Tools · Saudi Arabia
Saudi Annual Leave Calculator
Your leave entitlement and current balance under Article 109 of the Saudi Labour Law, including the step up at five years of service.
- Annual entitlement21 days — under five years of service21 days
- Accrued this year8 of 12 months14.0 days
- Brought forward0.0 days
- Taken0.0 days
- Balance14.0 days
Rules as at 30 October 2026 · what this assumes
- Article 109: 21 days a year, rising to 30 once you complete five years of continuous service with the same employer. The February 2025 amendments left this unchanged.
- Calendar days or working days? The Labour Law counts leave in calendar days, while the Ministry has traditionally applied it in working days and the Qiwa contract template refers to working days. This calculator simply counts days — read it on whichever basis your contract uses.
- Carry-over rules depend on your contract and your employer’s policy. Enter what your records actually show rather than assuming a full year carries over.
Source: Saudi Labour Law, as amended February 2025. Saudi employment rules change — the Labour Law was amended with effect from February 2025 — so these figures are rechecked at least annually.
Your entitlement under Article 109
Saudi annual leave is 21 days a year, rising to 30 days once you complete five years of continuous service with the same employer. The February 2025 amendments left the core entitlement untouched, although they changed several other kinds of leave.
The five-year step, and why changing employer costs you
The increase from 21 to 30 days is a step at five years, and it attaches to continuous service with one employer. Moving in year four resets the clock, so a move that looks neutral on salary can quietly cost nine days a year for the following five years. That is worth pricing into an offer rather than discovering afterwards.
Calendar days or working days?
Genuinely ambiguous, and worth settling against your own contract. The Labour Law counts leave in calendar days; the Ministry has traditionally applied it in working days, and the Qiwa contract template refers to working days. Across a 30-day entitlement the difference is weeks, not days. This calculator counts days and leaves the basis to your contract.
Leaving with a balance
Accrued and untaken leave is payable on termination, and since February 2025 the same applies to any accumulated compensatory leave taken in place of overtime pay. Carry-over between years, by contrast, depends on your contract and employer policy rather than a single statutory rule — so enter what your records show rather than what you assume.
Important — This is an estimate based on the figures you enter and the Saudi rules in force at the date shown with the result. It is not legal or employment advice, and it does not replace your contract, which may define wage, hours or leave differently. Saudi employment law was amended with effect from February 2025; where a figure matters, confirm it against your contract and take advice in the Kingdom.
This tool is a general illustration based on the figures you enter. It does not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and the results are estimates rather than guarantees. Global Investments is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Where the amounts involved are material, take advice from a suitably qualified professional in each relevant jurisdiction before acting.
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Saudi Annual Leave — common questions
3 questions
How much annual leave am I entitled to?
Article 109 of the Labour Law gives 21 days a year, rising to 30 days once you complete five years of continuous service with the same employer. The February 2025 amendments left the core entitlement unchanged. The step at five years is a cliff rather than a gradual increase, and it applies to continuous service with one employer — changing employer resets the clock, which is worth knowing before accepting a move in year four.
Link to this questionAre those calendar days or working days?
This is genuinely ambiguous and worth checking in your own contract. The Labour Law counts leave in calendar days, but the Ministry of Human Resources has traditionally applied annual leave in working days, and the Qiwa contract template refers to working days. The difference over 30 days is substantial. This calculator simply counts days and leaves the basis to your contract.
Link to this questionCan I carry leave over, and what happens when I leave?
Carry-over depends on your contract and your employer's policy rather than on a single statutory rule, so enter what your own records show rather than assuming a full year rolls forward. On termination, accrued and untaken leave is payable. Since the February 2025 amendments the same is true of any accumulated compensatory leave earned in place of overtime pay.
Link to this question