Maternity leave is among the most frequently misapplied parts of Saudi labor law, and the reason is that its rules were amended while much of what circulates still rests on the old text.
The period today is twelve weeks on full pay rather than ten weeks on pay graduated by years of service, and an establishment computing it on the old basis short-changes the employee and exposes itself to a claim.
Alongside it sit rights of no lesser weight, being the nursing hour and the bar on dismissal during leave, and both are frequently misapplied too.
Before you rely on this guide: This content is general information and is not binding legal advice, rules vary with contract type and the circumstances of each case, and provisions may have changed since the last-updated date shown above, so before any decision affecting an employee, check the article in its official source or consult a specialist.
The period and how it is distributed
A female employee is entitled to maternity leave on full pay of twelve weeks, of which the six weeks following the birth are compulsory, and she may distribute the remaining six as she sees fit starting from four weeks before the expected date of birth (Article 151).
This means the six weeks after birth are not optional, so the employee may not return during them and the establishment may not call her back, while the remainder is left to her judgement.
Where the birth comes later than the expected date and the remaining leave falls short of six weeks, the completing period is treated as unpaid leave, and in all cases the employee may extend maternity leave by one unpaid month.
Full pay with no service condition
Pay during maternity leave is full and is not tied to the employee's years of service as it was under the old text, which gave half pay to anyone with under three years of service.
This is the substantive change that makes relying on older articles a costly error, since an establishment paying half wages to a recently hired employee breaches the provision in force.
Leave to care for a sick child or a child with special needs
Paragraph 2 of Article 151 provides that where a child is born sick or with special needs and their health condition requires continuous accompaniment, the female employee is entitled to one month's leave on full pay beginning after maternity leave ends, extendable by a further month unpaid, while Article 152 has been repealed.
The condition here is compound: it is not enough that the child be sick or have special needs, their health condition must require continuous accompaniment, and that is established by medical report.
The employee may not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal while taking this leave, a rule parallel to the bar on dismissal during maternity leave.
The nursing hour
On returning to work after maternity leave, a female employee is entitled to a period or periods of rest to nurse her child totalling no more than one hour a day, within the twenty-four months following the birth (Article 154).
That hour counts towards actual working hours and carries no reduction in pay, so it is neither a permission nor a deduction but part of the working day, whether nursing is by breastfeeding or otherwise. Where the establishment has no nursery, the employee may choose to take the hour at the start or the end of the shift as suits the work.
The common error here is treating it as an early departure, so the employee is recorded as leaving early or short of hours, which is a breach and produces an attendance violation with no basis.
The bar on dismissal during leave
Article 155 provides that an employer may not dismiss a female employee or give her notice of dismissal during her pregnancy or while she is on maternity leave, and that this covers illness arising from either, established by an approved medical certificate, provided her absence does not exceed one hundred and eighty days in the year, whether continuous or intermittent.
Protection begins from the pregnancy itself rather than from the start of the leave; it is a deliberate restriction preventing an employee being removed at her weakest, and a dismissal falling within it is void even where it rested on a sound ground.
That does not mean the relationship can never end: once the leave and the prescribed period have run and she remains unable to return, the general rules apply with all entitlements paid in full.
Recurring errors in practice
- 1Computing the period as ten weeks instead of twelve, which is the old text.
- 2Paying half wages to an employee with under three years of service, a rule that has been repealed.
- 3Deducting the nursing hour from pay or recording it as an early departure.
- 4Deducting maternity leave days from the annual leave balance, when they are separate entitlements.
- 5Overlooking the month of leave to care for a sick child or a child with special needs, or granting it without requiring that their condition need continuous accompaniment.
- 6Issuing a warning or termination decision during pregnancy, maternity leave, or illness arising from either, all void under Article 155.
Official sources
Article numbers cited refer to the Saudi Labor Law and its Executive Regulations. Rules and rates are subject to change, so refer to the official source whenever in doubt.
- Saudi Labor Law, Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development
This content is general information and is not binding legal advice, rules vary with contract type and the circumstances of each case, and provisions may have changed since the last-updated date shown above, so before any decision affecting an employee, check the article in its official source or consult a specialist.