Egypt

Egypt PEO & Employer of Record

For businesses seeking to enter the Egypt market or engage local or foreign workers there, WeHG offers international PEO and global employer of record services.

The conventional strategy calls for the establishment of a subsidiary in Egypt. Our approach, however, enables you to launch operations in Egypt in a matter of days, saving you both time and money. While you have complete operational control over your job, WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf. Therefore, technically, they would be our employees on our local payroll, fully compliant, but operating on your behalf.

Egypt fast facts

Population: 104, 258,000 (2022)
Land area: 1,010,408km²

Language: Arabic (Official) 
Capital: Cairo
Local currency: Egyptian pound

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Egypt

The necessity of a written employment contract

In Egypt, it is necessary to create a written employment contract that is written in Arabic and three copies of it. The remuneration, benefits, and requirements for terminating the employment should all be clearly stated in the contract. The salary and any other compensation amounts should always be specified in Egyptian pounds rather than another currency in an offer letter and employment contract in Egypt

Different forms of engagement: employment, contracting, work with a private entrepreneur

  • Self-employed
  • Employees of government
  • Employees in the private industry
  • Service sector workers

Egypt Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Employment contracts that are up to five years can be covered by fixed-term agreements. After five years, contracts with employees will be deemed to be for an indefinite period of time.

Egypt working hours

The typical work week runs from Sunday through Thursday for 40 hours.

Vacation leave in Egypt

Once an employee has worked for 6 months, they are typically entitled to 21 days of annual paid leave. They are entitled to one month of paid leave after ten years of service or at the age of fifty.

One-month paid leave for religious pilgrimage is given to employees who have worked for 5 years in a row. This opportunity is a one-off benefit for employees.

Egypt Maternity Leave

Female employees are generally entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave. Under most contracts, women are only eligible for maternity leave twice within 5 years.

Maternity Leave

Female employees covered by social insurance are entitled to three months of paid maternity leave for each of up to three children, provided they have been contributing to social insurance for the past 10 months. Maternity benefits are paid at 75% of the last wage. Moreover, women employed in establishments with more than 50 employees are entitled to up to two years of unpaid childbearing leave per child, as stipulated in the Labor Law.

A woman preserves all her rights and benefits upon return to the workplace from maternity leave.

Labor Law does not provide provisions for paternity leave.

Egyptian Severance Laws

Termination of employment

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.

Employees with less than 10 years of service are entitled to 60 days’ notice of termination. After 10 years, the employee is entitled to 90 days’ notice.

Severance payments

For employment contracts with fixed terms, the employee is entitled to all of his benefits in addition to the gross income for the remaining length of the contract, while for contracts with indeterminate terms, the employee is entitled to compensation in an amount equal to that determined by the court of law, which in all cases would not be less than two months’ gross salary for each year of service.  

Egypt Tax

The corporate income tax (CIT) rate in Egypt is 22.5% on the net taxable profits of a company.

The above rate applies to all types of business activities except for oil exploration companies, whose profits are taxed at 40.55%. In addition, the profits of the Suez Canal Authority, the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, and the Central Bank of Egypt are taxable at a rate of 40%.

The social insurance contribution of the employer is 18.75% of the total social insurance salary.

Health Insurance Benefits in Egypt

Employees are generally entitled to up to 6 months of sick leave, paid between 75% and 100% of the employee’s regular wages.

According to Article 54 of the Labor Code, in cases of illness, the employee is entitled to sick leave based on the report of the competent medical authority. According to the Social Security Act, an employee is entitled to his salary during sick leave. An employee with documented illness is entitled to paid sick leave equal to 75% of his salary, to which social security contributions relate; for a period of 90 days, increasing to 85% for the following 90 days. Sick leave is payable for up to 180 days. The employee reserves the right to use his accumulated annual leave and convert it into sick leave if such a balance exists.

Egypt Holidays

Egypt celebrates 12 national holidays:

  • Coptic Christmas Day
  • Revolution Day
  • Sinai Liberation Day
  • Coptic Easter
  • Labour Day
  • Sham el Messim
  • Eid Al Fitr
  • National Day
  • Eid Al Adha
  • Al Hijra
  • Armed Forces Day
  • Milad Un Nabi

Why Choose WeHireGlobally

All of your onboarding, payroll, compensation and benefits, tax filing, and employee termination needs could well be taken care of by us at WeHG. Engage with us so that we can help you manage effectively your foreign teams with less cost and risk with our Employer of Record solution.

 

FAQ Egypt

  • Working hours in Egypt

    In general the work week is 40 hours from Sunday through Thursday.

  • Egypt Holidays

    • Coptic Christmas Day
    • Revolution Day
    • Sinai Liberation Day
    • Coptic Easter
    • Labour Day
    • Sham el Messim
    • Eid Al Fitr
    • National Day
    • Eid Al Adha
    • Al Hijra
    • Armed Forces Day
    • Milad Un Nabi
  • Egypt Tax

    The corporate income tax (CIT) rate in Egypt is 22.5% on the net taxable profits of a company.

    The above rate applies to all types of business activities except for oil exploration companies, whose profits are taxed at 40.55%. In addition, the profits of the Suez Canal Authority, the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, and the Central Bank of Egypt are taxable at a rate of 40%.

    The social insurance contribution of the employer is 18.75% of the total social insurance salary.

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