RIYADH — The “Qiwa” platform, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, has finalized the mechanism for counting Saudi employees under the “Nitaqat” Saudization program. Under the mechanism, an employee’s contracts during the preceding 52 weeks (one full year) must not exceed five contracts for the employee to continue being counted as one Saudi employee in Nitaqat.The platform clarified that, for a Saudi employee to be counted in “Nitaqat,” the employment contract must be valid and registered with “Qiwa.” The employee’s total registered salary on the platform must be at least SR4,000, and the employee must not be registered as a part-time employee or a student.The Qiwa platform recently stated that a new employment contract cannot be issued to a Saudi employee if the employee has entered into more than seven contracts within a one-year period (365 days) beginning from the date of the first employment contract. An eighth contract cannot be issued until a full year has elapsed from the date of the first contract within the period in which the limit was exceeded. This is the situation that previously prompted the system to display the message to employers: “No new employment contract is allowed for the Saudi employee.”The platform also clarified that, with regard to existing contracts, the maximum number of employment contracts to which a Saudi employee can be bound simultaneously is two employment contracts. If the employee wishes to take up an additional job while holding two existing contracts, he must first terminate one of the current contracts before being able to conclude a new employment contract.