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According to Egyptian labor law, employees are entitled to paid annual leave that excludes official holidays, public occasions, and weekly rest days. Employees are entitled to 15 days of paid annual leave in their first year of service and 21 days of paid annual leave starting from the second year. Employees who have completed 10 years of service with 1 or more employers, or who are over 50 years old, are entitled to 30 days. Employees with disabilities or dwarfism are entitled to 45 days.

For employees who have completed a period of service of less than 1 year, annual leave is granted proportionally to the time spent in service, provided the employee has completed at least 6 months of service with the employer. For employees working in hazardous, unhealthy, or remote locations, the duration of annual leave is increased by 7 days.

In Egypt, the labor code provides employees with sick leave if their illness is confirmed by a report from the relevant medical authorities. During the period of sickness, the worker is entitled to wage replacement compensation from the Public Authority for Health Insurance. The employee is eligible for sick leave with a sickness allowance up to 180 days in a year.

The sickness allowance is paid by the Public Authority for Health Insurance as 75% of the daily wages of the employee for the first 90 days of the sickness and 85% of the daily wages for the next 90 days of sickness. In the case of tuberculosis, mental illness, or a chronic disease, 100% of the wage is paid while the employee is sick until recovery.

The Egyptian Labour Law provides that female employees are entitled to 4 months of paid maternity leave. Leave is compulsory for 45 days after childbirth. An employee is required to submit a medical certificate indicating the expected date of delivery. Employees are entitled to maternity leave 3 times during their period of service with the employer.

The daily work hours for a pregnant employee are reduced by at least 1 hour beginning from the sixth month of pregnancy. Employers may not require a pregnant employee to work overtime during her pregnancy or for up to 6 months after the delivery.

An employer is prohibited from terminating a female worker during her maternity leave.

Employees are entitled to 1 day of paid emergency leave on the day of their child's birth and up to 3 times during their total period of service, even if they are employed by different employers.

Minimum Wage

Effective March 1, 2025, Egypt mandated its first monthly minimum wage for private sector employees of EGP 7,000 (Egyptian pounds). The Council also set a minimum hourly wage of EGP 28 for part-time work and a minimum monthly periodic raise of EGP 250 for private-sector employees.

The Labor Law of Egypt requires wages to be paid at regular intervals as follows:

• Employees who are paid on a monthly basis must receive their wages at least once a month
• Employees who are not paid on a monthly basis (e.g., those paid daily, weekly, or bi-weekly), wages must be paid at least once every week
• Employees whose wage is based on production or commission and whose work extends beyond 2 weeks must receive a weekly advance payment proportionate to the completed work, with the balance due in the following week after the task is completed

Employers must pay wages on a working day, at the place of work, in legally recognized currency or deposited into the employee's bank account, unless otherwise agreed upon in the employment contract.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

The Egyptian labor code stipulates that any work performed over 48 hours a week or 8 hours a day is considered overtime. Overtime is allowed in cases of unexpected work emergencies, provided that a written justification for such overtime work has been submitted to the relevant administrative department. An employee is entitled to an overtime rate of at least 35% of the employee’s standard hourly wage for overtime work performed during the day and 70% of the standard hourly wage for overtime work performed during the night. The employee is entitled to an additional day's wage for overtime work performed on holidays or weekly days of rest. In all cases, an employee’s total presence at the workplace shall not exceed 12 hours per day. Children and pregnant women may not work overtime.

The employee is entitled to paid leave on official holidays. For non-Muslim religious holidays, the applicable Cabinet decisions shall apply. The employer may require the employee to work during such holidays if work conditions so necessitate. In this case, the employee shall be entitled to double their wage for the day, or a substitute day off, upon the employee’s written request, which needs to be filed in their personnel file.

Employees are entitled to their regular salary during annual leave.

Notice Period

Under Egypt’s Labour Law, an employer may terminate an open-ended contract only by giving at least 3 months’ written notice. The notice period begins when the employee receives it, cannot be waived or shortened, and the contract remains fully in force during this time. Notice cannot be issued while the employee is on leave, and sick leave pauses the notice period. If the employer terminates the contract, the employee is entitled to paid time to job-search (1 day per week or 8 hours weekly). If the employer terminates without notice or ends the contract early, they must pay wages equal to the full notice period or the remaining portion. Employees may be dismissed without notice only for grave misconduct as defined in the law.

Severance Benefits

Under Egypt’s Labour Law, employers must provide severance in several situations. If the employer terminates a fixed-term contract longer than 5 years, the employee is entitled to 1 month’s wage for each year of service. Employees are also owed severance for service after age 60 (or before age 18 for apprentices) when those periods are not covered by the Social Insurance and Pensions Law. This is calculated at half a month’s wage for each of the first 5 years and 1 month per year thereafter, based on the employee’s last wage. Any severance due is also payable to beneficiaries if the employee dies. Additionally, for terminations due to economic reasons, employees are entitled to 1 month’s wage for each of the first 5 years of service and 1 and a half months’ wage for each subsequent year.

