Employment Support for Establishments

Employment Support for Establishments

Backs private sector employers across industries by subsidising qualifying Saudi hires and promoting inclusive workforce growth.

The Employment Support for Establishments programme is a rolling wage subsidy administered by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) of Saudi Arabia, targeting private sector employers across all industries that hire Saudi nationals. HRDF covers 30% of each qualifying Saudi employee's monthly wage, subject to a cap of SAR 3,000 or 50% of the wage — whichever is lower — for up to 24 months per employee. The base subsidy rate can be supplemented by additional bonuses of up to 10% each for hiring female employees, persons with disabilities, hires in targeted sectors, specified professions, placements outside major cities, and hiring by small and medium enterprises.

The hired employee must be a Saudi national aged 18–60 earning between SAR 4,000 and SAR 15,000 per month. The application window is days 91 to 180 after the employee's social insurance registration; no retroactive payments are made for the first 90 days of employment. Employers operating under government project operation contracts are excluded. If an employee is dismissed, there is a six-month waiting period before the same individual can be re-registered under the programme. Participating establishments must hold an active Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) account and a valid IBAN on file with HRDF.

Invoices are issued between the 21st and 23rd of each month and deposited on the 1st of the following month. The programme is distinct from Tawteen, which targets specific sectors and offers additional employee-side benefits; Employment Support covers all private sector industries. Employers register and manage claims through the HRDF/MHRSD portal system. The programme operates on a continuous rolling basis with no application deadline and is part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 workforce nationalisation framework.