The social insurance law has two branches, and GOSI runs a third scheme alongside them. The annuity branch covers Saudi employees. The occupational hazards branch covers employees covered by the Labour Law and pays compensation for work injuries. SANED, the unemployment insurance, covers Saudi contributors. That split is why a Saudi employee and a foreign employee on the same salary do not generate the same contribution.
Show as a table
| Branch | Saudi | Non-Saudi |
|---|---|---|
| Annuities (pensions) GOSI's annuity branch applies to Saudi employees in the government and private sectors covered by the Labour Law, and to Saudi self-employed people | Covered | Not covered |
| Occupational hazards GOSI's occupational hazards branch applies to government and private sector employees covered by the Labour Law, with compensation for work injuries; the page does not limit it to Saudis | Covered | Covered |
| SANED (unemployment) GOSI describes SANED as unemployment insurance protection for Saudi contributors, a branch of the social insurance law | Covered | Not covered |
The branches, plainly
The annuity branch is the pension side. GOSI's description ties it to Saudi employees in the government and private sectors covered by the Labour Law, and to Saudi self-employed people. When one of them stops work through retirement, disability or other qualifying cases, a pension is paid; on death it continues to the family.
The occupational hazards branch is the workplace injury side. GOSI describes it as applying to government and private sector employees covered by the Labour Law, without restricting it to Saudis. Of the three, it is the only one GOSI's pages do not describe as Saudi-only, so it is the one to expect on the file of a foreign employee.
SANED is described as a branch of the social insurance law that guarantees insurance protection for Saudi contributors in the event of unemployment, where the legal conditions are met.
What the public pages do not say
They give no contribution percentage. GOSI's public law pages explain scope and entitlement and leave rates to the registered employer's own account and the regulations. We are not going to fill that gap with a percentage from a newsletter, because a stale rate looks exactly like a current one.
When you register the establishment, contributions are calculated against the wages you declare. Take the figure from your first invoice, not from an article, and check it again each time you add Saudi staff, because each new Saudi employee brings the Saudi-only branches onto the bill.
Where GOSI lands in a setup budget
GOSI is a running cost, not a setup fee, and it behaves differently from everything else on this site: it scales with payroll and with the nationality mix of your team. Consider a services company that plans two foreign hires in year one and its first Saudi hire in year two. In year one only the hazards branch applies to its staff. In year two the Saudi employee adds the annuity branch and SANED, so the contribution profile changes even if the salary bill barely moves.
That same first Saudi hire also moves the labour ministry's levy on foreign staff, which is SAR 700 a month per foreign worker where foreign workers do not outnumber Saudi workers and SAR 800 a month where they do. Model GOSI and the levy together, per employee per month, alongside the work permit and residence permit lines in the staff cost guide.
Questions to ask before you sign a payroll contract
- Which branches does the provider assume apply to each employee, and on what wage base?
- Is the quoted employer contribution a percentage or a fixed amount, and what happens when a salary changes mid-year?
- Who files the monthly wage declaration, and who carries the exposure if it is late?
- Does the quote separate the GOSI contribution from the provider's own administration fee?
- How will the quote change when the first Saudi employee joins?
One thing not to conflate
GOSI is not medical insurance. A separate health insurance certificate is part of the residence permit file: the investor guide requires a work permit, a medical report and health insurance for a manager's permit. Two obligations, two providers, two lines in the budget.
Frequently asked questions
Do foreign employees pay into GOSI?
GOSI describes the occupational hazards branch as covering employees covered by the Labour Law, without limiting it to Saudis. The annuity branch and SANED are described for Saudis.
What are the GOSI contribution rates?
GOSI's public law pages we could open print no rates. Use the figure calculated in your establishment's own account.
Is GOSI part of the setup cost?
No. It starts with payroll and is a monthly running cost, separate from the one-off registration fees.
Every figure on this page is taken from the issuing body’s own page, with the date that page was opened. How the figures are checked