Regulatory update / Freight outlets
Freight outlets: check staffing on every shift.
The 2023 decision restricts work at covered freight service outlets to Saudis, with limited exceptions for manual roles. Check each outlet and shift separately.
- Decision
- 141722
- Effective from
- 26 September 2023
- Counting unit
- Each outlet shift
01 / Check your business
Does this affect you?
Customer-facing service outlets in 14 listed freight, brokerage and cargo-handling activities are covered. Check the official activity list and the work actually performed.
Outlet work is restricted to Saudis, except seven manual roles. Every shift needs at least one Saudi; excluded workers are capped at 20%, with at most one on shifts of five or fewer.
02 / Your next step
What should you do?
Confirm the current decision
Have the official guide and any later amendments checked before relying on this older article.
Review each outlet and shift
Identify the customer-service area and match staff duties to the permitted roles.
Check supporting requirements
Review contracts, occupation records and the required uniforms for excluded workers.
03 / Check the source
Sources & supporting detail
Core activity scope, outlet restrictions, shift staffing and excluded-role conditions checked against HRSD’s 2023 procedural guide for Decision 141722. This is not a complete search for later amendments; confirm the rules applicable to your establishment.
Existing activity list and supporting conditions
Who Is in Scope
Ministerial Decision 141722 dated 11/09/1444 (2 April 2023) applies to all service outlets of businesses operating in the following ISIC4 activities. After a six-month correction period it became binding on 26 September 2023.
- 522406 Freight brokers
- 522404 Sea freight brokers
- 522914 Stevedoring of containers
- 522402 Stevedoring of freight aircraft
- 521015 Other freight handling activities
- 522912 Transport and freight agencies
- 522913 Certified air freight agencies
- 521012 Goods freight and dispersal services in general
- 522928 Air freight forwarding agencies
- 522927 Handling of air cargo and mail
- 522409 Other activities related to cargo handling
- 522923 Receiving and unloading goods from vessels, and arranging them on shelves
- 522401 Loading and unloading of cargo and passenger baggage, regardless of means of transport
- 512009 Other activities for the air transportation of cargo
HRSD applies the decision to the registered activity and to the actual work performed. A customs-clearance or logistics company whose CR says something else is still caught if it runs a freight outlet.
The Two Rules
HRSD’s guide restricts work in covered outlets to Saudis, except the listed manual roles. Apply both shift conditions below.
Rule 1 — at least one Saudi per shift
- The guide's stated calculation mechanism: the enterprise must have at least one Saudi worker on every shift at the outlet
- Shift-based — a single Saudi covering the morning does not cover the evening
Rule 2 — non-Saudis only in excluded roles, capped at 20%
- Seven excluded professions: stevedore, packaging worker, shelf packing worker, products sorting worker, wheelbarrow operator, store worker, office and facility cleaner
- Excluded workers may not exceed 20% of the outlet's workers per shift
- If the shift has five workers or fewer, at most one excluded worker
Customer-facing outlet work is restricted to Saudis. Non-Saudi staff may perform only the excluded roles within the stated cap; having one Saudi present does not authorise other non-Saudi outlet roles.
Uniform Rule
Workers in the excluded professions — cleaners and stevedores in particular — must wear a uniform.
- Applies to male and female workers
- The worker's occupation must be written on the back of the uniform
- Ministerial Decision 164091 dated 14/11/1441 on workers' uniforms applies
Contracts That Count
The Saudi worker must have a contractual employment relationship with the establishment, working mainly for wages.
- Full-time, part-time and flexible (hourly) contracts are all acceptable, subject to the standard counting conditions
- No wage floor is set in this decision — the general Nitaqat weights still govern how the Saudi counts in your colour band
- Document the contract on Qiwa and register the correct occupation on GOSI
Need help applying this to your business?
We can help you identify the records and next steps to check.