Education Ministry adds 'Golden Handshake' option for teachers in Faris system

The Ministry of Education has introduced the 'Golden Handshake' option for teachers in the Faris system as a reason for resignation, enabling ministry staff to access it directly through their accounts.

The 'Golden Handshake' program aims to boost efficiency, optimize spending, and refresh the workforce by offering financial incentives. Applicants must obtain approval from their department and meet requirements related to transfer, secondment, and years of service.

Teachers can select the program upon logging into the Faris system. The option appears under self-services, then resignation, followed by 'Request Resignation.' By clicking on 'Reason Type,' 'Golden Handshake' is now listed among the available resignation reasons.

The program is designed to enhance operational and administrative efficiency in government entities, control expenditure, and renew human resources, while providing financial incentives to employees who wish to voluntarily end their service, subject to specific rules and conditions.

Program regulations require that employees exhaust options for transfer, secondment, or skill development before applying. Age groups and years of service are specified, and departmental approval is necessary, with priority given to those with lower qualifications.

Once an employee resigns through the program, the position is canceled—except for supervisory roles—and beneficiaries cannot be rehired. Those eligible for early retirement are excluded from the program.

The program's decision set a spending cap of 12.754 billion riyals (SAR) for its first three years, with a limit of approximately 5.06 billion riyals allocated for the 1446/1447 Hijri year (2025).

A 'Golden Handshake' program has been established for government entities whose employees are under the civil service pay scales, aiming to encourage voluntary resignation, with 12.7 billion riyals allocated for the first three years.

The decision also includes creating a dedicated budget line for the program within the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and organizing similar programs for public entities with their own staff regulations.