List of Rules and Conditions of the Golden Handshake Program

The Golden Handshake Program was introduced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2024. It is designated for government entities whose employees are subject to the Civil Service pay scales, with the purpose of leaving service through resignation, in accordance with several rules and conditions that guarantee their financial rights. These include:

• Defining the years of service for employees targeted by the program.
• Providing a financial incentive to the resigning employee.
• Giving priority to employees with lower qualifications, with the program gradually extending to those with higher qualifications.
• Specifying the age groups of employees targeted by the program.
• Prohibiting any government entity from rehiring individuals who have previously benefited from the program.
• Requiring the approval of both the entity and the employee targeted to benefit from the program.
• Excluding those who meet the conditions and provisions of early retirement from benefiting from the program.
• Ensuring that an employee benefits from the program only after exhausting other options, such as transfer, secondment, or skill redevelopment to utilize them in more in-demand job roles.
• Establishing a mechanism for the government entity to announce the program to its targeted employees, ensuring clarity on the rights and obligations that apply if they agree to benefit from it.
• Taking measures to abolish the position of the resigning employee, except for positions classified as supervisory.