What are the legal working hours in Saudi Arabia, and when can pay be deducted for lateness?
Working hours in Saudi Arabia for private-sector employees are capped by Article 98 of the Saudi Labor Law at 8 actual hours a day or 48 a week, falling to 6 hours a day or 36 a week for Muslim workers in Ramadan. You cannot work more than 5 hours in a row without a break of at least 30 minutes, you get at least one paid rest day a week, and overtime is paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage.
The Law gives no grace period for lateness. Lateness penalties and deductions must come from the establishment’s work regulations, which follow the official model issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), and they are capped by Articles 70, 92 and 93. This guide follows the HRSD English text of the Labor Law (Royal Decree No. M/51) and its Implementing Regulations as they stand in November 2026, after the amendments in force since 19 February 2025.
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Table of Contents
Working hours in Saudi Arabia at a glance
Under the Saudi Labor Law, a private-sector worker may not actually work more than 8 hours a day (daily standard) or 48 hours a week (weekly standard), or 6 hours a day or 36 a week for Muslims in Ramadan. Breaks of at least 30 minutes are not counted as work, Friday is the default paid rest day, and overtime earns the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage.
| Rule | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Normal hours | Max 8 actual hours a day (daily standard) or 48 a week (weekly standard) | Article 98 |
| Ramadan (Muslim workers) | Max 6 hours a day or 36 a week | Article 98 |
| Longer or shorter days | Up to 9 hours for some categories; down to 7 hours for hazardous jobs, by ministerial resolution | Article 99 |
| Shift work | Can exceed 8/48 with HRSD approval if the average over 3 weeks or less stays within 8/48 | Article 100 |
| Breaks | No more than 5 hours in a row without a break of at least 30 minutes; breaks are not working time | Articles 101–102 |
| Time at the workplace | No more than 12 hours in one day | Article 101 |
| Weekly rest | At least 24 consecutive hours on full pay, Friday by default | Article 104 |
| Overtime pay | Hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage, or paid time off with the worker’s consent | Article 107 |
| Annual overtime cap | 720 hours a year, more only with the worker’s consent | Implementing Regulations, Article 22 |
| Grace period for lateness | None in the Law | Work regulations decide the penalty |
Some jobs and sectors have their own limits, explained below.
Daily and weekly limits under Article 98
Article 98 lets the employer choose one of two standards. Under the daily standard, no worker may be employed for more than 8 actual working hours a day. Under the weekly standard, the cap is 48 hours a week, so a company can, for example, spread 48 hours over five or six days as long as the other rules on breaks and time at the workplace are respected. Saudi labour law working hours are set by the Labor Law, and the daily and weekly limits below apply to most private-sector employees.
“Actual” hours means time spent working. Rest, prayer and meal breaks are excluded by Article 102. The Law sets maximums, not a minimum: there is no general rule that a working day must last at least six hours. The hours you must work are those in your employment contract and the work regulations, within these caps.
Working hours in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan
For Muslim workers, actual working hours in Ramadan must not exceed 6 hours a day or 36 hours a week (Article 98, second paragraph). The reduction in the Law is stated for Muslims; an employer may choose to reduce hours for other staff too, but the Law does not require it.
Jobs with different hour limits
- 9 or 7 hours a day (Article 99): a ministerial resolution may allow 9 hours for jobs where the work is not continuous, and require 7 hours in hazardous or harmful jobs.
- Shift work (Article 100): with HRSD approval, daily or weekly hours may go above 8/48 if the average over three weeks or less does not.
- Exempt roles (Article 108): Articles 98 and 101 do not apply to senior managers who hold employer-like authority, to preparatory and supplementary tasks, to work that is intermittent by nature, or to guards and cleaners (civil security guards excluded).
- Limits for those roles (Implementing Regulations, Article 23): preparatory and supplementary tasks may add no more than 30 minutes a day (15 before, 15 after); intermittent work is capped at 10 actual hours a day (8 in Ramadan); guards and cleaners at 12 hours a day (10 in Ramadan). For intermittent work, guards and cleaners the week stays at 48 hours, or 36 for Muslims in Ramadan, and anything beyond counts as overtime.
Breaks and maximum time at the workplace
Article 101 requires hours to be organised so that no one works more than five consecutive hours without a break for rest, prayer and meals of at least half an hour, and so that no one stays at the workplace for more than twelve hours in one day.
Under Article 102, break time is not part of working hours, the worker is not under the employer’s authority during it, and the employer cannot require the worker to stay on the premises. Where work must run without a stop for technical reasons, Article 103 lets the Minister list those cases, and the employer must still give time for prayer, meals and rest during working hours.
Weekly rest day and public holidays
Under Article 104, Friday is the weekly rest day for all workers. The employer may replace it with another day for some workers after notifying the competent Labor Office, and must let them perform their religious duties. The rest day is on full pay, lasts at least 24 consecutive hours, and cannot be replaced by money. In remote areas or continuous operations, Article 105 allows rest days to be accumulated for up to eight weeks if the worker agrees and HRSD approves.
The Law requires one weekly rest day, not two. Many private employers give Friday and Saturday off, but that comes from the contract or company policy. So whether Saturday is a working day depends on your contract and the work regulations.
Paid public holidays for the private sector are set by Article 24 of the Implementing Regulations:
| Holiday | Paid days | When |
|---|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr | 4 days | From the day after 29 Ramadan (Umm Al-Qura calendar) |
| Eid al-Adha | 4 days | From the Day of Arafah |
| National Day | 1 day | First day of Libra (Umm Al-Qura calendar) |
| Founding Day | 1 day | 22 February |
If a holiday falls on the weekly rest day, the worker gets an equivalent day before or after it. Every hour worked on a holiday counts as overtime under Article 107.
Overtime in Saudi Arabia: rate, caps and time off in lieu
Article 107 obliges the employer to pay overtime equal to the hourly wage plus 50% of the worker’s basic wage. Under a weekly standard, hours above the adopted weekly hours are overtime, and all hours worked on holidays and official vacations are overtime. Since the 2025 amendments, the employer may, with the worker’s consent, give paid compensatory leave instead of overtime pay.
How to calculate overtime pay
The Labor Law defines “wage” as the actual wage: the basic wage plus other increments due, such as allowances in the contract. That is why the formula has two parts. Assuming a contract of 8 hours a day and a 30-day month:
- Hourly wage = actual monthly wage ÷ 30 ÷ 8.
- Half of the basic hourly wage = basic monthly wage ÷ 30 ÷ 8 × 50%.
- Overtime rate per hour = step 1 + step 2. Multiply by the overtime hours.
| Example | Basic / actual monthly wage | Hourly wage | 50% of basic hourly | Rate per overtime hour | Overtime due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: 10 hours | SAR 6,000 / SAR 8,000 | SAR 33.33 | SAR 12.50 | SAR 45.83 | SAR 458.33 |
| B: 20 hours | SAR 4,000 / SAR 5,000 | SAR 20.83 | SAR 8.33 | SAR 29.17 | SAR 583.33 |
| C: 6 hours | SAR 10,000 / SAR 13,500 | SAR 56.25 | SAR 20.83 | SAR 77.08 | SAR 462.50 |
The wage figures are examples only. If your contract sets fewer daily hours or a different month length, the hourly wage changes, so check the contract first. Which allowances count in the actual wage depends on how the contract and work regulations describe them.
Overtime limits
- Annual cap: overtime may not exceed 720 hours a year; more is allowed only with the worker’s consent (Implementing Regulations, Article 22).
- Exceptional cases (Article 106): the employer may go beyond Articles 98 and 101 and the Friday rule for annual inventory, budgets, liquidation and seasonal preparation (no more than 30 days a year), to prevent or repair a dangerous accident or loss of perishable goods, to meet unusual work pressure, and for holidays and seasons set by the Minister. Even then, actual hours may not exceed 10 a day or 60 a week.
Compensatory leave instead of overtime pay
Article 22 bis of the Implementing Regulations sets the rules when the worker agrees to time off instead of cash:
- the agreement states the overtime assignment and the leave, which may not be less than one and a half hours of leave for each hour of overtime;
- the employer may set when the leave is taken within 60 days of the overtime, unless agreed otherwise;
- compensatory leave may not exceed 30 days in a year;
- a worker who leaves before using it is paid for it.
Attendance systems: is fingerprint attendance mandatory?
No. The Labor Law does not require any particular attendance tool. Articles 12 and 13 oblige every employer to prepare work regulations based on HRSD’s unified template, covering work organisation, violations and disciplinary penalties, and to announce them and any amendments in a visible place or by any means that ensures workers know their content. An employer may add rules, but they cannot conflict with the Law or its Implementing Regulations.
