Decision to raise minimum wage for Saudis under Nitaqat to SAR 4,000 comes into effect today

Logo of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development

The decision to raise the minimum salaries for citizens in the private sector to SAR 4,000 under the Nitaqat program comes into effect today, April 18, 2021.

In November 2020, Ahmed Al-Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, issued a decision by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to raise the minimum salaries for citizens from SAR 3,000 to SAR 4,000 under the Nitaqat program.

However, the decision stipulates that Saudi employees should receive salaries not less than SAR 4,000 in order to be included in their companies’ Saudization records in the Nitaqat system.

In addition, Saudi employees receiving salaries of SAR 3,000 are viewed as “half” workers in their companies’ Saudization records in the Nitaqat system, while Saudis receiving salaries of less than SAR 3,000 are not included at all.

Part-time employees will be included as “half” workers in their companies’ Saudization records in the Nitaqat system, provided that they pay their social insurance subscriptions, with a minimum salary of SAR 3,000. In addition, the part-timers should not be included in the Saudization records of more than two entities.

The decision includes the Saudi students residing in the Kingdom who regularly work on a part-time basis, as well as those who permanently work as part-timers, and the others who work under a flexible system.