Saudi Arabia: SAR 180,000 compensation for expat worker for illegal termination

The Saudi Court of Appeal awarded compensation to an expatriate worker of Saudi Riyal 180,000 (Rs 38,87,264), after he was dismissed from his job without a valid reason and reported absconding, local media reported.

The expatriate filed a lawsuit against the organization in which he was working, accusing it of arbitrarily dismissing him and depriving him of his job dues due to a malicious report, demanding compensation of one million riyals (Rs 2,16,00,473).

According to the Arabic daily Okaz, the plaintiff stated in his petition to the Court of Appeal, ever since the date of filing the malicious absence report by the employer, he remained unemployed and was unable to either transfer sponsorship or renew his residency permit (iqama) for a period of 22 months.

He noted that this caused material, moral and psychological damage to him and his family.

In particular, he pointed out that his daughter, who was studying outside the Kingdom, should not be able to re-enter the Kingdom due to the expiration of her residence.

However, a court of first instance rejected his claim, but after the appeal, the court ruled “in form and substance” in the amount of SAR 180,000 in compensation for the damage, and ordered the organization to pay all job dues to the plaintiff for the rest of the contract term to dismiss him “without a legitimate reason.”

Article 77 of the Saudi Labor Law states that “if the contract is terminated for an unlawful reason, the party who has suffered damage from this termination shall have the right to compensation estimated by the Labor Disputes Settlement Commission, taking into account the material and moral damages he sustained, the condition, possibility and circumstances of the termination.”