Maternity and Paternity Leave in Saudi Arabia (2026)

Becoming a parent while working in Saudi Arabia looks very different in 2026 than it did even two years ago. The 2025 Labour Law amendments lengthened maternity leave, created a clear paternity entitlement for the first time, and a parallel reform shifted who actually pays for that leave. If you are an employee planning a family, or an HR team trying to apply the rules correctly, here is what changed and what it means in practice.

What Changed in 2025

Two separate reforms work together here, and it helps to keep them apart.

The first is the 2025 Labour Law amendments, introduced under Royal Decree M/44 and Ministerial Decision 115921/1446, which became effective on 18 February 2025. These amendments extended maternity leave and formalized paternity leave.

The second is the new Social Insurance Law, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 3 July 2024. This is the date from which the qualifying contribution period for maternity benefits is counted, and it moved the cost of maternity pay off employers and onto the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI).

Read together, the practical headline is simple: longer paid leave for mothers, a new entitlement for fathers, and a state-backed funding mechanism so the bill no longer lands on the employer.

Maternity Leave: Now 12 Weeks at Full Pay

Under the 2025 amendments to Article 151 of the Labour Law, maternity leave increased from 10 weeks to 12 weeks at full pay.

The leave is structured so that recovery after delivery is protected:

• 6 weeks immediately after delivery are mandatory. This portion cannot be waived or shortened.
• The remaining 6 weeks can be distributed by the employee, starting up to 4 weeks before the expected due date.

This flexibility lets a working mother choose how much of the leave to take before delivery and how much to keep for afterward, while still guaranteeing six protected weeks of recovery.

Extensions for Special Circumstances

Article 151 also covers situations that need more time:

• A working woman may extend her maternity leave by one additional unpaid month.
• If she gives birth to a sick or disabled child whose condition requires a continuous companion, she is entitled to one additional month at full pay, beginning after the maternity leave ends, with the option of a further one-month unpaid extension after that.

These provisions recognize that some newborns need a parent present full-time, and the law builds in both paid and unpaid options to make that possible.

Who Pays: GOSI Maternity Compensation

This is the part many employees and employers still find surprising. Under the new Social Insurance Law, maternity pay no longer comes from the employer's own pocket. Instead, GOSI pays a benefit called Maternity Compensation on the employer's behalf.

Here is how it works:

• The compensation equals the average contributory wage registered over the 3 months before birth (within the 36 months preceding delivery).
• It is paid for 3 months.
• An extra month is added where the child is sick or disabled.

In other words, the funding structure mirrors the leave entitlement, with the state insurance system carrying the cost rather than the individual business.

Eligibility and the "No Double-Dipping" Rule

The GOSI maternity benefit comes with clear eligibility conditions:

• It covers both Saudi and non-Saudi contributors (through the Occupational Hazards Branch), so expatriate employees are included.
• The contributor must have at least 12 months of contributions within the 36 months before delivery.
• Because the qualifying count began on 3 July 2024, the benefit only started maturing for qualifying workers from around 2 July 2025.
• It cannot be combined with a salary paid by the employer for the same period. There is no double-dipping: you receive either the GOSI compensation or employer-paid salary for that window, not both.

If you are an expat checking your own contribution record, our guide to GOSI for expats walks through how contributions are tracked and what they cover.

Paternity Leave: 3 Paid Days

Before 2025, the timing of paternity leave was ambiguous. The amendments fixed that. Article 113 now provides a clear statutory entitlement:

• A male employee gets 3 paid days of paternity leave.
• The leave must be taken within 7 days of the child's birth.

This change, effective 18 February 2025, removes the earlier uncertainty about when fathers could take their leave and gives a defined, enforceable window.

The Civil Service Carve-Out

One point trips up policy templates that try to cover everyone with a single rule: government Civil Service employees are not governed by the Labour Law's 12-week rule.

Core Civil Service staff fall under the separate Human Resources in Civil Service Law and its Executive Regulations. Under Article 151 of those Executive Regulations, maternity leave for Civil Service employees is 70 days at full salary, distributable as the employee wishes, starting up to 28 days before the expected delivery date.

So there are effectively two regimes:

Sector	Governing law	Maternity entitlement
Private sector	Labour Law, Article 151	12 weeks at full pay
Core Civil Service / government	Human Resources in Civil Service Law, Article 151	70 days at full salary

The lesson for HR teams: a single policy document that lumps both groups together can easily misstate the rule. Apply the regime that matches the employee's sector.

Quick Reference Table

Entitlement	What you get	Key condition
Maternity leave (private sector)	12 weeks full pay	6 weeks post-delivery mandatory; rest distributable from up to 4 weeks pre-birth
Maternity unpaid extension	1 extra month unpaid	Employee's choice
Sick or disabled child	1 extra month full pay (then optional 1 month unpaid)	Child requires a continuous companion
Paternity leave	3 paid days	Must be taken within 7 days of birth
GOSI Maternity Compensation	Average contributory wage for 3 months (+1 if child sick/disabled)	12 months of contributions in the 36 months before delivery
Civil Service maternity	70 days full salary	Up to 28 days before delivery

Frequently Asked Questions

Does maternity leave apply to non-Saudi (expat) employees?

Yes. The 12-week maternity leave under Article 151 of the Labour Law applies to private-sector workers regardless of nationality, and GOSI Maternity Compensation explicitly covers both Saudi and non-Saudi contributors through the Occupational Hazards Branch. The main condition is the contribution record: at least 12 months of contributions within the 36 months before delivery.

Can I take some of my maternity leave before the birth?

Yes. Six weeks must be taken immediately after delivery and cannot be moved. The remaining six weeks can be distributed as you choose, starting up to four weeks before your expected due date.

Will my employer pay my salary or will GOSI?

Under the new Social Insurance Law, GOSI pays Maternity Compensation on the employer's behalf, equal to your average contributory wage over the three months before birth, for three months. You cannot receive both the GOSI compensation and an employer-paid salary for the same period.

How many days of paternity leave do fathers get?

Three paid days, under Article 113 as amended on 18 February 2025. They must be taken within seven days of the child's birth.

Plan Ahead With Confidence

Parental leave rules sit at the intersection of the Labour Law and the Social Insurance Law, and the details, from the six-week mandatory recovery period to the 12-months-in-36 contribution test, are easy to get wrong. If you want to map your own entitlement or build a compliant company policy, the Saudi HR assistant can answer your specific questions in plain language, in Arabic or English, grounded in the current 2026 rules.

For a wider view of your protections at work, see our guide to expat employment rights in Saudi Arabia, which covers contracts, leave, and end-of-service benefits in one place.