Riyadh HR guide: Saudi Labor Law, Mudad and GOSI for small teams

Why Riyadh is not just another Saudi city

Saudi Labor Law is national. A bakery in Riyadh and one in Jeddah follow the same Royal Decree No. M/51 of 2005. What Riyadh adds is proximity to the ministries and to the regional headquarters rule. Gulf News reported on 19 November 2023 that the investment ministry confirmed a 1 January deadline, after which only multinational companies with a regional headquarters in the Kingdom are eligible for government tenders and contracts. If your small firm supplies a multinational that does this work, expect its compliance questions to reach you: wage records, contract documentation and clean Mudad files.

That is context, not a duty for your company. We did not find an official page that sets out exceptions, so ask your client what it needs from you before you spend on anything.

Probation under the amended law

The original Article 53 let probation run for 90 days, extendable to 180 days by written agreement, and either side could end the contract during it. Law firm King & Spalding wrote on 12 September 2024 that the amendments, approved on 6 August 2024, published on 23 August 2024 and in force from 19 February 2025, set the maximum at 180 days. The period must be stated in the contract. Both parties can end the contract during probation and can no longer agree otherwise. The Implementing Regulations are meant to say which holidays do not count toward the period.

We could not open the amended article itself. If your contract template says 90 days, read the current text or ask a Saudi lawyer before relying on a longer term. One more rule from the original text: a worker may not be put on probation twice by the same employer, except in listed cases such as a different profession (Article 54).

The working week

A Saudi law firm summary from 2 July 2025 gives Article 98 as eight hours a day or 48 a week, and six hours a day or 36 a week during Ramadan for fasting Muslim employees. The weekly rest day is generally Friday, and an employer who uses another day must tell the labour office. We could not check these figures against the official text: the translation we could open shows different numbers for Article 98, so we treat both as unconfirmed. Look at the current Arabic text before you fix a rota or a Ramadan schedule.

Overtime is better documented. Article 107 pays the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage for each overtime hour, and counts every hour worked on a holiday or Eid as overtime. King & Spalding adds that, with the employee's consent, the amended law lets an employer give time off instead of overtime pay. If you offer that, write the consent down.

In HR FLARE the employee plans their own week. There is no manager assigned rota. The clock record and the weekly timesheet show who worked what, which is the evidence you want when an overtime hour is questioned.

Annual leave and other time off

Article 109 gives at least 21 paid days a year, rising to at least 30 days once the worker has spent five consecutive years with the employer. The worker takes the leave in the year it falls due and may not give it up or take cash instead during service. The employer may set the dates by work needs or in rotation, with at least 30 days' notice. Under Article 110 an employer may postpone leave by up to 90 days after the year ends if work requires it, and longer only with the worker's written consent. When a worker leaves with unused leave, Article 111 pays the accrued days.

The same translation lists five days of paid leave for a spouse, parent or child's death or for a marriage, and three days for a childbirth (Article 113). The amendments changed some of this. King & Spalding reports 12 weeks of maternity leave on full pay, three paid days of parental leave for fathers within seven days of the birth, and three days for the death of a sibling. Read the current text before you rely on the old figures.

In HR FLARE every leave request carries a reason, and the manager approves or rejects it. A reason on file is useful when you later need to show why an Article 109 balance moved.

Ending the contract: notice and end of service

King & Spalding reports that notice on an open ended contract is now 30 days from the employee and 60 days from the employer. Fixed term contracts follow their own end date, and we did not verify the rules for early termination.

Article 84 sets the end of service award: half a month of the last wage for each of the first five years and a full month for each year after, in proportion for part years. Take someone leaving after eight years: five years at half a month is two and a half months, three years at one month is three months, so five and a half months of the last wage. If the worker resigns, Article 85 pays one third of the award after two to five years of service, two thirds after five to ten, and the full award from ten years. These rules cover resignation only. Our gratuity calculator lists Saudi Articles 84 and 85 beside the UAE rule.

HR FLARE has no tax calculation and does not compute the award for you. Payroll keeps the last wage on record, which is the number the article asks for.

Paying wages: the Mudad file

HRSD's wage protection page says the ministry used to take the files, and that now they can only be uploaded through the Compliance System in Mudad. Deloitte's note of 6 February 2025 puts the upload window at 30 days from 1 March 2025, cut from 60.

On the consequences we only have a secondary source. Middle East Briefing wrote on 20 August 2025 that Mudad reminds an employer on the due date, again after 10 days and finally on day 15, and sends an inspection request if nothing happens within 20 days. It adds that a two month delay suspends most government services except work permits, and three months suspends all services and lets workers transfer without consent. Compare these with the current rules in Mudad before you act on them.

HR FLARE builds a Saudi WPS payroll file from your payroll run: basic, housing, other earnings, deductions, ID or Iqama number and IBAN. The exact upload template is not public, so your bank or Mudad may ask for a different layout. We do not connect to Mudad.

GOSI for Saudis and non-Saudis

PaySpace wrote on 2 July 2026 that GOSI contributions are based on basic salary plus housing allowance, capped at SAR 45,000 a month, that Saudis first registered from 3 July 2024 pay a pension contribution that rose by 0.5 percentage points on each side from 1 July 2026, and that non-Saudis cost the employer 2% for occupational hazards with nothing taken from the employee. The GOSI site would not give us its rate table, so treat this as a secondary report and check your GOSI invoice. The GOSI calculator on this site shows the legacy rates, the new entrant schedule and the cap in one place.

Summer outdoors

Gulf News reported on 10 June 2025 that HRSD and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health banned work in direct sunlight from 12:00 to 15:00, from 15 June to 15 September, for all private sector establishments, with violations reportable on 19911. Law firm Clyde & Co listed the same window for Saudi Arabia on 1 July 2026. We did not find a 2026 ministry notice, so the 2026 dates rest on that law firm guide. If your Riyadh team installs, delivers or inspects outside, plan those hours indoors. The Kuwait City guide has a different window if you have staff there.

Which authorities a Riyadh employer meets

• HRSD: the labour ministry. Its inspectors and the hotline 19911 deal with the midday ban and labour complaints.
• Mudad: wage protection files and the Compliance System.
• GOSI: social insurance registration and the monthly invoice.
• Qiwa: the platform for contracts, work permits and the Saudization band. We could not verify the current rates a small firm needs, so read your band in Qiwa.
• Your bank: many banks produce or forward the wage file. Ask yours which layout it expects.

A yearly checklist for a Riyadh team

• Every contract: probation length written in, and a calendar date for its end.
• Each month: wage file in Mudad well inside 30 days, with the bank layout confirmed.
• Every raise: update the wage with GOSI.
• Before Ramadan: a shorter schedule for Muslim staff, checked against Article 98.
• From 15 June: outdoor work moved out of 12:00 to 15:00.
• Year end: leave balances against the 21 or 30 day entitlement, and a plan for unused days.
• Every exit: end of service award and accrued leave in the final pay.

What HR FLARE does not do

• No government connection: it does not upload to Mudad, document contracts in Qiwa or register employees with GOSI.
• No tax calculation: payroll shows the figures you enter.
• No Saudization band: your Nitaqat band shows in Qiwa.
• Data location: data is hosted in Europe; in-Kingdom hosting is not available.