Calculate Your Saudi End-of-Service Award: A Guide for Pakistani Workers

Short answer: Under Saudi Labor Law, your end-of-service award is half a month's wage for each of the first five years and one full month's wage for each year after that, worked out on your last wage. If you resign, you get one third, two thirds or the full award depending on your years of service. The employer must pay within one week of your contract ending.

Update, 11 October 2026: The Labor Law also sets annual leave of 21 to 30 days.

A Pakistani driver, technician or office worker who has spent eight years in the Kingdom can be owed more than SAR 16,000 at a SAR 3,000 wage. The numbers below come from Articles 84 to 88 of the Saudi Labor Law on the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) website. We worked the examples ourselves.

The award is half a month for five years, then a full month for each year

Article 84 sets the formula. For each of the first five years of service you earn half a month's wage. For every year after the fifth you earn one full month. Part years count in proportion to the time worked, and the sum uses your last wage.

The law defines "wage" as the actual wage. That is your basic wage plus the other due increments the law lists, such as allowances for effort or risk, commission, cost of living and family allowances, and grants or in-kind benefits written into your contract. Some of these count within limits the law sets, so do not calculate on the basic figure alone.

Article 86 lets the two sides agree to leave out some commissions and similar pay that rise and fall, so read your contract for such a clause.

Resigning cuts the award to one third, two thirds or the full amount

If you resign, Article 85 gives you one third of the award after at least two years of service, two thirds after more than five and less than ten years, and the full award after ten years or more. The article gives no share for resignation before two years.

The cut does not apply if the employer ends the contract or the contract expires. In those cases the full Article 84 award is due. Article 87 also gives the full award if you leave because of force majeure beyond your control, and to a woman who ends her contract within six months of marriage or three months of childbirth.

Worked examples show what a SAR 3,000 wage earns

At a last wage of SAR 3,000, a worker whose contract is ended after eight years is owed SAR 16,500. The first five years give SAR 7,500 and the next three give SAR 9,000. If the same worker resigns, two thirds applies, which is SAR 11,000.

The table uses whole years to keep the arithmetic clear. For part years, take the share of the year you worked. Seven years and six months at the same wage is SAR 7,500 plus 2.5 months, which is SAR 7,500 plus SAR 7,500, so SAR 15,000.

The employer must settle your dues within one week, or two if you resign

Article 88 says that when the employer ends the contract, wages and entitlements must be settled within one week. When you end it, the limit is two weeks. The employer may deduct any work-related debt you owe it from what it pays you.

Check the final settlement against your own sums before you sign anything. If you are leaving the country, do the sum before the final exit date, because chasing money from Pakistan is slower. A written statement of the award, with your wage and dates, is the best first paper to ask for.

1. Write down your start date and last day from your contract and iqama records.
2. Take your last monthly wage from the contract and payslips, including fixed allowances.
3. Apply Article 84: half a month for each of the first five years, a full month after that.
4. If you resign, apply the share from Article 85.
5. Ask the employer for a written settlement within one week, or two if you resigned.
6. If it is not paid, complain through the labour office, and ask the embassy for help. See how OPF recovers unpaid dues from abroad.

Pakistani workers need the contract and the iqama record to claim

Keep your signed contract, payslips and the dates of your iqama. If the claim reaches the embassy, those papers are the proof, so photograph them now.

If your employer is not paying you at all, the embassy's emergency numbers are listed in Pakistan's missions in Saudi Arabia. Workers who are reported absent should also read the 60 day rule for absent from work status, since that status changes your options.

Common questions

How is the Saudi end-of-service award calculated?

Half a month's wage for each of the first five years and one month for each later year, on your last wage, with part years counted in proportion.

Do I get the award if I resign?

Yes, but only after two years, and only one third until five years, two thirds up to ten years, and the full award from ten years.

Which wage counts, basic or total?

The law uses the actual wage, which is the basic wage plus the due increments and allowances it lists. Check your contract for what is included.

Is there an award if I am dismissed in probation?

No. Article 54 says that if the contract ends during probation, neither side owes compensation and the worker has no end-of-service award.

How soon must the employer pay?

Within one week if the employer ends the contract, and within two weeks if you end it, under Article 88.

Is the HRSD page the latest law?

The English copy on HRSD's website is the 2005 text of the Labor Law. Later amendments may change details, so confirm with HRSD or Qiwa before filing a claim.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 11 October 2026. We read Articles 2, 53, 54, 84 to 88 of the Saudi Labor Law, Royal Decree M/51, in the English copy hosted on the HRSD website. We did not compare it with later amendments, and the SAR figures are our own examples, not an official calculator.