Pension

Egypt operates a mandatory, government-run pension system. The current unified social insurance system, which became effective January 1, 2020, applies one set of rules and a single pension formula to almost all employees, raises the minimum qualifying period, and brings old-age, disability, death, work-injury, sickness, and unemployment benefits under one combined fund.

Insured persons qualify for an old-age pension once they reach age 60 with at least 180 months of contributions. A pension is calculated by looking at the settlement salary (the average salary on which contributions were actually paid), the total number of contribution months, and the actuarial age factor, which adjusts the amount based on the age at retirement. The formula takes the settlement salary, multiplies it by the number of contribution months, divides it by 12, and then divides it by the actuarial factor. This is done separately for periods before and after January 1, 2020, and the 2 parts are added together.

The final pension must follow several rules: it cannot exceed 80% of the relevant salary, and cannot be lower than 65% of the minimum contributory salary or EGP 1,755 (Egyptian pounds), effective January 1, 2026. The National Bank of Egypt and Misr Life Insurance now offer Egyptians abroad a pension product for contributions made in U.S. Dollars called Maash Bokra. Clients of the National Bank of Egypt who are within Egypt may also purchase 1 of these policies.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

Egypt provides monthly survivor pensions to the dependents of an insured person or pensioner who dies, funded through the Old-Age, Disability, and Death Insurance account. Eligible survivors include the widow or widower, sons, daughters, parents, and siblings. Sons and brothers receive benefits until age 21, with extensions for disability, full-time study, or unemployment; daughters and sisters receive benefits until marriage; and parents or siblings qualify only if financially dependent. If entitlement ends due to marriage or a higher-priority pension, the survivor receives a one-time severance equal to one year of pension (minimum EGP 500 (Egyptian pounds), and their share is redistributed among remaining beneficiaries.

Survivors also receive a death grant equal to the pension or wage for the month of death plus two additional months, along with funeral expenses equal to three months of the deceased’s pension. If death results from a work-related accident, survivors receive the pension plus an additional lump sum equal to the settlement wage × 12 × an age factor, increased by 50% for occupational deaths and doubled if there are no eligible survivors.

Invalidity Benefits

Egypt’s social insurance system provides disability pensions to insured persons of any age who develop a total permanent disability or a partial disability that prevents them from performing their original job. A disability pension is paid if the disability occurs while insured, within 1 year after employment ends, or later with at least 180 months of contributions; some cases also require at least 3 consecutive or 6 non-consecutive months of contributions. The pension is calculated under the standard social insurance formula and cannot exceed 80% of the settlement wage, which is the insured’s inflation-adjusted average monthly contributory wage, capped by the maximum contributory wage.

Work-related disabilities receive enhanced benefits: total disability or death provides 80% of the settlement wage with an additional 1% annual increase until retirement age; partial disabilities of 35% or more receive a proportional pension; disabilities below 35% receive a lump sum equal to the disability percentage applied to 48 months of pension. Non-work-related disabilities follow the general formula, with the pension increased to at least 65% of the highest settlement wage in certain cases. When disability or death leads to pension entitlement, an additional lump sum equal to the settlement wage × 12 × an age factor is paid, increased by 50% for work injuries and doubled if death occurs with no eligible survivors. During temporary incapacity, the insured receives full wage compensation from the day after the injury until recovery or confirmation of permanent disability.

Personal Income Tax

The income tax code in Egypt defines the tax year as the fiscal year beginning January 1 and ending on December 31. The income tax is imposed on the total income earned in Egypt by resident and non-resident individuals. Income tax is applicable on annual net income above EGP 40,000 (Egyptian pounds). The income tax rates range from 10% to 27.5% on annual taxable income. Both residents and non-residents are entitled to an annual salary tax exemption of EGP 20,000.

Visas

Officially recognized short-stay categories include tourist visas (for general tourism), business visas (for meetings and commercial visits), and transit visas (for short stays while connecting through Egypt), which can be issued as single- or multiple-entry depending on purpose and eligibility.

The following visa categories are available in Egypt:

• Single-entry visas - valid for 90 days and allow a maximum stay of 30 days
• Multiple-entry visas - valid for 180 days and allow a collective stay of 30 days
• Transit visas - short stays while connecting through Egypt

Work Permits

Per the Labor Code of Egypt, foreign nationals who wish to work in the country are required to obtain a work permit and are authorized to enter and reside in the country. Employers must obtain a work permit before employing foreign nationals and notify the relevant directorate within 7 days from the date the foreign worker begins work or the employment relationship is terminated.

The employer must register foreign employees with the Directorate of Manpower and Immigration and notify the agency of specific details such as their personal data, job requirements, and qualifications for the job.

The legal minimum age for employment is 14 years in Egypt. Employers who hire individuals below the age of 16 years must issue a card to such employees that serves as proof of work. Working hours for juveniles between ages 14 and 18 years may not exceed six hours per day. Young employees have a right to at least a one-hour break after four hours of continuous work. Employers are prohibited from making juvenile employees work overtime, on weekly rest days, or between 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM.