Notice period under the Saudi Labor Law: 30 days or 60 days?

Under Article 75 of the Saudi Labor Law, as amended in force since 19 February 2025, a monthly-paid worker on an open-ended contract must give at least 30 days’ written notice, and the employer must give at least 60 days. For workers who are not paid monthly, the minimum is 30 days for both sides. Either way, ending an open-ended contract requires a legitimate reason.

Notice is only the first item in leaving well. When it ends you are owed your end-of-service award, which the Saudi gratuity calculator works out from your dates and reason for leaving. Below are the notice rules in full, what happens when notice is skipped, and how notice fits with the new resignation procedure.

The short answer: 30 days for you, 60 days for your employer

Three points from the text of Article 75:

• Notice must be in writing. A verbal “I’m leaving next month” does not start the clock.
• These are minimums. Your contract can set a longer notice period, and many senior contracts do.
• A legitimate reason is required to end an open-ended contract. Notice does not turn an unlawful termination into a lawful one.

Many guides online were written before these amendments took effect, so check the date on anything you read. The official consolidated text, with each 2025 change marked, is on the Bureau of Experts site: Saudi Labor Law on laws.boe.gov.sa.

Workers not paid monthly: 30 days either way

If you are paid daily, weekly or by piece rate, Article 75 sets the same minimum for both parties: at least 30 days’ written notice. The longer 60-day protection applies only where the wage is paid monthly.

If you are unsure which applies, check how your contract and payslip state your wage. A monthly salary paid on the Wage Protection System is the usual case for most private-sector employees.

Fixed-term contracts: why Article 75 does not apply

Article 75 governs contracts of indefinite term. A fixed-term contract has a built-in end date, so there is normally nothing to give notice of: the contract simply ends on that date.

Problems arise when one side ends a fixed-term contract early:

• If there is no legitimate reason, Article 77 sets the compensation: the wage for the remaining term, and never less than two months’ wage.
• The harmed party can be either side. A worker who leaves a fixed-term contract early without a legitimate reason may owe the employer.

Some fixed-term contracts include their own notice or early-termination clause. Read it, because Article 77 gives priority to compensation the contract itself specifies. Our guide to Article 77 compensation works through the numbers.

Pay in lieu of notice (Article 76)

Article 76 sets the price of skipping notice. A party that does not respect the notice period must pay the other an amount equal to the worker’s wage for the notice period, unless the contract provides for more.

If part of the notice was served, the amount is usually worked out on the days not served. Check your contract and, if it is disputed, ask HRSD how it applies to your dates.

In practice, many employers end employment immediately and pay notice in lieu. That is lawful as long as the full amount for the notice period is paid.

Your job-search day during the employer’s notice (Article 78)

When the employer gives notice, Article 78 lets you look for your next job on company time:

• you may be absent one full day a week, or eight hours a week, on full pay, to look for other work;
• the employer may instead release you from work during the notice period, with your service treated as continuing until the notice ends.

That second point matters for your end-of-service award: service runs to the end of the notice period, so the extra days count in your gratuity.

How notice interacts with resignation acceptance (Article 79-bis)

The 2025 amendments also added Article 79-bis, which sets the resignation procedure:

• A resignation is deemed accepted after 30 days if the employer does not respond.
• The employer may defer acceptance by up to 60 days if work requires it, but only with written reasons given before the 30 days end.
• You may withdraw your resignation within 7 days, unless it has already been accepted.
• A resignation cannot name a future date; the contract stays in force while it is pending, and you keep all your statutory rights.

The 30-day acceptance period lines up with the worker’s 30-day notice under Article 75. In practice, a resignation submitted in writing today normally ends the contract 30 days later, or up to 60 days after a reasoned deferral. Plan your last working day, and your flight, around that.

Many employers record resignations and terminations on the Qiwa platform. The statutory periods are the same either way; check Qiwa for the steps your employer uses.

What you are owed at the end

When notice runs out, your final settlement should include:

• your wage up to the last day of notice;
• your end-of-service award under Article 84, reduced under Article 85 if you resigned before ten years;
• pay for unused annual leave;
• any notice pay in lieu under Article 76, if notice was cut short.

Article 88 requires payment within one week if the employer ended the contract, or two weeks if you did.

Example: six years, dismissed with notice

A worker on SAR 10,000 a month, employed from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025 including the notice period, with 12 unused leave days:

Had the same worker resigned instead, Article 85 would cut the award to two thirds: SAR 23,369.86. Our calculator values each unused leave day at the monthly wage divided by 30; check the wage your employer uses for leave against your contract.

For the full rules on leaving, see the Saudi labour law guide and our final settlement checklist.

Calculate what your notice period leads to

Use your last working day after notice as the end date in the Saudi end-of-service calculator, and value your remaining leave days with the Saudi leave salary calculator. Together they give you the core of your final settlement before you sign anything.

Frequently asked questions