Employment
Labour Law plus the kafala sponsorship system and Saudisation quotas
The Labour Law governs contracts, hours and termination, but for the large migrant workforce the sponsorship framework and the Nitaqat/Saudisation quota system shape employment as much as the Labour Law does.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Labour courts within the general judiciary since 2018, replacing the former administrative commissions.
- Deadline — 12 months to bring most labour claims after the entitlement arises
- Deadline — 60 days' notice for termination of an indefinite contract of a monthly-paid worker
Governing law
- Labour Law 2005 (Royal Decree M/51), extensively amended 2021 and 2023
- Social Insurance Law
- Labour Reform Initiative 2021 — job mobility and exit permit changes
In practice
Advising on Saudi employment without addressing sponsorship gives a misleading picture, because for a migrant worker the practical questions are mobility and exit rather than notice periods. The 2021 Labour Reform Initiative materially loosened both by allowing job transfer and exit without employer consent in defined circumstances, and domestic workers remain outside the main Labour Law under a separate and weaker regulation. Saudisation quotas by sector are enforced through Nitaqat and directly determine whether a given hire is permitted at all, which makes them a legal constraint rather than a policy backdrop.