What does the Saudi Labor Law guarantee working women?

Maternity leave (Article 151)

Royal Decree M/44 amended this article, so since 19 February 2025 maternity leave is twelve weeks on full pay (it was ten weeks before). Paragraph 1 reads:

"The female worker has the right to maternity leave on full pay for twelve (12) weeks, of which the six weeks following delivery are mandatory. She may distribute the remaining six weeks as she sees fit, starting from four weeks before the expected date of delivery."

Article 151(1) of the Labor Law. Unofficial translation; the Arabic text published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers prevails.

• The six weeks after delivery are mandatory leave.
• The other six weeks she distributes as she sees fit, starting from four weeks before the expected delivery date at the earliest. That date is set by a medical certificate certified by a health authority.
• If the birth comes late and less than six weeks of the leave remain, the period that makes it up is counted as unpaid leave.
• Extension: in all cases she may extend the leave by one month without pay.
• A sick newborn or a newborn with a disability whose condition requires a constant companion: an extra month on full pay starting after maternity leave ends, which she may extend by one month without pay (paragraph 2).

Hypothetical example: an employee starts her leave four weeks before the expected delivery date, and the birth comes three weeks after that date. She has used seven weeks before the birth, so five weeks of the leave remain. That is less than the six weeks after delivery, so the one week that makes it up is counted as unpaid leave. This is a general reading of the text, not an assessment of any particular case.

Full detail on the maternity leave page (Article 151).

Full award after marriage or childbirth (Article 87)

As a rule, a worker who resigns from a fixed-term contract receives a share of the end-of-service award that rises with length of service (Article 85). Article 87 makes exceptions in which the full award is due, including two that apply to working women:

"A female worker is also entitled to it if she ends the contract within six months of the date of her marriage contract or three months of the date she gives birth."

From Article 87 of the Labor Law (unofficial translation). The 2025 amendments did not change this article.

What counts in the text is the date of the marriage contract and the date of birth, and that the female worker is the one who ends the contract within the period.

Hypothetical example with round numbers: an employee on a fixed-term contract with three years of service and a last actual wage of SAR 10,000 ends her contract two months after giving birth. The full award under Article 84 is half a month's wage per year, so SAR 15,000. Under the Article 85 resignation fractions she would receive only one third, SAR 5,000, but Article 87 gives her the full award because she ended the contract within three months of giving birth.

The definition of resignation since the 2025 amendments

Since the 2025 amendments, Article 2 defines resignation as the worker's written disclosure, 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. The Article 85 shares therefore apply to resignation from a fixed-term contract. If a female worker ends an open-ended contract with notice under Article 75, the text does not call this resignation, and the site calculator shows the full award for this case, 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, check the Qiwa calculator and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The text of Article 87 speaks of the female worker ending the contract within the two periods, without limiting it to a type of contract.

The full method is on the end-of-service page (Articles 84 to 88).

Protection during pregnancy and after childbirth

• No dismissal (Article 155): the employer may not dismiss the female worker, or warn her of dismissal, during her pregnancy or while she is on maternity leave. This includes the period of illness arising from either, provided the illness is proven by an approved medical certificate and her absence does not exceed 180 days a year, continuous or intermittent.
• Medical care (Article 153): the employer must provide medical care for the female worker during pregnancy and childbirth.
• Nursing breaks (Article 154): when she returns after maternity leave, she may take one or more breaks to nurse her newborn, totalling no more than one hour a day. These are in addition to the rest breaks given to all workers, count as actual working hours and do not reduce her wage.
• Working elsewhere during leave (Article 157): if she works for another employer during her authorised leave, she loses what she is entitled to under these provisions, and the original employer may withhold her wage for the leave period or recover what was paid.

'Iddah leave (Article 160)

A Muslim female worker whose husband dies has the right to 'iddah leave on full pay of at least four months and ten days from the date of death. If she is pregnant during this period, she may extend the leave without pay until she gives birth, and she does not keep the rest of the 'iddah leave after the birth. A non-Muslim female worker whose husband dies has the right to 15 days' leave on full pay. In all cases she may not work for others during this period, and the employer may ask for supporting documents.

Marriage leave and other bereavement leave are set by Article 113 for all workers. See special and sick leave.

Articles no longer in force

The Bureau of Experts website shows each article's original text first and its amendments after it, so a reader may come across old wording that no longer applies. These rules are no longer in force and should not be relied on:

• Articles 149 and 150 (hazardous work and night work for women): deleted by Royal Decree M/5 dated 7/1/1442H.
• Article 152 (maternity pay linked to length of service): merged into Article 151 in 1436H. Pay today is full pay under the current Article 151.
• Article 156: repealed by Royal Decree M/134 dated 27/11/1440H. Its rule on illness arising from pregnancy or childbirth now sits in Article 155.
• Ten weeks of maternity leave: the wording before the 2025 amendments. The current period is twelve weeks.

Who these rules cover

These rules apply to female workers covered by the Labor Law. Article 7 excludes some groups, including domestic workers, family members of the employer working in an establishment that employs no one else, and agricultural workers and private shepherds. The rights of some of these groups are set by special regulations issued by the Minister. If your job is governed by another law, such as the civil service rules, the provisions explained here may not apply to you. More on the Labor Law page.