Saudi Arabia holiday entitlement calculator (annual leave)

Under article 109 of the Saudi Labour Law a worker is entitled to at least 21 days of paid annual leave, rising to at least 30 days after five consecutive years with the same employer. For a part year, article 111 gives leave pay in proportion to the time spent at work, so six months at 21 days is 10.5.

Worked example · Days Entitled

With Consecutive years with this employer of 2, this model computes Days Entitled of 21. See the full working.

✓ Verified against 8 self-test cases Updated for 2026 · sources checked 2026-10-12

How annual leave in Saudi Arabia is calculated

*"A worker shall be entitled to a prepaid annual leave of not less than 21 days, to be increased to a period of not less than 30 days if the worker spends five consecutive years in the service of the employer."* Two figures and one boundary: **21 days, then 30 from the fifth completed year**.

**The word that matters is "consecutive".** The 30 days attach to five years in the service of *the* employer, so moving jobs restarts the count — someone with ten years in the Kingdom but two with their current employer is back on 21. Both figures are minimums, and many contracts give more.

**A part year is proportional.** Article 111 entitles a worker who leaves without using the leave to pay for it, *"for the parts of the year in proportion to the part he spent at work"*. The calculator applies that proportion by months: 21 × 6 ÷ 12 = 10.5 days.

**Days are applied as working days.** The law does not say which kind of day; HRSD has historically read annual leave as working days, and the standard contract template introduced with the 2025 amendments says so. Those amendments left articles 109–111 unchanged. Eid and other official holidays are separate (art. 112).

Worked example

ShowHide the full working: 3 inputs, 4 computed steps

A full year in the first five gives 21
Inputs
Consecutive years with this employer	2
Months worked in this leave year	12
Days already taken	0
Computed by the engine
Completed Years	2
Annual Entitlement	21
Days Entitled ✓ pinned	21
Days Remaining	21

Every computed row comes from the engine, run on the inputs above. Rows marked ✓ pinned are also fixed by a published self-test, so a change to the model that moved them would fail its own tests.

Frequently asked questions

How many days annual leave do you get in Saudi Arabia?

At least 21 days a year under article 109 of the Labour Law, increasing to at least 30 days once you have spent five consecutive years with the same employer.

When does annual leave increase to 30 days?

After five consecutive years in the service of the same employer. The count is per employer, so changing jobs starts it again.

Can my employer pay me instead of giving me leave?

Not while you are employed: article 109(2) says the worker may not forgo the leave or receive cash in lieu during the period of service. On leaving, article 111 entitles you to pay for the leave you have not used, including a proportion for a part year.

Are Eid holidays part of annual leave?

No. Article 112 gives full-pay leave on Eids and other occasions specified in the regulations, separately from annual leave.

Sources

Estimate. Not tax advice. The verification badge means the model reproduces the stated formula through 8 self-test cases; the sources support that the formula matches the rules.

Check the arithmetic yourself: how this calculator is verified — the formula behind every derived value, the 8 test cases the engine reproduces, and what the badge does and does not claim. Also available as machine-readable JSON.

Related calculators

UAE annual leave · Hong Kong paid annual leave · Italy ferie · Estonia põhipuhkus · South Korea 연차 유급휴가

Also for Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia end of service · Saudi Arabia registration · Saudi Arabia vat

All Saudi Arabia calculators · All calculators

Fork this model in the Valem sandbox →

Built with Valem — a live, verifiable calculator you can fork and embed.