10 types of vacation/leaves in Saudi Labor Law

There are many types of vacations and leaves available in Saudi Labor Law such as marriage leave, sick leave, and unpaid leave which an employee can take in Saudi Arabia instead of taking his annual leave. 

1. Sick Leave

An employee who is ill can take sick leave for a period of 4 months out of which;

• The first month will be fully paid.
• The next two months will be paid 75% of the total salary.
• The fourth month will be unpaid.
• Recommended: Rules related to Sick Leave in Saudi Arabia

2. Annual leave 

According to Article 109 of Saudi Labor Law, a worker is entitled to the following annual leave or vacation;

• 21 days if service tenure with the employer is less than 5 years.
• 30 days if service tenure with the employer is more than 5 years.

3. Unpaid Leave

Article 116 of Saudi Labor Law allows a worker to take unpaid leave for any period of time with the consent of his employer.

However, the employment contract will be deemed suspended if the unpaid leave is for more than 20 days unless agreed by both parties as per Article 116 of Saudi Labor Law.

It means the employee will not be able to take End of Service Benefits for this period.

4. Death Leave

In case of the death of a wife, children, or parents, a worker is entitled to a leave of 5 fully paid working days as per Article 113 of Saudi Labor Law.

In case of the death of a sibling (brother or sister), the worker is entitled to a leave of 3 fully paid working days as per Article 113 of Saudi Labor Law (effective February 2025).

5. Iddah Leave

According to Article 160 of Saudi Labor Law, a working woman is entitled to the following Iddah leaves on the death of her husband;

• 15 days Iddah leave for a Non-Muslim woman.
• 130 days Iddah leave for a Muslim woman.

6. Hajj Leaves

Article 114 of Saudi Labor Law entitles a worker to avail 10 to 15 days of Hajj leave instead of 4 days vacation of Eid-ul-Adha provided that;

• Hajj leaves can be taken only once during the period of service with an employer.
• The worker must have completed at least 2 years with the employer before availing Hajj leaves. 
• The employer has the right to limit the number of people who can avail of this service every year.

7. Marriage Leaves

According to Article 113 of Saudi Labor Law, a worker can take 5 days fully paid vacations on the occasion of marriage.

8. Child Birth Leave

In case of the birth of a child, the father is entitled to get 3 fully paid days leaves as per article 113 of Saudi Labor Law. The mother is entitled to maternity leaves in Saudi Arabia.

9. Eid Holidays

According to Article 112 of the Saudi Labor Law and Article 4 of the ministry’s bylaw for holidays, every employee is entitled to get the following leaves and vacations on the occasions of Eid.

• Eid ul Fitr: 4 fully paid leaves starting from the 30th of Ramadan.
• Eid ul Adha: 4 fully paid leaves starting from the 9th of Dhul Hijjah.

In case an employer decides not to award Eid leaves to his employees, they must be given either compensated leaves or overtime.

10. Exam Leave 

Article 115 of Saudi Labor Law allows an employee to take the exam leaves for an unrepeated exam on the day of the exam.

However, if the employee is repeating the exam, he is entitled to unpaid leave.

11. National Day

The national day is celebrated on the 23rd of September in Saudi Arabia and it is a fully paid leave.