After 5 years in Saudi Arabia, your end-of-service award is 2.5 months of your last actual wage if your employer ends the contract or it expires. If you resign at exactly 5 years, you receive one-third of that. Every year after the fifth adds a full month’s wage, and from 10 years you keep the full award even when you resign.
The table below shows the award for every year from 1 to 15, then worked examples on a SAR 8,000 wage. For your exact dates, use the Saudi end-of-service calculator.
The formula in one line
Article 84 of the Saudi Labor Law gives:
- half a month’s wage for each of the first five years, then
- one month’s wage for each year after that,
calculated on your last actual wage (basic plus allowances), with part-years paid pro rata. Article 85 then reduces the award if you resign. Both articles are in the consolidated law on the Bureau of Experts site, and the consolidated text shows no 2025 amendment to either.
Table: months of wage earned, years 1–15
“Contract ends” covers termination by the employer and a fixed-term contract running out. The award is shown in months of your last actual wage.
| Years of service | Contract ends (months’ wage) | If you resign | You keep on resignation (months’ wage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5 | Nothing | 0 |
| 2 | 1.0 | One-third | 0.33 |
| 3 | 1.5 | One-third | 0.5 |
| 4 | 2.0 | One-third | 0.67 |
| 5 | 2.5 | One-third | 0.83 |
| 6 | 3.5 | Two-thirds | 2.33 |
| 7 | 4.5 | Two-thirds | 3.0 |
| 8 | 5.5 | Two-thirds | 3.67 |
| 9 | 6.5 | Two-thirds | 4.33 |
| 10 | 7.5 | Full | 7.5 |
| 11 | 8.5 | Full | 8.5 |
| 12 | 9.5 | Full | 9.5 |
| 13 | 10.5 | Full | 10.5 |
| 14 | 11.5 | Full | 11.5 |
| 15 | 12.5 | Full | 12.5 |
There is no cap on the Saudi award: it keeps growing by one month a year for as long as you stay.
If you resign: the 2, 5 and 10-year thresholds
Article 85 sets three thresholds based on continuous service at the date you resign:
- Under 2 years: no award.
- 2 years up to and including 5 years: one-third.
- More than 5 and under 10 years: two-thirds.
- 10 years or more: the full award.
The jumps are steep. Between 5 and 6 years, a resigning worker’s award goes from 0.83 to 2.33 months’ wage, almost three times as much, because both the formula (full months start) and the share (two-thirds) change. If you are close to a threshold, check your exact service before you resign.
The procedure for resigning, including the 30-day acceptance rule, is in Article 79-bis; see how resignation works in Saudi Arabia.
Exactly 5 years: one-third, not two-thirds
Many websites disagree about a worker who resigns after exactly five years. The official Arabic text of Article 85 settles it: one-third applies to service “of not less than two consecutive years and not more than five years”, and two-thirds applies only when service is more than five years. So exactly 5 years earns one-third. One day beyond five years moves you into the two-thirds band, on the award for that service.
Worked examples on a SAR 8,000 actual wage
These figures come from our calculator, using a last actual wage of SAR 8,000 a month. “Years” here means full years of 365 days of service.
| Years | Contract ends (SAR) | Resign (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,000.00 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 8,000.00 | 2,666.67 |
| 3 | 12,000.00 | 4,000.00 |
| 5 | 20,000.00 | 6,666.67 |
| 7 | 36,000.00 | 24,000.00 |
| 10 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 |
| 15 | 100,000.00 | 100,000.00 |
| 20 | 140,000.00 | 140,000.00 |
Example: 7 years with the employer ending the contract
Five years at half a month is 2.5 × 8,000 = SAR 20,000. Two more years at a full month is 2 × 8,000 = SAR 16,000. Total: SAR 36,000. Had the worker resigned instead, two-thirds applies: SAR 24,000.
Example: 6 years and 6 months, resigning
Service from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2026 is 6.5 years. The full award is SAR 32,010.96 (the extra half-year earns half a month, and the leap days count). Resigning gives two-thirds: SAR 21,340.64.
Example: 12 years, resigning
Service from 1 June 2014 to 31 May 2026. Because the worker has more than 10 years, resignation does not reduce the award: SAR 76,065.75.
Part-years and unpaid absences
Two details change the result more than people expect.
Part-years count. Article 84 pays for fractions of a year in proportion to the time worked. You do not lose the months after your last full anniversary.
Continuous service. The Labor Law’s definition of continuous service keeps service unbroken through legal leave and holidays, and through unpaid absences of up to 20 non-consecutive days in a work year. Absence beyond that, such as long unpaid leave, can be deducted from the service that counts. The calculator has an optional field for unpaid days: enter only the days that should not count.
The wage matters as much as the years. Saudi Arabia uses the actual wage, so housing and transport allowances are included, unlike the UAE or Qatar. See basic or total salary for how each Gulf country differs.
When resignation still earns the full award
Article 87 pays the full award despite resignation in a force-majeure case, and to a woman who ends her contract within 6 months of marriage or 3 months of giving birth. Leaving under Article 81, where the employer failed its obligations, also keeps the full award. Dismissal under Article 80 for one of the listed reasons is the main case where the award is lost entirely.
More detail on all of this is in the Saudi labour law guide and in our comparison of resigning vs being terminated.
What is paid with the award
The end-of-service award is only one line of your final settlement. Expect these as well:
- Your final wage, up to your last working day.
- Unused annual leave, paid under Article 111 at your wage for each untaken day, plus a pro-rata share for the current year.
- Notice pay, if either side ended an open-ended contract without the notice required by Article 75.
Article 88 sets the deadline: the employer must settle within one week if it ended the contract, or within two weeks if you did. The award is owed to Saudi and expatriate workers alike, and GOSI contributions do not replace it.
Calculate yours
The table gives the shape; your dates give the answer. Enter your last actual wage, start date and last working day in the Saudi gratuity calculator, pick how your contract is ending, and it shows the award line by line, with the resignation share applied. Your unused leave is paid on top; check it with the Saudi leave salary calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much end of service will I get after 5 years in Saudi Arabia?
Two and a half months of your last actual wage if your contract ends or your employer ends it. If you resign with exactly 5 years, Article 85 gives you one-third of that, which is about 0.83 months' wage.
How much gratuity after 2 years in Saudi Arabia?
One month's wage (half a month for each year). If you resign at 2 years you receive one-third of it; under 2 years a resignation earns nothing.
Do I get end of service after 1 year in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, half a month's wage if the employer ends the contract or it expires; there is no minimum service for that. If you resign before completing 2 years, you get nothing.
How much end of service after 10 years in Saudi Arabia?
7.5 months of your last actual wage: 2.5 months for the first five years plus 5 months for the next five. From 10 years you receive the full amount even if you resign.
Is the Saudi end-of-service award based on basic salary?
No. Article 84 uses the last wage, and the Labor Law defines wage as the actual wage: basic pay plus allowances. Commission can be excluded only if your contract says so (Article 86).