Annual Leave and Sick Leave in Saudi Arabia: Your Full Entitlement
Your annual leave is not less than 21 days a year, rising to not less than 30 days after five consecutive years with the same employer. Sick leave is paid in three tiers inside a single year: 30 days at full wage, 60 days at three quarters, then 30 days unpaid. Unused annual leave is paid out in cash when you leave, for any reason.
This post gives you the day counts, a worked riyal example of what unused leave is worth, the carry-over rules employers get wrong, and the special leaves most employees never claim because nobody lists them in the handbook. It sits inside the Saudi labor law guide.
Quick answer
- Annual leave: 21 days minimum, and 30 days minimum after five consecutive years with the same employer. Paid in advance.
- Sick leave in one year: 30 days full wage, then 60 days at three quarters, then 30 days unpaid.
- You cannot take cash instead of leave while employed — but unused days are cashed out when you leave.
- The employer schedules leave, you do not simply announce it; the entitlement itself is not negotiable.
- Special leaves exist and are paid: marriage, birth of a child, bereavement, hajj once in service, and exam leave.
How many annual leave days am I entitled to?
Article 109 sets the floor at not less than 21 days for each year of service, rising to not less than 30 days once you have spent five consecutive years in the same employer’s service. Two words in that sentence carry weight.
“Not less than” — your contract can grant more, and many employers do, especially in banking and the giga-projects. It can never grant less. A contract clause promising 15 days is unenforceable to the extent it drops below the statutory floor.
“Consecutive” — the five-year step is tied to continuous service with the same employer. Continuity survives ownership changes and mergers, which is why your GOSI record showing an unbroken start date is worth keeping.
Definition pair. Entitlement is the number of days the law gives you each year. Balance is what your HR system says you have left after usage and any agreed carry-over. Employees argue about balances; the entitlement is what you check first.
| Service with the same employer | Minimum annual leave |
|---|---|
| Under 5 consecutive years | 21 days per year |
| 5 consecutive years and beyond | 30 days per year |
| Partial year (joining or leaving) | Proportional to the months worked |
Can I carry unused leave into next year?
The design of the law is that you take your leave in the year you earn it, and you cannot waive it or receive money instead while you are still employed. That rule exists to protect rest, not to trap your balance.
Postponement is possible, but it is a two-sided mechanism:
- The employer may defer leave when work requirements genuinely need it, within a limited window.
- Beyond that, deferring days into the following year requires your written consent — which also means you can decline.
- Deferred days do not evaporate. They stay part of your accrued balance until taken or paid out.
The failure pattern is predictable: nobody signs anything, three years pass, and then the company argues the old days lapsed under an internal policy. Once a year, ask HR by email for your leave balance as recorded in the system, and keep the reply. Two minutes, and it converts a future argument into a document.
How is sick leave paid?
Article 117 works in tiers, measured across one year counted from the first day of sickness, whether the days are continuous or scattered:
| Days of sickness in that year | Pay |
|---|---|
| First 30 days | Full wage |
| Next 60 days | Three quarters of wage |
| Following 30 days | Without wage |
Worked example. A monthly wage of SAR 12,000 gives a daily wage of SAR 400. An employee takes 100 sick days in one year with a valid medical report:
- Days 1-30 at full wage: SAR 12,000
- Days 31-90 at three quarters: 60 × 400 × 0.75 = SAR 18,000, instead of SAR 24,000
- Days 91-100 unpaid: SAR 0
Total received across those 100 days: SAR 30,000, against SAR 40,000 of full pay for the same period.
Two things to know alongside the tiers. Sick leave requires proof of illness, so the medical report from an approved provider is not bureaucracy, it is the entitlement. And the Labor Law restricts terminating a contract while a worker is on their statutory leave — a dismissal executed in the middle of documented sick leave is worth challenging rather than accepting. An injury or illness arising from work is a different track entirely, handled through GOSI’s occupational hazards branch rather than these tiers.
What is unused leave worth when you leave?
Article 111 gives you a cash payment for annual leave days you accrued but did not take, when you leave for any reason, prorated for the portion of the year you worked. This is a wage entitlement, so it survives situations where the end-of-service award does not — including a resignation before two years, and an exit during probation.
Worked example. Monthly wage SAR 12,000, so SAR 400 per day. You resign at the end of August, having taken 6 days this year, with 9 days carried over from last year by written agreement.
