Zainab Alwosaibi, Legal Specialist
Checklist · Employee file

What does a compliant employee file contain?

The Executive Regulation of the Labor Law requires the employer to keep a work file for each worker with the worker's data, address, a copy of the employment contract and any certificates or documents the worker provides, alongside other statements and records about workers.

References: Article 17 of the Saudi Labor Law · Articles 5 and 6 of the Executive Regulation in force since 19 February 2025 · A general information checklist, not an assessment of any particular file

Download the checklist (PDF)

What do the texts say?

Article 17 of the Labor Law provides:

«على صاحب العمل أن يحتفظ في مكان العمل بالسجلات والكشوف والملفات التي تحدد ماهيتها، والبيانات التي يجب أن تتضمنها اللائحة»

From Article 17 of the Labor Law as published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers; the article has not been amended since the Law was issued. Unofficial translation: "The employer must keep at the workplace the records, statements and files whose nature, and the data they must contain, the Regulation specifies." The Arabic text is authoritative.

Article 5 of the Executive Regulation of the Labor Law sets out these records and files, on paper or electronic, including "a work file for each worker, containing the worker's data, address, a copy of the employment contract, and any certificates or documents the worker provides to the employer". Other texts in the Law and its Regulation add items linked to the file; I have gathered them in the checklist below with the article number for each.

Who does it apply to?

It applies to private-sector employers subject to the Labor Law. The checklist does not cover civil service bodies, the military, or the categories excluded by Article 7 of the Law, such as domestic workers.

The checklist

The employee file as the published texts describe it

Each item is tied to its text. The checklist is for awareness and file organisation; it does not judge whether a particular file is complete, or any dispute.

The worker's file

What the file itself holds

  • The worker's data (Executive Regulation, Article 5).
  • The worker's address, to which a penalty notice is sent by registered letter if the worker refuses to receive it or is absent (Article 72).
  • A copy of the employment contract, which is written in two copies, one for each party (Article 51).
  • Any certificates or documents the worker provides, all of which are returned when the contract ends (Article 64).
The employment contract

The contract, in the file and on Qiwa

  • Documented electronically through the Ministry's approved platform, which is Qiwa (Executive Regulation, Article 18).
  • On the unified model for its type, with the basic data and each party's rights and obligations (Article 52).
  • Written in Arabic; if a foreign language is used alongside it, the Arabic text is authoritative (Article 9).
  • Any probation period stated expressly and with a defined length, not exceeding 180 days in total (Article 53).
  • For a non-Saudi: a written, fixed-term contract (Article 37).
Establishment records

The worker's data in the establishment's records

  • Workers' names list: occupation, age, nationality and ID number, plus work permit number and date for non-Saudis (Executive Regulation, Article 5).
  • Wages statement: wages, the dates they were received, any deductions and the reason (Executive Regulation, Article 5).
  • Attendance register (Executive Regulation, Article 5).
  • Fines register, if a fine is imposed: name, wage, amount of the fine, reason and date (Executive Regulation, Article 5).
  • A posted schedule of working hours, rest periods and the weekly rest day (Article 17).

Article 5 of the Executive Regulation also lists a Saudi training register and, in establishments where occupational disease is possible, a medical examination register.

Discipline and performance

If a penalty is imposed, and performance reports

  • Minutes recording that the worker was notified in writing of the allegation, questioned and heard in defence, placed in the worker's personal file (Article 71).
  • The penalty decision notified to the worker in writing (Article 72).
  • In establishments using the unified regulation: a penalty sheet for each worker, kept in the worker's service file (unified regulation, Article 69).
  • Also in those establishments: a performance report at least once a year, with a copy given to the worker (unified regulation, Articles 18 and 20).
Platforms

What links the file to the platforms

  • An active contract on Qiwa, with occupation, wage and qualification data updated when they change (Ministerial Decision No. 75506).
  • The worker's GOSI subscription, which follows automatically once the contract is documented on Qiwa, according to the Ministry's procedural guide.
  • A work permit for a non-Saudi (Article 33).
  • In establishments using the unified regulation: health insurance for all workers as the Cooperative Health Insurance Law provides, and their subscription in the occupational hazards branch (unified regulation, Article 49).
Watch points

What is not kept, and what is handed over at the end

  • The employer does not keep a non-Saudi worker's passport, iqama or medical insurance card (Executive Regulation, Article 6).
  • A service certificate on the worker's request, free of charge, showing the start date, the end date, the occupation and the last wage (Article 64).
  • Return of all certificates or documents the worker deposited, when the contract ends (Article 64).

