Marriage, bereavement and new-baby leave, and sick leave

Special leave under Article 113

The article gives the worker fully paid leave on three occasions: marriage, bereavement, and the birth of the worker's child. The employer may ask for documents supporting these cases.

"Taking into account the leave of the female worker set out in this Law, the worker has the right to leave on full pay for five (5) days on marriage or on the death of a spouse or of one of the worker's ascendants or descendants, and three (3) days on the death of a brother or sister, all counted from the date of the event; and three (3) days on the birth of a child to the worker, within seven (7) days from the date of birth. The employer may ask for documents supporting these cases."

Article 113, Saudi Labor Law, as amended by Royal Decree M/44 dated 8/2/1446H (12 August 2024), in force since 20/8/1446H (19 February 2025). Unofficial working translation for awareness only; the official text is the Arabic published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.

The Arabic text says "أحد أصوله أو فروعه", ascendants or descendants, a phrase that in Arabic legal usage is wider than "parents and children". Whether a particular relative is covered in a given case is outside this general explainer.

The article opens with "taking into account the leave of the female worker set out in this Law". That leave includes maternity leave under Article 151 and 'iddah leave under Article 160: a Muslim female worker whose husband dies has fully paid leave of not less than four months and ten days from the date of death, and a non-Muslim female worker has fifteen days on full pay. See the details on the Women at Work page.

What changed in 2025?

The previous text, issued by Royal Decree M/46 in 1436H (2015), gave five days for marriage or the death of a spouse, ascendant or descendant, and three days for a new baby. The amendments under Royal Decree M/44 added:

• three days on full pay for the death of a brother or sister;
• counting the marriage and bereavement days from the date of the event;
• the requirement that the new-baby leave fall within seven days of the birth.

Sick leave under Article 117

A worker whose illness is proven is entitled to sick leave on graded pay within one year, whether the leave is continuous or intermittent. That year starts on the date of the first sick leave, not on 1 January and not on the contract start date.

"A worker whose illness is proven has the right to sick leave on full pay for the first thirty days, on three quarters of the wage for the following sixty days, and without pay for the thirty days after that, within one year, whether the leave is continuous or intermittent. One year means the year starting from the date of the first sick leave."

Article 117, Saudi Labor Law, original text, never amended. Unofficial working translation for awareness only; the official text is the Arabic published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.

The text requires the illness to be "proven" but does not itself set how it is proven. Article 82 adds that the worker may ask for annual leave to be joined to sick leave.

Who it applies to

Both articles apply to workers under contracts governed by the Labor Law, and Article 2 defines a worker as a natural person, "male or female". This explainer covers the private sector under the Labor Law. It does not cover civil servants or military personnel, who have their own systems. Article 7 also excludes some groups from the Law, among them domestic workers, for whom the Minister issues a special regulation. For part-time workers, the Law applies only as far as occupational safety and health, work injuries and what the Minister decides are concerned (Article 5).

Hypothetical examples with round numbers

The examples below are hypothetical and for illustration only; they do not describe real cases.

• New-baby leave: a worker's child is born on the first day of the month. The three fully paid days fall within the seven days starting from the date of birth, not weeks later.
• Sick leave: a worker earns an actual wage of SAR 6,000 a month, so a day's wage is SAR 200 on a thirty-day month, and takes 100 days of intermittent sick leave within the year that began with the first sick leave.

How the second example's days fall under Article 117:

• The first 30 days on full pay: SAR 6,000.
• The next 60 days at three quarters, SAR 150 a day: SAR 9,000.
• The remaining 10 days fall in the third, unpaid band.
• Total for the 100 days: SAR 15,000.

Common misconceptions

• "All sick leave is on full pay." Only the first thirty days. The next sixty are at three quarters of the wage, and the thirty after that are unpaid.
• "The sick-leave year is the calendar year." The text defines it as the year starting from the date of the first sick leave.
• "Intermittent days don't add up." The periods count whether the leave is continuous or intermittent.
• "New-baby leave can be taken any time." The text requires it within seven days of the birth.
• "There is no leave for the death of a brother or sister." The amendments under Royal Decree M/44 added three fully paid days for this case.

Related articles

• Article 82: the employer may not end the worker's service because of illness before the sick-leave periods are used up, and the worker may ask for annual leave to be joined to sick leave.
• Article 112: fully paid leave on the Eids and occasions set by the Regulation.
• Articles 109 to 111: annual leave, postponement and pay for unused days.
• Women at work: maternity leave (Article 151), protection from dismissal during pregnancy and maternity leave (Article 155), and 'iddah leave (Article 160).

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.