Saudi Arabia’s Qiwa platform has introduced a comprehensive set of updates to its employment contract system, redefining how absences are reported and expanding digital services for workers. The changes aim to increase transparency, streamline labor exits and transfers, and strengthen accountability within employer–employee relationships. The reforms touch core elements of workforce management, including the conditions under which absences can be logged, the grace period after a status change, and the automatic notifications triggered when contracts end or when workers fail to act within a given window. In addition, Qiwa has rolled out new digital certificates that workers can obtain through their Qiwa Individuals accounts, offering both current and former employees verifiable documentation of their employment history and earnings. The overall objective is to sharpen the accuracy of employment records, facilitate smoother transitions between employers or out of the country, and provide verified documents that enhance job competitiveness in a dynamic labor market.
New Updates in Qiwa’s Employment Contract System
The recent updates to Qiwa’s employment contract system restructure critical workflows that previously governed how employers report absences and manage changes in an employee’s work status. At the heart of the changes is a clear prerequisite for submitting an absence report: the worker’s residence permit, known as the Iqama, must be valid for a minimum of 60 days at the time of submission. In addition, the worker must not have an active employment contract at that exact moment. This combination of conditions is designed to prevent premature or erroneous absence reporting, ensuring that only eligible cases proceed through the system. By tying absence reporting to Iqama validity and the absence of an active contract, the platform places greater emphasis on the worker’s immediate legal and contractual status, thereby reducing the risk of administrative disputes or mismatches in official records. Such precautions are essential in a framework where digitized records are used to govern status changes that can carry significant consequences for a worker’s future employment opportunities and residency considerations.
Beyond the immediate trigger for reporting an absence, the update creates a defined sequence of consequences and choices for workers whose status shifts to “disconnected from work.” This status change initiates a 60-day grace period during which the worker must take one of three specified actions: transfer to a different employer, depart the Kingdom, or re-sign with the same employer. The 60-day window is designed to balance worker mobility with employer stability, providing a finite period for workers to reassess their options while safeguarding employers from indefinite uncertainty. If the worker fails to take any of the prescribed actions within this grace period, the system automatically marks the worker as “absent from work” and removes the worker from the employer’s official records. This automatic designation ensures consistency in the employer’s roster and protects the integrity of the organization’s staffing data. The automatic nature of the final step underscores the seriousness with which the platform treats unresolved disconnections, aiming to minimize ambiguity in labor status across multiple government and private-sector systems.
In parallel, the system clarifies how terminations are recorded and communicated. When a work contract ends—whether initiated by the employer or the employee—the event will be recorded as “terminated” only after the corresponding notice period has concluded. This ensures that both parties have a fair and transparent window to respond to the impending termination. Should the worker fail to act within the grace period following a status change, the system triggers an automatic notification to two key government bodies: the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and the Ministry of Interior. The notifications are intended to formalize the termination or extinction of the contractual relationship and to signal the need for attention from the authorities, potentially affecting a worker’s legal and residency status. Taken together, these updates aim to streamline the labor exit and transfer process, reduce administrative friction, and promote accountability in employer–employee interactions.
In addition to the operational changes, Qiwa has introduced digital services that extend beyond the core contract management functions. The platform now offers free employment-related certificates to workers through their Qiwa Individuals accounts. For currently employed users, the system enables the generation of salary certificates containing up-to-date job details. Former employees can request service certificates that summarize their past work history. These digital certificates are designed to provide verified documentation that can be used to demonstrate employment history and earnings, which can be critical for career advancement, visa processes, or new job applications. Access to these services is straightforward: users log into their Qiwa Individuals account, navigate to the “Employment Certificates” section, and follow the on-screen instructions to generate the desired documents. The platform emphasizes that these tools are intended to enhance job competitiveness by ensuring that documentation of experience is timely, accurate, and verifiable.
Absence Reporting: Eligibility and Conditions
The updated framework requires a precise alignment between a worker’s legal status and the administrative capability to log an absence. The 60-day validity criterion for the Iqama serves as a gatekeeper to ensure that only workers who retain demonstrable residency rights in the country are considered for absence reporting. This requirement also reduces the risk of processing absences for individuals whose residency documentation is nearing expiration or whose permit status is in question. The prohibition on submitting an absence report while a worker has an active contract adds another layer of verification, ensuring that the absence record accurately reflects the worker’s contractual reality. By consolidating these conditions, Qiwa reduces the likelihood of misclassifications that could ripple through payroll, benefits, and immigration records.
