Unpaid or Late Salary in Saudi Arabia: Your Rights and Next Steps

Your employer must pay on time

• Wages are paid in the local currency, into your bank account through banks approved in Saudi Arabia. Monthly-paid workers are paid once a month (Article 90).
• The employer may not withhold your wage, or any part of it, without a court order (Article 61(1)).
• The employer is bound by the wage agreed in the contract (Article 52).

What your employer may deduct

As a rule, nothing may be deducted from your wage for the employer's private claims without your written consent (Article 92). The law allows only listed exceptions, including:

• repayment of a loan from the employer, up to 10% of the wage;
• social insurance and other contributions required by law;
• fines for violations, and amounts for property the worker damaged;
• debts ordered by a court, up to a quarter of the wage per month unless the judgment says otherwise.

Total deductions may not exceed half of your wage. The labor court may allow more in specific cases, but never more than three-quarters (Article 93).

Deducting iqama or work permit fees from your salary is not one of the listed cases. These fees are the employer's cost (Article 40(1)).

What the labor court can order

If your wages are unpaid, or deducted for a reason the law does not allow, you can ask the labor court to order the employer to:

• return the amounts deducted; and
• pay the wages that are owed.

If the court finds the deduction or delay unjustified, it may also fine the employer up to double the amount concerned (Article 94).

Can you stop working and keep your rights?

Article 81 allows a worker to leave without notice where the employer fails to meet its essential contractual or statutory obligations, and paying the agreed wage is the most basic of these. Provided you can prove that ground, Article 81 preserves all your statutory rights. If you cannot, the employer may argue that you resigned or abandoned your job.

This matters for your end-of-service award. A worker who establishes an Article 81 case keeps his full rights. A worker who simply resigns gets the reduced amounts in Article 85.

Example: A technician with 3 years of service earns SAR 4,500 a month and has not been paid for 3 months.

• Unpaid wages: 3 × 4,500 = SAR 13,500
• Full end-of-service award: 3 × 2,250 = SAR 6,750
• If he had simply resigned instead, he would get only one-third of the award: SAR 2,250

Before you leave under Article 81, build the record. See Article 81: Leaving Your Job and Keeping Your Rights.

Step by step

1. Collect proof. Bank statements showing the months with no salary, your payslips, and your Qiwa contract.
2. Demand payment in writing. Send an email or WhatsApp message to HR and your manager, keep it factual, and keep a copy.
3. File for amicable settlement. Labor disputes start with amicable settlement at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. See How to File a Labor Complaint.
4. Go to the labor court if needed. If no settlement is reached, the case is referred to the labor court under the Ministry of Justice.
5. Watch the deadline. A claim filed more than 12 months after the employment relationship ends is not admissible, unless the court accepts an excuse or the employer acknowledges the right (Article 234(a)). See Time Limit for Labor Claims.

If your employment has ended, check the time limit for labor claims before delaying your unpaid salary claim.

For employers

If cash flow is a problem, do not deduct or delay without a lawful basis. Unpaid wages can give the employee grounds to leave under Article 81, and they expose the company to a court fine of up to double (Article 94).

Any agreed change to future pay must be properly documented. It cannot reach back to wages already earned. See Labor Law Support for Employers.