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Resignation letter template (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) (Word & PDF)
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For a private-sector employee in Saudi Arabia or the UAE who is ending the employment contract in writing, and for the counsel preparing that letter. It covers the parties, the contract being ended, the request and the rights that remain. It is the letter, not the employment contract itself.
Sources: 8 official sourcesNot legal advice
What this template includes
Send a written request, then follow the statute
- Labor Law text (HRSD)(https://www.hrsd.gov.sa/%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021(https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1541)
- Qiwa contract management(https://qiwa.sa/ar/service-overview/business-owners/manage-current-employees/contract-management)
- MOHRE contracts(https://www.mohre.gov.ae/en/services/issuancerenewal-of-employment-contracts-2022)
A free bilingual resignation letter for a private-sector worker in Saudi Arabia or the UAE. It is the written request, not the employment contract. Prepare the contract itself with the employment contract template, and read end-of-service gratuity for the award. After the end, the sums and the release are written in the final settlement and release. A dispute about a commercial sum uses the settlement agreement template or, if a case is filed, the statement of claim template.
How to use this letter
In Saudi Arabia the Labor Law defines resignation as the worker’s written, uncoerced statement of a wish to end a fixed-term contract, without a condition, together with the employer’s acceptance.[2][3] Article 79 bis then sets what happens if the employer does not reply.[1][3] An indefinite contract is a different route: Article 75, not Article 79 bis.[1]
In the UAE, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 lets either party end the contract for a legitimate reason by written notice. The notice agreed in the contract must be at least 30 days and no more than 90 days.[4] The decree does not copy the Saudi rule that silence for 30 days accepts a resignation.
- Write the request. In Saudi Arabia do not put a future effective date in it: Article 79 bis says that is not valid.[1]
- Keep a copy and the date you delivered it. The 30-day period in Article 79 bis runs from presentation.[1]
- The employment contract in Saudi Arabia is still the contract documented on Qiwa, and in the UAE the contract registered with MOHRE.[5][7][8] This letter does not replace either.
- This page does not state resignation rules for Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the DIFC or the ADGM.
The template
Resignation letter
A written resignation for one private-sector employment contract in Saudi Arabia or the UAE. It does not replace the contract on Qiwa or the contract registered with MOHRE, and it does not settle the end-of-service award. Replace every [placeholder] and delete the option that does not apply.
From: [worker’s name, ID number, job title, address]. To: [employer’s name as in the commercial register, CR number, address]. Date of this letter: [date].
Drafting note
Use the name on the ID and the name in the commercial register. One letter, one contract.
This letter concerns the employment contract dated [date], reference [Qiwa / MOHRE / other: ●], for the work of [role] at [place]. The contract is: Option A fixed-term, ending on [date]. Option B indefinite. Delete the option that does not apply.
I state, in writing and without coercion or condition, that I wish to end the contract named in clause 2. I do not set a deferred date for this request.
Drafting note
Article 79 bis (4) says a deferred date in the resignation request is not valid.[1] Do not add “effective on [a later date]” to a Saudi fixed-term resignation.
- (a) Saudi Arabia, fixed-term contract. I ask you to accept this resignation. If you do not reply, Article 79 bis applies: the request is deemed accepted after 30 days; you may defer acceptance for no more than 60 days, by a written reasoned explanation given to me before the 30 days end.[1]
- (b) Saudi Arabia, indefinite contract. This is notice under Article 75. My wage is [monthly / not monthly]. I give at least [30] days’ written notice before the end date [date].[1]
- (c) UAE private sector, outside probation. I give written notice under Article 43. The warning period in the contract is [●] days, which is not less than 30 and not more than 90. I will work during that period if you ask me to.[4]
- (d) UAE, during probation. The written notice is the one in Article 9, not Article 43. State which Article 9 case applies: [employer ending the probation / worker moving to another employer in the State / foreign worker leaving the State].[4]
Drafting note
Keep one of (a) to (d). Article 43 also says the warning period must be the same for both parties unless the difference is in the worker’s interest, and that the parties may agree to drop or shorten the warning while keeping the worker’s rights for the period agreed in the contract.[4]
Saudi Arabia only. I may withdraw this request within seven days of presenting it, unless you have accepted it before I withdraw.[1] Delete this clause for a UAE letter.
