According to the Saudi Labor Law, the employer has absolute or complete responsibility has to bear the expenditures that are associated with the work injury. According to Saudi Labor Law’s article 133, the employer is responsible and has to treat his employee till he is fit for work and must bear all the obligatory expenditure directly or indirectly pertinent to the work injury treatment such as expenditure that is relevant to the medical examination, hospitalization, prosthetic devices, radiology, medical tests, and the transport expenditures to the medical centers.

What is meant by work injury?

It is important to know what is meant by the work injury. An injury will be considered as work injury if it meets the requirements of General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). As per the Saudi Labor Law’s article 134, the occupational injury will be regarded as work injury. Any complication that occurs due to work injury will be treated as work injury. According to the Saudi Labor Law’s article 135, the employer is completely responsible to meet or bear all the expenditures pertinent to the further complication.

Salary or wages during the work injury treatment

1. As per Saudi Labor Law’s article 137, the employer must pay the salary of the affected or injured employee.

2. The affected employee will be remunerated with complete salary for the initial thirty days of treatment. It is vital to specify here that other than work injury if the employee gets sick due to any other reasons, he is eligible to get compensated medical leave for three months.

3. Employees who are affected with work injury will be compensated with seventy five percent of his salary for the next eleven months of his treatment.

4. Subsequent to 1 year (thirty days plus eleven months), if it is decided that the patient’s recovery chances are few, then the work injury or disease will be considered as permanent disability and the employee’s contracted will be terminated on that date.

5. The Employer does not have any right to claim for the expenditure that is already made for the employee who is affected with work injury.

Compensation in the event of Death, disability that is permanent or partial

1. In the event of death or disability that is permanent or partial, the employee or his legal heirs will be compensated with two kinds of benefits. This article briefs about the payment that should be provided by the employer to the employee who is injured or to the deceased employee’s legal heirs. There is another payment procedure that is required to be made by the GOSI (General Organization for Social Insurance) to the affected employee or to the deceased employee’s legal heirs whichever case is applicable.

2. If the work injury happens in the event of death or permanent disability the employee or his legal heirs whichever the case is applicable, is eligible to receive reimbursement (compensation) from the employer which is equal to the employee’s wages or salary of 3 years (36 months). But this sum must not be below SR 54,000 according to the Saudi Labor Law’s Article 138.

3. If the work injury ends up in permanent disability, the employee will be eligible to receive the reimbursement on comparative (proportional) basis.

4. The employee will be eligible to avail the benefits, as per the various sections of the Saudi Labor Law.

No compensation or reimbursement for the employee if his work injury if

1. According to the Saudi Labor Law’s Article 139, the employee is not eligible for the compensation or reimbursement if the work injury happens under the following circumstances

2. If an employee deliberately injures himself.

3. If the injury occurs due to the deliberate misconduct on the employee’s part.

4. If the employee declines or rejects to take the physician’s treatment that is arranged by the employer or if the employee declines to act as per the employer’s instructions.