Translated from Arabic.
The Saudi Labour Law governs end-of-service benefits through two rules: the first is how the full award is calculated, and the second is the proportion the worker is entitled to on resignation.
The full award is calculated at half a month's wage for each of the first five years, and a full month's wage for each year thereafter. Parts of a year are counted in proportion to the time served. The basis is the last wage, which usually includes the basic wage together with fixed allowances such as housing and transport, unless the contract or the establishment's internal regulations provide more favourable terms for the worker.
On resignation, the worker is entitled to part of the award depending on length of service:
1. Less than two years: no award.
2. Two years to less than five years: one third of the award.
3. Five years to less than ten: two thirds of the award.
4. Ten years or more: the full award.
Applying this to your case approximately: four years at half a wage of 8,000 gives a full award of 16,000 riyals, and your share on resignation would be one third of that, i.e. about 5,300 riyals. It may therefore be worth working out how much time remains until you reach five years before making your decision.
There are cases in which the worker is entitled to the full award despite resigning, including leaving work due to force majeure, a female worker resigning within a specified period after marriage or childbirth, and a worker leaving because the employer has breached its essential obligations in the cases set out in the Law.
We advise you to submit your resignation in writing or through the Qiwa platform, observe the notice period in your contract, and keep a copy of the resignation, the contract and your payslips. If the company refuses to pay, submit an amicable settlement request through the Wudi platform of the Ministry of Human Resources (MHRSD); if settlement fails, the case is referred to the labour court and can be followed up through Najiz. Make sure to claim without delay, because the Law limits the hearing of labour claims to a specified period after the employment relationship ends, of around twelve months.
This calculation remains an estimate and may differ depending on the terms of the contract and the details of the wage. The KSA Lawyers team therefore recommends consulting a lawyer who specialises in labour cases to review your documents before resigning or making a claim.