Leave policy template Saudi Arabia: every leave type in the law
A leave policy sets out the leave employees are entitled to and how to request it. The Saudi Labour Law sets the minimums: annual leave of 21 days, or 30 after five years, sick leave of 30 days on full pay, 60 at three quarters and 30 unpaid, 12 weeks’ maternity leave, and Hajj, marriage, birth and bereavement leave.
Replace everything in [square brackets] with your details.
[Company name]
Leave Policy
Policy number: [Number]
Effective date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
Approved by: [Name and title]
1. Purpose and scope
This policy sets out the leave to which employees of [Company name] are entitled and how leave is requested and approved. It applies to all employees and forms part of the company’s work regulations. Where this policy is silent, the Saudi Labour Law and its Implementing Regulations apply, and nothing in this policy gives an employee less than the law.
2. Annual leave
2.1 Employees are entitled to [21] days of paid annual leave a year, rising to [30] days after five consecutive years of service with the company. Leave pay is paid in advance.
2.2 Employees take their leave in the year it is due. The company sets leave dates according to the needs of the work and notifies the employee at least 30 days in advance.
2.3 With the company’s approval, an employee may postpone leave or part of it to the following year. The company may postpone an employee’s leave for up to 90 days after the year it is due when the work so requires; any further postponement needs the employee’s written consent and may not go beyond the end of the following year.
2.4 Annual leave may not be given up or exchanged for cash during employment. Leave due and not taken is paid when employment ends.
3. Public holidays
Employees are entitled to full-pay leave for the Eid holidays and the occasions set by the Implementing Regulations and official announcements. [The company announces the holiday dates each year.]
4. Sick leave
4.1 An employee whose illness is proven by an approved medical certificate is entitled, within one year starting from the first sick leave, to 30 days on full pay, then 60 days at three quarters of the wage, then 30 days without pay, whether continuous or broken.
4.2 The employee informs [the manager and HR] on the first day of absence and submits the medical certificate within [number] days.
4.3 An employee may ask for sick leave to be followed by annual leave.
5. Maternity leave and nursing breaks
5.1 A female employee is entitled to maternity leave of 12 weeks on full pay. The 6 weeks after the birth are compulsory; she may distribute the remaining weeks as she wishes, starting no earlier than 4 weeks before the expected date of birth set by a medical certificate.
5.2 She may extend the leave by one month without pay.
5.3 If the child is born sick or with a disability and needs constant care, she is entitled to a further month on full pay after maternity leave, which she may extend by one month without pay.
5.4 On her return she is entitled to nursing breaks totalling no more than one hour a day, counted as working time.
5.5 The company does not dismiss a female employee, or give her notice of dismissal, during pregnancy or maternity leave.
6. Hajj leave
An employee who has completed at least two consecutive years of service and has not performed Hajj before is entitled, once during service, to paid Hajj leave of between 10 and 15 days including the Eid al-Adha holiday. The company may set the number of employees granted Hajj leave each year according to the needs of the work. Requests are submitted by [date each year].
7. Marriage, birth and bereavement leave
Employees are entitled to leave on full pay, counted from the date of the event, as follows:
Marriage: 5 days
Death of a spouse, a parent or grandparent, or a child or grandchild: 5 days
Death of a brother or sister: 3 days
Birth of a child (for the father): 3 days, taken within 7 days of the birth
The company may ask for supporting documents.
8. Iddah leave
A Muslim female employee whose husband dies is entitled to iddah leave on full pay of 4 months and 10 days from the date of death; a non-Muslim female employee is entitled to 15 days on full pay.
9. Exam leave
An employee enrolled in an educational institution with the company’s approval is entitled to paid leave for the actual exam days in a year that is not being repeated, and to unpaid leave for the exams of a repeated year. Without that approval, exam days are taken from annual leave if available, otherwise as unpaid leave. Requests are submitted at least 15 days in advance with supporting documents.
10. Unpaid leave
With the company’s approval, an employee may take unpaid leave for an agreed period. For any part of unpaid leave beyond 20 days, the employment contract is suspended unless both parties agree otherwise.
11. Requesting leave
11.1 Leave is requested through [the leave request form / the HR system] at least [number] days before it starts, except sick, bereavement and other leave that cannot be planned.
11.2 The direct manager approves or declines planned leave within [number] working days. HR records the balance.
12. Working during leave
An employee may not work for another employer during any leave under this policy.
13. Review
HR reviews this policy [annually] and whenever the Labour Law changes.
When to use it
Adopt a leave policy when you set up HR or when your work regulations need a clear leave section. It tells employees what they are entitled to and how to ask for it, and gives managers one rule to apply. It sits alongside the establishment’s work regulations, which are adopted from the ministry’s unified model on Qiwa.
The entitlements in this template
| Leave | Entitlement | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | 21 days, 30 after five consecutive years, paid in advance | 109 |
| Sick | Within a year: 30 days full pay, 60 at three quarters, 30 unpaid | 117 |
| Maternity | 12 weeks full pay, the 6 weeks after birth compulsory | 151 |
| Hajj | 10 to 15 days, once, after 2 consecutive years | 114 |
| Marriage | 5 days | 113 |
| Birth of a child | 3 days, within 7 days of the birth | 113 |
| Death of a spouse, parent or child | 5 days | 113 |
| Death of a brother or sister | 3 days | 113 |
| Iddah | 4 months and 10 days (Muslim), 15 days (non-Muslim) | 160 |
| Exam | Actual exam days | 115 |
| Unpaid | By agreement; contract suspended beyond 20 days | 116 |
The 2025 amendments changed Article 113, adding 3 days for the death of a brother or sister and the 7-day window for birth leave, and Article 151, raising maternity leave to 12 weeks.
How to fill it in
- Decide where you give more than the law, such as 25 annual leave days from the first year, and write those numbers in the brackets.
- Set the notice for planned leave and the approval time.
- Name the channel for requests, such as the leave request form.
- Tie it to payroll. Sick days at three quarters or without pay, and unpaid leave, change that month’s pay.
A worked example: an employee with a wage of 9,000 SAR takes 75 sick days in a year. The first 30 days are paid in full, the next 45 at three quarters: 45 × 300 × 0.75 = 10,125 SAR instead of 13,500 SAR, a reduction of 3,375 SAR across those months.
In RafiqHR, leave types follow the Saudi Labour Law with accruals, balances and a team calendar, sick leave is split into its pay tiers automatically, and employees request leave from the app or by asking Rafiq AI.
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Can a leave policy give less than the Labour Law?
No. A term that gives employees less than the law is void (Article 8), and the legal minimum applies. A policy may give more, such as extra annual leave days.
How many days of bereavement leave are there in Saudi Arabia?
Under Article 113 as amended in 2025: 5 days on full pay for the death of a spouse, a parent or grandparent, or a child or grandchild, and 3 days for the death of a brother or sister, counted from the date of death.
Can unused annual leave be carried over?
With the employer’s agreement it may be postponed to the following year. The employer may postpone it for up to 90 days after the year it is due if the work requires it, and beyond that only with the employee’s written consent and not past the end of the following year (Article 110).
Is paternity leave available?
The Labour Law gives a father 3 days on full pay for the birth of a child, to be taken within 7 days of the birth (Article 113 as amended).
This is general information to help you understand the topic. It is not legal advice. Rules and rates change: always check the official text on the relevant authority’s platform and consult a qualified adviser before acting.