Establishments record attendance in different ways:
- paper registers;
- electronic cards;
- fingerprint or face-recognition devices;
- HR apps and digital systems.
What matters legally is not the device but whether the records are accurate and the policy is clear, announced and consistent with the Law.
Lateness under the Saudi Labor Law: is there a grace period?
There is no legal grace period of 5, 10 or 15 minutes. A worker who arrives after the start time set in the contract and work regulations, without permission or an acceptable excuse, is late. The official violations table annexed to the Implementing Regulations has a category for lateness “up to 15 minutes”, but that is a penalty band, not free time.
The table below is from the violations and penalties schedule in HRSD’s model work regulations (Annex 1 to the Implementing Regulations). Percentages are of the daily wage. A company may replace a listed penalty with a lighter one, but not a heavier one.
| Violation (no permission or acceptable excuse) | 1st time | 2nd time | 3rd time | 4th time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late up to 15 minutes, no disruption to other workers | Written warning | 5% | 10% | 20% |
| Late up to 15 minutes, disrupting other workers | Written warning | 15% | 25% | 50% |
| Late 15 to 30 minutes, no disruption | 10% | 15% | 25% | 50% |
| Late 15 to 30 minutes, with disruption | 25% | 50% | 75% | 1 day |
| Late 30 to 60 minutes, no disruption | 25% | 50% | 75% | 1 day |
| Late 30 to 60 minutes, with disruption (plus wage for the minutes late) | 30% | 50% | 1 day | 2 days |
| Late more than one hour (plus wage for the hours late) | Written warning | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
| Leaving early, up to 15 minutes (plus wage for the time missed) | Written warning | 10% | 25% | 1 day |
| Leaving early, more than 15 minutes (plus wage for the time missed) | 10% | 25% | 50% | 1 day |
| Staying or returning after hours without prior permission | Written warning | 10% | 25% | 1 day |
Repeats only escalate within 180 days. Under Article 68, a penalty may not be increased for a repeated violation if 180 days have passed since the worker was notified of the penalty for the previous one.
Worked example: a lateness fine
A worker earns SAR 9,000 a month, so the daily wage is SAR 300 (9,000 ÷ 30). He arrives 45 minutes late without permission, delaying a colleague, and it is his second such violation within 180 days. The table gives 50% of the daily wage (SAR 150) plus the wage for the 45 minutes (SAR 300 ÷ 8 × 0.75 = about SAR 28), so about SAR 178 in total. A first lateness of 20 minutes with no disruption would be 10%, or SAR 30.
Leaving early
The Law gives no right to leave a quarter of an hour before the end of the day. Leaving without permission or an acceptable excuse is a violation under the table above. If the company has a written permission or early-leave policy and you follow it, the policy applies as long as it complies with the Law.
Deductions from salary: what the employer may and may not do
Two different things often appear on the same payslip: the wage for time not worked (minutes or days of absence), and a disciplinary fine. Both must follow the Law. Article 92 bans any deduction for private rights without the worker’s written consent, except in listed cases, and Article 93 caps the total.
| Deduction | Legal limit | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Fines for violations (including lateness) | No more than 5 days’ wage for one violation, and no more than 5 days’ wage deducted in any one month | Articles 70 and 92 |
| Suspension without pay | No more than 5 days a month | Article 70 |
| Damage to the employer’s equipment or products caused by the worker’s fault | No more than 5 days’ wage a month; either side may go to the Labor Court within 15 working days | Article 91 |
| Repayment of a loan from the employer | No more than 10% of the wage | Article 92 |
| Social insurance and other contributions required by law | As set by the relevant law | Article 92 |
| Savings fund and employer housing scheme instalments | As agreed under the scheme | Article 92 |
| Debt under a court judgment | No more than a quarter of the wage a month, unless the judgment says otherwise | Article 92 |
| All deductions together | No more than half of the wage due, unless the Labor Court allows more | Article 93 |
Fines are not the employer’s income. Article 73 requires them to be recorded in a special register and used for the benefit of the workers, as decided by the workers’ committee or, if there is none, with HRSD approval.
Under Article 94, if an amount is deducted for a reason not allowed by the Law and without written consent, the worker, a representative or the Labor Office can ask the Labor Court to order its return. If the court finds the deduction unjustified, it may fine the employer up to double the amount deducted.
What the employer must do before imposing a penalty
- Only listed penalties (Articles 66–67): warning, fine, withholding or delaying a periodic bonus or a promotion for up to a year, suspension without pay, or dismissal in the cases set by the Law. No penalty outside the Law or the work regulations.
