Saudi workplace health and safety laws tightened

Riyadh-based employment law expert Dr. Sairah Narmah-Alqasim of Pinsent Masons made the recommendation after the Regulation on Organising Work in High-Risk Professions was adopted in the KSA. They said the regulation, which will come into effect on 3 July, is highly relevant to employers operating in sectors where work involves elevated safety risks – such as construction, heavy equipment operations, welding, cutting, and mechanical work – and that it raises the bar for workplace safety and compliance.

The regulation provides a framework for the classification of certain occupations as ‘high-risk’, and associated obligations on both employers where employees and workers fall into that category. Obligations also fall on individual employees and workers where they are considered to perform a high-risk role.

Each employer is responsible for determining whether their employees or workers are undertaking “high-risk profession activities”, which is a broad concept.

According to the regulation, this might be include where the person is working at height or in confined spaces; working under high temperatures or sunlight; involved in manual lifting and transportation of loads; moving vehicles or equipment; dealing with noise, heat or vibrations; involved in welding or cutting; dealing with chemicals, radiation or medical waste; or working in remote isolation from other people and “vital” facilities. The regulation contains a wider list of examples.

The nature of the task is, however, not wholly determinative of whether the occupation of a worker/employee is classified as high-risk. Employers must make that assessment based on a range of other criteria, which include referencing the person’s job description, the type, method and duration of their exposure to materials or factors, and data on the number of fatalities and accidents associated with the role.

Where the employer considers that it does oversee high-risk occupations, it must satisfy itself that existing employees and workers as well as new joiners undergo medical training and examinations. Employees and workers will be required to pass medical fitness examinations to obtain a licence enabling them to perform the high-risk role, and employers have a duty to avoid tasks in high-risk professions being assigned to individuals where they do not have the necessary licence in place. The regulation provides a process for people to challenge the outcome of those examinations where they are not passed as fit for the role.

For some roles, specialist training will need to be completed before work can be performed, while all workers and employees – and their supervisors – will also need to “possess the necessary cognitive and technical capabilities in the field of occupational safety and health, commensurate with the nature of the risks associated with their actual work” to perform high-risk roles.

Various other obligations fall on employers under the regulation, including duties to notify hazards that may affect the safety and health of workers or employee during the performance of their work, and to investigate and report workplace accidents.

“The introduction of the new regulation marks a decisive shift in how employers must manage safety‑critical roles,” said Dr. Sairah Narmah-Alqasim of Pinsent Masons. “It represents a structural change in the labour market that will require organisations to rethink how they recruit, train, and supervise workers in high‑risk environments.”

Sadia Farooq, also of Pinsent Masons, added: “By introducing mandatory licensing, competency standards, and accreditation requirements, the regulation raises expectations for both employers and service providers, and it will quickly expose gaps in existing workforce capabilities.”

Dr. Sairah Narmah-Alqasim, confirmed the regulation will have a significant commercial impact: “Companies that act early will be better positioned to avoid operational disruption, reduce safety‑related downtime, and demonstrate compliance to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.”