Until the contract ends under the rule in clause 4, it stays in force and both parties perform it. In Saudi Arabia that is Article 79 bis (5) while the request is open, or the Article 75 notice period for an indefinite contract.[1] In the UAE the contract stays effective through the warning period and ends when that period ends, and the worker is entitled to the full wage for the period on the last wage.[4]
I do not waive rights the statute gives when the contract ends. This letter is not a release and it is not a settlement. End-of-service pay is calculated under the schedule, not agreed away here. See end-of-service gratuity and the employment contract template.
Drafting note
Article 79 bis (6) says the worker whose contract ends by resignation is entitled to the rights under the Labor Law.[1] Do not write a figure in this clause.
I delivered this letter on [date] by [hand, with a signed copy / the employer’s official channel: ●].
Worker: name [●] · signature [●] · date [●]
Employer acknowledgement of receipt only (not acceptance, unless you write “accepted”): name [●] · signature [●] · date [●]
Drafting note
A signature that only records receipt is not the acceptance Article 79 bis distinguishes from silence. If the employer accepts, the contract ends on that date.[1]
Schedule A. Saudi Arabia
Fixed-term resignation is Article 79 bis. An indefinite contract is Article 75. The award fractions are Article 85, on top of the Article 84 base.[1][2][3]
| Point | Text relied on |
|---|---|
| Definition | Resignation is a written, uncoerced, unconditional wish to end a fixed-term contract, plus the employer’s acceptance. Added by Royal Decree No. M/44 of 8/2/1446H.[2][3] |
| Where it sits | Article 74 includes resignation as a way the contract ends, beside termination by will in an indefinite contract under Article 75.[1] |
| Silence | Deemed accepted after 30 days with no reply.[1][3] |
| Deferral | Up to 60 days if the interest of the work requires it, by a written reasoned explanation given before the 30 days end. The deferral runs from the date of that explanation.[1] |
| End date | The date of acceptance, or the 30 days with no reply, or the end of the deferral.[1] |
| Withdrawal | Seven days from presentation, unless the employer has already accepted. No deferred date in the request. The contract stays in force meanwhile.[1] |
| Indefinite contract | Monthly wage: at least 30 days’ written notice from the worker, 60 from the employer. Other wages: at least 30 days from either party. A party who skips the notice pays the wage for that period, unless they agree more.[1] |
| Award on resignation | Article 84 is the base (half a month per year for the first five years, one month per year after that, on the last wage). Article 85: one third after 2–5 years, two thirds after 5 and under 10, the full award at 10 or more.[1] |
Schedule B. United Arab Emirates
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, private sector. Article 3 excludes federal and local government employees, the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers.[4]
| Point | Text relied on |
|---|---|
| Who may end it | Article 42 (3): at the request of either party, observing the decree’s termination rules and the warning period agreed in the contract.[4] |
| Article 43 | Legitimate reason, written notice, work during the agreed warning period of 30 to 90 days. The contract stays in force and ends when the period ends. Full wage for the period on the last wage.[4] |
| Same length | The warning period must be the same for both parties unless the difference favours the worker. The parties may agree to waive or shorten it while preserving the worker’s rights for the period in the contract.[4] |
| Warning allowance | The party who does not observe the period pays a warning allowance equal to the wage for the whole period or the remainder, even if there is no harm.[4] |
| Time to look for work | If the employer terminates, the worker may take one unpaid working day a week during the warning period, telling the employer at least three days ahead.[4] |
| Probation | Article 9, not Article 43. Employer: written notice of at least 14 days. Worker moving to another employer in the State: at least one month. Foreign worker leaving the State: at least 14 days.[4] |
| Gratuity | Article 51. A national worker: under the pensions and social-security legislation. A foreign full-time worker with at least one continuous year: 21 days’ basic wage per year for the first five years and 30 days per year after that, pro-rated after the first year, unpaid absence excluded, and the total capped at two years’ wage.[4] |
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, DIFC and ADGM
- This page does not state a resignation or notice rule for Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait or Oman.
- It does not state DIFC or ADGM employment rules. The federal decree-law’s private-sector scope is Article 3.[4] For the contract form itself, use the employment contract template.
Drafting notes
- Name the contract (date, Qiwa or MOHRE reference if you have it) so the letter is tied to one relationship.
- In Saudi Arabia, use Article 79 bis for a fixed-term contract and Article 75 for an indefinite one. Do not mix the two periods.[1][2]
- During UAE probation, Article 9 sets its own written notices. Do not paste the Article 43 period over a probation exit.[4]
- End-of-service figures belong in the schedules, not as a promise inside the letter. The settlement agreement template is for a commercial or civil dispute, not for the award.