Claiming end-of-service pay and unpaid salary after you’ve left Saudi Arabia

Can you claim end-of-service pay or unpaid salary from outside Saudi Arabia?

Usually, yes. A licensed Saudi lawyer can bring the claim for you under a power of attorney signed in your own country. You do not usually need to travel back for it.

Saudi online services need a Saudi login. These include the services of the labour ministry, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. They also include Najiz, the Ministry of Justice’s online platform for cases. So a former employee abroad usually works through a lawyer, who files the claim and follows each step.

You sign the power of attorney in front of a notary in your own country. It then needs an apostille or legalisation (official stamps) for use in Saudi Arabia. See power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad and which stamps your documents need, by country.

The wording matters too. The labour ministry’s service page sets out what a representative’s power of attorney must cover at the settlement stage. We draft the text with that in mind.

Saudi courts run most hearings electronically, so your lawyer can usually attend the labour court for you. For how hearings and filing work, see court cases in Saudi Arabia while you live abroad. Some matters may also need you, or another person you name, to be present in Saudi Arabia. We’ll tell you early if yours is one of them.

What can a former employee claim after leaving Saudi Arabia?

Usually, the money your employer still owed you when the job ended. That often means unpaid salary and the end-of-service award. This is a payment due to a worker when employment ends, worked out under the Labour Law.

Your contract, or the Labour Law, may give you other money as well. We check this against your contract and records once we agree to act.

The labour ministry publishes the Labour Law on its website, and the law sets how the end-of-service award is worked out. We don’t publish amounts or a calculator, because each result depends on the contract and the facts.

If you worked for a household rather than a company, other rules apply. Mention it in your first message.

What is the amicable settlement stage in a Saudi labour claim?

Amicable settlement is the first stage of a labour claim in Saudi Arabia, before any court. The labour ministry runs it and calls the service “friendly settlement”.

The claim is filed online with the ministry. Its service page asks for the employment contract, or other proof that you worked for the employer. The ministry then invites both sides to settlement sessions and tries to help them agree.

If the two sides agree, the claim can end there. If they do not, the ministry refers the claim to the labour court, a court that hears employment disputes. Your lawyer can attend the settlement sessions for you under your power of attorney.

Some people call this stage labour arbitration. The ministry describes it as mediation: it helps both sides try to agree, and the labour court decides if they do not.

What should you keep before you leave Saudi Arabia, if you are still there?

Keep copies of everything that shows your job and your pay, before you leave. Records can be harder to get once you are abroad.

• Your employment contract, and any changes to it.
• Your payslips.
• Bank statements that show your salary payments.
• Your resignation letter, or the letter that ended your job.
• Messages and emails with the employer about your pay.
• Your records on Qiwa (the labour ministry’s platform for employment contracts) and GOSI (the social-insurance body), if you can see them.

Read any final-settlement or clearance form before you sign it. If it says you have received everything owed and you have not, ask a lawyer before you sign.

Ask a lawyer whether to sign a power of attorney before you leave. Also check that nothing is open under your name, such as a case or a travel ban.

What if your employer reported you absent from work or cancelled your iqama?

Being reported absent from work affects your residency and your ability to change jobs. It can also matter in a pay claim, so mention it in your first message.

An absent-from-work report (once called “huroob”) is a status an employer can report when a worker is absent without a valid reason. Your iqama is the residence permit, and its ID number, held by a non-Saudi living in Saudi Arabia.

If your iqama was cancelled, or your employer filed a report or a complaint, tell us when and how you found out. A lawyer can tell you what applies in your case. If the employer has started a court case against you, see a case filed against you after you left Saudi Arabia.

Is it too late to claim after leaving Saudi Arabia?

It may not be. But labour claims in Saudi Arabia have time limits set by law, so don’t wait. A lawyer can check whether your claim can still be brought.

The labour ministry’s service page for friendly settlement sets out the time limit. Tell us when your job ended in your first message, so we can check this first.

How does a claim for unpaid pay from abroad usually work, step by step?

1. Gather what you have. That means your contract, payslips, bank statements and messages with the employer. Keep them ready, but don’t send them yet.

2. Send us a short outline, then agree the work and the fee in writing. Work starts only after you sign our engagement letter (our written agreement with you). See how we work with clients outside Saudi Arabia.

3. Sign a power of attorney in your country and have it stamped for use in Saudi Arabia. We draft the text for you to check before you sign. Where a lawyer helps: wording that covers the settlement stage and the court and, if you want it, lets the lawyer receive the money for you.

4. Let your lawyer file the claim with the labour ministry for amicable settlement. Your lawyer attends the settlement sessions for you and keeps you updated.

5. Take the claim to the labour court if there is no settlement. Your lawyer represents you there. Saudi courts run most hearings electronically.

6. Enforce the judgment if the employer still does not pay. A court judgment can be enforced through the Enforcement Court, the court that enforces judgments. See enforcement instruments explained.

7. Agree how the money reaches you. This follows what your power of attorney allows. We explain how it works before you sign.

What to prepare before you contact a lawyer

A short outline is enough for a first message. Have these details ready, and leave out ID and passport numbers.

• The employer’s full name and, if you have it, its commercial registration (CR) number. This is the number of its entry in the commercial register.
• Your job title, your start date and the date you left.
• What is still unpaid, for example salary for some months or your end-of-service award.
• How the job ended, in a few words: you resigned, the contract ended, or the employer ended it.
• Whether you left on a final exit visa, the permission a resident needs to leave Saudi Arabia for good.
• Whether you were reported absent from work, or a case was filed against you.
• The documents you hold, listed by name.

Keep them ready — don’t send them yet.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
• Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country
• How legal fees work in Saudi Arabia
• How to check for a travel ban or an open case in Saudi Arabia