Article 80 of the Saudi Labour Law:nine cases for dismissal without gratuity

The text of the article

The employer may not terminate the contract without gratuity, notice or compensation except in the following cases, and provided the worker is given the opportunity to state the reasons for objecting to the termination:

1. 01Assault by the worker on the employer, the responsible manager, a superior or a subordinate during or because of work.
2. 02Failure by the worker to perform essential contractual obligations, disobedience of lawful orders, or deliberate disregard of safety instructions posted in a visible place, despite a written warning.
3. 03Proven misconduct, or an act offending honour or honesty.
4. 04A deliberate act or omission intended to cause material loss to the employer, provided the employer notifies the competent authorities within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of the incident.
5. 05Proven resort to forgery in order to obtain the job.
6. 06Where the worker is under probation.
7. 07Absence without a lawful reason for more than thirty days in one contractual year, or more than fifteen consecutive days, provided the dismissal is preceded by a written warning after twenty days of absence in the first case and ten days of interruption in the second.
8. 08Proven unlawful use of the position to obtain personal gain.
9. 09Proven disclosure of industrial or commercial secrets of the business.

Status of the text: Amended by Royal Decree M/46 dated 5/6/1436H, the amendment that raised both the absence thresholds and the warning periods above those in the original text.

The employee must be heard first

The right to object is part of the rule itself. The employer must tell the employee what they are accused of, hear the response and record it. All of this has to happen before the decision to terminate.

The disciplinary rules in the Regulations say the same: written notification, a hearing, and a written record placed in the employee's file. With that record, the employer can show the hearing took place. Without it, the employer has little to rely on in a dispute.

Absence needs a count and a warning

Paragraph 7 does not allow dismissal for absence alone. It requires more than thirty intermittent days of absence in a contractual year, or more than fifteen consecutive days. A written warning must be given after twenty days in the first case and after ten in the second.

So the warning comes before the limit is reached. An employer who waits until the absence has passed the limit has missed the order the text requires. An automatic absence counter helps the warning go out on time.

What the employee loses and what they keep

Termination under Article 80 removes the end-of-service gratuity, and no notice or compensation is owed. The employee still gets wages for days worked, payment for accrued untaken leave under Article 111, and their social insurance entitlements.

Before applying Article 80

• The facts fit one of the nine cases as written, without analogy or relabelling.
• The employee has been told of the allegation and heard, and a record of this is in their file.
• For absence: a written warning, kept on file, after twenty intermittent days or ten consecutive days.
• For deliberate material loss: the authorities notified within twenty-four hours of becoming aware.
• For breach of instructions: a prior written warning, and instructions posted in a visible place.
• The employee is not in a protected situation, such as illness before the sick-leave periods are used up, or pregnancy and maternity leave.

Common mistakes

How Barez applies this article