The absence reporting workflow is designed to be precise and auditable. Employers must confirm that the worker’s Iqama remains valid for at least 60 days at the time of submission, and they must verify that there is no active contract in force for the worker in the period surrounding the proposed absence report. This dual check helps ensure that absence records correspond to a genuine interruption in work status rather than temporary gaps that might be resolved through ongoing contractual ties. Because the absence status may influence access to benefits, payroll processing, and future employment opportunities, ensuring accuracy at the point of reporting is essential. The updated rules also imply that employers must maintain up-to-date documentation within the Qiwa system, including the worker’s current Iqama validity status and the status of any active employment contracts. This alignment across records reduces the likelihood of administrative conflicts and supports more reliable cross-checking with civil and government databases.
In practice, employers will likely implement internal controls to verify Iqama expiry dates and contract status before initiating an absence report. HR teams might adopt standard operating procedures that include periodic checks of Iqama validity as part of their routine workforce administration. They will also need to coordinate with payroll and legal compliance teams to confirm that all data elements presented to Qiwa are consistent with the worker’s official records. Such practices help minimize rebuilds or corrections after an absence report has been submitted, saving time and reducing the administrative burden on both employers and workers. The practical impact of these conditions is a more rigorous, data-driven approach to documenting why a worker is not present, which in turn strengthens the overall integrity of the employment ecosystem managed through Qiwa.
The 60-Day Grace Period and Options
When a worker’s status changes to “disconnected from work,” a clearly defined 60-day grace period begins. This window provides a structured opportunity for the employee to take one of three permitted actions. First, the worker can pursue a transfer to another employer. This option preserves the continuity of employment while allowing the employee to remain within the Saudi labor market. Second, the worker can choose to leave Saudi Arabia and exit the labor force in the short term, potentially enabling a transition to new opportunities elsewhere or a period of personal reassessment. Third, the worker can re-sign with the same employer, renewing the contractual relationship and continuing within the existing organizational framework. Each of these paths carries its own implications for residency status, visa processes, and future employability, and workers must weigh factors such as career goals, financial considerations, and long-term residence plans when making a decision.
If the worker does not take any of the three actions within the stipulated 60-day timeframe, the system automatically designates the worker as “absent from work.” In addition to this automatic designation, the worker’s record is removed from the employer’s active roster. This automatic step ensures that the employer’s staffing records reflect the absence status and prevents the inequality that might arise from prolonged uncertainty about an employee’s status. The removal from the company’s records does not necessarily end the worker’s overall status under national regulation; rather, it marks a formal administrative change that may trigger subsequent steps within government systems or regulatory processes. It is important for both employers and workers to understand that the grace period is a time-bound, decision-driven phase designed to deter delays and to promote clear planning around human resources and regulatory compliance.
From an employer perspective, anticipating the grace period means preparing for potential reshuffling of teams, redistributing workloads, and planning for replacement or re-engagement as needed. HR teams may develop contingency plans that align with the probability of either a transfer, departure, or re-signing scenario. These preparations should include clear communication channels with affected employees, documentation of all actions taken, and coordination with payroll and legal advisors to ensure that any transitions comply with applicable laws and platform rules. For workers, the grace period is a critical juncture that demands careful consideration of professional goals and personal circumstances. The decision to stay with the same employer, move to a new employer, or depart the country bears significant implications for future work options, compensation structures, benefits continuity, and residency status. Understanding the timelines, potential consequences, and required steps within each option will be essential to navigating the period effectively.
The automatic consequences of inaction within the grace period—namely, the labeling of the worker as “absent from work” and the removal from the employer’s records—underscore the seriousness with which Qiwa treats unresolved disconnections. These mechanisms emphasize accountability for timely decision-making and provide a predictable framework for both parties to adjust to new realities in the labor market. They also create an incentive for workers to actively engage with the options available, rather than letting the situation linger unaddressed. Employers, in turn, can rely on a clearer understanding of how long a worker may remain in limbo and what steps are necessary to maintain operational continuity. Together, these features aim to reduce ambiguity, speed up labor decisions, and contribute to a more orderly process for handling workforce transitions.
