Saudi Arabia Leave Laws & Holidays

Last updated on July 12, 2026.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Saudi Arabia

Vacation (Annual Leave) Quota

21 calendar days

For employees in Saudi Arabia, vacation entitlement varies based on the length of an employee’s service:

• Employees with 1 to 5 years of service are entitled to 21 calendar days of vacation.
• Employees with over five years of service are entitled to 30 calendar days of vacation.

Additionally, Muslim employees are eligible for an extra 10 to 15 days of paid religious leave to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), provided they have completed two years of service. This leave must be coordinated with the employer at the start of the year.

Employees also have the option to request up to ten extra days of unpaid leave annually, which is contingent upon the employer’s consent.

Carryover

Allowed for certain number of days with the employer’s written consent.

The employer must agree with the employee on the start date of the annual leave, and the payment for this leave should be made in advance. Annual leave can be deferred to the next year only once, and this requires the employee’s written consent. It can’t be postponed beyond that subsequent year.

No Cashing Out During Employment

Annual leave must be taken each year (or carried forward) and can’t be cashed out while the employee remains actively employed—only upon termination.

Payment of Unused Annual Leave on Termination

Unused annual leave days must be paid on termination.

When an employee departs from their job, they are entitled to compensation for any accrued but untaken vacation days for the period during which they did not take their annual leave. This includes a prorated payment for partial years worked, proportional to the time that they spent employed.

Upon the termination of an employee’s service, their final wages must be paid immediately. However, if the employee resigns, the employer has the option to pay these wages within 7 calendar days.

Sick Leave in Saudi Arabia

Maximum of 120 days (of which 90 days are paid)

Employees in Saudi Arabia are entitled to a maximum of 120 days of sick leave per year (90 days are paid). This rule applies to both continuous and periodic illnesses.

Employees must prove their sickness by providing an official medical certificate. 

This requirement applies to employers that have 20 or more workers.

Payout

Payout of sick days starts on the 1st day of absence and works by decreasing the sick pay over time.

The percentage of sick pay goes as follows:

• First 30 days of leave: fully paid (an employee continues to receive a regular salary during sick leave).
• The next 60 days: three-quarters (75%) of regular salary.
• Last 30 days: unpaid.

Pay during sick leave in Saudi Arabia is covered by the employer.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Saudi Arabia

12 weeks

Pregnant female employees in Saudi Arabia are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave after completing one full year of service. An employee must take at least six weeks of leave immediately after giving birth. The remaining six weeks can be used flexibly, including up to four weeks taken prior to the expected due date.

Maternity leave in Saudi Arabia is extended from 10 weeks by the 2025 amendments to the Saudi Labour Law.

Upon returning to work, a female employee is granted an extra one-hour break to breastfeed her child.

The employer covers the costs associated with medical examinations as well as the expenses for treatment and delivery.

An employee may choose to extend maternity leave by one additional unpaid month.

Payout

Maternity leave compensation is provided by the employer at 100% of their regular wages.

This is also change from 2025 which simplified the old rule — before the earlier reforms, pay used to depend on length of service (half pay for 1–3 years, full pay for 3+ years), but that distinction is gone.

Paternity Leave in Saudi Arabia

3 days.

Employees are granted by law 3 days of leave with full payment for the occasion of childbirth. They must also submit the necessary documentation to their employers. This leave must be taken within seven days of the birth of the child.

Parental Leave in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s leave laws do not cover parental leave.

Bereavement Leave in Saudi Arabia

5 days

An employee is entitled to bereavement leave with full pay in the event of the death of the nearest family member.

The duration depends on an employee’s relationship to the deceased:

1. Immediate Family: 5 days for the death of a spouse, children/grandchildren, parents.
2. Siblings: 3 days for the death of a brother or a sister
3. Muslim Widows: Muslim female employees are entitled to fully paid “iddah leave” for at least four months and 10 days following the death of their husband, beginning from the date of death. (Non-Muslim female employees are entitled to 15 days of fully paid leave upon the death of their husband.)

Jury Duty Leave in Saudi Arabia

Jury duty leave is not specified by law because the Saudi Arabian judicial system doesn’t use juries.

Military Leave in Saudi Arabia

Special provisions apply to military obligations.

In the event that employment is terminated by the employer or if the employee resigns due to military obligations or force majeure circumstances, the employee is entitled to receive severance pay. This includes receiving half a month’s salary for each year of service for up to five years and a full month’s salary for each year of service thereafter.

Voting Leave in Saudi Arabia

There is no law for voting leave because there is no need for it. The only elections in Saudi Arabia are for municipal councils that have limited powers over local issues like garbage collection and street maintenance (last such vote was in 2015). There are no national elections.

Marriage Leave in Saudi Arabia

5 days

Employees are entitled to 5 days of paid leave for their wedding.

Public Holidays in Saudi Arabia

(*) - Dates are movable every year according to the Islamic lunar calendar.

Each year, the local government determines whether public holidays that fall on a weekend are forfeited or shifted to a substitute working day. The dates for religious holidays vary because they are governed by the lunar cycle; they are marked as not fixed and will only be confirmed as the holiday date approaches.

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are officially observed for 10 days, while private companies typically grant 3 to 7 days.

Sources of Saudi Arabia’s Leave Laws

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/saudi-arabia

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Saudi Arabia, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/saudi-arabia/

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Saudi Arabia, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/saudi-arabia

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.