Saudi Arabia begins disability rights inspections with fines up to SAR500,000

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has begun enforcing new inspection and monitoring powers over private and non-profit organisations that violate the rights of people with disabilities, with penalties for the most serious breaches reaching SAR500,000 ($133,000).

The Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities said it had begun directly exercising its inspection, oversight and enforcement powers under Article 25 of the Kingdom’s Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The measures apply to non-governmental organisations, including private-sector businesses and non-profit entities.

The move gives the authority a more direct role in policing practices that discriminate against people because of disability or prevent them from accessing rights and services guaranteed under Saudi law.

Among the violations covered are policies that result in direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of disability, discriminatory treatment of people with disabilities and preventing them from carrying out legal transactions or managing their own affairs when there is no legal impediment.

Businesses can also face action for denying people with disabilities access to education, training, healthcare, insurance or financial services, or restricting their right to use transport because of their disability.

The authority’s enforcement rules allow inspectors to conduct periodic compliance checks and investigate complaints. Inspectors may enter business premises during working hours, request documents and other records and question company representatives when investigating suspected violations.

A specialised committee has been established to consider violations by non-governmental organisations and impose penalties under the law. The enforcement schedule sets different maximum fines depending on the nature of the offence.

For example, discriminating against a person with a disability in dealings with an organisation carries a maximum fine of SAR20,000, while preventing a person from independently handling legal matters without a lawful reason can result in a fine of up to SAR10,000. Denying access to education, healthcare, insurance, financing or transport because of disability can also carry fines of up to SAR10,000 for each category of violation.

The highest penalty, SAR500,000, applies to organisations that introduce policies involving direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of disability. Penalties may be doubled for repeated violations of the same category, under the enforcement rules.

The inspection framework also gives regulators discretion in less serious cases. Where an infringement is considered minor and the organisation has corrected it, inspectors may decide not to refer the case to the violations committee.

Saudi Arabia’s Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was approved in 2023, establishing protections across areas including education, healthcare, employment, transport and banking and financial services. The detailed inspection and enforcement rules were subsequently published in October 2024.