Absence and lateness deductions: 4 steps
Deducting absence and lateness from pay takes four steps: record and classify each case on the day, ask for an excuse, deduct unworked time as its own line, and handle any penalty separately, within limits. Time pay and fines differ: in the violations table of the unified model work regulations from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the penalty for two to 14 days' continuous absence comes "in addition to deducting the wage for the absence period".
This follows the overtime pay lesson: there you documented what payroll adds; here, what it takes off.
Working out daily and hourly pay
Article 2 of the Saudi Labor Law settles it: the wage is the actual wage, basic pay plus what the contract or regulations add, like commission and allowances, and a month is thirty days unless the contract or regulations differ. So daily pay = monthly wage ÷ 30; hourly pay = daily pay ÷ working hours.
The four steps
1. Record and classify the case on the day
Log each absence or late arrival that day: employee, date, duration, any reason. Classify it as approved leave, sick leave with a medical report, written permission, or unexcused. Only the last is deducted. Sick leave follows Article 117: full pay for the first 30 days, three quarters for the next 60, none for the next 30, within a year.
2. Ask the employee before deducting
Message them that day: we recorded your absence or lateness; any permission or excuse? File the reply. If a penalty is possible, this step is required: Article 71 allows no penalty without written notice of the charge, questioning and hearing the defence, recorded in minutes on file; recorded oral questioning suffices if the penalty is at most a warning or one day's pay. Act fast: Article 69 bars charges for violations discovered over 30 days earlier.
3. Deduct time pay as a separate line
Confirmed unexcused time is deducted by formula: days absent × daily pay, hours late × hourly pay. It goes on payroll as its own dated line, like overtime with its evidence, not folded into net pay.
4. Keep the penalty separate, within limits
A fine is a disciplinary penalty, allowed only if the law or work regulations list it (Article 67); Article 13 makes every employer keep regulations on the ministry's model, announced to staff. In the unified model's table, one day's absence without written permission or acceptable excuse in a contract year costs 50% of daily pay the first time, then one day, two, then three; lateness over an hour draws a written warning first. Article 70 caps a fine at five days' pay per violation, allows one penalty per violation, and limits fine deductions to five days' pay a month. Notify decisions in writing (Article 72). Fines are not business income: Article 73 puts them in a special register, spent only for the workers' benefit through the workers' committee or with ministry approval.
A WhatsApp example
A shop cashier earns SAR 3,600 a month on 8-hour days: SAR 120 a day, SAR 15 an hour. Before payroll, the owner writes:
Owner: What do we deduct from the cashier this month?
System: Three cases. Day 5: absent with a medical report, so paid sick leave, no deduction. Days 17 and 18: continuous absence without permission; I asked on the 17th, no excuse came. Day 22: two hours late without permission. Time deduction: SAR 240 for the days plus SAR 30 for the hours: SAR 270.
Owner: Any penalty?
System: First offence: your regulations set a fine of two days' pay for two to six days' continuous absence, and a written warning for lateness over an hour. The fine exceeds one day's pay, so it needs written notice and a recorded defence first. Send the notice?
Owner: Yes
System: Sent. The time deduction enters this month's payroll; the fine only after a written decision following the investigation, then into the fines register.
The employee sees two payroll lines, each evidenced. More on managing staff by chat in running your business over WhatsApp.
Checklist before payroll
| Step | Question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Record and classify | Recorded and classified on the day? | Attendance record, any report or permission |
| Ask | Employee asked for an excuse? | Their reply, on file |
| Time pay | Based on the actual wage? | A separate dated payroll line |
| Penalty | In the regulations, investigated first? | Minutes, written decision, fines register entry |
Summary: two steps, not one. First, unworked time, deducted at the actual wage over a thirty-day month, after recording the case and asking the employee. Second, a penalty, only if your regulations list it and after a written investigation, within five days' pay a month, logged in a special register, never kept as income.