Maternity Leave in Saudi Arabia: Entitlement, Pay and Employer Duties

Maternity leave in Saudi Arabia is the paid leave a female employee takes around the birth of her child. Under the Labor Law amendments that took effect in 2025, it lasts 12 weeks with full pay. The employer pays the wage throughout, may not dismiss the employee while she is on leave, and takes her back into her job when the leave ends. This guide covers who is entitled, how the leave is requested and calculated, how HR should record it, and the mistakes employers make most often.

What maternity leave is

Maternity leave is a right the Labor Law gives to working women so they can give birth, recover and care for a newborn without losing their job or their income. It stands on its own: it is not taken from annual leave, it is not sick leave, and it is not unpaid leave. An employer cannot replace it with any of these, even with the employee’s agreement, because the Labor Law does not allow a contract to reduce the rights it grants.

Before 2025, the Labor Law set a shorter leave period, and many company policies still reflect it. The amendments replaced that rule, so any policy, offer letter or employee handbook written earlier should be checked and updated. The current text also explains how the 12 weeks are divided between the time before the expected date of birth and the time after it, and when the leave can be extended. Those details affect planning, so read them in the current Labor Law text on the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development rather than in older summaries.

Who is entitled to maternity leave

The right belongs to female workers covered by the Labor Law, which includes most employees of private-sector companies in the Kingdom.

• Saudi and non-Saudi employees. The Labor Law gives the right to working women without distinguishing by nationality.
• Fixed-term and open-ended contracts. The type of contract does not remove the entitlement.
• Better terms are allowed. An employer may give more than the law requires, such as extra paid weeks, but never less.

Women employed by government bodies, and domestic workers, are covered by separate rules, so check the regulations that apply to them. If you are unsure whether a condition in the current text affects a particular employee, such as a recent hire, check the text or take advice before you decide.

How to request maternity leave

The Labor Law sets the right, and the company’s own procedure sets the paperwork. A clear request usually runs like this:

1. Inform the employer early. The employee tells her manager and HR about the pregnancy and the expected date of birth, so the team can arrange cover in good time.
2. Provide a medical report. A report from a recognized health provider stating the expected date of birth is the basis for the leave. HR keeps a copy in the personnel file.
3. Agree the dates in writing. HR and the employee set the first day of leave and the expected return date, following the rules in the current text on placing the weeks around the birth. HR confirms them in a written approval.
4. Update the file after the birth. The employee sends the birth notification or a medical report with the actual date of birth, and HR adjusts the dates if the rules on the period after birth require it.
5. Confirm the return. Shortly before the leave ends, HR confirms the return date and any arrangements for her first weeks back.

The employer’s duties

• Pay the full wage. The employee receives her full pay for all 12 weeks. Under the Labor Law this is the employer’s obligation, paid through normal payroll.
• No dismissal during the leave. The employer must not end her contract or give her notice of dismissal while she is on maternity leave. The law also protects her against dismissal during an illness proven to result from pregnancy or birth, within the limits the text sets.
• Return to work. When the leave ends, she returns to her job. Moving her to a lesser role or reducing her pay because she took the leave invites a dispute and can breach the law.
• Nursing time after the return. The Labor Law gives a nursing mother rest periods for nursing during working hours after she comes back. Check the current text for their length and for how long they apply.
• Contract benefits continue. The contract stays in force during the leave, so benefits such as medical insurance continue as the contract provides.

How to calculate maternity leave

Many people search for how maternity leave is calculated. The calculation is simple once the first day is fixed:

1. Take the first day of leave from the written approval.
2. Count 12 full calendar weeks from that day. The leave is measured in weeks, so the weekly rest days inside the period are part of it.
3. The day after the last day of the twelfth week is the return date, or the next working day if it falls on a rest day.
4. Check the result against the rules on the period after birth. If the birth came earlier or later than expected, the current text decides whether the dates move.

The current text also sets how official holidays that fall inside the leave are treated, and when the leave can be extended. Write the final dates in the approval so that payroll, the manager and the employee all work from the same calendar.

How HR records maternity leave

• Use a separate leave type. Record it as maternity leave in the HR system, never as annual, sick or unpaid leave, so that balances and reports stay correct.
• Keep the documents together. The medical report, the written approval, the birth notification and any change of dates belong in her file.
• Keep payroll unchanged. Her wage continues as normal. The payroll file submitted for wage protection through Mudad should show her usual wage; a drop would look like a pay cut.
• Leave her annual leave balance alone. No days are deducted from it because of maternity leave.
• Keep the contract active. The contract recorded on Qiwa stays in force; maternity leave neither ends nor suspends it.
• Update the written policy. The work regulations and the employee handbook should state the current length and pay, in line with the amended Labor Law.

Common mistakes

• Using an old policy. Applying the rules that existed before 2025 means giving fewer paid weeks than the law now requires.
• Deducting it from annual leave. Maternity leave is a separate right.
• Paying part of the wage. Paying only the basic wage, or a fraction of the wage, when the law requires full pay. If you are unsure which elements full pay covers under your contracts, check before payroll runs, not after.
• Waiting for someone else to pay. The wage during maternity leave is paid by the employer. Holding it back while waiting for a reimbursement leaves the employee unpaid.
• Dismissal or warnings during the leave. Sending a dismissal notice or a final warning while she is on leave breaches the employer’s duty.
• Pressure to come back early. Asking the employee to cut the leave short, or to work from home during it, undermines the right and creates evidence for any later dispute.
• Missing paperwork. Without the medical report and a written approval, it is hard to show that the leave was handled correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps for employers

Review your leave policy, payroll set-up and dismissal procedures against the amended Labor Law, and make sure line managers know the rules before the next request arrives. Innovant’s HR advisors can help you review the policy and set up the records.

Related reading: Work Injury in Saudi Arabia: GOSI Coverage and Employer Duties

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