Saudi Arabia Introduces Digital Solution for Domestic Worker Contract Issues
In a major advancement for labor market regulation, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has unveiled a groundbreaking digital service that transforms how domestic employment contracts are managed when workers cease reporting to their duties. This innovative solution, launched through the national unified recruitment platform Musaned, represents a significant component of broader labor reforms designed to streamline employment procedures while enhancing contractual clarity and compliance throughout the Kingdom.
Understanding the Work Interruption Service
The Work Interruption Service, officially introduced in February 2026, functions as an online mechanism enabling individual employers to legally terminate employment contracts for domestic workers who have stopped attending work. This development addresses persistent legal and administrative uncertainties that both employers and workers have encountered under previous regulatory frameworks.
Previously, when domestic workers disappeared or failed to report for work—a situation known as "huroob"—employers faced limited formal recourse. They typically endured months of waiting or navigated complex bureaucratic processes to terminate contracts, while workers remained in ambiguous legal positions, often lacking clear rights or protections.
How the New Digital Service Operates
When a domestic worker stops reporting to work, employers can now submit a termination request through the Musaned platform. This digitally-filed request receives legal recognition and initiates a formal process that replaces older, informal practices. The procedure follows specific guidelines based on the worker's duration in Saudi Arabia:
- Workers in Saudi Arabia for less than two years: Their contracts can be terminated, and they must exit the Kingdom within 60 days. Failure to comply constitutes a breach of residency and labor laws.
- Workers in Saudi Arabia for more than two years: They receive two options within the 60-day period: transfer to a new employer or obtain a final exit visa and leave the country.
These structured 60-day grace periods establish clear timelines that balance employer requirements with worker rights.
Key Features and Benefits of the Service
The new service provides multiple advantages through its digital framework:
- Transparency: Regularizing status through Musaned eliminates informal or ad-hoc procedures.
- Efficiency: Employers can initiate contract termination online instead of completing lengthy in-person paperwork.
- Fairness: Workers receive defined time frames to resolve their status or secure new employment.
The Musaned platform, which already facilitates domestic worker recruitment, visa processing, and documentation management, now incorporates this work interruption functionality—expanding its role as the central digital hub for household employment governance.
Worker Mobility and Protection Enhancements
Importantly, the Work Interruption Service incorporates labor mobility features, meaning workers whose contracts are terminated have opportunities to change employers under regulated conditions. This represents a significant departure from older norms where workers possessed limited agency once their contracts ended or if they left their employers—conditions often associated with the kafala sponsorship system that Saudi Arabia has been reforming for several years.
This mobility component demonstrates that the new service extends beyond mere contract termination to ensure workers are not left stranded without legal rights. It aligns with other regulatory updates that provide workers with defined grace periods to regularize their status or transfer sponsorship.
Broader Context of Labor Policy Reforms
The launch of the Work Interruption Service occurs within the context of comprehensive labor-system modernization efforts in Saudi Arabia. Over the past two years, the country has introduced numerous digital tools and regulatory updates to formalize employment relations:
- Digital Platform Expansion: Musaned, historically used for domestic worker recruitment and documentation, now expands into full employment lifecycle services.
- Complementary Reforms: Qiwa, another national platform, has already implemented reforms including a 60-day grace period before reporting a worker as absent, providing time for re-contracting, transfer, or legal exit from the Kingdom.
These platforms form part of a broader digital governance strategy aimed at reducing manual bureaucracy, enhancing transparency, and digitizing labor-market interactions.
Impact on Employers and Workers
For Employers: Domestic staff employers, typically families or private households, have historically faced challenges with contractual enforcement. Workers who disappeared while remaining legally in the country created legal and logistical ambiguity, while lack of formal procedures prevented quick hiring of replacements. The Work Interruption Service now provides a clear legal pathway to contract termination, reducing risks and confusion while establishing predictable standards for conflict resolution.
For Workers: For domestic workers, particularly expatriates from abroad, this reform offers defined timeframes to regularize status rather than indefinite limbo, pathways to transfer employment instead of immediate repatriation in certain cases, and legal clarity regarding rights and obligations under Saudi labor regulations. By formalizing the process, the system aims to protect vulnerable workers from arbitrary treatment while balancing employer needs.
Advancement Toward Formal Labor Governance
Domestic work has frequently operated in regulatory grey zones with informal contracts or undocumented changes. By codifying termination and mobility processes digitally through Musaned, Saudi Arabia is pushing the sector toward formal labor governance, mirroring reforms in the private sector that emphasize digital documentation and lawful compliance.
While Saudi Arabia does not fully operate under international labor frameworks, these reforms bring its system closer to globally recognized best practices by ensuring contract transparency, digital record-keeping, time-bound status resolution, and balanced worker mobility with employer rights.
The Work Interruption Service represents a notable shift in how the Kingdom manages domestic employment relations, transitioning from largely manual, informal arrangements to structured, transparent, digital processes. It reflects ongoing efforts to modernize labor governance, protect rights on both sides, and integrate labor-market activity into unified digital platforms like Musaned and Qiwa.
