What does the Law say?
Royal Decree M/46 dated 5/6/1436H recast Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Labor Law as two articles. Article 12 requires the Ministry to set one or more unified models of the work regulation, covering the rules for organising work and the provisions on benefits, violations and disciplinary penalties, and to set the controls and mechanisms for approving work regulations. Article 13 reads:
- «يلتزم كل صاحب عمل بإعداد لائحة لتنظيم العمل في منشأته وفق النموذج المعد من الوزارة، ويجوز للوزير الاستثناء من ذلك.
- يجوز لصاحب العمل تضمين اللائحة شروطاً وأحكاماً إضافية، بما لا يتعارض مع أحكام هذا النظام ولائحته والقرارات الصادرة تنفيذاً له.
- يجب على صاحب العمل أن يعلن لائحة تنظيم العمل وأي تعديل يطرأ عليها في مكان ظاهر في المنشأة أو أي وسيلة أخرى تكفل علم الخاضعين لها بأحكامها»
Article 13 of the Labor Law as published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers among the article's amendments, as worded by Royal Decree M/46 dated 5/6/1436H. The M/44 amendments did not touch these two articles. Unofficial translation: "(1) Every employer must prepare a work regulation for its establishment on the model prepared by the Ministry; the Minister may grant exceptions. (2) The employer may include additional terms and provisions in the regulation, provided they do not conflict with this Law, its Regulation and the decisions issued under it. (3) The employer must announce the work regulation, and any amendment to it, in a visible place in the establishment or by any other means that ensures those subject to it know its provisions." The Arabic text is authoritative.
Two routes on Qiwa
The Ministry's work regulation approval service page describes a free, immediate service for employers on Qiwa, with two options:
The unified regulation
Adopt the model regulation on the platform without changes or additions, and follow the steps until it is approved and an electronic certificate is issued. The page adds that establishments can make simple edits, such as the number of leave days, the calendar used and the working days.
A custom regulation
If the establishment wants its own regulation instead of the model, it must be reviewed and certified by law firms accredited by the Ministry before it is submitted. The Ministry sets conditions for these firms, including a valid licence to practise law and experience in labor law.
Who can choose the unified regulation?
Article 4 of the Executive Regulation of the Labor Law says establishments prepare their own regulation, reviewed and certified by law firms accredited on the Ministry's website, and then allows establishments with fewer than 50 workers to choose the unified model electronically, without changes or additions, and follow the steps until it is approved and an electronic certificate is issued.
So the text ties the unified-regulation option to establishments with fewer than 50 workers, while the service page does not mention that threshold. Check which options Qiwa shows for your establishment before you start. The second paragraph of the same article adds that an establishment that already has an approved custom regulation does not need a new one if all its articles comply with the Law, its Regulation and the unified model; any conflicting article is void and the establishment must amend it.
What does the unified regulation contain?
The unified regulation is published as Annex 1 to the Executive Regulation of the Labor Law. Its chapters include hiring, the employment contract, probation, transfer, training and qualification, wages, performance reports, increments and promotions, benefits and allowances, working days and hours and overtime, leave, the duties of the establishment and of workers, medical care, provisions for women, workplace conduct, the end of the contract, violations and penalties with a detailed schedule, and grievances. It has fields the establishment fills in, such as its own details, the calendar in use and the wage payment date.
Who does it apply to?
It applies to private-sector employers subject to the Labor Law. This guide does not cover civil service bodies, the military, or the categories excluded by Article 7 of the Law, such as domestic workers.