Saudi ArabiaLabour and employment

Saudi Labour Law Compliance Guidebook for Automotive Companies, Part 1: Basic Requirements

The 54 basic labour requirements MHRSD inspectors check at Saudi dealerships, and how one gap, multiplied by every worker, becomes a six-figure fine.

  • Edition 1 · 2026 · Part 1 of 2
  • 54 standards · 60-page PDF
  • 2 in 3MHRSD inspection visits found a violation (Q1 2026)
  • SAR 20Kper case for lending workers out or trading visas
  • 54basic requirements in this part

At a glance

Region
Saudi Arabia
Topic
Labour and employment
Law
Saudi Labour Law · MHRSD Decision 112377 (Feb 2026)
Regulator
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD)
Scope
54 standards
Format
60-page PDF, free
Edition
Edition 1 · 2026 · Part 1 of 2

What this guidebook covers

A dealership employs technicians, advisors, sales staff, drivers and car-wash crews, often across several branches. Most fines in MHRSD's Decision 112377 (February 2026) are charged per worker, so one wrong payroll rule or roster habit is multiplied by everyone it touches. Unpaid fines freeze Qiwa and Ajeer: no new visas, transfers or permits.

Part 1 covers the 54 basic requirements every establishment must meet, across contracts, Saudization and permits, health and safety, hours and leave, wages and end of service, and more. Part 2 covers the advanced checklist.

The 10 areas in Part 1

AreaFines up to
Employment contracts and recordsup to SAR 100K
Saudization and work permitsup to SAR 100K
Occupational health and safetyup to SAR 5K
Working hours and leaveup to SAR 3K per worker
Wages and end of serviceup to SAR 3K per worker
Women employmentup to SAR 3K per worker
Discipline and conductup to SAR 3K per worker
Work environment and welfareup to SAR 5K
Training and developmentup to SAR 100K
Fire and emergency safetyup to SAR 1K

How to run a Saudi labour law audit (basic requirements), step by step

  1. Confirm what applies. Count every worker under the establishment's unified number to find its category: A (50+ workers), B (21–49) or C (20 or fewer). The category sets the fine.
  2. Walk the site, standard by standard. Score each checkpoint Pass, Fail or N/A. N/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Sample worker files, payroll and rosters, and count how many workers each gap affects: many fines are per worker.
  3. Capture the evidence. A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: contracts, permits, payroll and wage protection records, rosters and leave records.
  4. Give every fail an owner and a fix time. Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard in the PDF carries an ideal fix time, counted from audit submission.
  5. Fix it, then prove it. The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.
  6. Re-check at the next audit. Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn't repeat across the network.

Who this guidebook is for

  • Dealer principals and GMs: see how fast per-worker fines add up
  • HR and branch managers: know what inspectors check, and fix it first
  • Auditors: sample the right records and count the workers affected

A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.

Free download

Get the full Saudi Labour Law Compliance Guidebook for Automotive Companies, Part 1: Basic Requirements

60-page PDF, one page per standard. Free: enter your email and it downloads.

  • Every standardThe rule and the costWhich law and regulator, the maximum penalty and what else can happen.
  • Every standardRight way, wrong wayIllustrated pass and fail examples, so front-line staff see what good looks like.
  • Every standardHow to audit itThe checkpoints, the evidence to capture and the ideal time to fix a gap.

Put it into practice

Checklists for this guidebook

Further reading

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