Unified Employment Contract: Employer Compliance Playbook

In October 2025, MHRSD and the Ministry of Justice launched the Unified Employment Contract Initiative. It standardizes how private-sector contracts are created on Qiwa and, critically, lets employees enforce wage payments directly through the Najiz portal, bypassing labor courts entirely.

If you have not started migrating contracts, you are already behind. Phase 2 is active. Phase 3 lands in August.

What Changed

Every private-sector employer must now use a standardized contract template issued through Qiwa, linked directly to the MOJ's Najiz enforcement system.

Aspect	Previous System	Unified Contract
Contract format	Varied by employer	Standardized template on Qiwa
Wage details	Basic salary stated	Detailed wage breakdown required
Enforcement	Employee files labor court claim	Direct enforcement via Najiz
Processing time	Months through labor courts	Immediate execution through MOJ
GOSI deductions	Not shown in contract	Mandatory disclosure
Net wage	Not specified	Must be stated
Payment date	Often unstated	Must be specified in contract

The Three-Phase Rollout

Phase 1 -- October 6, 2025

Scope: All new contracts and updates to existing contracts.

Every new hire since this date must use the unified format on Qiwa. Same for any amendment, renewal, or update to an existing contract.

If you hired anyone since October 2025 without using the unified contract, you are already non-compliant.

Phase 2 -- March 6, 2026

Scope: All existing fixed-term contracts upon renewal or extension.

Now active. Any fixed-term contract renewal that does not use the new format is a violation.

Phase 3 -- August 6, 2026

Scope: All existing indefinite-term contracts.

Final deadline. By this date, every employment contract in your organization, regardless of type, tenure, or employee nationality, must be in the unified format.

Phase	Effective Date	Applies To	Status
Phase 1	October 6, 2025	New contracts and contract updates	Active
Phase 2	March 6, 2026	Fixed-term contract renewals	Active
Phase 3	August 6, 2026	All indefinite-term contracts	Upcoming

Najiz Wage Enforcement: What You Need to Know

This is the part that changes everything. When a contract is finalized on Qiwa, the wage clause gets an Execution Number from Najiz. If wages are late, the employee skips labor courts and submits an enforcement request directly through Najiz. The MOJ enforces payment using the same tools it uses for court judgments.

The old process (now bypassed for wage disputes)

1. Employee files complaint with MHRSD
2. Amicable settlement attempt (21 days)
3. Escalation to labor court
4. Hearing and judgment
5. Enforcement through MOJ

With the unified contract, an unpaid employee goes straight to step 5. No buffer period. No negotiation window.

Enforcement deadlines for employees

Scenario	Action Window
Full non-payment of wages	30 days to submit enforcement request
Partial non-payment of wages	90 days to submit enforcement request

If your payment date says the 25th and you pay on the 28th, the employee technically has grounds for enforcement.

Wage Breakdown Requirements

The unified contract requires granular wage disclosure. Vague "gross salary" figures no longer work.

Component	Description
Basic salary	Base monthly wage in SAR
Housing allowance	Stated separately
Transportation allowance	If applicable
Other allowances	Any additional contractual allowances
GOSI deduction	Amount deducted and paid to GOSI
Other statutory deductions	Any legally mandated deductions
Net wage	Actual amount the employee receives
Payment date	Specific date each month when salary is paid

The Najiz system uses these exact figures to determine what is owed and when. Incomplete or vague breakdowns get rejected on Qiwa.

Compliance Checklist

Immediate actions (do these now if you have not already)

• Audit current contracts. Which ones are still in the old format?
• Categorize by type. Fixed-term (Phase 2 deadline already passed) vs. indefinite-term (Phase 3 deadline: August 6, 2026).
• Verify Qiwa access. HR team must have active credentials and permissions.
• Train HR staff on the new template, wage breakdown fields, and the Najiz execution number system.

New hires (Phase 1, already in effect)

• Use the unified contract template on Qiwa for every new employee
• Complete the full wage breakdown (basic salary, housing, transport, deductions, net wage)
• Specify the monthly payment date
• Ensure both parties acknowledge the contract on Qiwa
• Verify the Najiz execution number is generated for the wage clause

Fixed-term renewals (Phase 2, now active)

• Identify all fixed-term contracts due for renewal
• Transition each renewal to the unified format
• Update wage breakdowns to meet the new requirements
• Migrate the contract to Qiwa if not already registered
• Verify the Najiz execution number is issued

Indefinite-term contracts (Phase 3, deadline August 6, 2026)

• Create a full inventory of indefinite-term contracts
• Build a transition plan to convert all contracts before the deadline
• Communicate changes to affected employees
• Begin migrating contracts to the unified format on Qiwa
• Leave buffer time for employee acknowledgment and system processing

Five Pitfalls That Will Bite You

1. Underestimating the Phase 3 workload. If you have hundreds or thousands of employees on indefinite-term contracts, migrating all of them by August 2026 is a serious administrative lift. Start now.

2. Incomplete wage breakdowns. The most common rejection on Qiwa. Every allowance, deduction, and the net wage must be specified. No blank fields, no placeholders.

3. GOSI/contract mismatches. The GOSI-reported salary must match the basic salary and housing allowance in your unified contract. Discrepancies trigger compliance flags.

4. Missing payment date. This is mandatory, not a formality. It directly determines when an employee can trigger Najiz enforcement.

5. Ignoring the Arabic version. The Arabic contract is the legally binding version. Ensure any English translation matches exactly, especially for wage amounts and payment dates.

Operational Impact

Payroll

• Payment dates must match the contract exactly
• Wage Protection System (WPS) records must align with unified contract figures
• Any salary adjustment requires a contract amendment through Qiwa

Records

• All contracts must be on Qiwa. Paper-only records are no longer sufficient.
• Maintain an internal tracker of contract migration status for Phase 3
• Archive old-format contracts for reference, but they lose legal standing once migrated

Employee communication

• Notify employees about the transition and what it means for them
• Explain the Najiz enforcement mechanism. Transparency reduces disputes.
• Give employees access to their contract details on Qiwa

Penalties for Non-Compliance

MHRSD has not published a specific fine schedule for unified contract violations, but non-compliance falls under the broader labor law violation framework:

• Fines under the general labor law violation schedule
• Inability to renew or issue new work permits
• Nitaqat classification impact
• Negative marks on the establishment's compliance record

Operating without a unified contract also means your employees cannot access Najiz enforcement, which could be treated as deliberately circumventing wage protections.

Bottom Line

• The Unified Employment Contract is mandatory for all private-sector employers
• Phase 1 (new contracts) and Phase 2 (fixed-term renewals) are already active
• Phase 3 deadline: August 6, 2026, covering all indefinite-term contracts
• Najiz enforcement lets employees skip labor courts entirely for wage disputes
• Contracts must include a complete wage breakdown with GOSI deductions, net wage, and payment date
• Start your Phase 3 migration today. The deadline is closer than your backlog suggests.
• Align payroll, WPS records, and GOSI reporting with your unified contract figures