Article 82 Saudi Labor Law 2026: Sick Leave Termination & Your EOSB

Introduction: What Article 82 Means for You

Article 82 of the Saudi Labor Law allows an employer to terminate a contract because of illness only when the employee has been absent for 30 continuous days or 90 intermittent days within a single year — and even then, the employee remains entitled to the full End of Service Benefit (EOSB). That final clause is the part most workers never hear, and it is the difference between a legally protected exit and an HR bluff that costs you thousands of riyals.

The scenario is painfully common. A technician in Riyadh develops a chronic back problem and submits a medical report. After a few weeks his HR manager calls: "The company is terminating you for illness, and there is no gratuity." The manager is only half right. The termination may be lawful under Article 82, but the gratuity claim is not — because illness is not misconduct, the employer must still pay every riyal of the accrued EOSB.

This guide walks through the exact thresholds in Article 82, the Article 117 sick-pay ladder, why sick leave still counts toward your service years, and a worked example you can match against your contract. Use our free EOSB Calculator to put a precise number on your gratuity before you sign anything.

What Article 82 Actually Says

Article 82 of the Labor Law governs termination of the employment contract due to illness. It does not give employers a free hand to fire sick workers whenever they like. It sets a strict, measurable threshold that must be crossed before a sickness-based termination becomes lawful.

The 30 Continuous or 90 Intermittent Days Rule

An employer may terminate a contract for illness when the employee has been absent 30 continuous days or 90 intermittent days within a single year of service. These are the only two lawful triggers, and they are deliberately high. A worker who is out for three weeks with dengue fever is nowhere near the 30-day mark, and a worker who takes two or three short medical absences across the year is nowhere near the 90-day mark. In both cases, an illness-based termination is unlawful.

Two details matter in practice. First, the count is based on approved sick absence backed by a medical report from a recognized Saudi hospital or clinic — unexcused absence is a different problem entirely and can expose you to Article 80. Second, the clock resets at the end of each service year, so a worker who used 40 intermittent days in one year does not carry that debt into the next.

The Key Point: EOSB Is Still Payable Under Article 82

This is the single most important protection in this guide: even when an employer lawfully terminates you under Article 82, your full accrued End of Service Benefit is still payable. Article 82 is not a zero-gratuity exit. Illness is not misconduct, and the law does not punish a sick worker by confiscating years of service.

Contrast this with Article 80, which lists gross misconduct grounds — fraud, assault, deliberate damage, or severe unexcused absenteeism. A proven Article 80 termination can strip the EOSB entirely. That is exactly why employers sometimes try to frame a sick worker's absence as "absenteeism" under Article 80 instead of sick leave under Article 82. If you have a valid medical report on file, the Article 80 framing fails, because the absence was excused.

Article 82 termination also does not convert your exit into a resignation. A sickness-based termination preserves every accrued right — leave balance payments, notice entitlements where they apply, and the gratuity. If HR pressures a hospitalized worker to sign a resignation instead, the worker should refuse: resigning hands the employer the Article 85 discount ladder that a medical termination never triggers.

Article 117: How Sick Leave Is Paid

Article 117 of the Saudi Labor Law sets the payment scale for sick leave during any one year of service. The first 30 days of sick leave are paid in full at your normal wage. The next 60 days are paid at three-quarters of your wage. After 90 days of sick leave, no further pay is due from the employer.

Two numbers matter here. The 90-day mark is where pay stops under Article 117, and the 120-day mark is where the protected window ends. Between day 91 and day 120, you receive no salary, but the contract is not broken and your service record continues to build. The Article 82 termination trigger (30 continuous or 90 intermittent days) is separate from the Article 117 pay ladder — a worker can be unpaid under Article 117 yet still protected from termination under Article 82.

Never take unpaid sick absence without an approved medical report. A doctor's certificate converts absence into protected sick leave under Article 117. Without it, the same absence can be recast as unexcused absenteeism — and that is how Article 80 enters the picture. The certificate is your paperwork shield at every stage.

Sick Leave Counts Toward Your EOSB Service Years

Yes — approved sick leave counts toward the years of service used to calculate your EOSB. When you are on protected sick leave under Article 117, the employment relationship continues; you are not dismissed and your service clock does not stop. Every sick day under a valid medical report contributes to your length of service.

Even when your contract ends under Article 82, the EOSB is computed over your entire service record, including the illness period — the employer cannot carve out the sick months to shrink the number.

The EOSB itself is calculated under Article 84 on basic salary: half a month's basic salary for each of the first five years of service, and one full month's basic salary for each subsequent year, with partial years calculated proportionally. Housing and transport allowances belong to your total package but do not enter the gratuity base unless the contract says otherwise. Match your numbers with the Sauditoolhub EOSB Calculator to confirm the figure.

Worked Example: What You Actually Get

Put the rules together with a concrete case. Assume an employee with a basic salary of SAR 5,000 per month and six full years of service is hospitalized for 40 days, then terminated under Article 82 with a valid medical report on file.

Step 1: Sick pay under Article 117

Days 1–30 are paid in full: 1 month × SAR 5,000 = SAR 5,000. Days 31–40 are paid at 75%: (10/30) × SAR 5,000 × 0.75 = SAR 1,250. Total sick pay = SAR 6,250.

Step 2: EOSB under Article 84

First 5 years: 5 × 0.5 × SAR 5,000 = SAR 12,500. Sixth year: 1 × 1.0 × SAR 5,000 = SAR 5,000. Total EOSB = SAR 17,500.

Step 3: What changes because it is Article 82

Nothing on the EOSB. Because the exit is sickness-based — not misconduct under Article 80 and not a resignation under Article 85 — the full SAR 17,500 gratuity is due, plus the SAR 6,250 sick pay, plus any accrued unused leave balance. The illness period counts in the service years, so the six-year figure stands.

How to Protect Yourself Before the Letter Arrives

Your protection is built before the crisis, not during it. Follow these five practices and an Article 82 situation becomes a predictable, fully compensated exit instead of a battle over nothing.

If the employer refuses to pay after a lawful Article 82 termination, the remedy is the same as any unpaid settlement: a complaint through the MHRSD Tawafuq platform, then the labor office, then the labor court. Keep every document — the medical report, the termination letter, the pay slips — because the written record decides the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Know Your Number

The law is clear on Article 82: a sick worker can be let go at the threshold, but never left empty-handed. The gratuity, the sick pay, and the leave balance are all yours. The only question left is whether the employer's math matches yours.

Run your contract through the free EOSB Calculator and you will have the figure to quote back. Then read our Article 80 vs 82 sick leave rules guide for the full misconduct comparison, and our Article 84 vs 85 resignation EOSB guide to see what changes if you resign instead.