Court ruling: Email outweighs other forms of documentation in contract termination cases
The Saudi Arabian Court of Appeal has brought to a close a complex labor dispute between an employee and a company, upholding a lower court ruling that rejected the employee's claim for financial compensation for contract termination. This ruling establishes an important legal principle affirming the admissibility of electronic correspondence (email) as proof of mutual consent, giving it precedence over the technical documentation recorded on the "Qiwa" platform, and based on the well-established legal maxim, "He who seeks to undo what he himself has done forfeits his claim.".
Details of the incident and the legal controversy
The case began when an employee filed a lawsuit seeking financial compensation, basing her claim on a termination notice registered through the government's "Qiwa" platform, in accordance with Article 77 of the Labor Law. This article typically refers to termination of a contract for an unlawful reason warranting compensation. In response, the defendant establishment presented conclusive evidence to the court, consisting of email correspondence proving that the employee had initiated the termination request and that the matter had been formalized as a resignation with the explicit written consent of both parties.
The Labor Court settled this dispute by affirming that the determining factor in legal proceedings is the actual facts and the essence of the agreement, not merely the technical procedure or the option specified in the electronic system. The court ruled that the relationship ended by mutual agreement, in accordance with Article 74, Paragraph 1 of the Labor Law, thus negating the claim of "arbitrary dismissal" and forfeiting the right to compensation.
Legal context and the importance of written documentation
This ruling highlights the fundamental differences between articles of the Saudi Labor Law, specifically Article 74, which regulates the termination of employment contracts (including mutual agreement), and Article 77, which outlines compensation for wrongful termination. The ruling affirms that the requirement of a written agreement for mutual termination was met through electronic correspondence, considering the information recorded on the Qiwa platform as merely procedural documentation that does not negate the prior free will of both parties.
The importance of governance and its impact on the labor market
This ruling is of paramount importance in the context of the digital transformation underway in the Saudi labor market, where most establishments now rely on digital platforms like "Qiwa" to document and terminate contracts. Legal experts indicate that this ruling enhances the stability of the work environment, preventing the exploitation of procedural errors or technical classifications to obtain undue financial gains, provided that written evidence exists to substantiate the agreement.
The court concluded by upholding the initial ruling and rejecting the employee’s appeal, as she did not present any new information that would affect the validity of the result. The ruling became final and enforceable, thus establishing the principle that “emails” and official correspondence have conclusive evidentiary power that protects the rights of all parties.
