Saudi Arabia’s Qiwa platform has introduced a set of comprehensive updates to its employment contract system. The changes redefine how absences are reported, establish a structured grace period for workers transitioning between jobs or leaving the country, clarify termination and notification procedures to relevant authorities, and unveil digital certificate services designed to empower workers with verifiable employment documentation. The overarching aim is to streamline labor exits and transfers, bolster transparency, and strengthen accountability within employer-employee relationships.
What the updates change for reporting absences
The Qiwa updates introduce a precise condition under which employers may submit an absence report for a worker. Specifically, an absence report can be filed only if the worker’s residence permit, known as the Iqama, is valid for at least 60 days from the submission date, and the worker does not hold an active employment contract at the time of submission. This twofold requirement serves as a guardrail to ensure that absence reporting reflects a genuine status change rather than a provisional or ambiguous situation. It also emphasizes the platform’s intent to synchronize absence reporting with the worker’s legal status and contract standing, reducing the likelihood of erroneous or premature absence designations.
To operationalize these rules, employers must verify two critical conditions before initiating an absence report. First, the Iqama’s validity must extend at least 60 days beyond the date of submission. This ensures there is a stable, enforceable residency status in place for the worker during the reporting period. Second, there must be no active contract in effect for the worker at the moment of reporting, signaling that the worker is not currently bound to an employer under a formal agreement. The combination of these criteria is designed to provide a clear, auditable trail that aligns residency status with contractual status, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of labor market records.
From a process perspective, these rules demand that HR teams integrate Iqama validity checks and contract-status monitoring into their standard workflow for handling absences. Employers will need to coordinate with internal systems that track immigration documentation and contract status, ensuring that any attempt to file an absence aligns with the updated prerequisites. This could entail automated checks within HR information systems or manual verifications by compliance personnel before a submission is made. The emphasis on Iqama validity as a gating factor also underscores the importance of ongoing documentation management, including timely renewals and proactive monitoring of worker statuses to avoid inadvertent non-compliance.
The updated absence reporting framework thus reshapes the entry points and validations for absence submissions. It makes clear that not every absence situation can be logged through the system; only those meeting the specified criteria will be accepted. For employers, this translates into a more disciplined, validation-driven process that may require adjustments to payroll calendars, contract review cycles, and communication protocols with workers who are approaching the end of their contract terms or who may be considering a transition.
In practice, the absence reporting rules interact with other status categories within Qiwa’s platform. For example, if a worker’s Iqama expires or becomes invalid within the 60-day window after submission, the absence status could be affected, potentially triggering corrective actions or notifications. Similarly, if a worker obtains a new contract with a different employer during the grace period, the absence designation would need to be reconciled with the new contractual arrangement. These interactions highlight the need for employers to maintain timely, accurate, and synchronized documentation across residency status, work contracts, and any changes in employment arrangements.
These updates are designed to promote transparency and accountability by creating a transparent link between residency status and contractual engagement. By requiring a valid Iqama and the absence of an active contract at submission, Qiwa seeks to reduce misreporting and improve the integrity of employment records. The net effect on the employment ecosystem is expected to be a more coherent and traceable framework for documenting and managing worker absences, which in turn supports fairer labor practices and streamlined administrative processes for both employers and authorities.
Subsections to clarify the reporting flow
- Conditions before submission: Iqama validity of at least 60 days; no active contract at submission time.
- Potential edge cases: Changes to Iqama status during processing; transitions between contracts; the need for concurrent documentation checks.
- Operational impact: Required alignment of HR workflows with residency and contract status data; possible need for automation in validation steps.
- Expected outcomes: More accurate absence records; stronger governance of labor exits; clearer audit trails for authorities and employers.
Grace period after status changes to “disconnected from work” and the actions allowed
A central feature of the updates is the introduction of a 60-day grace period once a worker’s status changes to “disconnected from work.” During this window, the worker is afforded an opportunity to take one of three specified actions: transfer to another employer, leave Saudi Arabia, or re-sign with the same employer. The intention behind this grace period is to provide a structured, humane, and legally transparent transition pathway that accommodates real-world mobility and labor market dynamics.
