Rules for Sick Leave in Saudi Arabia

Article 117 of Saudi Labor Law allows an ill employee to take sick leave for a period of 4 months in Saudi Arabia. The distribution of 4 months of sick leave will be the following;

• The 1st month will be fully paid.
• The next 2 months will be paid at 75% of the total salary.
• The 4th month will be unpaid.
• A single year shall mean the year which begins from the date of the first sick leave.
• 10 Types of Leaves in Saudi Labor Law

Joining annual leave with sick leave

An employee can join his sick leave with annual leave as per Article 82 of Saudi Labor Law.

• An employer cannot terminate his employee who is on sick leave before completing the 4-month period.
• If an employee gets sick while he is on annual leave, his annual leave will be put on hold, and sick leave will start from the date the doctor has warranted sickness. He can continue his annual leave after completing the sick leave.

In case of any conflict between the company policy and the Saudi Labor Law, the law will prevail.

Sick Leave due to Workplace Injury

If an employee gets injured or falls sick due to a workplace injury, the employer will bear the entire cost of the treatment as per Article 133 of Saudi Labor Law.

As per Article 137 of Saudi Labor Law, an employee is entitled to the following sick leaves during the work-related injury recovery period.

• Fully paid sick leave for 2 months.
• The next 10 months will be paid 75% of the total salary. 

Compensation for Total Disability

As per Article 137 of Saudi Labor Law, if one year elapses or if it has been medically determined that he is not physically fit to work, the injury shall be classified as total disability as the employment contract will be terminated.

As per Article 138 of Saudi Labor Law, in case of total disability, the employee is entitled to the higher of;

• 36 months salary.
• SR 54,000.

The employer cannot recover what he paid to the injured during the first year as per Article 137 of Saudi Labor Law.

Medical Certificate for Sick Leave

To avail of the sick leave in Saudi Arabia, the worker must bring a doctor’s certificate to warrant his sickness.

Some years ago, taking a fake illness certificate from a hospital or clinic in Saudi Arabia was pretty easy to apply for sick leave. However, this is not the case anymore after the strict actions taken by the government.