Getting paid late is one of the most common problems expats in Saudi Arabia face — and since October 2025, there is a route that does not start with a labour lawsuit. If your employment contract is documented through Qiwa, its wage clause may now count as an enforceable instrument. That means you can ask for enforcement through Najiz, with your wage data checked automatically through Mudad, the Wage Protection platform.
Read this carefully first: this is NOT an automatic payment guarantee. It is a faster enforcement route for workers whose contracts meet the official requirements. If your contract is not documented, this route does not apply to you.
How it works, step by step:
- Your contract must be documented through Qiwa — and it must carry an enforcement (implementation) number from the Ministry of Justice documentation centre. The wage clause can cover your basic salary plus the housing, transport and other cash allowances written into the contract. If your Qiwa contract does not show that number, check with HRSD or the Ministry of Justice before assuming you qualify.
- The route now covers all three contract types. It rolled out in three phases: Phase 1 from 6 October 2025 covered new or changed contracts; Phase 2 from 6 March 2026 covered renewed fixed-term contracts; Phase 3 from 6 August 2026 covered open-ended (non-fixed-term) contracts. All three phases are now in force, so by now the route covers new, renewed and open-ended contracts alike.
- You can file when one of two triggers is met: your salary was not paid in full within 30 days of its due date, or it was only partly paid after 90 days. Count from the contractual due date on your payslip, not from when you first complained.
- After you file through Najiz, your employer gets 5 days from notification to object. If they object, the case goes down a different path — the enforcement route is for undisputed, documented wage amounts, not for arguing over what your salary should be.
- Before you file, run this checklist: (a) confirm your Qiwa contract is documented and shows the enforcement number; (b) check the wage clause matches your actual payslips — allowances that are not in the contract are not covered; (c) count the 30-day or 90-day trigger from the contractual due date; (d) file via Najiz; (e) watch for the employer’s 5-day objection window.
What this route does NOT do: it does not guarantee payment, it does not replace checking your own contract terms, and it does not help if your contract was never documented. For the money maths itself — how much you are owed in total when a job ends — use the site’s EOSB calculator and final-settlement calculators; this guide is about getting unpaid wages enforced, not about the gratuity formula.
One more honest note: some guides describe this as if every contract automatically has the same enforcement treatment. That is not right — the phased rollout matters, and older summaries written before August 2026 may only describe the earlier phases. Confirm your own case in Qiwa and Najiz before relying on it.
Sources (plain text only — no external links in this guide): HRSD + Ministry of Justice announcement, 6 October 2025 (14/04/1447H), reported by K&S Law and saudi-expatriates; GulfTalentGuide wage-claims guide, 29 October 2026. Official portals Qiwa and Najiz named as the filing routes (no article URLs linked, as exact URLs were not verified).