Saudi employees limited to 5 contracts a year for Nitaqat counting

RIYADH — The "Qiwa" platform, operated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, has established rules for counting Saudi employees under the "Nitaqat" Saudization program. Under these rules, an employee's contracts in the past 52 weeks must not total more than five for them to still be considered a single Saudi worker for Nitaqat purposes.

The platform explained that a Saudi worker must have a valid and registered employment contract on the "Qiwa" platform with a minimum salary of SR4,000, and they cannot be classified as part-time or a student. The "Qiwa" platform announced that a new employment contract cannot be granted to a Saudi worker if they have already signed seven contracts within a one-year timeframe (365 days) from the initial contract's date.

An eighth contract cannot be issued until a full year has passed since the first contract within the period in which the limit was exceeded. This situation previously led to the system displaying the message to employers: "No new employment contract is allowed for the Saudi employee." Additionally, the platform clarified that a Saudi worker can be bound by a maximum of two employment contracts at any given time.

If a worker wishes to take on an additional job while holding two existing contracts, they must first terminate one of their current contracts before signing a new employment agreement.