Remote’s guide to employing in

Saudi Arabia
saudi-arabia flag

Make employment in Saudi Arabia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Saudi Arabia, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
  • Capital City

    Riyadh

  • Currency

    Saudi riyal (﷼, SAR)

  • Languages

    Arabic

  • Population size

    34,218,169

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
Saudi Arabian mosque

Facts & Stats

Saudi Arabia
  • Capital City

    Riyadh

  • Currency

    Saudi riyal (﷼, SAR)

  • Languages

    Arabic

  • Population size

    34,218,169

  • Ease of doing business

    Easy

  • Cost of living index

    49.95 (2021)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    5%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    0.3% (2019)

Saudi Arabia fits the image of an oil-rich desert nation complete with skyscrapers, exotic cars, flowing robes, and middle eastern cuisine.

Apart from holding the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world, Saudi Arabia has recorded rapid growth thanks to strong government welfare nets, economic liberalization measures, and a huge expat population of over 13 million contributing to the nation’s intellectual capital.

Grow your team in Saudi Arabia with Remote

You can pay contractors now in Saudi Arabia with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).

Note that we are busy building our own entity in Saudi Arabia to provide you with the best possible employment solutions for your employees, but our employer of record service is not yet live in this country.

To employ in Saudi Arabia, companies must own a local legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solution. Developing the processes required to manage payroll, benefits, taxes, and onboarding in countries like Saudi Arabia can get complicated fast, especially without localised expertise.

If you're looking to start hiring in a country like this, partnering with a global employment solution like Remote makes it easy for your company to employ workers quickly, cost-effectively, and in full compliance with all local legislation.

In the countries where we do offer our EOR services, Remote takes on the responsibility and legal risks of international employment so you can focus on hiring great talent and growing your business.

Risks of misclassification

Saudi Arabia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Saudi Arabia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Saudi Arabia

Provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights are spelled out in the Saudi Arabian Labour Law of 2006 and are enforced jointly by the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Employees in Saudi Arabia enjoy protection against discrimination based on age, religion, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Saudi Arabia.

Minimum wage

The monthly minimum wage in Saudi Arabia is fixed at 4,000 SAR or roughly $1,066.

Payroll cycle

Wages can either be paid on a weekly or monthly basis.

10 Public holidays

Feb
Thursday, February 22, 20241Foundation Day (يوم التأسيس)
Apr
Wednesday, April 10, 20242Eid al-Fitr (عيد الفطر)
Thursday, April 11, 20243Eid al-Fitr (اليوم الثالث من عيد الفطر)
Friday, April 12, 20244Eid al-Fitr (اليوم الثالث من عيد الفطر)
Saturday, April 13, 20245Eid al-Fitr (اليوم الثالث من عيد الفطر)
Jun
Sunday, June 16, 20246Eid al-Adha (عيد التضحية)
Monday, June 17, 20247Eid al-Adha (اليوم الثاني من عيد التضحية)
Tuesday, June 18, 20248Eid al-Adha (اليوم الثالث من عيد التضحية)
Jul
Sunday, July 7, 20249Islamic New Year
Sep
Monday, September 23, 202410Saudi National Day (اليوم الوطني السعودي)

Competitive benefits package in Saudi Arabia

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “fair equity”, which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

We are still busy building our own entity in Saudi Arabia, but our benefits packages for all countries are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Fair Pricing in Saudi Arabia

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $809/month

for annual plans

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localised benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$39

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Global Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$68

per employee/month

Top features

  • Reduce costs by centralising payroll management

  • Ensure local compliance for every country

  • Direct support from in-house local payroll experts

  • Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience

  • Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you

HRIS

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app