HR glossary

Mudad is a platform linked to the Ministry of Human Resources where private-sector establishments upload the monthly wage file for the Wage Protection Program, and which also offers payroll preparation and salary payment through participating banks. The file must match each employee’s documented contract and GOSI wage.

Muqeem is an online platform linked to the General Directorate of Passports through which establishments manage their non-Saudi workers: issuing and renewing iqamas, exit re-entry and final exit visas, updating passport details and tracking residence permits close to expiry. Establishments use it on a yearly subscription.

Qiwa is the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development platform for private-sector labour services to establishments and individuals: documenting employment contracts, showing the establishment’s Nitaqat band and Saudisation rate, issuing and renewing work permits, transfers of services, profession changes and compliance certificates.

Nitaqat is the Saudisation programme of the Ministry of Human Resources. It places every private-sector establishment in a band, Platinum, High, Medium or Low Green, or Red, by comparing its share of Saudi employees with the rate required for its activity and size. Higher bands ease services; Red stops new visas and permit renewals.

The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) is the Saudi law that governs collecting, processing, sharing and transferring personal data outside the Kingdom, and gives individuals rights such as being informed, access, correction and destruction. It came into force on 14 September 2023 with a one-year compliance period and is overseen by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA).

Saudisation, also spelled Saudization, is Saudi Arabia’s policy of increasing the employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector. The Ministry of Human Resources applies it through Nitaqat, which sets the required share of Saudis by activity and size, and through decisions that reserve certain professions or activities for Saudis or set quotas for them.

The Wage Protection System (WPS), officially the Wage Protection Program in Saudi Arabia, is how the Ministry of Human Resources checks that private-sector employers pay wages on time and in the agreed amounts, by comparing the monthly wage file with the wage in each employee’s documented contract. Other Gulf states run similar systems.

Under the Saudi Labour Law the actual wage is the basic wage plus all allowances, commissions and other amounts due to the worker for their work, as Article 2 defines it. The end-of-service award is calculated on it and the overtime hourly wage comes from it, though Article 86 lets the parties agree to exclude commissions from the award.

The basic wage is the fixed amount paid to a worker for their work under the contract, before allowances such as housing and transport. GOSI contributions are calculated on it together with housing, the 50% overtime premium is calculated on it, and it appears as its own line in the contract and on the payslip.

The contributory wage is the wage on which Saudi GOSI contributions are calculated: the basic wage plus the housing allowance, or the value of housing in kind under GOSI’s rule. Transport and food allowances, overtime and bonuses are excluded, and the wage is capped at 45,000 SAR a month.

The end-of-service award is the sum an employer pays a worker when employment ends, under Article 84 of the Saudi Labour Law: half a month’s wage for each of the first five years and a month’s wage for each year after, on the last actual wage. On resignation Article 85 reduces it by length of service.

GOSI, the General Organization for Social Insurance, runs social insurance in Saudi Arabia. Employers contribute monthly for every employee on the contributory wage: for Saudis, annuities, SANED and occupational hazards with employer and employee shares; for non-Saudis, occupational hazards only, 2% paid by the employer.

A housing allowance is money the employer pays a worker instead of providing accommodation. The Saudi Labour Law sets no rate; many employers pay a quarter of the basic wage, or three months’ basic a year. It counts with basic in the GOSI contributory wage and in the actual wage the end-of-service award is calculated on.

Overtime is work beyond normal working hours. Under Article 107 of the Saudi Labour Law it is paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic hourly wage; all hours worked on Eids and official holidays count as overtime, and the cap is 720 hours a year unless the worker agrees to more.

SANED is the unemployment insurance branch of Saudi social insurance. It covers Saudi employees only: 0.75% of the contributory wage is deducted from the employee and the employer pays another 0.75%. It pays a worker temporary compensation after losing a job for reasons outside their control, under set conditions.

UAE end-of-service gratuity is paid to a foreign full-time worker after a year of continuous service under Article 51 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021: 21 days’ basic wage for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after, capped at two years’ wage, with no reduction on resignation.

