Resignation in Labor Law is considered one of the causes for terminating the contractual relationship between the government and the public employee. While resignation is a legitimate right for every public employee; however, the legislator gave the employer in the public sector the discretionary power to accept or postpone the resignation without explicitly indicating its rejection, as the principle of public good has to be ensured by the continuity of the public service. In this guide, we shall discuss the definition of resignation, its types, valid reasons, its provisions and the resulting prohibitions.

What is resignation in Saudi labor law? 

It is the termination of the employee's service as per his request, or his taking a certain position that the law construes as the employee's desire to leave his job; i.e. resignation, because the employee may find that his job is no longer compatible or for other reasons. However, the public job is not directly subject to the employee's free will to resign because the resignation of an employee under the Labor Law without giving prior notice disrupt the continuity of the public service, due to the inability to fill in the vacant position immediately. 

Thus, the employee's desire to resign has to accord with the public interest. In principle, the employee has the right to resign and is not obligated to perform undesirable work; however, the government has the right to defer the resignation within a certain period to keep the continuity of the public service. This does not give the government the right to absolute rejection to achieve the public interest. In the following section, we shall discuss the types of resignation in Saudi labor law.

Types of Resignation and Valid Reasons

Resignation is either explicit or implicit (legal); and each type has its own conditions under the Saudi Labor Law. Below we shall discuss these types in detail:

(1) Explicit Resignation

It is the written resignation that the employee submits to his employer, expressing the desire to leave the job permanently based on organizational provisions that takes into consideration the public interest, then the individual interest; i.e. the employee’s desire to resign. Accordingly, the employee’s relationship with the employer does not end with the mere submission of the resignation letter, but rather with its acceptance.

But for the resignation to be explicit, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

Conditions for Explicit Resignation:

1. The resignation is written, not verbal, so that it can be evidenced. The employee shall have the opportunity to reconsider before submitting the resignation, to fully understand the seriousness of the decision.

2. The absence of disciplinary measures against the employee; i.e. being referred to investigation, in which case the resignation shall not be accepted. If the investigation dismisses the employee liability for what is attributed to him, the resignation may be accepted pursuant to the Saudi Labor Law.

3. The resignation is unconditional; otherwise it is considered null and void and does not entail any legal consequences.

4. The employee is not subjected to oppression or pressure that affects his will and urges him to submit resignation, if so; the resignation is considered null and void and does not entail any legal consequences.

5. The employee who has submitted his resignation continues working until a decision is made, or for 90 days after submitting the resignation, pursuant to Article (1) of the indicated regulations. If such period expires without a response from the administration, this is considered an implicit approval on the resignation.

(2) Implicit (Legal) Resignation

It is when the employee's behavior implies their desire to leave the job, and the administration considers his behavior as evidence of service termination. Generally, the resignation under the Saudi Labor Law has to be explicit and in-writing indicating the employee's desire to leave the job. However, as an exception to this principle, there are cases that the legislator considered to be evidence of the employee’s desire to resign. The legislator considers the employee as resigned in the following cases:

1. If the employee is absent from work for 15 consecutive days or 30 non-consecutive days in one year.

2. If the employee is absent from work with the intention of striking.

3. If the employee joins a foreign or governmental entity, without permission from their employer

There are also conditions for termination of service, which are:

Conditions for Implicit (Legal) Resignation:

1. The employer sends a warning prior to the termination decision to the official address of the employee. Accordingly, the employee is considered informed of the warning; however, if he claims otherwise, he shall sustain the burden of proof. For the warning to have an effect on terminating the service, it shall be in writing and sent directly to the official address of the warnee, or if the warnee receives it and signs the acknowledgement of receipt.

2. Implicit resignation is valid if the employee has been absent from work without permission. However, if the absence is for sickness, the employee submits a request to be referred to the medical commission, accordingly the reason for the absence is on occasion of sickness which does not entail resignation. Pursuant to the Saudi Labor Law, in case of resignation, the employer issues a service termination decision and provides End of Service Clearance Certificate including the employee's data of employment.

Resignation Provisions under the Saudi Labor Law

Resignation in the public sector has to fulfill the following conditions to be valid:

• Written Resignation: 

The employee submits an official resignation letter to the government authority, which responds through the same official means, and gives the employee an official statement of the termination of his service.

• Notice Period: 

The employee submits prior notice of the resignation letter. The notice period is determined pursuant to the internal regulations of the government authority specified to have the opportunity to find a replacement and keep the continuity of the public service. 

• Resignation Review:

According to the Saudi Labor Law, after submitting the resignation letter, the government authority reviews this request and takes the appropriate decision considering the individual interest and maintaining the continuity of the public service.

Under the Saudi Labor Law, if the employee or worker wishes to rescind the resignation, the following steps are to be carried out:

Rescinding a Resignation in the Public Sector under the Saudi Labor Law:

If the employee has submitted his resignation, then rescind it, the following conditions are to be fulfilled:

• The rescinding request is submitted before the expiry of the prior notice period.
• The position from which the employee resigned is vacant and no other employee has been appointed.
• Approval of the senior management in the government authority has to be obtained.

Rights of the resigned employee in the Saudi government sector

• Under the Saudi labor law, the worker who resigned from the public sector is entitled to obtain all the rights stipulated by the Law, and he also obtains benefits that are determined for workers in the government sector, such as social and health insurance. The employee may also rescind his resignation and serve the probation period.

Probation Period Consequent to Resignation 

• If the employee submits his resignation and it is accepted and his service is terminated, and then wishes to return to service again, he is required to have a six-month probation period calculated from the date of termination of employment. This applies to any job subject to the Civil Pension Law.

Conclusion

Resignation under the Saudi Labor Law is not an individual decision that the employee can freely choose to decide; however it is subject to certain controls aiming to avoid abuse in using the right to resign in order to ensure the continuity of the public service.