Annual and sick leave: how much is your employee actually entitled to?
Author: HRFirst editorial and review · Reviewer: HRFirst editorial and review · Published: 2026-08-27 · Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Your employee asks for leave, or is absent with a medical report, and the question that stops you for a moment arrives: how many days are they entitled to? And is it paid in full, or only in part? The answer is not a guess — it has clear rules under the labour law. Anyone who knows them can schedule their team's leave with confidence, while anyone who improvises opens the door to disputes and later claims at the end of employment.
Annual leave: 21 days, and when does it become 30?
An employee is entitled to annual leave of no less than 21 days for each year of service. It rises to no less than 30 days if they have completed five consecutive years with the same employer. The leave is paid, and the wage is disbursed in advance before it starts. The figure is a minimum, not a ceiling.
Rules that are often overlooked, and cost money at the end of employment
- It is not permissible to waive leave or exchange it for a cash payment while employment continues; a cash payment applies only at the end of the relationship, for the unused balance.
- The right to set the leave date belongs to the employer, according to work requirements, with sufficient notice given to the employee.
- The accrued balance is calculated at the end of employment, so neglecting to track it throughout the year turns into a surprise amount.
Sick leave: three stages with a scaling wage
When an employee falls ill with an approved medical report, they are entitled during a single year to a total of 120 days, spread over three stages.
- The first 30 days at full wage.
- The following 60 days at three-quarters of the wage.
- The last 30 days without pay.
A practical example
An employee on a salary of 8,000 riyals needed 100 days of sick leave during the year: the first 30 days at full wage, then 60 days at three-quarters of the wage, then 10 days within the final 30-day, unpaid tier. A common mistake is calculating the middle stage at half the wage, when the correct figure is three-quarters.
Common mistakes among business owners
- Not tracking the leave balance throughout the year, so the employer is caught off guard by a large amount owed when the employee leaves.
- Calculating the middle stage of sick leave at half the wage instead of three-quarters.
- Exchanging annual leave for a cash payment during employment, which is not permitted.
- Confusing calendar days with working days when calculating the balance.
Key takeaway
21 days a year rising to 30 after five years, and sick leave of 120 days at a scaling wage: 30 in full, 60 at three-quarters, 30 unpaid.
أسئلة شائعة
- كم يوم إجازة سنوية يستحق الموظف؟
- لا تقل عن 21 يومًا سنويًا، وترتفع إلى ما لا يقل عن 30 يومًا بعد خمس سنوات خدمة متصلة.
- هل تُدفع الإجازة السنوية مقدمًا؟
- نعم، أجر الإجازة يُصرف قبل بدئها.
- كيف تُحسب الإجازة المرضية بأجر؟
- أول 30 يومًا بأجر كامل، ثم 60 يومًا بثلاثة أرباع الأجر، ثم 30 يومًا بلا أجر، خلال السنة الواحدة وبتقرير طبي معتمد.
- هل يمكن استبدال الإجازة السنوية بمبلغ أثناء العمل؟
- لا يجوز النزول عنها أو أخذ بدل نقدي عنها أثناء استمرار الخدمة. البدل يكون عن الرصيد المتبقي عند انتهاء العلاقة.
هذا المقال للتوعية. للحالات الخاصة، ارجع لنص نظام العمل الرسمي أو استعن بمختص.
Author
HRFirst editorial and review HR operations editorial and review. HR operations content at HRFirst is written and passes a specialist professional review before publication, grounded in the reality of Saudi small and mid-sized companies.