Article 77 compensation is what the harmed party is owed when the other ends the employment contract without a valid reason. If the contract sets no amount, it is 15 days’ wage for each year of service on an open-ended contract, or the wage for the remaining term on a fixed-term contract, and never less than two months’ wage.

A final settlement settles everything owed between worker and employer when employment ends: pay to the last working day, unused annual leave, the end-of-service award and any notice pay or compensation due, less advances and lawful deductions. The worker signs it on receiving payment.

The notice period is the written warning one party to an open-ended contract gives the other before ending it for a valid reason. Under Article 75 as amended in 2025, a monthly-paid worker gives at least 30 days and the employer 60 days; for other workers it is 30 days either way.

Probation is a period at the start of a contract in which each side assesses the other. Under Article 53 of the Saudi Labour Law as amended in 2025 the contract must state it and it may last up to 180 days; regulations set which leave days don’t count, and either side may end the contract during it.

Annual leave is a worker’s right under Article 109 of the Saudi Labour Law: at least 21 days on full pay for each year, rising to 30 days after five consecutive years with the employer. It may not be waived or paid out during employment, and unused days are paid when employment ends.

Hajj leave is a worker’s right under Article 114 of the Saudi Labour Law: paid leave of at least 10 and at most 15 days, including the Eid al-Adha holiday, to perform Hajj once during their service, provided they have not performed it before and have at least two consecutive years with the employer.

Maternity leave is a female worker’s right on giving birth. Since the Saudi Labour Law amendments that took effect in February 2025, Article 151 sets it at twelve weeks on full pay; how it is split before and after the birth, and when it can be extended, is set by the law and its Implementing Regulations.

Under Article 98 of the Saudi Labour Law, working hours for Muslim workers are reduced during Ramadan to at most six hours a day and 36 hours a week, instead of eight hours and 48 hours for the rest of the year. Hours a Muslim worker does beyond that are overtime, paid under Article 107.

Sick leave is the right of a worker whose illness is proven by an approved medical certificate. Under Article 117 of the Saudi Labour Law, within one year, whether continuous or broken, the worker gets 30 days on full pay, then 60 days at three quarters of pay, then 30 days without pay.

Ajeer is a Ministry of Human Resources programme within the Qiwa system that regulates temporary work by a non-Saudi worker for an establishment other than their employer, such as lending workers between establishments or temporary work for a contractor, with an electronic permit naming both establishments, the worker and the period.

An exit re-entry visa lets a non-Saudi worker leave Saudi Arabia and come back within a set period without cancelling their iqama. The employer issues it through Muqeem or Absher Business, for a single trip or multiple trips, the fee depends on the type and duration, and the iqama must be valid.

A final exit visa is issued to a non-Saudi worker whose employment has ended and who is leaving Saudi Arabia for good; the iqama is cancelled once they leave. The employer issues it through Muqeem or Absher Business, the worker must leave within its validity, and the final settlement and end-of-service award usually come first.

An iqama, officially the resident identity (هوية مقيم), is the residence permit of a non-Saudi worker in Saudi Arabia. The General Directorate of Passports issues it, its ten-digit number starts with 2, it is renewed periodically, and the work permit, GOSI registration and wage file all rely on it.

A transfer of services, commonly called a sponsorship transfer, moves a non-Saudi worker from one employer to a new employer inside Saudi Arabia without leaving the country. It runs through Qiwa, and since the Labour Reform Initiative of March 2021 a worker can, in defined cases such as the end of the documented contract, move without the current employer’s consent.

A work permit is a licence issued by the Ministry of Human Resources through Qiwa that lets a non-Saudi worker work for a specific establishment in a specific profession. It is renewed with the iqama, the monthly expat levy is paid with it for each expatriate, and issuance and renewal stop while the establishment is in the Red band.

The Human Resources Development Fund, known as HRDF or Hadaf, is a Saudi government body that supports qualifying, training and employing Saudi nationals in the private sector. Its programmes include wage support for newly hired Saudis, on-the-job training for graduates and training that leads to employment, each with its own eligibility rules.