Leaving Work Without Notice Under Article 81
The calculator is set to "Employee left under Article 81", so the resignation fractions do not apply. Enter your actual wage and dates.
Calculate your full award
The seven cases in Article 81
The employee may leave without notice and keep all statutory rights in these cases:
- The employer fails to meet its essential contractual or statutory obligations to the employee.
- It is proven that the employer or its representative deceived the employee about the terms and conditions of work at contracting.
- The employee is assigned, without consent, work fundamentally different from what was agreed, beyond what Article 60 allows.
- Violent assault or indecent conduct by the employer, a family member or the responsible manager towards the employee or a family member.
- Cruel, unjust or insulting treatment by the employer or the responsible manager.
- A serious danger at the workplace threatening the employee's safety or health, which the employer knows of and does not act to remove.
- The employer's conduct pushes the employee into appearing to end the contract (constructive dismissal).
What you are owed
- The full award under Article 84, without the Article 85 fractions, even with under two years of service.
- No notice compensation owed by you.
- Your pay up to the last day, and pay for unused leave.
Example: actual wage SAR 8,000 and 2 years 9 months of service; the employer has not paid wages for three months despite written demands.
As a resignation: one third only ≈ SAR 3,667.
Under Article 81: the full award = 2.75 × 4,000 = SAR 11,000, plus the unpaid wages.
If your case is unclear, leaving may be treated as a resignation without notice — compare the resignation calculation and the notice period. Prefer Arabic? Use the Arabic version.
Frequently asked questions
My salary is late — can I leave without notice?
The first case in Article 81 is the employer's failure to meet its essential contractual or statutory obligations to the employee, and paying wages is among the most important. Whether the case is proven is decided in any dispute, so document the delay in writing and keep your bank statements before leaving.
Do the resignation fractions apply if I leave under Article 81?
No. Leaving under Article 81 is not a resignation, and the text preserves "all statutory rights", so the award is calculated in full under Article 84 whatever the length of service.
Do I need to give notice or file a complaint before leaving?
The text requires neither. In practice you carry the burden of proving the case, so document the breach and write to the employer before leaving.
What is constructive dismissal?
The seventh case: the employer's conduct, such as unfair treatment or breaching the contract, pushes the employee into appearing to end the contract. It is treated as if the employer ended it.
Am I owed extra compensation for the termination?
The full award is fixed by the text. Article 77 compensation for the employee in Article 81 cases is not settled and opinions differ, so do not count on it.
Sources
- Ministry of Human Resources — cases in which the worker may leave without notice (Arabic)
- Umm Al-Qura — Labour Law amendments by Royal Decree M/44: definition of resignation and Article 79 bis (Arabic)
- Ministry of Human Resources — work relations: current text of Articles 74, 79 bis and 84–88 (Arabic)
- HRDF — Saudi Labour Law, Articles 80, 81, 84, 85 and 87 (English)
Figures and formulas on this page were last reviewed on 2026-11-03.