Employer of record services in Saudi Arabia

Yes. We manage GOSI (General Organization for Social Insurance) contributions, which include a SANED unemployment insurance component for Saudi nationals, along with end-of-service gratuity, calculated at half a month’s salary per year for the first five years and a full month’s salary per year after that. We also manage Nitaqat (Saudization) quota compliance and work visa/Iqama sponsorship for foreign hires.

Health insurance is mandatory for all employees in Saudi Arabia, and beyond that baseline, competitive employers add housing and transport allowances (still common practice even though not always contractually required), annual flight allowances for expatriate staff, and schooling allowances for relocating families, given the large expatriate share of the private sector workforce.

Notice periods generally run 30 to 60 days depending on contract type, and end-of-service gratuity is owed on top of any notice arrangements for most terminations. Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat Saudization program also affects workforce planning, since companies are scored on their ratio of Saudi to expatriate employees, which can influence hiring and retention strategy beyond pure termination mechanics.

For Saudi national hires, onboarding can happen within one to two weeks. For expatriate hires requiring a new work visa and Iqama, the process typically takes three to six weeks given government processing timelines, which an EOR with existing sponsorship capacity and Nitaqat standing can usually manage faster than a newly incorporated entity starting from scratch.

Saudi Arabia’s Nitaqat Saudization requirements, GOSI contribution rules, and visa sponsorship process require an established local presence to manage well. An EOR that already holds Nitaqat standing and sponsorship capability lets you hire in Saudi Arabia without the licensing, capital, and Saudization ramp-up required to establish a new entity.