In Saudi Arabia, the reason you leave a job changes what you take home. The end-of-service benefit is built on the same formula whether you quit or are let go, but the payout is treated very differently: an employee who is terminated by the employer usually receives the full award, while an employee who resigns has that award scaled down according to how long they served. If you are weighing your options, the smartest first move is to compare both outcomes side by side and calculate your own figure for each scenario.
This page is a comparison tool. It shows exactly how the numbers differ for the same worker, same salary and same length of service depending on whether they resign or are terminated, so you can see the gap in riyals before you make a decision. For a deeper explanation of the underlying rules, read our full guide on resignation vs termination and end of service in Saudi Arabia. To run your own salary and dates, use the calculator.
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Resignation vs termination: the Saudi comparison
Under the Saudi Labour Law (Articles 84 and 85), the base end-of-service formula is identical in both cases. You earn half a month's wage for each of the first five years of service, then one full month's wage for each year after that, all calculated on your agreed (basic) wage. The difference is what happens to that total. If your employer terminates you, you receive the full amount. If you resign, the law scales the award by your total length of service.
The table below shows three common scenarios for a worker on a basic wage of SAR 10,000, comparing the full award (what a terminated employee gets) against the reduced amount a resigning employee keeps.
| Service | Full award (terminated) | If you resign | What resignation keeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | SAR 15,000 | SAR 5,000 | One-third (2–5 years) |
| 6 years | SAR 35,000 | SAR 23,333 | Two-thirds (5–10 years) |
| 12 years | SAR 95,000 | SAR 95,000 | Full award (10+ years) |
At three years' service the difference is stark: a terminated worker collects SAR 15,000, while the same worker who resigns keeps only SAR 5,000. By six years the resigning worker keeps two-thirds, around SAR 23,333 against a full SAR 35,000. Once you cross ten years, resignation and termination pay exactly the same. These are illustrative figures on a round SAR 10,000 basic wage; your own result depends on your real salary and exact dates, which you can enter on the Saudi end-of-service calculator.
How much you keep if you resign
End of service on resignation in Saudi Arabia follows a clear sliding scale based on your total years of service. This scale is the single biggest factor in whether resigning is worth it financially, so it pays to know exactly which band you fall into before you hand in your notice.
The resignation scale
Less than 2 years of service: you receive nothing. Between 2 and 5 years: you keep one-third of the full award. Between 5 and 10 years: you keep two-thirds. Ten years or more: you keep the full award, exactly as if you had been terminated. This is why a resignation just short of a milestone can cost you significantly, and why timing your exit around these thresholds matters.
Worked example: resigning at 6 years
Take the SAR 10,000 worker with six years of service. The full award is SAR 35,000 (five years at half a month, plus one year at a full month). Because they resign in the 5-to-10-year band, they keep two-thirds, which is roughly SAR 23,333. A terminated worker with identical service and salary would receive the entire SAR 35,000. That SAR 11,667 gap is the price of resigning early in Saudi Arabia, and it is the kind of number worth confirming for your own situation.
There is no income tax in Saudi Arabia, so the end-of-service figures you calculate are what you actually receive. If your employer disputes the amount or withholds it, the route is through HRSD and Qiwa, and then the Labour Courts if the matter is not resolved.
When resignation pays the same as termination
The one point where the resignation penalty disappears entirely is ten years of service. Once you have served ten years or more, the law gives a resigning employee the full award, identical to what a terminated employee would receive. In our comparison table, the 12-year worker collects SAR 95,000 whether they resign or are terminated. There is no reduction at all.
This has a practical consequence. If you are close to ten years and considering resigning, the difference between leaving at, say, nine years and eleven months versus a few weeks later can be substantial, because crossing the ten-year line lifts you from the two-thirds band to the full award. For anyone under ten years, termination by the employer is always the more generous outcome for the same salary and service, since it pays the full award regardless of length of service. Termination end of service in KSA is not scaled at all; the reduction only ever applies to voluntary resignation.
The cleanest way to settle "how much end of service if I resign in Saudi Arabia" versus being terminated is to run both scenarios with your real numbers. Enter your basic wage and your start and end dates once, then compare the full award against the scaled resignation figure for your exact band.
Compare it on the Saudi calculator →