Terminations and Notifications to Authorities
The updated system clarifies the lifecycle of a work contract, including how terminations are recorded and the sequence of events that follow. When a contract ends, whether the termination is initiated by the employer or the worker, the record is updated to reflect termination after the applicable notice period has elapsed. This ensures that the termination is properly documented and that both parties have had a fair opportunity to respond and prepare for the change in employment status. The requirement to wait until the notice period concludes provides a formal and predictable framework for concluding the contractual relationship, which is important for payroll finalization, benefits settlements, and record-keeping accuracy within Qiwa and other related government systems.
In the event that the worker does not act within the 60-day grace period after a status change to disconnected from work, the system triggers automatic notifications to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and the Ministry of Interior. These notifications serve as formal signals to regulatory authorities about the change in a worker’s status and the employer’s actions (or inactions) in response to the status change. The automatic nature of these notifications aligns with the overarching goal of providing timely, transparent, and auditable information to the government bodies responsible for overseeing labor and immigration matters. By ensuring that key agencies are promptly informed of status changes, the system helps maintain coherence between corporate HR records, worker status, and national regulatory requirements.
The combination of status changes, grace periods, and automatic notifications is designed to prevent gaps in documentation and to facilitate smoother administrative processing across multiple agencies. Employers may benefit from clearer guidance on when a contract is considered terminated and when regulatory communications must occur, reducing disputes and compliance risks. Workers gain a more transparent view of how their employment status is tracked and what steps may be required to align with legal and regulatory expectations. The integrated approach aims to bolster trust in the employment ecosystem by making the processes around contract termination, status changes, and regulatory reporting more consistent and straightforward.
Rationale, Transparency, and Systemic Impact
The overarching purpose of these updates is to streamline the labor exit and transfer process while enhancing transparency and accountability across the employer–employee relationship. By standardizing the criteria for reporting absences, clarifying the consequences of status changes, and automating notifications to key government bodies, Qiwa seeks to minimize ambiguities that can lead to disputes, missed deadlines, or regulatory noncompliance. A more transparent framework helps ensure that both parties have a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities during transitions, which is critical in a dynamic labor market characterized by mobility and changing workforce needs. In addition, the introduction of digital certificates for employment history and earnings provides an official, verifiable source of documentation that can facilitate job searches, visa applications, and professional advancement. This move toward verifiable documentation aligns with broader initiatives to modernize government services through digitization and to empower workers with portable, credible records of their work experience.
From an employer perspective, the updates can reduce administrative ambiguity and improve the accuracy of personnel records. The system’s ability to flag and manage status changes, coupled with automatic notifications to regulatory bodies, helps organizations stay compliant and responsive to regulatory expectations. It also supports better workforce planning, as employers gain clearer visibility into the timing and implications of contract terminations, grace periods, and potential separations. For employees, the clarified rules provide a structured path toward resolution when employment relationships shift or end. The 60-day grace period, the defined options for action, and the automatic status changes all create predictability in an otherwise complex environment, enabling workers to plan their careers with greater confidence. The digital certificates add a practical benefit by offering verifiable, portable documentation that can bolster future employment opportunities and facilitate administrative processes beyond Saudi Arabia if necessary.
The intended effect is to create a more orderly, auditable, and accountable labor market where records are synchronized across platforms and government authorities. The emphasis on Iqama validity and contract status helps ensure that the status data in Qiwa accurately reflects a worker’s current legal and contractual position. By tying absence reporting to objective eligibility criteria, the system reduces the potential for abuse or misinformation and supports a fairer, more accurate depiction of participation in the workforce. The automatic notifications to MHRSD and the Ministry of Interior further reinforce the importance of regulatory alignment, ensuring that status changes are promptly reflected in official channels and reducing the likelihood of inconsistent records across institutions.
Digital Certificates: Worker Services on Qiwa
A notable advancement within Qiwa’s modernization effort is the introduction of digital certificate services accessible through the Qiwa Individuals account. These services provide workers with convenient, free access to employment-related certificates that can bolster their professional profiles and support mobility within the labor market. For currently employed workers, the new feature enables the generation of salary certificates that incorporate up-to-date job details, including position, salary, and tenure. This capability ensures that workers have an authoritative source of earnings information that can be shared with prospective employers, lenders, or immigration authorities as needed. Such certificates can streamline applications for new roles or visa processes by eliminating the need for manual requests or prolonged verification from former employers. The accuracy and timeliness of these salary certificates are enhanced by the direct integration with an employee’s current employment records within Qiwa.
