New Rules in Financial Sector Focused on Increasing Local Worker Participation

• Written consent. Employers must obtain written consent from SAMA to employ foreign and local workers in certain positions. The government has published a list of affected professions in each affected sector;
• Rules for leadership positions. Employers must develop policies and procedures related to the employment of professionals in leadership positions, including verifying the personal and professional qualifications of the candidates by way of a yet-undetermined method;
• Training plan. Employers must develop a long-term plan to train and transfer knowledge to Saudi nationals.
• Saudization. Saudization quotas still apply to all sectors in the country. As before, employers must fill positions that are subject to Saudization with Saudi nationals.

• Foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia may find it harder to obtain positions in leadership roles in the financial sector due to the new written consent rule.
• Companies operating in Saudi Arabia under SAMA’s purview should review their recruitment and employment policies to ensure they comply with the new regulations.

New restricted positions. Under the new regulations, SAMA has adopted a list of 13 professions that are restricted to Saudi nationals employed in financial institutions under its supervision, including the following job titles:

• Director of Human Resources;
• Director of Information Security;
• Information Technology Manager; and
• Compliance Manager.

Foreign nationals currently employed in leadership roles that are on the restriction list may need to obtain a No Objection Certificate (‘NOC’) when they renew their work permits. This will likely involve the employer submitting application documents and letters justifying the situation. It is not clear how long approval of this NOC will take.