Understanding your Employment Contract in Saudi Arabia

As an employee, you must understand the way how an employment in Saudi works because you might miss some important details if you don’t pay attention to the things that matter. While working, you must be knowledgeable not only about your employer but as well as about the existing contract between you two. Here we share some important details about your work contract as an expat in Saudi Arabia.

For the record, an employment contract is a written agreement between the employer and the employee and is signed by both. It can include the salary, schedule, the duration of service, responsibilities, confidentiality and other important provisions. In Saudi Arabia, there are basically 3 things you need to be informed about the employee contract: when entering the contract, during the probationary period, and when ending the contract.

Basic Things You Should Know about your Saudi Employee Contract

Being aware of what’s written in the contract can be your biggest advantage here. We discuss topics about what should be included in the contract, expectations and your rights and obligations. Please read them carefully so you know how to position yourself if there will be problems in the workplace.

When entering a contract

• You must have 2 copies of the contract, one copy for you and the other is for your employer.
• Be sure to check that the name of the employer, your name, address of the office, nationality, compensation and benefits, date of employment, and duration of the service are written in the contract.
• For non-Saudis, the term of the contract is definite. In case not stated, the work permit should be the basis.

During the Probationary Period

• The period of probation should be stated in the contract, which should be at least 90 days or up to 180 days depending on the agreement of the employer and employee.
• No worker is allowed to be under the probation period with the same employer more than once.
• If the contract is terminated while on probationary period, the employer nor the employee should not receive any payment.
• The employer or the employee is allowed to terminate the contract while on probationary unless specified.

When ending a contract

• It should be both agreed by the employer and the employee to terminate the contract.
• The contract itself expires.
• The employee reaches the retirement age which is 60 years for men and 55 years for women.
• The company is shut down permanently.
• Force majeure
• The notice period shall be recognized, otherwise the party who wants to end the contract will pay a fee equivalent to one month salary.
• In case the employer terminate the contract, an employee should be given 8 hours per week to seek for a new employer during the notice period.
• The employee shall not render the notice period if proven that there has been assault, failure of performance, misconduct, and other matters from the part of the employer which violated anything under the law and the contract.

These fundamentals of employee contract can help you save you a lot of time, especially if there will be issues regarding your employment that and in case you might miscommunication with your employer. We will not know when problems may arise in the work environment so it is crucial that we know our place and we are aware of the law so we can also act accordingly.

To keep you protected, be sure to ALWAYS secure a copy of your contract.