Former employees also stand to benefit from the digital certificate suite, as they can request service certificates that summarize their prior work history. Service certificates serve as concise, verifiable records of the worker’s past roles, periods of employment, and official responsibilities. They can be valuable for career transitions, references, or enrollment in training programs where proof of prior experience is required. The availability of these documents through a secure, centralized platform reduces the administrative burden on human resources departments and former workers alike, enabling faster access to credible documentation. The digital certificates are designed to be easily shareable with prospective employers or institutions, enhancing credibility and facilitating smoother onboarding or visa processing.
Access steps for these digital certificates are straightforward: workers log into their Qiwa Individuals account, navigate to the “Employment Certificates” section, and follow the instructions to request either a salary certificate or a service certificate. The platform emphasizes that the certificates are designed to be reliable, with information sourced directly from the worker’s official employment records within Qiwa. By providing a verifiable, tamper-resistant document trail, these certificates help protect both employees and employers from disputes over past compensation, roles, or tenure. The intended outcome is to improve the overall quality and credibility of documentation that accompanies job transitions, licensing processes, or international mobility.
The introduction of digital certificates aligns with a broader strategy to streamline administrative processes and reduce friction for both workers and employers. Verified, readily accessible documentation can reduce waiting times, minimize the need for manual verification, and support faster decision-making in hiring or residency-related matters. The certificates also offer a foundation for more robust workforce analytics, allowing organizations and regulators to rely on consistent, auditable data when assessing labor-market dynamics, compliance, and workforce development initiatives. In addition, the availability of such certificates promotes transparency, as all essential documentation is generated from authenticated, centralized records rather than disparate or duplicate sources.
Accessing Employment Certificates: A Step-by-Step Guide
To leverage the new digital certificate services, workers should first log into their Qiwa Individuals account. Once authenticated, navigate to the dedicated section labeled “Employment Certificates.” Within this area, users can select the type of certificate they need—either a salary certificate for currently employed staff or a service certificate summarizing past work history for former employees. After selecting the desired certificate type, follow the guided steps provided by the platform to authorize the generation and obtain the document. The system is designed to ensure that only eligible individuals can access the certificates, leveraging the secure authentication mechanisms built into the Qiwa Individuals portal. The certificates can then be downloaded or shared digitally as required, ensuring convenient distribution to prospective employers, financial institutions, or immigration authorities.
If a worker encounters any issues during the certificate request process, they should refer to the in-platform help resources or contact the support channels provided within Qiwa. The company emphasizes that these tools are intended to complement the core contract management functions, offering workers a reliable mechanism to validate employment histories and earnings. By centralizing certificate generation and retrieval, Qiwa reduces the administrative effort associated with obtaining official employment documentation and thereby enhances the overall user experience for both current and former employees. The intent behind these digital services is to provide verifiable, up-to-date documentation that reflects a worker’s actual employment experience, supporting more efficient transitions in the job market and facilitating regulatory or credentialing processes that may require formal proof of employment.
The broader consequence of providing digital certificates is a more competitive labor ecosystem in which workers can confidently showcase verified experience and compensation. Employers can rely on these documents for quicker onboarding and more accurate due diligence, while lenders, educational institutions, and regulatory bodies can access credible records with reduced risk of misinformation. The move toward digital certificates also reduces the burden on HR departments by lowering the need for manual response to certificate requests, freeing resources to focus on core hiring and compliance tasks. Overall, the introduction of these digital services represents a key step in Qiwa’s ongoing drive to modernize labor administration, improve data quality, and empower both workers and employers through better access to verifiable records.
Practical Implications for Employers and HR Teams
For employers and HR professionals, the updated rules necessitate careful attention to data accuracy and internal process alignment. Before submitting any absence report, HR teams must verify the worker’s Iqama validity and ensure that there is no active contract in effect for the worker at the time of submission. This requires a routine check of immigration status and contract status within the organization’s records, along with timely updates in the Qiwa system to reflect changes in status. By institutionalizing these checks, organizations can prevent erroneous absence declarations that could lead to disputes, payroll discrepancies, or regulatory concerns. The changes also underscore the need for robust data governance practices, ensuring that employee records are consistently updated, correctly linked to government databases, and accessible to authorized personnel across departments.
HR teams should also prepare for the management of the 60-day grace period following a status change to “disconnected from work.” This includes establishing clear internal workflows for handling the three permitted actions—transfer, departure, or re-signing—with explicit deadlines and escalation paths. Organizations may want to implement automated reminders, status tracking dashboards, and regular reviews to ensure timely decision-making by employees while maintaining compliance with Qiwa’s requirements. Additionally, training for HR staff on the nuances of termination notices, grace periods, and automatic notifications to MHRSD and the Ministry of Interior will help minimize miscommunications and ensure seamless regulatory reporting. As part of overall compliance, employers should coordinate with legal counsel or compliance officers to interpret any ambiguities and to ensure that all actions align with national labor laws and platform policies.
