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The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development issued a ministerial order reorganising labour-law violations into activity-based categories to deliver clearer guidance for employers and employees alike. The order, which took effect immediately on February 25, 2026, aligns with prior royal decrees that amended the labour law and its implementing regulations. According to the ministry, the reclassification forms part of ongoing reviews aimed at improving regulatory clarity across different economic activities.
The ministerial order’s updated schedule listed 10 distinct categories of violations ranging from general infractions applicable to all establishments to specialised rules for particular industries. These included mining and quarrying operations, maritime employment contracts, operations and maintenance, human-resources and recruitment companies, recruitment offices, domestic-worker regulations, support-services advertising, unlicensed employment and outsourcing, together with provisions for agricultural workers and private shepherds. The structure groups related infractions to simplify compliance and enforcement processes for businesses operating in Saudi Arabia.
Human Resources and Social Development Ministry data from the first quarter of 2025 placed the overall labour force participation rate at 68.2 percent, with the Saudi national rate standing at 51.3 percent. Female participation has more than doubled since 2017 to reach 36.3 percent, exceeding targets set under the Vision 2030 programme, a World Bank assessment found. More than 2.48 million Saudi nationals have entered private-sector employment since 2020, the ministry reported.
Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi issued the decision that introduced the revised violation schedule. In an accompanying statement the ministry indicated the changes would strengthen labour-market stability, protect worker rights and make the work environment more attractive and flexible. Sadia Farooq, an expert in employment law at Pinsent Masons, said the revised schedule of Labour Law violations represents a decisive shift toward greater transparency, accountability and governance within the Saudi labour market.
The revisions have also adjusted penalty levels, with increases applied to offences involving unlawful hiring, inadequate documentation and breaches of employee welfare standards, a Pinsent Masons review of the order showed. A new 90-day rule incorporates temporary and casual contracts under the full scope of labour law, elevating regulatory exposure for non-compliant employers. The ministry has separately shut down 14 recruitment offices for labour-law violations in recent enforcement actions.
Broader labour-market reforms under Vision 2030 have been accompanied by a national unemployment rate that has settled around 7 percent, according to General Authority for Statistics figures. The regulatory updates form part of a pattern of digitalisation and standardisation that includes mandatory use of the Qiwa platform for employment contracts. These measures support the kingdom’s objective of creating approximately 920,000 additional jobs by 2030 to accommodate a growing working-age population, Monshaat data indicates.
