When I worked as an expatriate (obviously) in Saudi Arabia, I started off with 28 days paid leave, with air fares to and from the point of origin. The requirement was that in order to qualify for paid fares, you had to take a minimum of three weeks in one go, in order to refresh yourself thoroughly. As I got promoted over time, the paid leave went up to six weeks with air fares paid Business Class (from Economy). Everyone also qualified for a full week (i.e. five work days plus weekend) with pay during the two Eids (Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr) during the year, where one was free to leave the country and embellish them with either days borrowed from the annual allowance or taken without pay.
I was really surprised to learn when working there that the majority expats, the Americans, got nothing like these holidays back in the USA. Some came from jobs which paid only one week per year, others which paid only two, and none at all which paid four. All Americans automatically qualified for six weeks when working for the oil company - other nationals did not, even lower-grade Saudis, starting off with 'just' the four weeks with full pay. Of course, one could also add unpaid leave to the paid leave to extend the vacation.
Additionally, emergency leaves were very generous - you could take a week's emergency leave with full pay and have your air fares reimbursed on return provided there was supporting medical or other (such as a family bereavement of spouse, child, or parents) evidence. You could take up to three emergency leaves per year and still get full pay and reimbursements. None of these would impact on your right to normal paid and/or unpaid vacation time.
The Saudi government also had generous allowances for married female employees (national and expatriate) who became pregnant. By law, there was fully-paid leave of six weeks before delivery and then eight weeks after, with the mother, if returning to work, being able to work on full pay for two years after the birth of the child for six, instead of eight, hours a day. These allowances were enshrined in their 'Workman's Rules & Regulations' handbook, produced and in force in the early 1970s - without the need for trade unionism, and more than a little behind the UK at the time. The book was full of the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees and certainly backed up any tribunals taken to the Labour Court by the aggrieved of either.