Under the new rules, once a worker’s status is categorized as disconnected from work, the clock starts on the 60-day grace period. The worker’s options within this period are clearly defined, and the consequences of inaction are explicit: if the worker takes no action within the 60 days, the system will automatically mark the worker as “absent from work” and remove the worker from the current employer’s records. This automatic designation acts as a formal, systematized signal indicating that the worker’s status has shifted into a transitional or non-active state, enabling employers to update records accordingly and ensuring that official records reflect the most current information.
Each of the three permissible actions during the grace period has practical implications for both workers and employers.
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Transfer to another employer: This option supports labor mobility within the Saudi economy. If a worker secures a new employment relationship within the 60-day window, the transition can proceed with documentation reflecting the new contract status while preserving continuity for the worker’s career. For employers, facilitating transfers involves coordination with the receiving party, ensuring that the new contract aligns with regulatory requirements, and updating records to reflect the change in employment status. The 60-day window provides a buffer to complete payroll, benefit accrual, and any relevant administrative steps that accompany a change in employer.
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Leave Saudi Arabia: Exiting the country is a clear, definitive action that resolves the immediate status of the worker within the local labor ecosystem. This option may be chosen for personal or professional reasons and involves appropriate border procedures and compliance with immigration rules. From an employer’s perspective, the option to depart can simplify administrative handling when a worker elects to leave, ensuring that records reflect the departure and enabling downstream processes such as exit clearances.
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Re-sign with the same employer: Re-signing preserves the employment relationship under a renewed contract with the same employer. This pathway can be advantageous when the worker and employer wish to resume the working arrangement within the grace period, potentially with modifications to terms and conditions, duration, or role. It requires careful contract management to ensure that the renewal is properly documented in the system and that any accrued rights or obligations are respected.
If the worker does not take any action within the grace period, the automatic “absent from work” designation is applied, and the worker is removed from the company’s records. This mechanism reinforces the importance of timely decisions during the transitional window and ensures that records accurately reflect the worker’s status. It also underscores the need for both workers and employers to monitor deadlines closely and to communicate the intended course of action well before the grace period expires.
The grace period concept also introduces several operational considerations for organizations. HR and compliance teams must monitor the 60-day window diligently, track action statuses, and coordinate with payroll and immigration authorities to ensure a smooth transition. For workers, clarity about available options during the grace period helps with planning, whether continuing employment under a new contract, pursuing international work opportunities, or arranging departure from the country. The framework thus fosters a more deliberate, structured approach to labor mobility, reducing ambiguity and enabling appropriate administrative handling of each possible outcome.
Practical guidance within the grace period
- Establish clear internal timelines that align with the 60-day window.
- Create standardized processes for initiating transfers, exits, or renewals.
- Maintain open lines of communication with workers about their options and the implications of each choice.
- Prepare documentation templates to expedite contract renewals or terminations as needed.
- Coordinate with relevant authorities to ensure compliance and timely record updates.
Terminations and notifications to authorities: how the system handles contract endings
The updated system provides explicit rules for how terminations are recorded and how notifications to authorities are managed. When a work contract ends—whether initiated by the employer or by the worker—the status is recorded as “terminated” after the notice period concludes. This ensures that the termination is documented in a clear, orderly fashion within the Qiwa platform, aligning the actual termination with the recorded status in a timely manner. The emphasis on the notice period underscores the importance of providing appropriate transitional time and information to both parties.
Should the worker fail to act within the allotted grace period following the status change to disconnected from work, the system automatically initiates a notification to two key authorities: the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and the Ministry of Interior. This automatic notification serves to formally alert the relevant government bodies to the impending status change and to ensure that official records reflect the worker’s disengagement or transition in a timely fashion. The involvement of these ministries signifies a coordinated approach to labor oversight, ensuring that regulatory bodies have consistent, up-to-date information about worker status and employment relationships.
The objective of these updates is to streamline the labor exit and transfer process while enhancing transparency and accountability. By codifying how terminations are recorded and how notifications are triggered, Qiwa creates a standardized, auditable process that reduces ambiguity and helps prevent gaps in official records. This, in turn, supports more efficient regulatory oversight and ensures that both employers and workers operate within a clearly defined framework.
In practical terms, the termination and notification rules imply that employers must manage notice periods diligently and ensure that the termination status is properly reflected in the system once the notice period ends. If a worker chooses to transition to another employer or to re-sign before the grace period ends, the system must accurately capture this change and reflect the appropriate status. If no action is taken, automatic notifications to the MHRSD and Ministry of Interior will trigger, initiating the formal regulatory follow-up that accompanies a worker’s disengagement from employment.
The overall design of these processes aims to reduce administrative friction and improve the reliability of labor data. For employers, the clarity around termination status and automatic notifications enhances compliance and reduces the risk of misalignment between internal records and official government records. For workers, the formalization of termination procedures and the involvement of government authorities provide a transparent framework for navigating transitions, ensuring that changes in status are properly recorded and communicated to the relevant institutions.
Key takeaways on terminations and notifications
- End-of-contract status is recorded as “terminated” after the notice period.
- If workers do not act during the grace period after becoming disconnected from work, automatic notifications are sent to the MHRSD and the Ministry of Interior.
- The changes are designed to promote clarity, accountability, and regulatory alignment in labor records.
- Employers must ensure timely and accurate updates to status and contract records to reflect the true employment situation.
Digital certificates now available for workers: accessing verified documentation
In addition to the revisions to absence reporting, grace periods, and termination processes, Qiwa has introduced digital services that enable workers to obtain free employment-related certificates through their Qiwa Individuals account. This feature represents a shift toward verifiable, readily accessible employment documentation that can support job-seeking activities and credential verification in a competitive labor market.
Currently employed workers can generate salary certificates containing up-to-date job details. These certificates provide a formal, attestable record of earnings and position within a current role, which can be useful for loan applications, rental agreements, or other situations where proof of income and employment is required. The ability to produce a salary certificate directly from the Qiwa platform can simplify the process of obtaining documentation without the need to approach payroll departments or HR offices separately.
Former employees gain access to a different type of certificate: a service certificate that summarizes their previous work history with the employer. This service certificate can provide a concise history of roles, responsibilities, and durations of prior employment, serving as a credible summary of work experience for prospective employers or educational institutions.
Accessing these digital certificates is designed to be straightforward and secure. Users must log into their Qiwa Individuals account, navigate to the Employment Certificates section, and follow the on-screen instructions to generate the desired document. The platform emphasizes that these tools are designed to boost job competitiveness through verified documentation of experience, providing a streamlined mechanism for workers to present credible, standardized records of their employment history and earnings.
From a practical perspective, the digital certificates can reduce the administrative burden on both workers and companies. For workers, the certificates offer a reliable, portable form of documentation that can be shared with potential employers, lenders, or educational institutions as needed. For employers and recruiters, they provide a standardized source of information that can be cross-validated within the Qiwa system, potentially speeding up hiring processes and reducing verification time. The digital nature of these certificates ensures that they can be accessed quickly and securely, with data maintained in alignment with the worker’s current or historical employment records.
The digital certificate initiative complements the broader update package by enhancing the credibility and accessibility of employment documentation. It aligns with the stated goal of increasing transparency and improving the overall functioning of the labor market, making it easier for workers to demonstrate their experience and for employers to verify credentials. The service is presented as free, reflecting a policy choice to lower barriers to obtaining official documentation and to support workers’ career mobility.
How to maximize the benefit of digital certificates
- Encourage workers to maintain up-to-date information in their Qiwa Individuals account so certificates reflect current job details.
- Use salary certificates as verifiable evidence of earnings when applying for loans, housing, or visas, where applicable.
- Leverage service certificates to provide prospective employers with a concise, trustworthy summary of work history.
- Integrate certificate issuance into routine onboarding, offboarding, or job-seeking processes to facilitate smoother transitions.
- Ensure data privacy and proper authorization when sharing certificates with third parties.
Why these changes matter: rationale and potential impact on the labor market
The Qiwa platform updates collectively aim to streamline the labor exit and transfer process, while elevating transparency and accountability across employer-employee relationships. By clarifying when absence reports can be filed, establishing a defined grace period with concrete options, detailing termination and notification procedures, and introducing digital certificates, the updates create a more coherent, auditable framework for labor management.
From a macro perspective, the changes can contribute to more accurate labor market data, improve regulatory oversight, and reduce disputes arising from ambiguous statuses or miscommunications. For employers, the rules provide clearer guidance on how to manage transitions, plan workforce movements, and maintain compliant records. For workers, the updates offer clearer pathways for mobility, exit, or renewal decisions, along with access to verifiable documentation that can support ongoing career opportunities.
