When May Your Employer Transfer You? And Can They Change Your Wage Category?

4 min read Article 58 · 59

The short answer

A transfer to another city is prohibited if it causes you serious harm without a legitimate reason, and changing your wage category from monthly to non-monthly requires your explicit written consent.

📍 Geographic transfer

📜 Article 58

"The employer may not transfer the worker from their original place of work to another place requiring a change of residence, if the transfer would cause the worker serious harm and there is no legitimate reason required by the nature of the work."

💡 Read the condition carefully

The prohibition requires BOTH conditions together: (1) actual serious harm to you, and (2) the absence of a legitimate work-related reason. If a genuine operational reason for the transfer exists (establishment expansion, branch closure, etc.), the transfer may be legitimate even if it inconveniences you.

💳 Changing your wage category

📜 Article 59

"A monthly-wage worker may not be transferred to the category of daily workers or workers paid weekly, by piece, or hourly, unless the worker agrees to this in writing, without prejudice to the rights acquired by the worker during the period spent on monthly wages."

📌 Verbal consent is not enough

This change specifically requires your WRITTEN consent — it may not be assumed from your silence or your continuing to work. And even if you consent, your rights acquired during the monthly-wage period (such as accrued leave) remain preserved.

Official sources
  • Labor Law — Article 58: conditions for geographic transfer
  • Labor Law — Article 59: ban on changing wage category without written consent

Source: Saudi Labor Law — Article 58 · 59

Calculate what you are owed — free

Use the employee portal, or ask the legal assistant in your language.