EOR & Compliance Digest, June 14: Saudi Arabia’s June 30 Deadline and the UK’s New Day-One Rights

If you employ anyone in Saudi Arabia, the clock is loud this week. Saudi Qiwa documentation now decides whether your Saudi staff even count toward your Nitaqat score, and the next commitment threshold lands on June 30. Meanwhile, the UK just rewrote the baseline for every new hire. The Philippines keeps tightening foreign-worker permits. And the US is reopening the joint-employer question that sits at the heart of every EOR arrangement. Here is what changed, which countries it touches, and what to do before the deadlines pass.

Saudi Qiwa Documentation Hits a Hard June 30 Deadline

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has changed how it calculates Saudization. Now, only Saudi employees whose contracts are documented electronically on the Qiwa platform count toward your Nitaqat percentage. The new mechanism took effect on April 15, 2026, and it ramps up fast. (Source: Saudi Gazette)

What the Saudi Qiwa documentation rule changes

The ministry set a phased commitment rate. Employers had to document 85% of Saudi contracts by April 30, and they must reach 90% by June 30, 2026. (Source: Fragomen) This sits inside a broader Nitaqat overhaul. The 2026 to 2028 phase started on April 26, raised sector quotas, and scrapped the old Yellow tier. (Source: Middle East Briefing)

Why this matters for your Nitaqat band

Here is the trap. You can have plenty of Saudi nationals on staff, but if their contracts are not logged in Qiwa, they no longer help your ratio. As a result, a compliant company can slip into a lower Nitaqat band overnight. That drop then chokes your ability to issue and renew work visas for expat hires. For a distributed team running a small Riyadh office, this is not paperwork. It is the difference between sponsoring your next engineer or not.

Your Saudi Qiwa documentation checklist before June 30

First, log into Qiwa and pull your current commitment rate. Second, document every Saudi employment contract that is still missing, because only logged contracts count. Finally, confirm you clear the 90% threshold with a few days to spare. If you run Saudi payroll through a provider, ask them today whether they have already synced your contracts. For the underlying rules, our Saudi Arabia employment law guide and this Saudi work permit walkthrough are good starting points.

UK Day-One Rights Are Now Live for Every New Hire

Since April 6, 2026, the UK Employment Rights Act 2025 has changed the floor for new staff. Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from the first day of absence, because the three-day waiting period is gone. The lower earnings limit has also been removed, so every employee qualifies regardless of how little they earn. (Source: Acas) Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights too, with the old service requirements scrapped. (Source: Bird & Bird)

So what does this mean for you? If you hire in Britain, your payroll logic and contract templates need updating now, not at year-end. Moreover, protection from unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months in January 2027, so plan probation processes accordingly. Review your UK payroll setup before your next pay run.

Philippines Tightens Permits for Foreign Workers

The Philippines continues to enforce Department Order No. 248, the rules governing Alien Employment Permits. The order expanded the Labor Market Test, added an Economic Needs Test for certain roles, and introduced a mandatory understudy and skills-transfer program. (Source: Baker McKenzie) Standard AEP processing now runs about 15 working days, but the labor market test adds lead time before you can even apply.

If you plan to move a foreign manager into Manila this quarter, start early. Because the rules prioritize Filipino workers, you must show the role genuinely needs an overseas hire. Our guide to hiring in the Philippines covers the permit steps in detail.

US Reopens the Joint-Employer Question

The US Department of Labor has proposed a rule clarifying joint-employer status under federal wage and hour law. The comment period closes at 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 22, 2026. (Source: US Department of Labor) Joint employment is the legal core of every EOR and staffing relationship, so the final shape of this rule matters for anyone who hires through a third party.

For now, nothing is mandatory. Still, if your model depends on a clean line between you and a staffing partner, this is worth a read before the window shuts. Then watch for the final rule later in the year.

Quick Hits

• Germany: The statutory minimum wage rises to €14.60 per hour on January 1, 2027, after reaching €13.90 in January 2026. Budget for it now. (Source: IamExpat)
• United States: Colorado has delayed its AI hiring-discrimination law to January 1, 2027 and scaled it back, after Governor Polis signed SB 26-189 on May 14. (Source: Hunton Andrews Kurth)

Action Items This Week

If you hire in Saudi Arabia: Complete your Saudi Qiwa documentation and clear the 90% commitment rate before June 30. Pull your Nitaqat band afterward to confirm it held.

If you hire in the UK: Update payroll so Statutory Sick Pay starts on day one, and refresh contract templates for the new paternity and parental leave rules.

If you hire in the Philippines: Begin the Labor Market Test now for any Q3 foreign hire, because the lead time runs ahead of the 15-day permit window.

If you use a US staffing partner: Read the Department of Labor’s joint-employer proposal and file a comment before June 22 if it affects your model.

Where Asanify Fits

Tracking a Saudi Qiwa documentation deadline, a UK payroll change, and a Philippine permit test in the same week is exactly the problem we built for. Asanify’s Global HRMS and EOR handle multi-country payroll, tax, and statutory compliance in one place. So a rule change in one market does not become a fire drill across all of them. If this digest felt like too much to track by hand, that is the point.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Qiwa platform and why does contract documentation matter?

Qiwa is Saudi Arabia’s official labor platform run by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. From April 2026, only Saudi employees with contracts documented on Qiwa count toward your Nitaqat Saudization score. If you skip Saudi Qiwa documentation, those workers stop helping your ratio and your work-visa eligibility can suffer.

Do the UK day-one rights apply to every new employee?

Yes. Since April 6, 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first day of absence for all employees, with no waiting period and no lower earnings limit. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave also became day-one rights, so the old service requirements no longer apply.

What is the difference between an EOR and joint employment?

An Employer of Record becomes the full legal employer of your international hire and carries the payroll, tax, and compliance risk. Joint employment is a narrower legal status where two parties share employer obligations for the same worker. The US Department of Labor’s proposed rule aims to clarify when that shared status applies.

How often do Saudization quotas change?

Nitaqat quotas now shift on a rolling basis rather than once a year. The 2026 to 2028 phase raised sector targets and removed the Yellow tier, and the Qiwa documentation thresholds stepped up between April and June 2026. Employers should check Ministry announcements monthly rather than annually.

Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant  or Labour Law  expert for specific guidance.