The integrated approach suggests several expected outcomes: fewer ambiguities in worker status, more predictable administrative processes, and stronger alignment between residency status, contractual obligations, and official records. The emphasis on transparent processes supports trust between workers and employers and can contribute to a more efficient labor market with clearer expectations and better compliance with regulatory requirements.
Deliberations on broader implications
- Labor mobility: The grace period and transfer option facilitate orderly transitions, potentially encouraging workers to pursue new opportunities within the local market without ambiguity about their status.
- Compliance and governance: Automated notifications to regulatory bodies help ensure that government records stay current, reducing delays in recognizing changes in a worker’s status.
- Documentation and verification: The new digital certificates offer verifiable data points that can strengthen workers’ profiles, potentially improving access to credit, housing, and career advancement.
- Operational readiness: For organizations, the rules necessitate robust data management, timely updates, and seamless integration with HR processes to avoid non-compliance or misreporting.
Implementation guidance for employers and workers
To navigate these changes effectively, both employers and workers should adopt practical, proactive approaches that reflect the updated rules and the aims of improved transparency and efficiency.
For employers: steps to ensure compliance and smooth operations
- Validate residency and contract status before action: Implement automated checks to confirm Iqama validity for at least 60 days and verify that the worker has no active contract prior to submitting any absence report.
- Update HR workflows and systems: Align HR information systems with the new requirements to minimize manual steps and reduce the risk of errors.
- Monitor the grace period diligently: Develop dashboards or alerts to track when a worker’s status changes to disconnected from work and to monitor the 60-day window for action.
- Prepare for transfers and renewals: Establish clear internal processes for transferring workers, renewing contracts, or documenting exits within the grace period to avoid automatic Absence from Work designations.
- Maintain clear communications: Inform workers promptly about their options during the grace period and the implications of each choice, especially regarding potential impacts on payroll, benefits, and immigration status.
- Leverage digital certificates: Integrate the new Employment Certificates portal into onboarding and offboarding workflows to provide workers with timely, verifiable documentation.
For workers: steps to leverage the updates effectively
- Track residency and contract status: Regularly review Iqama validity and contract status, particularly as expiry dates approach or when considering transitions.
- Utilize the grace period proactively: If considering changing jobs, leaving the country, or renewing with the same employer, act within the 60-day window to leverage the available options.
- Prepare for automatic notifications: Understand that failure to act within the grace period can trigger automatic notifications to regulatory authorities.
- Use digital certificates strategically: Generate salary and service certificates as needed to support job applications, loans, housing, or further education, ensuring that the information remains current and accurate.
- Maintain records and documentation: Keep copies of employment letters, notices, and any communications related to transitions, which can help in legal or administrative processes.
Potential challenges and safeguards: ensuring fair use and smooth execution
As with any significant regulatory change, practical implementation may encounter challenges. Employers might face administrative burdens associated with ensuring that Iqama validity and contract status are consistently up-to-date. Workers may need support in navigating the grace period, particularly in complex career transitions or cross-border considerations. To mitigate these challenges, organizations can implement robust data governance practices, invest in training for HR staff, and establish clear lines of communication with workers about deadlines and options.
Safeguards and best practices to consider include:
- Transparent policy documentation: Provide employees with clear, written explanations of the new rules, grace period options, and the consequences of inaction.
- Auditable processes: Maintain logs and records of all absence submissions, grace-period actions, and termination notifications to support audits and compliance reviews.
- Privacy and data protection: Ensure that digital certificate data is handled securely, with appropriate access controls and consent where required.
- Contingency planning: Develop fallback procedures for system downtime or data errors to minimize disruption to critical HR processes.
- Stakeholder engagement: Involve labor representatives, legal counsel, and compliance teams in refining internal procedures to align with new rules.
Conclusion
The Qiwa platform’s updates mark a significant step in modernizing how Saudi Arabia manages employment contracts, absences, and worker transitions. By tying absence reporting to verified Iqama validity and the absence of an active contract, establishing a 60-day grace period with clearly defined options, clarifying termination and authority notification procedures, and offering digital certificates that verify employment history and earnings, the reforms seek to improve transparency, accountability, and efficiency across the labor market. The changes are designed to streamline the exit and transfer process, reduce ambiguity in worker statuses, and provide workers with practical tools to bolster their career opportunities through verifiable documentation. As employers and workers adapt to these reforms, the emphasis remains on robust compliance, proactive communication, and the strategic use of digital resources to navigate transitions with clarity and confidence.