The minute is not a formality; it is the evidence an employer stands on if the decision is challenged. Article 64 of the Regulations makes it a condition for any penalty exceeding a fine of one day's wage.
The same requirement surfaces in Article 80 of the Law when termination is on the table, since its opening sentence requires the employer to give the worker the opportunity to state the reasons for objecting. The minute is what proves that opportunity was real.
A minute written after the decision differs from one written before it in substance, not in form: the first records a decision taken, the second records the process that produced it.
The statutory basis
Article 64 of the Regulations
No penalty exceeding a fine of one day's wage without prior written notification of the violation, hearing the worker, and examining the defence, by way of a minute filed in their personal file.
Article 80 of the Law
Termination without gratuity, notice or compensation is confined to nine cases and conditioned on giving the worker the opportunity to state their objection.
Article 66 of the Regulations
No disciplinary action for a violation discovered more than thirty days earlier without an investigation step, so the minute itself interrupts the period.
Article 65 of the Regulations
No penalty for conduct outside the workplace unless directly connected to the work, the establishment or its responsible manager.
Minute text
[Establishment name] Investigation and hearing minute Minute number: [Number] | Date: [Date] | Place: [Place] | Time: [Time] 1. Parties Employee: [Full name] | Employee number: [Number] | Department: [Department] Investigator: [Name and title] Present: [Names and titles, if any] 2. Prior written notification The employee was notified in writing of the violation on [date] by [letter reference], served by [hand / email / registered mail] 3. The alleged violation Description: [Precise account of the incident, no general characterisations] Date: [Date] | Time: [Time] | Place: [Place] Date the establishment became aware: [Date] Clause in the approved work regulations: [Clause number] Supporting records: [Attendance record / line manager report / images / messages / other] 4. The employee's statements Q: [Question] A: [Answer in the employee's own words, not summarised] Q: [Question] A: [Answer] 5. Defence and supporting documents Defence: [What the employee said in their defence] Documents submitted: [List] Result of examining the defence: [What the investigator verified on each point] 6. Conclusion [Violation established / not established / matter closed], reasons: [Reasons] Recommended penalty: [Type, amount and clause] Employee signature on their statements: [Signature] | Date: [Date] Investigator signature: [Signature] | Signatures of those present: [Signatures] If the employee refuses to sign, record the refusal in the minute before two witnesses, stating their names, capacities and signatures The original is filed in the employee's service file and a copy is given to them
Text in square brackets marks fields to fill with your own data. The template follows the provisions cited above and does not replace professional advice in a dispute.
Running the investigation
- 1Start within thirty days of the establishment becoming aware; delay without any step ends the liability under Article 66.
- 2Notify the employee in writing of the alleged violation before the hearing, not during it.
- 3Record questions and answers verbatim; a summarised minute loses its evidential value.
- 4Examine every point the employee raises and record the result, because the text requires the defence to be examined, not merely heard.
- 5Separate recommendation from decision: the investigator recommends, the competent authority imposes.
- 6Record any refusal to sign before two witnesses.
- 7File the original, give the employee a copy, then issue the penalty notice if the violation is established.
Mistakes that recur
A hearing with no prior written notice
The text sets an order: written notification, hearing, examination of the defence.
Summarising the employee's words
The value of the minute lies in verbatim statements; a summary invites the argument that the words were not theirs.
Writing the minute after the decision
Article 64 places the minute before the penalty, and writing it later does not cure the defect.
Omitting the date of awareness
The thirty-day period in Article 66 runs from it, so its absence removes the employer's proof of compliance.
How the system saves the manual work
Facts tied to their source
A violation in Barez is linked to its day, its attendance record and its attachments, so the minute is built from records.
A documented timeline
Detection, notification and approval carry timestamps, so statutory periods can be measured precisely.
Attachments in the employee file
The minute and its attachments live in the employee file rather than in an inbox.
Sources
- Executive Regulations of the Labour Law, Ministry of Human Resources
- Saudi Labour Law, Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
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.