Are you a Saudi employee in the private sector, or do you run a business that hires Saudis? Then the way your salary counts under Nitaqat is about to change. On 25 October, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud directed a package of support measures for citizens, based on what His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, presented, alongside new electricity and water tariffs from 1 January 2027. One of those measures raises the minimum wage at which a Saudi worker counts in full towards localisation quotas, and the Qiwa platform of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has now set out what that means in practice.
How is a salary counted today? Under the current rules, a Saudi earning SAR 4,000 or more counts as one full worker. Someone paid between SAR 3,000 and just under SAR 4,000 counts as half, and anyone below SAR 3,000 is not counted at all.
What changes in April 2027? From 25 April 2027 the full-count threshold becomes SAR 5,000. Pay of SAR 4,000 to just under SAR 5,000 then counts as half a worker, and pay below SAR 4,000 drops out of the count.
And in 2028? From 25 April 2028 the threshold rises again, to SAR 6,000. A salary between SAR 5,000 and just under SAR 6,000 earns only a half count, and anything under SAR 5,000 is no longer counted. In about 18 months, the bar for a full count goes up by 50%.
Who is covered? Dr Abdullah Abu Ithnain, Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labour Affairs, said five groups fall under the decision: full-time staff, part-time staff, people on flexible work arrangements, students working part time, and persons with disabilities who are able to work.
Must employers raise pay? No general minimum wage is being set; the change only affects how Saudi staff are counted for localisation. A company that keeps Saudi salaries below the new thresholds, however, will see those employees count as half or not at all, lowering its Saudisation ratio. The stated aim is to lift wage levels and keep citizens in private-sector jobs, and firms have six months to prepare for the first step and a further twelve months before the second.
