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Notice Period in Saudi Labor Law: The 30 vs 60 Days Question

When you resign — or when your employer ends your contract — you generally cannot just stop showing up the next day. Saudi labor law expects the ending of a contract to be announced in advance, in writing, with a defined notice period. That part is uncontroversial.

What is controversial is the length of that notice period. Ask five sources whether it is 30 days or 60 days and you will get confident, contradictory answers. This page does not pick a winner. It lays out what is commonly cited, where the conflict is, and what to do when certainty is not available.

What Article 75 is commonly understood to say

FACT-CHECK: the 60/30 split below is the commonly cited interpretation of Article 75 of Labor Law Royal Decree M/51. Verify wording against the official Arabic text on hrsd.gov.sa before treating it as definitive.

Under the most widely cited reading of Article 75 of the Saudi Labor Law, a party that wants to terminate an indefinite (open-ended) employment contract must give the other party written notice of:

• At least 60 days if the worker is paid on a monthly basis; or
• At least 30 days for workers paid on any other basis (weekly, daily, or otherwise).

The logic is straightforward: a monthly-paid worker’s finances — and the employer’s staffing plans — run on a monthly cycle, so the law gives both sides a longer runway. Because most expats in Saudi Arabia are paid monthly, the 60-day figure is the one you will see quoted most often.

The 2025 amendment changed Article 75

VERIFIED 2026-10-09: amended Article 75 described as asymmetric (worker 30 days / employer 60 days for indefinite contracts) by Dentons, Mondaq, Sauress/Saudi Gazette, Caterer Middle East, Al Tamimi, AHYSP. Amendment in force since February 2025 per press coverage.

The 2025 amendments to the Labor Law (in force since February 2025, per press coverage) rewrote Article 75. Under the amended text, as described by multiple law-firm summaries:

• Worker resigning from an indefinite contract: at least 30 days’ written notice.
• Employer terminating an indefinite contract: at least 60 days’ written notice.

The old 60/30-by-pay-frequency split above was the pre-amendment reading — you will still see it quoted widely because guides update slowly. The current position, per the amendment coverage, is the asymmetric 30/60 split.

Why this may not govern your exit: most expatriate contracts in Saudi Arabia are fixed-term (tied to the work permit), not indefinite. Article 75 governs indefinite contracts; for fixed-term contracts the resignation timeline runs through the Qiwa process — see the resignation guide.

The 30 vs 60 day conflict, stated honestly

Here is where we level with you. The 2025 amendment resolved part of this confusion (see above), but while the old 60/30 split is still the version you will find in most English-language summaries, the picture in practice remains messier:

• Some sources simplify it to 30 days across the board, especially in the context of the 2025 resignation process (see below).
• Employment contracts frequently set their own notice period — 30 days, 60 days, sometimes 90 — and many HR departments simply follow whatever the signed contract says.
• HR practice varies by company and sector. Some employers insist on the full 60 days; others accept 30 days or waive notice entirely once a handover is done.
• Translations and summaries differ. The official text is in Arabic, and English renderings do not always agree on the details.

Our recommendation: your signed contract is your first source of truth. Read the termination clause in your own contract before relying on any summary — including this one. If the contract is silent or ambiguous, confirm the current position with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) or through the Qiwa platform.

Does notice have to be in writing?

The commonly cited rule is yes: notice should be given in writing. This matters less as a legal technicality and more as a practical one — a verbal “I quit” in a hallway conversation is nearly impossible to prove later, while a dated email or signed letter is not.

Practical tips for written notice:

• Send it by email so there is a timestamp, or hand over a signed letter and keep a signed copy.
• State your last working day explicitly, calculated from your notice period.
• Keep proof that it was received — a reply, a read receipt, or a signed acknowledgment.
• If you resign through the Qiwa portal, keep screenshots and confirmation messages as well.

What happens if notice isn’t served?

FACT-CHECK: the compensation-equal-to-notice-period-wage consequence is the commonly cited position; confirm against the current official text and note that enforcement practice varies.

The commonly cited consequence is financial: the party that terminates without observing the required notice period must compensate the other party with an amount equal to the worker’s wage for the notice period. In plain terms, if you resign with 60 days’ notice required but leave 20 days early, you could owe roughly 20 days of wages to your employer. The same principle applies in reverse if the employer ends your contract without proper notice.

Beyond the compensation question, skipping notice creates practical problems:

• Final settlement delays. Employers often slow-walk the final settlement — including your EOSB — when the exit is messy.
• Exit and re-entry paperwork. A clean, documented exit makes visas and clearances smoother.
• References and future employment. Saudi employers do talk to each other; a professional handover costs you little.

One thing skipping notice does not do: it does not erase your end-of-service benefit. EOSB is calculated under Articles 84 and 85 based on your service length — it is a separate entitlement, not a reward for good behavior. Use the EOSB calculator to estimate yours.

Notice period vs. the 2025 resignation rules

FACT-CHECK: Article 79 Bis is the label used in press/analyst coverage of the 2025 amendment. Details (30-day auto-acceptance, 7-day withdrawal window, up-to-60-day employer delay with written justification) are per coverage, not verified against the official gazette. Treat as provisional.

The 2025 amendments introduced a formal resignation process — described in coverage as “Article 79 Bis” — run through the Qiwa portal. The commonly reported features: the employee submits the resignation on Qiwa, the employer has a window to respond, and if the employer stays silent for 30 days the resignation is auto-accepted. There is also a short withdrawal window for the employee and a mechanism for the employer to request a delay.

What the coverage does not make clear is how this process interacts with Article 75’s notice requirement. Does the 30-day auto-acceptance window double as the notice period? Does a monthly-paid worker still owe 60 days on top? We could not find a settled answer, and anyone who gives you one without qualification is guessing. In practice, the Qiwa workflow tends to drive the actual timeline — follow the process on the portal, keep every confirmation, and if the dates do not line up with your contract’s notice clause, ask HRSD.

Read our full explainer: Resignation in Saudi Arabia & Article 79 Bis.

Practical checklist before you resign

1. Read your contract’s termination clause. It may set its own notice period — this overrides the general rule in practice.
2. Calculate your EOSB first. Know your end-of-service estimate before you negotiate anything.
3. Give written notice with an explicit last working day, and keep dated proof.
4. Ask about a waiver or buyout if you want to leave early — and get the answer in writing.
5. Complete a proper handover. It protects your settlement and your reputation.
6. Submit via Qiwa where the resignation process requires it, and keep every confirmation.
7. Start final settlement paperwork early — see final settlement calculation for what should be in it.

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