- This year’s accrual: 21 × 8/12 = 14 days
- Less days taken: 14 − 6 = 8 days
- Plus carried-over balance: 8 + 9 = 17 days
- Cash value: 17 × 400 = SAR 6,800
That figure goes on your final settlement next to the end-of-service award — see end of service calculation for the other half of the exit maths — and it is a common place for a settlement to quietly come up short. Check the day count and the daily rate separately.
Can my employer schedule my leave?
Yes. The employer may set the dates according to work requirements, or rotate staff through the year so the operation keeps running, and must give you notice far enough ahead to plan. This is the part employees resent and the part that is clearly lawful. What is not lawful is treating the entitlement itself as discretionary.
Weak leave request: “I need two weeks off next month, my family is travelling.”
Strong leave request: “I’d like to take 10 days of my annual leave from 12 to 21 October. My balance shows 17 days. The monthly report closes on 8 October and the handover note for [colleague] is ready. Can you confirm?”
The second version answers the three questions a manager actually has — balance, coverage, timing — and turns the reply into a written approval you can keep.
If leave is refused repeatedly, escalate in writing rather than verbally, and if it goes nowhere, the complaint route runs through Qiwa for employees.
The special leaves nobody tells you about
These are statutory and paid, and are quietly among the most under-claimed entitlements in the private sector. The employer may ask for supporting documents, which is reasonable — have the certificate ready.
- Your own marriage: 5 days.
- Birth of a child: 3 days.
- Death of a spouse, an ascendant or a descendant: 5 days.
- Death of a brother or sister: 3 days.
- Hajj: between 10 and 15 days including the Eid al-Adha holiday, once during your service, for a worker who has not performed hajj before and who has at least two consecutive years of service. The employer may limit how many employees take it in a given year.
- Exams: paid leave for the days of exams for an employee enrolled in study, subject to the notice and documentation conditions.
- Unpaid leave: by agreement with the employer.
- Maternity leave and the iddah leave for a Muslim woman whose husband has died are separate statutory entitlements with their own durations.
Official holidays, Eid breaks and the shortened Ramadan working hours are a different category again — they are not deducted from your annual leave. The Ramadan rules are covered in Ramadan working hours.
A three-line email that prevents most leave disputes
“Hi [Name] — could you confirm my recorded annual leave balance as of today, and whether any days from last year are still carried over? I’m planning my leave for the year and want to work from the system’s numbers. Thanks.”
Send it every January. Save the reply in a personal archive, not only in your work inbox.
Leave and rest are also information about the job, not just admin. If your last two years have been a fight for days you were already owed, that belongs in your read of the next offer. In TrueSira, your Master Profile keeps your real experience and results in one place, so when you decide to look you can paste a job description and derive a tailored, ATS-ready CV in one pass — with you approving every line. Get started free.
FAQ
How many annual leave days am I entitled to?
Not less than 21 days for each year of service, rising to not less than 30 days once you have completed five consecutive years with the same employer. The leave is paid in advance, and the entitlement is prorated for a partial year when you join or leave. A contract may grant more days but cannot go below the statutory minimum.
Can I carry unused leave to next year?
Leave is designed to be taken in the year it is earned, and you cannot receive cash instead of taking it while you remain employed. The employer may defer leave when work genuinely requires it, and moving days into the following year needs your written consent. Deferred days remain part of your balance until taken or cashed out on exit.
How is sick leave paid in Saudi Arabia?
In three tiers within one year counted from the first day of sickness, whether continuous or intermittent: the first 30 days at full wage, the next 60 days at three quarters of wage, and the following 30 days without wage. A valid medical report from an approved provider is required. Work-related injury and illness are handled through GOSI’s occupational branch instead.
Do I get paid for unused leave when I resign?
Yes. Accrued annual leave you did not take is paid in cash when you leave for any reason, prorated for the part of the year you worked. It is a wage entitlement rather than severance, so it is payable even in situations where no end-of-service award is due, such as leaving during probation. Check the day count and the daily rate separately on your final settlement.
Can my employer schedule my leave for me?
Yes. The employer may set leave dates according to work requirements or rotate employees through the year, with notice given far enough ahead for you to plan. That scheduling power is lawful. What is not lawful is treating the entitlement as optional, refusing it indefinitely, or making you sign away days you have accrued.
What special leaves exist besides annual and sick leave?
Paid leave of 5 days for your own marriage, 3 days for the birth of a child, 5 days on the death of a spouse, ascendant or descendant, and 3 days on the death of a brother or sister. Beyond that: hajj leave of 10 to 15 days once during service for someone who has not performed hajj, exam leave for enrolled students, unpaid leave by agreement, and separate maternity and iddah entitlements.