Resignation Under Saudi Labour Law 2025 — Notice, Employer Response & Qiwa

Resignation under the Saudi Labour Law after the 2025 amendments

Short answer

Since the Labour Law amendments took effect on 19 February 2025, resignation follows a set process. The employee submits a written resignation through Qiwa; the employer has 30 days to accept, postpone or reject it, and silence counts as acceptance; acceptance can be postponed by up to 60 days for business reasons with written reasons; and the employee may withdraw within 7 days unless the employer has already accepted.

Updated 27 October 2026

2 min read

Key points

Resignation is a written declaration, made without coercion, of the wish to end the contract.

It is submitted through Qiwa and cannot be future-dated.

The employer must respond within 30 days; silence means acceptance.

Acceptance can be postponed by up to 60 days, with written reasons given before the 30 days end.

The employee can withdraw within 7 days unless the employer has accepted.

The legal basis

The amendments were made by Royal Decree M/44, published in the official gazette on 23 August 2024, with updated Implementing Regulations, and took effect on 19 February 2025. They defined resignation in Article 2, recognised resignation as a way of ending a fixed-term contract in Article 74, and set out the process in a new provision following Article 79.

The process step by step

The employee submits a written resignation through Qiwa. It takes effect as a request immediately; a resignation dated for the future is not valid.
The employee keeps working while the employer considers it.
The employer responds within 30 days. It can accept, reject, or postpone acceptance.
Postponement. For work-related reasons, acceptance can be postponed by up to 60 days. The employer must give written, reasoned notice before the initial 30 days end.
Silence means acceptance. If the employer does not respond within 30 days, the resignation is treated as accepted.
Withdrawal. The employee may withdraw within 7 days of submitting, unless the employer has already accepted.

When employment ends

The contract ends on the date the employer accepts, 30 days after submission if there is no response, or at the end of a valid postponement. That date matters because it fixes the length of service used to calculate the end-of-service award.

What employers should do

Make sure managers know resignations must go through Qiwa, not just by email.
Diarise the 30-day deadline for every resignation received.
If you need to postpone, give written reasons in time.
Calculate the end-of-service award using the correct end date and the resignation rules.

Questions clients ask

Does an employee have to give notice when resigning in Saudi Arabia?

Under the 2025 process, the resignation itself cannot carry a future date. The employee keeps working while the employer considers it, and the employment ends on acceptance, after 30 days without a response, or at the end of a permitted postponement. Notice provisions in the contract and the law should be checked for the specific case.

Can an employer refuse a resignation?

The employer can accept, postpone acceptance for business reasons for up to 60 days, or reject it, and should record its decision on Qiwa. Rejection does not trap an employee indefinitely; the right course depends on the contract and circumstances, so take advice before relying on a refusal.

How does resignation affect the end-of-service award?

An employee who resigns receives a reduced award — nothing for under two years' service, one third for two to five years, two thirds for five to ten years, and the full award for ten years or more — subject to exceptions such as resignation for force majeure.