Saudi Arabia Article 85 Read 2 November 2026

In Saudi Arabia, resigning costs you part of your award. The years decide how much.

This is the mirror image of the UAE. There, resignation changes nothing. Here, Article 85 cuts the award, and the cut gets smaller the longer you stay.

1/3 of the award if you resign between two and five years. Two thirds between five and ten. Everything after ten.

The calculation first

Article 84 builds the award before any question of how you left. Half a month of wage for each of the first five years, a full month for each year after that, on the last wage, with part years paid in proportion.

Basic salary SAR 6,000, seven years of service. First five years give 6,000 × 0.5 × 5 = SAR 15,000. The next two give 6,000 × 1 × 2 = SAR 12,000. The full award is SAR 27,000.

Then Article 85 applies the cut

How you left	Years served	Share of the award
Resigned	Under 2	Nothing
Resigned	2 to under 5	One third
Resigned	5 to under 10	Two thirds
Resigned	10 or more	All of it
Contract ended by the employer	Any	All of it

The same worker on SAR 6,000 with seven years who resigns receives two thirds of SAR 27,000, which is SAR 18,000. Staying three more years would have taken the share to the full amount.

The threshold to watch The jump from one third to two thirds happens at five years, and the jump to the full award at ten. If you are close to either line and thinking about leaving, the date of your resignation can be worth more than the raise you are leaving for.

Three details people miss

Wage includes fixed allowances. Article 84 measures the award on the last wage, and the law's definition includes the basic salary plus the fixed allowances the worker receives. Article 86 lets the contract exclude commissions and sales percentages. Use the figure your contract treats as wage, not the basic line alone.

There is no cap. Unlike the UAE, Saudi law sets no maximum on the award. Long service keeps accruing.

Unpaid absence has a limit. Continuous service counts official holidays, exam leave and unpaid absences of up to 20 days per work year. Longer breaks can interrupt the count.

Payment timing

Article 88 requires the employer to settle wages and entitlements within one week of the end of the contract, and within two weeks if the worker ended it. The employer may deduct work-related debts.

Sources

Saudi Labor Law, Articles 84, 85, 86 and 88, as implemented in our Saudi end of service calculator and its test cases.
Arithmetic in this article is our own, from the day counts in Article 84.

General information, not legal advice.