HudooriLeave Management and Employee Requests After the 2025 Amendments
A guide to leave types and balances under Saudi labor law after the 2025 amendments, and how to manage leave, permissions, letters and salary advances electronically. Practical steps to cut paperwork and waiting.
Good leave management starts with knowing the legal balance for each leave type, then moving requests and approvals off paper and WhatsApp into one clear electronic flow. The key 2025 amendments (in force since February 2025): 12 weeks of maternity leave, 3 days for fathers on the birth of a child, and 3 days on the death of a brother or sister.
Leave types and balances
Annual leave
21 days a year, rising to 30 days after 5 continuous years with the same employer. A common mistake is leaving the balance at 21 after the fifth year because nobody tracked the date.
Sick leave
Per year, with an approved medical report:
- 30 days at full pay.
- Then 60 days at three-quarters pay.
- Then 30 days unpaid.
Example: on a SAR 6,000 salary, the daily wage is SAR 200. Once sick leave in the year passes 30 days, each following day (within the next 60) is paid at SAR 150. Your system needs to know how much of each tier has been used.
Occasion-based leave
- Marriage: 5 days.
- Death of a spouse, parent/ancestor or child/descendant: 5 days.
- Death of a brother or sister: 3 days (2025 amendment).
- Father, on the birth of a child: 3 days, taken within 7 days of the birth (2025 amendment).
- Maternity: 12 weeks, up from 10 (2025 amendment).
Casual and unpaid leave
Many companies also offer casual leave for emergencies and unpaid leave by mutual agreement. Define their rules in your work regulation.
Why leave management breaks down
An employee messages the supervisor on WhatsApp, the supervisor approves verbally, nobody tells payroll, and the day is deducted as absence. Or nobody knows the exact balance. The result: year-end disputes, absences recorded by mistake, slow approvals when the manager is at another site, and paper files you can't search.
Building an electronic request flow
Every request should follow the same path and leave a record:
- The employee submits from their phone and sees their balance first.
- The responsible manager is notified and approves or rejects with one tap.
- The employee is notified of the decision immediately.
- The balance updates automatically, and the day shows as leave, not absence.
- Any pay impact flows to payroll for unpaid or partly paid leave.
Decide in advance who approves what, for example the direct supervisor for short permissions and HR for long leave.
Beyond leave: permissions, letters and advances
- Permissions: late arrival, early leave or a temporary exit. Approved in advance, they don't count as lateness.
- Letters on company letterhead: salary certificate, introduction letter, experience certificate.
- Salary advances: requested, split into installments and deducted when the month is approved. Remember that total monthly deductions can't exceed half the wage.
- Data updates and exit and re-entry visa requests.
How Hudoori handles leave and requests
In Hudoori, employees find every request type in the app: leave (annual, sick, casual, unpaid), permissions, letterhead letters, advances repaid in installments, data updates and exit/re-entry visas. Managers approve with one tap and both sides are notified.
Because requests are linked to attendance and payroll, approved leave never shows as absence, and advance installments are deducted automatically when the month is approved. Employees see their leave balance, iqama, custody items and letters under "My affairs", and the app runs in six languages so workers can submit requests in their own.
For how unapproved absence is calculated, see absence and lateness deductions. For employee files and document expiry, read HR records and document expiry.
FAQ
When does annual leave become 30 days?
After 5 continuous years with the same employer.
How much leave does a father get for a new baby?
3 days under the 2025 amendments, taken within 7 days of the birth.
Has maternity leave changed?
Yes, it's 12 weeks instead of 10 since February 2025.
Is an approved permission deducted from pay?
That depends on your policy, but it isn't counted as lateness if approved in advance. For details, check with the Ministry of Human Resources (HRSD) and your company's approved work regulation.
Conclusion
Good leave management means correct balances updated for the 2025 amendments, one request-and-approval path for everything, and a direct link to attendance and payroll so a leave day never becomes an absence deduction. To let employees request from their phones and approve with a tap, request a free trial of Hudoori.
