Saudi Arabia
Overview
Please review the information below and then return to the workplace harassment prevention course.
Harassment and discrimination based on a protected characteristic are prohibited under national law. National law also provides employees protection from bullying.
Applicable Laws
The primary national law prohibiting employment discrimination and harassment on the basis of any protected characteristic is the Labor Law (alternate translation here).
The Anti-Harassment Law imposes criminal penalties for harassment, including workplace harassment.
Employers have a duty under the Labor Law to refrain from doing anything that would nullify or weaken the application of equal opportunities or treatment in employment whether through exclusion, differentiation or preference between job applicants or employees on the basis of race, colour, gender, age, disability, social status or any other form of discrimination. This obligation has been interpreted to require employers to prevent workplace harassment.
Protected Characteristics
Harassment or discrimination based on any characteristic set forth below is prohibited in Saudi Arabia.
- Race
- Colour
- Gender
- Age
- Disability
- Social status
- Any other protected characteristic
Regional, state or other political subdivision laws may provide additional, separate standards and remedies for certain prohibited conduct.
Definitions
Harassment
The crime of harassment means any utterance, act or gesture of a sexual nature made by a person that impinges on another person’s body, honor or modesty by any means, including modern technologies.
Behavioral Aggression or Abuse
Behavioral aggression or abuse includes all practices of abuse by one party against another, including all forms of exploitation, threat, harassment, extortion, temptation, quarrels, insults, disrespect or insinuation that may offend modesty or intent to be alone with the opposite gender or any other type of discrimination types, physically, verbally, or otherwise, whether gender, gender type, or otherwise, and aim, lead, or are likely to lead to physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm to the other party.
Filing a Claim in Saudi Arabia
A complaint for employment discrimination or harassment may be filed with the employers. In some cases, employers are obligated to report substantiated complaints to government authorities.
Complaints regarding violation of the criminal law may be made to law enforcement.
Potential Remedies
In Saudi Arabia, an employee who has experienced workplace discrimination or harassment may be entitled to monetary and other remedies. An employer may be required to take certain actions to correct or redress discriminatory harassment or violations of workplace safety standards. Potential remedies are listed below.
- Hiring
- Transfers
- Reassignments
- Promotions
- Reinstatement to a position
- Compensation for lost wages and benefits
- Damages for injury to dignity or feelings
- Cease and desist orders
Retaliation Prohibited
Employer retaliation against an employee who files a complaint relating to discrimination or harassment or is involved in the complaint process is unlawful.