RIYADH — The decision to raise the minimum salary of all Saudi employees in the private sector to SR4,000 from SR3,000 will come into force from Sunday, April 25. Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi issued in November 2020 an order to raise the salary of Saudis under the "Nitaqat" Saudization program. According to the order, a Saudi worker with a minimum salary of SR4,000 will be calculated as one worker in the Nitaqat program. Earlier, the minimum salary was SR3,000 for the calculation of one Saudi worker. Under the new directive, a Saudi worker whose monthly wage is less than SR4,000 and more than SR3,000 will be calculated as half a worker. Only two Saudi employees with a minimum salary of SR3,000 will be calculated as one worker. Part-time employees will also be calculated in the Nitaqat program as half of a Saudi worker provided that contributions in General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) are paid for him with a minimum monthly wage of SR3,000. A part-time worker is calculated as half a worker for a minimum of two entities. The ministry launched the Nitaqat program in November 2014 as an initiative to evaluate establishments in the Kingdom in accordance with the number of Saudis working in these firms. The decision includes all workers in the private sector. Part time Saudis who work under the flexible work system will be calculated under Nitaqat as one-third of a Saudi worker for the entity he works for, on the condition that he should complete a total of 168 work hours and pay GOSI contributions. Taking into account the ministerial decisions regarding flexible work, the decision includes Saudi students residing in the Kingdom who regularly work part-time, permanent part-time workers, and workers in the flexible work system. Under the flexible work system, the employer is not obligated to compensate annual leave, special events or end of service benefits. Workers are not subjected to a probationary period. Work will be calculated hourly and wages will be paid accordingly on a monthly basis.