- Written charge and investigation (Article 71): the worker must be told in writing what he is accused of, questioned, and allowed to defend himself, with a record placed in his file. For minor violations punished by a warning or a fine of no more than one day’s wage, the questioning may be oral but must still be recorded.
- Time limits (Article 69): no charge for a violation discovered more than 30 days earlier, and no penalty more than 30 days after the investigation ends.
- One penalty per violation (Article 70), and none for conduct outside work unless it relates to the work, the employer or the manager.
- Written notice of the decision (Article 72): if the worker refuses it or is absent, it is sent by registered mail to the address in his file.
Unexcused absence is handled in the same table, with deduction of the wage for the days missed. Repeated absence can lead to dismissal without award under Article 80 of the Saudi Labor Law: more than 30 days in one contract year, or more than 15 consecutive days, after a written warning at 20 days or 10 days respectively.
How to dispute a lateness penalty or an unlawful deduction
- Collect your evidence. Download your attendance log, permission requests and approvals, emails or chats with HR, and anything showing a device fault or missing punch. Ask for a copy of the work regulations and the penalty decision.
- Check the decision. Is the penalty in the table or the regulations? Was it escalated within 180 days? Were you notified in writing and investigated? Is the fine within 5 days’ wage?
- File a written grievance with the employer within 30 days, excluding official holidays, from the date you were notified (Article 72). The employer must decide within 15 days.
- Go to the Labor Court within 30 days, excluding official holidays, from the rejection or from the end of the 15-day period, whichever comes first (Article 72).
- For an unlawful deduction or unpaid overtime, file through HRSD’s Friendly Settlement for Labor Disputes service, which is free. If no settlement is reached within 21 working days, the case is referred to the Labour Court in Saudi Arabia, which can order a refund under Article 94. A labor office lawyer can represent you at the settlement stage.
- Watch the general deadline. A labor claim is not heard after 12 months from the end of the employment relationship (Article 234 in HRSD’s English text).
Common reasons attendance deductions are challenged
- The penalty is not in the work regulations or is heavier than the table allows.
- The regulations were never announced to the workers.
- No written charge, investigation or record before a fine above one day’s wage.
- Fines in one month exceed 5 days’ wage, or one violation is punished twice.
- The record ignores an approved permission or a documented fingerprint fault.
- The penalty was imposed more than 30 days after the investigation ended.
Can the employer change your working hours?
The employer can organise working times to suit the business, but within the employment contract, the work regulations and the Law, and changes to the regulations must be announced to workers (Article 13). If the change affects a term agreed in your contract, or substantially changes your rights or duties, it should be assessed against the contract and the type of change; the employer does not have unlimited freedom. Replacing Friday as the rest day also requires notice to the Labor Office (Article 104). An employment contract lawyer can check whether a new schedule is consistent with your contract.
Frequently Asked Questions about working hours in Saudi Arabia
In short, working hours in Saudi Arabia follow clear limits: 8 hours a day or 48 a week, 6 or 36 for Muslims in Ramadan, a 30-minute break after 5 hours, a paid weekly rest day, and overtime at the hourly wage plus half the basic wage. Lateness and deductions are governed by your work regulations, within the caps in Articles 70, 92 and 93.
If a penalty or deduction looks wrong, act within the 30-day grievance period under Article 72 and keep your attendance records. A lawyer can review the regulations and the decision with you, in Jeddah or through online legal consultations.
To get a legal consultation from our team, contact us via the WhatsApp button at the bottom of the screen.
Read also:
Sources: (checked on 4 November 2026)
- Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers: Labor Law (Royal Decree No. M/51)
- HRSD, Labor Law English text: Articles 1–21 (definitions, Articles 12 and 13), Articles 50–88 (Articles 66–73 and 80), Articles 89–118 (Articles 91–94 and 98–108)
- HRSD: Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law and annexes (Arabic PDF): Articles 22, 22 bis, 23 and 24, and Annex 1 (model work regulations and violations table)
- HRSD: Guide to the Labor Law amendments (Arabic, Article 107)
- HRSD Knowledge Centre: Actual working hours
- HRSD: Friendly Settlement for Labor Disputes
A legal advisor holding a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the prestigious Cairo University. He possesses extensive experience spanning over 25 years in criminal, civil, and family law, during which he has achieved notable accomplishments that have solidified his reputation as a valuable asset to any legal team
