a work injury. Misclassifying the leave (regular illness versus work injury) leads to the employee later demanding unpaid differences from the company, or to a GOSI fine for late reporting.

To handle these cases accurately, the company needs a payroll system that links the employee file, the leave certificate, the reduced-wage field, and the monthly GOSI report in one place. Qoyod payroll does this automatically.

Company Procedures for a Leave Request (Approval, Replacement, Coverage)

The sick leave request arriving at HR is not the end of the process but the start. The company needs a clear approval path, workforce coverage for the absent employee, and immediate updates to the attendance log and payroll sheet.

Recommended Approval Path

1. Receive the request from the employee: on paper or electronically, with the Sehhaty certificate and verification code.
2. Immediate verification of the certificate: through the Mawthooq platform or the Sehhaty platform for establishments, within 24 hours.
3. Direct manager approval: on administrative data (dates, task coverage, impact on projects).
4. HR approval: on the legal side (pay calculation, balance update, GOSI report).
5. Notification to payroll: to apply the deduction per the tier (100, 75, or 0 percent).

Covering the Employee’s Tasks During Absence

• Designate an internal backup: a colleague in the same department handles only the critical tasks, not every task.
• Defer what can be deferred: non-urgent projects wait for the employee’s return rather than overloading the backup.
• Notify customers or suppliers: if the employee is the sole point of contact, customers are notified of the temporary backup.
• Document the steps taken: in the employee record, so on return the employee knows what happened and what is pending.

Employee Rights in Case of Termination During Sick Leave

The most sensitive topic: does the employer have the right to terminate an employee during sick leave? The answer under the Saudi Labor Law is clearly defined and varies based on the length of the illness and the contract type.

The General Rule

The employer is not allowed to terminate the worker’s contract during a period of entitled sick leave under Article 117. Any termination during this period is considered arbitrary dismissal and triggers compensation to the employee for the remaining wages of the contract period if it is a fixed-term contract, or two months of compensation per year of service if it is an open-ended contract, per Article 77.

Exceptions That Permit Contract Termination

• Full exhaustion of the 120-day balance: if the employee has used up all three periods and is no longer able to work, the employer may terminate the contract under Article 82.
• Confirmed total inability to work: by a medical decision from an accredited medical committee, the employee transitions to the disability pension system.
• Permanent closure of the establishment: due to circumstances beyond the employer’s control, with full payment of end-of-service entitlements.

In all cases, end-of-service entitlements (gratuity, unpaid wages, annual leave balance) are paid in full, and unpaid sick leave days cannot be deducted from the end-of-service gratuity.

Sick Leave Under the Flexible Work Contract and Part-Time Contract

The flexible work system (Freelance) and the part-time work system fall under Article 117, but proportionally to the agreed working hours. The common mistake: companies treat the part-time employee as if they have no sick leave entitlement at all, or they grant a full 120-day balance as if the employee were full-time. Both are wrong.

How the Balance Is Calculated in Part-Time Work

The flexible work contract does not include paid sick leave because the worker is paid by the hour, but the worker retains entitlements through GOSI if registered correctly under the Mudad system.

Verifying the Sick Leave Certificate Through Mawthooq and Sehhaty

Forgery of sick leave certificates was a problem before the Sehhaty platform was activated. Today, any certificate that does not appear electronically in Sehhaty and carry a verification code should be treated with suspicion. The Mawthooq platform also provides a verification service for official documents, including sick leave certificates.

Practical Verification Steps

1. Request the certificate number and verification code from the employee.
2. Log in to the Sehhaty platform for establishments using the company account registered with the Ministry of Health.
3. Enter the employee’s ID number and the certificate number.
4. Read the result: issuing authority, date, number of days, certificate status (valid or canceled).
5. Keep an electronic copy of the verification result in the employee’s file.

Signs of a Suspicious Certificate

• No verification code: a paper certificate without a QR code from an accredited authority is a suspicious certificate.
• Illogical dates: a certificate issued on an official holiday from a clinic that was closed that day.
• An unregistered physician’s signature: verify the physician’s professional record through the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.
• A name mismatch: even by one letter, the certificate may belong to someone else.

The Most Common Mistakes in Managing Sick Leave

After tracking hundreds of small and mid-sized companies in Saudi Arabia, recurring patterns of mistakes appear, costing the company labor complaints or incorrect payroll calculations.

Mistake 1: Counting the Fiscal Year Instead of the Year From the First Leave

Many attendance systems automatically reset the balance in January. This is wrong. The reference year starts from the date of the first sick leave, not from 1 January.