A hypothetical example

This example is hypothetical and for illustration only. An establishment reviews one employee's file against the checklist above. It finds the employee's data and a copy of the contract, but no address in the file, and the occupation has not been updated on Qiwa since the employee moved to another role. Under the checklist, the address is added to the file, because Article 72 relies on it for notices, and the contract is updated on Qiwa, because the ministerial decision covers updating occupation data.

Common misconceptions

  • "Only a paper file counts." Article 5 of the Executive Regulation accepts records and files on paper or in electronic form.
  • "Keeping the worker's passport protects the establishment." Article 6 of the Executive Regulation says the employer must not keep the passport, iqama or medical insurance card.
  • "A signed paper contract replaces Qiwa." Article 18 of the Executive Regulation requires contracts to be documented electronically through the Ministry's approved platform.
  • "Minor violations need no record." Article 71 allows oral questioning for minor violations whose penalty does not exceed a warning or a fine of no more than one day's wage, but requires it to be recorded in the minutes.

Limits of this checklist

The checklist rests only on the texts cited. Other laws, or decisions specific to an activity, may add requirements. Items attributed to the unified regulation apply to establishments that have adopted it. The checklist is a tool for awareness and organisation; it gives no view on whether a particular file is complete or on any dispute.

Related articles

  • Article 17: records, statements and files, and the schedule of working hours.
  • Articles 51 and 52: writing, documenting and the unified model of the contract, explained in the Qiwa contract documentation guide.
  • Articles 71 and 72: the steps before a disciplinary penalty and notifying it.
  • Article 64: the service certificate and returning documents when the contract ends.
  • Articles 12 and 13: the work regulation, explained in the unified work regulation guide.

Official sources

English renderings on this page are unofficial; the Arabic texts published in these sources are the reference.

General awareness, not legal advice. This is a general checklist of published requirements. It does not address any particular file or dispute. For a specific case, please contact a licensed lawyer through the Najiz lawyers directory.
FAQ

General questions about the employee file

Can the employee file be electronic?

Yes. Article 5 of the Executive Regulation of the Labor Law sets the data that the statements, records and files the employer keeps at the workplace must contain, whether they are on paper or electronic.

Does the employer keep the worker's passport or iqama?

No. Article 6 of the Executive Regulation says the employer must not keep a non-Saudi worker's passport, iqama (residence permit) or medical insurance card.

What is handed to the worker when the contract ends?

Article 64 requires the employer to give the worker, on request and free of charge, a service certificate stating the start date, the end date of the relationship, the occupation and the last wage, and to return all certificates or documents the worker deposited.

Where is the investigation record kept before a penalty?

Article 71 says no disciplinary penalty may be imposed until the worker has been notified in writing of what is alleged, questioned and heard in defence, and this has been recorded in minutes placed in the worker's personal file.

Do a paper file and a signed contract replace documenting the contract on Qiwa?

No. Article 18 of the Executive Regulation requires the employer to document employees' contracts electronically through the platform approved by the Ministry, which is Qiwa.

Related guides and tools

Where to go next

Guidance estimate only, not a legal opinion · Private sector under the Saudi Labor Law only · Official reference: Qiwa calculator

Qiwa contract documentation

What documentation means, why Saudization rates rely on documented contracts, and the steps in brief.

Read the guide

The unified work regulation

Adopting the unified regulation on Qiwa for free, and when a custom regulation needs review by an accredited firm.

Read the guide

Annual leave

Under Article 109: at least 21 days, and at least 30 days after five continuous years.

Open the calculator