When does an employment contract end?

What the article says

The article opens with the words:

"The employment contract ends in any of the following cases."

Article 74, Saudi Labor Law. Unofficial working translation for awareness only; the official text is the Arabic published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.

It then lists the cases. The list below is a consolidated reading built from the amendments to the article published by the Bureau of Experts, in their wording:

• Paragraph 1: if both parties agree to end it, provided the worker's consent is in writing.
• Paragraph 2: if the term set in the contract expires, unless the contract has been expressly renewed under this Law, in which case it continues until its term.
• Paragraph 3: at the will of either party in indefinite-term contracts, in accordance with Article 75 of this Law.
• Paragraph 3 bis: resignation.
• Paragraph 4: the worker reaching retirement age as provided by the Social Insurance Law, unless the parties agree to continue working after that age.
• Paragraph 5: force majeure.
• Paragraph 6: final closure of the establishment.
• Paragraph 7: ending of the activity in which the worker works, unless otherwise agreed.
• Paragraph 7 bis: issuance of a final decision or judgment by the competent court ending the worker's contract in any bankruptcy proceedings opened under the Bankruptcy Law.
• Paragraph 8: any other case provided for by another law.

What did the 2025 amendments add?

Royal Decree M/44 added two paragraphs to the article: paragraph 3 bis (resignation) and paragraph 7 bis (ending the contract by a final decision or judgment in bankruptcy proceedings). Alongside them it added a definition of resignation to Article 2, and a new Article 79 bis that sets the resignation procedure.

Resignation after the amendments

Article 2 defines resignation as the worker's written expression, without coercion, of the wish to end a fixed-term employment contract, not made subject to any restriction or condition, and the employer's acceptance of it. For an open-ended contract, paragraph 3 provides that it ends at the will of either party under Article 75. Article 79 bis sets the steps of a resignation request:

• Deemed acceptance: the request is deemed accepted if 30 days pass from its submission without a response from the employer.
• Deferral: the employer may defer acceptance for up to 60 days if the interest of the work requires it, by a reasoned written explanation given to the worker, provided the deferral is made before the 30 days end; the deferral runs from the date the explanation is given.
• Withdrawal: the worker may withdraw the request within no more than seven days of submitting it, unless the employer accepted it before the withdrawal.
• No deferred date: a resignation request may not set a deferred date for the resignation.
• The contract stays in force: the contract remains in force during the request period, and both parties must perform all obligations arising from it.
• Rights: a worker whose contract ends by resignation is entitled to all the rights established under the Law. Article 85 governs the end-of-service award on resignation, and its shares apply to resignation from a fixed-term contract as Article 2 defines it.

"The employment contract ends by resignation from the date the employer accepts it, or when the thirty-day period in paragraph (1) of this Article passes without a response from the employer, or when the deferral period in paragraph (1) of this Article passes."

Article 79 bis, paragraph 2, Saudi Labor Law, added by Royal Decree M/44. Unofficial working translation for awareness only; the official text is the Arabic published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.

What if a worker ends an open-ended contract?

The text does not call this resignation. The Article 2 definition of resignation refers to a fixed-term contract, and paragraph 3 of this article lists the ending of an open-ended contract at the will of either party as a separate case, with the worker's written notice at least 30 days in advance under Article 75.

So the Article 85 shares are stated for resignation from a fixed-term contract, and the site calculator shows the full Article 84 award for a worker who ends an open-ended contract with notice, which is what the Qiwa calculator returned in a check on 28 September 2026. This is a reading of the text, not an express rule in it. To confirm, the official references are the Qiwa end-of-service calculator and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Retirement age

The article does not state an age. Since paragraph 4 was reworded by Royal Decree M/134 of 1440H, it refers to the Social Insurance Law, and the parties may agree to continue working after that age.

Who it applies to

The Labor Law applies to every employment contract under which a person works for an employer, under the employer's management or supervision, for a wage (Article 5). That covers private-sector employees, men and women, Saudi and non-Saudi.

It does not cover the groups excluded by Article 7, among them domestic workers and those in a similar position, agricultural workers and private shepherds, and players and coaches of sports clubs and federations; some of these groups have special regulations. This explainer does not cover civil servants or military personnel, who have their own systems.

A hypothetical example with round numbers

• Ending by agreement: an employee and the employer agree to end the contract. The text requires the worker's consent to be in writing (paragraph 1).
• Resignation with no response: a worker on a fixed-term contract submits a written resignation request and the employer does not respond. The request is deemed accepted once 30 days pass from submission, and the contract stays in force during that time (Article 79 bis).
• Withdrawing the resignation: the same worker withdraws the request on day five, before the employer has accepted it. The withdrawal falls inside the seven-day window.
• Closure of the establishment: the establishment where the worker works closes for good. This is one of the cases in which the contract ends (paragraph 6), and the worker's entitlements are then looked at under Articles 84 to 88.

Hypothetical examples for illustration only; they do not describe any individual case.

Common misconceptions

• "Retirement age under the Labor Law is 60 for men and 55 for women." That is old wording. Paragraph 4 now refers to the Social Insurance Law.
• "A resignation ends the contract the moment it is submitted." The contract ends by resignation from the date of acceptance, or when 30 days pass without a response, or when the deferral period passes (Article 79 bis).
• "A resignation request can name a later effective date." A resignation request may not set a deferred date for the resignation.
• "The employer's death ends the contract." The contract does not end on the employer's death unless the employer's person was a consideration in concluding it; it ends on the worker's death or inability to work, established by an approved medical certificate (Article 79).
• "When the contract ends, the worker's rights are lost." The worker's entitlements under the Law remain, including the award and the deadline to pay it (Articles 84 to 88), with special cases governed by Article 80.

Related articles

• Article 55: the end and renewal of fixed-term contracts, and when they become open-ended.
• Article 75: the notice period for open-ended contracts, with Article 76 on pay in lieu of notice.
• Article 77: compensation when a contract ends for an illegitimate reason.
• Article 79: the effect of the death of the employer or the worker, or the worker's inability to work.
• Article 80: the cases in which the employer may terminate without award, notice or compensation.
• Article 81: the cases in which the worker may leave without notice and keep all statutory rights.
• Articles 84 to 88: the end-of-service award and the deadline to settle entitlements.

Official source

The full text of the Labor Law and its amendments is published on the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers portal. The Arabic text published there is the official reference. Text checked on 28 September 2026.