Article 80 is the most searched article of the Labour Law, read by both sides for opposite reasons. The answer is the same for both: the cases are nine, and nothing may be added to them by analogy.
The procedural condition matters as much as the list. The opening sentence requires the employer to give the worker the opportunity to state the reasons for objecting to the termination. Skip it and the dismissal is exposed even where the substantive case is made out.
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:
- 1Assault by the worker on the employer, the responsible manager, a superior or a subordinate during or because of work.
- 2Failure 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.
- 3Proven misconduct, or an act offending honour or honesty.
- 4A 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.
- 5Proven resort to forgery in order to obtain the job.
- 6Where the worker is under probation.
- 7Absence 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.
- 8Proven unlawful use of the position to obtain personal gain.
- 9Proven 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 Arabic text published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers is the reference; the English above is a working translation.
What the article means in practice
Hearing the worker is substantive
The requirement to give the worker an opportunity to object is part of the text, not a preamble. The employer must put the allegation to the worker, hear the response and document it, before deciding to terminate rather than after.
This aligns with the disciplinary rules in the Regulations, which require written notification, a hearing and a minute placed in the worker's file. An employer holding that minute stands on firm ground; one without it enters the dispute empty-handed.
Absence has both a counter and a warning
Paragraph 7 does not permit dismissal on absence alone. It sets a path: more than thirty intermittent days in a contractual year, or more than fifteen consecutive days, with a written warning after twenty days in the first case and ten in the second.
The warning therefore falls before the threshold is reached, not after. Waiting until the employee has completed the absence misses the sequence the text lays down, which is why the warning is best tied to an automatic absence counter.
What is forfeited, and what is not
Termination under Article 80 forfeits end-of-service gratuity and dispenses with notice and compensation. It does not touch wages earned for days worked, payment for accrued untaken leave under Article 111, or social insurance entitlements.
Before applying Article 80
- 1The facts fit one of the nine cases as written, without analogy or relabelling.
- 2The worker has been confronted with the allegation, heard, and the exchange minuted in their file.
- 3For absence: a documented written warning after twenty intermittent days or ten consecutive days.
- 4For deliberate material loss: the authorities notified within twenty-four hours of becoming aware.
- 5For breach of instructions: a prior written warning, and instructions posted in a visible place.
- 6The worker is not in a protected position, such as illness before the sick-leave periods are exhausted, or pregnancy and maternity leave.
Mistakes that recur in practice
Terminate first, document later
A minute written after the decision does not cure the defect, because the text places the hearing before the termination.
Using the repealed thresholds
The old text said twenty intermittent and ten consecutive days with warnings after ten and five; the operative text says thirty and fifteen with warnings after twenty and ten.
Counting absence by calendar year
The text says contractual year, counted from the date of hire, not from 1 January.
How Barez applies this article
Absence counted by contractual year
Barez counts absences in a window that follows each employee's contractual year, so the balance reflects the legal test.
Warnings carry a timestamp
The warning is issued, delivered and filed with a date and time, which is exactly the proof paragraph 7 requires.
A penalty schedule that mirrors the Regulations
Violations are logged with their grade and occurrence, so the disciplinary ladder is documented long before dismissal is discussed.
Sources
- Saudi Labour Law, Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development
This page is explanatory guidance, not legal advice. In a dispute, rely on the official text and consult the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development or a licensed lawyer.