Planning to hire employees in Egypt? Here’s a quick guide

Expanding your business into Egypt can open the door to a large, skilled, and cost-effective workforce, particularly in sectors such as technology, manufacturing, customer support, and finance. With a strong pipeline of graduates from institutions such as Cairo University and Al-Azhar University, Egypt offers access to both entry-level and experienced professionals.

However, there are legal and administrative requirements for hiring in Egypt. Employers must issue employment contracts in Arabic, register employees with the social insurance system, and comply with rules on working hours, leave entitlements, and termination procedures. They must adhere to standard working hours of 48 hours per week and regulated overtime pay.

Given these requirements, partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) like Payoneer Workforce Management helps navigate compliance, ease employment in Egypt, and build an efficient workforce in Egypt.

How to hire employees in Egypt

If you want to hire employees in Egypt, you can do so in the following ways: 

1. Set up a legal entity in Egypt
   • If you are planning to operate your business in a new country, you may choose to set up a legal entity by registering with the General Authority for Investment and Free Zone. 
   • This gives you better control over the business, but it is a time-consuming and expensive procedure. 
2. Hire independent contractors
   • You can hire independent contractors to accomplish your task. However, you should avoid any instance of misclassification, which may lead to legal complexities and penalties. 
3. Partner with an EOR
   • One of the most effective ways to hire employees in Egypt is by partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) such as Payoneer Workforce Management. An EOR supports the entire employment lifecycle on your behalf.
   • An EOR helps manage key employment aspects like employee onboarding, compliance with Egypt’s labor laws and regulations, payroll, administering leave entitlements, and handling other key HR functions, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

Where to find employees in Egypt

Here are some of the best ways in which you can find employees in Egypt: 

1) Popular job portals in Egypt

Several job portals in Egypt display various job profiles. Some popular job portals in Egypt are: 

• Wuzzuf
• Forasna
• Tanqeeb
• Akhtaboot
• Jobzella

2) Work with local recruitment agencies

In Egypt, numerous local recruitment agencies and staffing firms provide support with sourcing talent, including candidate screening and shortlisting based on your requirements.

Professional networks and development platforms can also be valuable channels for finding skilled candidates, particularly those with international experience and exposure.

3) EOR support

Another way in which you can recruit employees in Egypt is with the support of an Employer of Record like Payoneer Workforce Management. An EOR assists with the hiring process, including drafting of contracts, onboarding, payroll management, taxation, and more. 

This gives you more time to source and identify suitable candidates for the role.

Onboarding employees in Egypt

New employees in Egypt have to undergo a thorough onboarding process. 

The detailed onboarding process in Egypt is as follows: 

• You have to draft an employment contract in Arabic (and English), keep one copy for yourself, issue one copy to the employee, and deposit the rest, as required, to the concerned authorities. 
• Create a personnel file by collecting all the documents like national ID, birth certificate, educational certificates, any history of previous criminal record, labor certificate (Ka’ab el-Amal), etc. 
• Ask your employee to appear for a pre-employment medical exam at any government-accredited facility and enroll your employee in the national social security system. Submit these two at the Social Insurance Office and validate your registration. 
• Introduce your employee to the workplace, its culture, the employee’s job responsibilities, and the company’s procedures. Your employee shall remain on probation for up to 3 months. 

Key employment laws in Egypt

The key laws that define the employment regulations in Egypt are as follows:

• Egyptian Labor Law No. 12 of 2003: This is the primary law that regulates the employment relationships in Egypt. It covers all aspects like employment contracts, working hours, leaves, wages, termination processes, and so on. 
• Social Insurance and Pensions Law No. 148 of 2019: This law governs the social security contributions in Egypt. It covers different aspects like pensions, workplace injury insurance, and other social insurance benefits as applicable to the employees.
• Law on Occupational Health and Safety: The law focuses on preventing workplace accidents and protecting workers from physical, chemical, biological, and mechanical hazards. 

Employment contracts

An employment contract shall define the employment relationship between you and your employee. The types of employment contracts in Egypt are mentioned below: 

• Fixed period contract: This kind of contract has a fixed starting and ending date. If the contract does not specify the duration, or if both parties continue to exercise a contract after its termination, it may be considered for an indefinite period. 
• Indefinite period contract: This kind of contract has a fixed date of commencement, but the termination date is not specified. 

An employment contract must be written in Arabic and English. If you are hiring a foreign national, you must also prepare the contract in the language that the employee understands. 

The following should be the contents of the employment contract in Egypt, just like in Saudi Arabia: 

• The date of commencement of the contract
• Your business’s name and address
• Employee’s name and qualifications
• Employee’s insurance number, residence address, and identification details
• Nature of work and its description
• Wage, payment method, schedule, other benefits (if applicable)

Employee benefits

Employees in Egypt are entitled to the following benefits: 

Working hours and holidays

The working hours in Egypt are 48 hours per week. 

Overtime in Egypt

If your employees work more than 48 hours per week, it is considered overtime. However, the overtime hours should not exceed 2 hours per day. 

The overtime compensation should be as follows:

Moreover, there are 12 public holidays in Egypt. These include:

• Coptic Christmas Day
• Revolution Day
• Eid El-Fitr
• Sham El-Nassim
• Sinai Liberation Day
• Eid El-Adha
• Labour Day
• Revolution Day
• Revolution Day
• Islamic New Year
• Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
• Armed Forces Day 

Employer’s tax obligations

The taxes on individual income of employees in Egypt range from 0% to 25%. 

Termination and severance pay in Egypt

As an employer, you must abide by certain laws while terminating an employment contract with an employee. 

Termination of an employment contract may be considered valid under the following circumstances:

• Resignation of the employee
• Mutual agreement for termination between you and the employee
• Termination of the employee during the probation period
• Termination due to poor performance, misconduct, or absence without leave

Notice period

While dissolving an employment contract, it is essential to observe a notice period. The duration of the notice period, however, depends on the tenure of service. 

For an indefinite period contract:

• Notice period of 2 months for employment of less than 10 years
• Notice period of 3 months for employment of more than 10 years 

For a definite period contract: 

• If you want to terminate a fixed-term contract, you must inform the employee at least a month in advance. 

Severance pay

If you terminate an indefinite period contract, you must pay a severance amounting to 2 months’ salary for each year the employee worked in your organization. When terminating a definite period contract, you must compensate the employee for the remaining duration of the employment term. 

Explore Payoneer Workforce Management in Egypt

With Payoneer Workforce Management, you can hire employees in Egypt with trusted support. This EOR helps streamline hiring in Egypt and helps maintain compliance with local labor laws, manage payroll and taxation, handle leave authorization, and more.  

Book a demo now!

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