Employment and labor laws vary from country to country. This guide is intended to provide the most up to date information available. We will update this guide as needed when changes are made to the laws.
Employment Contracts
Employers are legally required to provide formal written contracts for all employees that include salary/wage, termination terms, job title, etc. The contracts must be written in Arabic and use the Egyptian Pound currency (EGP).
Working Hours
The standard working week in Egypt consists of 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
Overtime
All working hours above 48 hours per week are subject to overtime pay at a rate of 135.00% of their regular salary rate of pay during daylight hours and 170.00% of their regular salary rate of pay for work at night. For work performed on non regular working days, the rate is twice the daily wage plus another day off during the following week; working on days off must be mutually agreed upon in advance
Public Holidays for 2024
Each year the government may decide if public holidays falling on weekends will be moved to a weekday or will be lost.
Certain religious holidays are determined by the lunar cycle and will be confirmed nearer the date of the holiday.
- Jan 7: Coptic Christmas Day (Sunday)
- Jan 25: Revolution Day (Thursday)
- Apr 10: Eid al-Fitr (Wednesday) – Tentative
- Apr 11: Eid al-Fitr Holiday (Thursday) – Tentative
- Apr 12: Eid al-Fitr Holiday (Friday) – Tentative
- Apr 25: Sinai Liberation Day (Thursday)
- May 1: Labor Day (Wednesday)
- May 6: Sham el Nessim (Monday)
- Jun 16: Arafat Day (Sunday)
- Jul 17: Eid al-Adha (Wednesday) – Tentative
- Jul 18: Eid al-Adha Holiday (Thursday) – Tentative
- Jul 19: Eid al-Adha Holiday (Friday) – Tentative
- Jul 20: Eid al-Adha Holiday (Saturday) – Tentative
- Jun 30: June Revolution Day (Sunday)
- Jul 8: Islamic New Year (Monday) – Tentative
- Jul 23: July Revolution Day (Tuesday)
- Sep 16: Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Monday)
- Oct 6: Armed Forces Day (Sunday)
Annual Leave (vacation)
In Egypt, employees are entitled to 21 working days of paid annual leave per year if employed for at least six consecutive months.
It increases to 30 days of paid annual leave for employees who have completed ten years of consecutive employment or employees over 50 years of age.
Unused vacation days carry over into the next year.
Sick Leave
An employee is entitled to up to 6 months of paid sick leave and must provide a professional medical certificate confirming the sickness.
For the first 90 days of sick leave, the employee is entitled to 75% of the regular salary rate. After that, this increases to 85% of the normal rate of pay for 90 days.
Maternity and Paternity
Maternity Leave
Female employees who have been employed for ten consecutive months are entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave. Maternity leave pay is 100% of salary, covered by Egyptian social security at 75% of the social insurance salary (10,900*75%) and by the employer for 25% of the salary . It is common for the employer to cover the whole 100% for the entire 3 months.
Employees are entitled to take two periods of maternity leave during their total employment service.
Upon return to the workplace, the woman is entitled to two thirty-minute nursing breaks or a combined one-hour nursing break each day for up to two years after the date of birth.
Paternity Leave
There are no provisions in the law regarding paternity leave.
Paternal Leave
Employers who have more than 50 employees in the company must provide mothers with 24 months of unpaid leave for each child.
If the company has at least 50 employees, female employees are entitled to take up to 2 years of unpaid leave to take care of their child. An employee can take this type of leave twice during the entire service of the employee.
Other Leave
Depending on the Collective Agreement/Employment Contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, on approval of the employer and employee, for the following:
- Casual leave – Employees are entitled to up to six days off from work per year and are not required to state a reason for taking the leave. Employees are allowed to take a maximum of 2 days per leave. Casual leave counts as part of annual leave.
Employee Severance and Terminations
Termination Process
The termination process varies according to how the Employment Agreement and Collective Agreement are in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
An employer who wishes to terminate an employee must go before a committee with judicial powers at the Ministry of Manpower and Migration. The committee has 15 days to decide whether to grant the request. The employer may then dismiss the employee, who retains the right to challenge the dismissal in court.
Notice Period
In Egypt, the periods of notice are determined according to the employment agreement/contract and collective agreement in place and the length of service by the employee. If the employee has completed less than ten years of service, the notice period is two months increasing to three months for employees with more than ten years of service. No notice is required during the probation period.
Severance Pay
There is no statutory severance pay unless the employee’s termination is unjustified, or the employer has voluntarily provided it.
Probation Period
In Egypt, the probation period is fixed by the employment contract and, by law, cannot exceed three months.
Payroll Cycle
In Egypt, the payroll frequency is monthly, and payment must be made by the 5th of the following month.
13th Salary
In Egypt, there is no legal requirement for 13th-month payments.
The minimum wage in Egypt for the private sector is currently set at 3,500 EGP.
Contributions
Employer Payroll Contributions
VISA
Foreigners are strictly prohibited from carrying on any work in Egypt without a valid work permit. A work permit for Egypt is granted by the Ministry of Manpower in Egypt and is usually for one year.
Before the authority issues a work permit for foreigners, a labor market test must prove that there are no local residents eligible for that position. When a work permit is finally granted, the applicant must train at least two local Egyptian nationals to work in the same position. Applying for a work permit in Egypt typically takes 1 to 3 months until the applicant can enter Egypt. It may take a further 2 to 4 months before the process is completed
Egypt offers several types of visas, including the following:
- Work visa: Once a foreign national gets a work permit, their visa, such as a temporary/tourist visa, will be converted into a work visa.
- Temporary/tourist visa: This option is a renewable single-entry 30-day tourist visa that individuals can get when arriving at Egyptian airports. It’s also the visa individuals obtain for a job.
- Ordinary visa: An ordinary visa is valid for three to five years and allows an employee’s spouse to have a resident permit for the amount of time identified on their work permit.
- Special visa: The special visa is for expats born in Egypt before May 26, 1952, or individuals who have lived in Egypt for more than 20 years from that date. It’s valid for ten years and can be renewed.
VAT
The standard rate of VAT in Egypt is 14.00%.