From a workflow perspective, integrating Qiwa’s processes into existing HR systems can help streamline operations. Data synchronization between Qiwa and internal payroll or HR management platforms ensures consistency across systems, reducing the risk of out-of-sync records that may trigger disputes or delays. Employers may also benefit from the new digital certificates by incorporating these documents into onboarding packages or employment verification procedures for prospective hires. The availability of structured, verifiable employment documentation can accelerate background checks, visa applications, and professional licensing processes, ultimately supporting faster and more reliable hiring across the organization. In addition to operational benefits, the updated framework supports reputational and regulatory advantages by demonstrating a commitment to transparent, orderly management of labor relationships and compliance with national procedures.
What This Means for Workers and Mobility
For workers, the updates introduce new, explicit pathways and decision points during times of change in employment status. The requirement that an absence report can only be submitted when the Iqama has at least 60 days of validity and when there is no active contract ensures that absence declarations are grounded in a stable, verifiable scenario. This reduces the likelihood of improper reporting or conflicting records that can complicate residency, work authorization, or future job prospects. The 60-day grace period after a status change provides workers with a structured window to explore options—whether they wish to transfer to another employer, depart the country, or renew their engagement with the same employer. These options accommodate diverse career trajectories and personal circumstances, enabling workers to plan their next steps with greater clarity. While the period can generate a sense of urgency, it also affords a predictable framework within which workers can navigate transitions, especially in a market where employer changes and visa processes can be time-consuming.
The automatic designation as “absent from work” after the grace period can have meaningful consequences for a worker’s professional identity, payroll access, and eligibility for new employment. Workers should be mindful of this threshold and make timely decisions to avoid unintended consequences, including potential gaps in income or gaps in employment verification. Conversely, workers who actively pursue one of the permissible options can maintain continuity in their career path, seek new opportunities, or complete necessary regulatory steps to legitimize a new work arrangement. The automatic notifications to government authorities in cases of inaction further underscore the importance of staying engaged with one’s status and responsibilities within the labor framework. This emphasis on proactive management of status changes is designed to minimize uncertainty for employers, regulators, and the workers themselves.
The digital certificate services also offer tangible benefits for workers seeking to document their experience and earnings with credibility. Salary certificates for current employees and service certificates for former employees provide verifiable proof of employment history that can support job applications, licensing requirements, or financial arrangements. The ability to access these documents through a secure digital platform reduces the friction associated with obtaining official records, facilitates faster information sharing with prospective employers, and supports smoother international mobility if needed. For workers, these tools enhance job competitiveness by providing verifiable, up-to-date documentation that accurately reflects their contributions and compensation. The move toward verifiable documentation also helps reduce disputes over past earnings or tenure, contributing to a more transparent labor environment.
Workers should remain aware of how these changes intersect with broader regulatory requirements and company policies. While the Qiwa platform offers enhanced transparency and efficient documentation, workers must still comply with immigration, tax, and employment laws as applicable. They should ensure that their Iqama remains valid, monitor any changes to contract status, and actively participate in decisions during grace periods if they face a status change. By remaining informed and engaged, workers can navigate transitions with confidence, safeguarding their professional reputation and ensuring they meet regulatory expectations. The combination of clear rules for absence reporting, a defined grace period, and access to verifiable digital certificates positions workers to manage career transitions more effectively while maintaining compliance.
Conclusion
The latest updates to Qiwa’s employment contract system mark a significant shift in how absences, status changes, and terminations are managed in Saudi Arabia. By tying absence submissions to Iqama validity and the absence of active contracts, delineating a 60-day grace period with concrete options, and implementing automatic notifications to key authorities, the platform aims to deliver greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency in labor management. The introduction of digital certificates for employment history and earnings provides workers with verifiable, portable documentation that can enhance competitiveness in a dynamic job market. For employers, these changes bring clearer workflows, stronger data governance, and improved regulatory alignment, while workers gain structured pathways for transitions and access to credible documentation. Together, the reforms reflect a broader effort to modernize labor administration, reduce ambiguity, and support smoother transitions for both employers and employees within Saudi Arabia’s evolving labor landscape.