Mistake 2: Deducting Fridays From the Sick Leave

Friday and any official holiday that falls within the sick leave period count as part of the leave, and the leave is neither extended nor deducted from pay separately because of them.

Mistake 3: Accepting Certificates Without a Verification Code

Any certificate from 2020 onward without a Sehhaty verification code should be treated as a suspicious document, and the employee should be asked for the electronic alternative.

Mistake 4: Not Updating the Leave Balance in the Payroll System

An employee who used 25 days in the first half of the year has only 5 days at full pay remaining, then the 75 percent tier kicks in. If the balance is not updated, the employee is paid in full when only three-quarters is due, and the company loses the difference.

Mistake 5: Not Linking Long Sick Leave to the GOSI Report

Extended leaves (more than 30 consecutive days) require a flag in the monthly GOSI report, especially if they result from a work injury. Neglecting this step exposes the company to a fine.

How Qoyod Calculates Sick Leave Automatically in Payroll and Generates the GOSI Report

Managing sick leave manually on Excel sheets works in a company of 5 employees. At 20 employees and above, errors start appearing: forgotten certificates, days counted twice, balances not updated, and GOSI reports going out with wrong numbers. Qoyod payroll was designed to handle this precisely.

Steps Inside Qoyod

• Create the employee file: with full data, hire date, base salary, allowances, and work pattern (full-time, part-time, flexible).
• Log the sick leave request: choose the leave type (sick), start and end dates, attach the Sehhaty certificate image, and enter the verification code.
• Automatic calculation: the system reads the employee balance for the reference year and distributes the days across the three tiers (100 percent, 75 percent, 0 percent).
• Payroll update: unpaid days are deducted automatically, and the net salary appears in the monthly payslip.
• Ready GOSI report: at month end, the system generates the monthly contributions file in a format compatible with GOSI.

Integration With Other Platforms

Qoyod integrates with the Mudad system for wage protection, with the Qiwa platform for official contracts, and with GOSI for monthly contribution reports. All of this within one subscription. Check the Qoyod plans to choose the best fit for your business size.

Direct Support

The Qoyod support team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for any question on leave setup, payroll calculation, or exporting HR reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the employee have the right to take sick leave during the probation period?

Yes. Article 117 applies from the first day of work, even if the employee is in the probation period (90 days). However, if the employer determines that the employee is unfit for the role, the contract can be terminated during probation for reasons other than illness, with payment of the wages for the entitled sick leave days.

What if the employer refuses to accept the sick leave certificate?

If the certificate is issued by an accredited authority and carries a Sehhaty verification code, the employer is not entitled to refuse it. If a dispute arises, the employee may file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources through the Qiwa platform, and the case is referred to the labor court if not amicably resolved within 21 days.

Does sick leave cover only the day of surgery or the recovery period as well?

It covers the day of surgery and the full recovery period as determined by the medical report. The treating physician decides the required rest duration, and the employer must comply as long as it is documented by a certificate from an accredited authority.

Is a doctor’s visit day counted as a full sick leave day?

If the physician prescribes rest for that day and issues a Sehhaty certificate dated the same day, the visit day counts as a full sick leave day. But if the employee visits the doctor for two or three hours and returns to work without a certificate, it is treated as a temporary exit permit per the company’s internal policy.

How is sick leave calculated for an employee who exceeds 120 days?

After exhausting 120 days in the year, the employee may request unpaid leave in agreement with the employer, or the employer may terminate the contract under Article 82 if the employee is unable to return to work. If total disability is confirmed, the employee transitions to the disability pension system through GOSI.

Is the employee entitled to allowances (housing, transport) during sick leave?

Yes. During the 100 percent period (first 30 days), the employee is entitled to all allowances in full. During the 75 percent period (60 days), the employee is entitled to three-quarters of the allowances. During the 0 percent period (last 30 days), neither wages nor allowances are due, unless the employment contract states otherwise in the employee’s favor.

Is sick leave counted within the service period for end-of-service gratuity?

Yes. Sick leave is counted within the full service period, including the unpaid days (the last 30), because it is not an interruption of work but an absence with a legitimate excuse. The end-of-service gratuity is calculated on the total years of service per Article 84.

What if a pregnant employee falls ill before maternity leave begins?

The pregnant employee’s sick leave is subject to Article 117 like any other employee, but she is also entitled to maternity leave of 10 weeks per Article 151, taken as 4 weeks before delivery and 6 weeks after. The two leaves are separate, and neither is deducted from the other. If the employee requests pregnancy-related sick leave before maternity leave, it is counted from the Article 117 balance.