How to Resign in Saudi Arabia: Notice, Rules and End of Service Pay

To resign in Saudi Arabia, give your employer a written, unconditional resignation and 30 days' written notice (Labour Law Art. 75, as amended from 19 February 2025). Your employer can accept it, it counts as accepted if there is no reply within 30 days, and your employer can postpone acceptance by up to 60 days in writing (Art. 79 bis).

Resigning cuts your award (Art. 85; HRSD applies this to resignations generally) unless you have 10 years or one of the exceptions in Art. 87: nothing under 2 years, one third from 2 to 5 years, two thirds from over 5 to under 10 years, and the full award from 10 years (Art. 85). Your employer must pay your dues within 2 weeks when you end the contract (Art. 88).

Write your letter with the resignation letter generator, or compare the six Gulf countries.

Your resignation must be in writing, made freely, and without any condition (Art. 2, as amended). The request itself cannot name a deferred resignation date (Art. 79 bis); your Art. 75 notice still applies on an indefinite contract. If you resign, you are entitled to all rights the Labour Law gives you (Art. 79 bis).

The amended definition of resignation mentions fixed-term contracts, while the notice article covers indefinite contracts. If you are unsure which rule fits your contract, ask HRSD on 19911 (Arabic, English or Urdu).

For an indefinite contract where you are paid monthly, the worker gives at least 30 days' written notice and the employer at least 60 days' (Art. 75(1)). If you are not paid monthly, either side gives 30 days (Art. 75(2)). These notice figures changed on 19 February 2025: before that, the monthly-paid period was 60 days for both sides.

These notice periods are set for indefinite contracts. If you are on a fixed-term contract, check what your contract says about ending it early.

If you do not give the notice, you owe your employer compensation equal to your pay for the notice period, unless you both agree a bigger amount (Art. 76).

How acceptance works (Art. 79 bis)

• The resignation is treated as accepted if 30 days pass after you submit it with no reply.
• Your employer can postpone acceptance by up to 60 days if the work requires it, and must explain in writing before the 30 days run out.
• You can withdraw within 7 days of submitting, unless your employer accepts first.
• Your contract stays valid while the request is pending, and ends on acceptance, after 30 days with no response, or when the postponement ends.

Probation can last up to 180 days in total (Art. 53, as amended). Either side may end the contract during it. If the contract ends during probation, neither side is owed compensation and the worker is not owed an end of service award (Art. 54). Eid holidays, National Day, Founding Day and sick leave do not count toward probation, according to HRSD's guide.

Once probation is over, the notice and award rules on this page apply.

The award is half a month's wage for each of the first five years and a full month's wage for each year after, on your last wage (Art. 84). When you resign, only part of it is paid (Art. 85):

• Under 2 years: nothing.
• 2 years to 5 years (5.0 included): one third.
• Over 5 years to under 10 years: two thirds.
• 10 years or more: the full award.

Example on a fixed monthly pay of SAR 8,000 (SAR 6,000 basic, 1,500 housing, 500 transport):

At exactly 5 years you are still in the one-third band, because the law says two thirds applies when service is "in excess of five" years. Qiwa's calculator can show a lower figure in the sixth year than the law text gives. This page and the KSA calculator follow the law text.

Full award even if you resign: if you leave because of a force majeure beyond your control, or, for a woman, within 6 months of marriage or 3 months of giving birth (Art. 87).

More detail: the resignation reduction rule.

A worker may leave without notice and keep all statutory rights in these cases (Art. 81):

• The employer fails to meet its essential contractual or legal obligations.
• The employer used fraud when hiring you.
• You are made to do work that is essentially different from what was agreed.
• You suffer a violent assault or an immoral act.
• You suffer cruelty, injustice or insult.
• There is a serious hazard to your safety or health.
• The employer pushes you to appear as the party ending the contract.

Outside these cases, leaving without notice means paying compensation equal to your pay for the notice period (Art. 76). If you are unsure, ask HRSD on 19911 before you leave.

Your employer must settle your dues within one week of the end of the contract, or within two weeks when the worker ends the contract (Art. 88). If you resigned, that is two weeks.

• Friendly settlement first. A labour dispute starts with HRSD's free friendly settlement service (the Wedi platform in the Ministry's services portal). If it is not settled, the case is referred to the labour court within 21 working days of the first lawsuit.
• Deadline. File within 12 months of the end of the employment relationship (Art. 234 in HRSD's English text).
• Court costs. Workers are not charged judicial costs when claiming entitlements arising from their employment contract (Judicial Costs Law, Art. 17).

More: how to file a complaint in Saudi Arabia and how to claim your EOSB.

Keep it short. The Saudi resignation letter generator writes one for you.

• A written breakdown of your award, leave balance and wages, so you can check it with the settlement checker or the KSA calculator.
• Exit paperwork. Follow the Saudi leaving checklist.
• Your letters. See clearance and experience letters.