Alongside annual and sick leave, the Labor Law sets out leave for specific situations, and these are entitlements fixed in duration rather than discretionary favours granted to whoever asks nicely.
Two errors dominate here: deducting them from the annual leave balance, and treating them as an ordinary request open to refusal, and both are breaches.
Settling them in a leave system that knows each type's balance and conditions is what prevents the error, because leaving them to each manager's judgement makes them differ between departments of the same establishment.
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.
Article 113 leave
Article 113 provides for leave on full pay in specific situations, with these durations:
- 1Five days on the employee's own marriage, or on the death of a spouse, ascendant, or descendant, counted from the date of the event.
- 2Three days on the death of a brother or sister, likewise counted from the date of the event.
- 3Three days on the birth of a child, taken within seven days of the birth.
- 4The employer may request supporting documents for these situations.
Full pay, with documents required
This leave is on full pay and is not deducted from the annual leave balance, since these are separate types each with its own rule.
The employer may request supporting documents for the situation, such as a marriage contract, birth certificate, or death certificate, and that is a right rather than obstruction.
The practical difference is that the request is approved after verifying the document rather than after assessing how badly it is needed, since the duration is fixed and the situation is either established or not.
Hajj leave
An employee is entitled to paid leave to perform Hajj of no less than ten days and no more than fifteen, including the Eid al-Adha holiday, once during the whole of their service provided they have not performed it before (Article 114).
The condition is that they have completed two continuous years with the employer, and the employer may regulate how many employees are granted this leave each year according to operational needs.
The inclusion of Eid al-Adha within the period is a recurring error, since someone taking ten days of which four were the Eid has not consumed ten additional days.
Iddah leave
A Muslim female employee whose husband dies is entitled to Iddah leave on full pay of four months and ten days from the date of death, and she may extend it unpaid if pregnant until she gives birth.
This is the longest of the special leaves, and its place is as a standing type in the system rather than a case handled by hand each time, because its long calculation is prone to error.
What never comes out of the annual balance
One general rule settles most of the dispute here: every leave for which the law makes specific provision is not deducted from the annual leave balance.
Sick leave, maternity, the Article 113 leaves, Hajj, Iddah, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and the National Day are all separate, and the annual balance stays as it is.
An establishment deducting any of them from the annual balance has taken the entitlement twice, once as the special leave and once by reducing a balance that was never used.
Managing them in practice
Special leave differs from annual leave in that its balance is not cumulative but tied to an event, so there is no annual balance for marriage leave, only an entitlement that opens when the situation occurs.
A leave system that gives each type its own rule, requests the required document at the point of application, and records the effect in the employee file therefore closes off both wrong deductions and repeat requests for the same event.
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.