Employment laws in Jordan

Employment laws in Jordan establish clear rules for hiring, compensation, and employee protection. Businesses operating in Jordan must comply with key requirements, including the national minimum wage of JOD 260 per month, a standard 40-hour workweek, and mandatory social security contributions totaling 21.75% of an employee’s wages (14.25% by the employer and 7.5% by the employee).

Employees in Jordan are also entitled to statutory benefits such as annual leave, sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, along with social security coverage, all of which are governed by national labor laws.

For employers, keeping track of these requirements and maintaining labor law compliance in Jordan can be challenging. An Employer of Record like Payoneer Workforce Management can help streamline operations, manage payroll and benefits, as per local regulations.

Read on to learn about the key laws that protect employees’ rights in Jordan.

Key employment laws in Jordan 

Listed below are the laws that primarily shape the employment landscape in Jordan: 

1. Jordanian Labor Law No. 8 of 1996: This is the primary law that regulates the employment relations in Jordan. It defines the rights and obligations of both employers and workers and covers all the major issues like wages, working hours, contract types, occupational safety, termination, etc.

2. Social Security Law No. 1 of 2014 (Jordan): This law governs the social insurance system of Jordan, which is administered by the Social Security Corporation. It mentions the mandatory coverage for employees and defines benefits like pensions, compensation due to workplace injury, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, etc. 

Contract employment laws in Jordan

Jordan’s employment laws establish clear contractual rules that define the rights and obligations of both employers and employees.

Types of contract

The different types of employment contracts in Jordan are listed below: 

1. Limited-term contract: This kind of employment contract has a fixed date of commencement and termination. If both parties continue to implement the employment contract after its expiry, the contract may be considered renewed for an indefinite period of time.

2. Indefinite period contract: In this kind of employment contract, employees are expected to perform their tasks until their service ends in accordance with the provisions of the employment law.

Essential contract terms

You must issue a work contract, written in English or Arabic, to your employees. If the employee is not a citizen of Jordan, a translated copy may be issued. 

An employment contract must contain the following information: 

1. The name of the employer and the employee. 
2. The type of employment contract that has been agreed upon. 
3. The date of commencement of the employment (or conclusion, if applicable).
4. The role for which the employee has been hired and its description. 
5. The work location. 
6. The working hours. 
7. Salary, leaves, and other benefits that the employee is entitled to receive. 
8. Termination laws. 

Minimum wage in Jordan

Employees in Jordan should be paid a minimum of JOD 260 per month. 

Working hours in Jordan

As per the employment laws, the working hours in Jordan should not exceed 40 hours per week. Anything beyond that shall be considered overtime. 

According to the overtime laws in Jordan, working hours, including overtime, must not exceed 10 hours per day. You should also not assign overtime work to your employees for more than  30 days in a year. 

The overtime pay should be calculated as follows: 

Normal working days	1.25 times the employee’s normal salary
Weekend and holidays	1.5 times the employee’s normal salary

Mandatory benefits

Listed below are the various benefits that employees in Jordan are entitled to. 

Annual leave

Your employees are entitled to 14 annual leaves if they have worked for less than 5 years and 21 annual leaves if they have been employed for more than  5 years. 

Sick leave

You must grant your employees 14 days of sick leave in Jordan annually, given that they provide a report issued by a physician approved by the establishment.

Social security benefits

In Jordan, employees are covered under a social security package that encompasses a range of benefits like those due to old-age, death and disability, work injury, maternity, and unemployment. The total monthly deduction is 21.75% of the employee’s wage, out of which you have to contribute 14.25% and the employee has to contribute 7.5%.

Maternity leave

Female employees in Jordan are entitled to 10 weeks (70 days) of maternity leave, which is 2 weeks less than that in Saudi Arabia. This period must be divided between pre- and post-childbirth, provided that the post-delivery period is not less than 6 weeks. 

You are typically prohibited from engaging a female employee in work before the completion of this period.

Paternity leave 

Employers in Jordan must provide employees with 3 days of paternity leave.

Public holidays

There are 16 public holidays in Jordan, out of which 3 are statutory and the rest are non-statutory. 

The list below shows the public holidays in Jordan: 

• New Year’s Day
• Eid Al Fitr (4 days)
• Palm’s Sunday (Tentative date)
• Easter (2 days)
• Labor Day
• Independence Day
• Arafah 
• Eid al-Adha (4 days)
• Muharram/New Year 
• Prophet’s Birth Day 
• Christmas Day (2 days)

Additional leaves

Jordanian employees are entitled to some other leaves that allow them to take care of certain things in their private lives: 

1. Childcare leave: Working mothers may be allowed to take unpaid leave for up to a year to devote themselves to raising their child. 

2. Compassionate leave: If an employee’s parent, child, spouse, or sibling expires, you must grant them a compassionate leave of 3 days.

Termination

If you are planning to terminate an employment contract, you have to abide by the local termination laws in Jordan and execute the same. 

Types of termination scenarios 

Terminating an employment contract shall be considered valid in the following scenarios: 

1. If you and the employee mutually agree to terminate the employment contract. 
2. If you terminate an employment contract during the probationary period. 
3. If you decide to terminate an employee due to misconduct, performance issues, redundancy, absence without leave, etc. 
4. If the employee decides to resign. 

Probation period 

There is no minimum period for which an employee has to be kept on probation. The maximum probation period in Jordan is 3 months, and you cannot extend it beyond that. 

Notice period

While terminating an employment contract, a notice period must be observed to enable a smooth transition.

The notice period in Jordan is 1 month, or as specified in the employment contract.

If you are terminating an employee, you must allow a notice period, or payment instead of notice, before terminating an employee, as mentioned in the employment contract. 

Severance pay

After the termination of an employment contract, you shall have to pay your employee 15 days’ salary for every year they have worked, with a minimum payout equal to the employee’s 2 months’ salary as severance pay in Jordan.

You are also liable to pay an extra 30 days’ salary if you do not give notice before terminating the employment.

Navigate employment laws in Jordan with trusted support

As an employer, you must comply with the labor laws in Jordan in order to mitigate local risks and reduce penalties and fines. You must be thorough about local employment regulations to manage the workforce in a compliant manner. 

An EOR like Payoneer Workforce Management helps simplify this process by helping businesses navigate complex labor laws and manage other key functions such as tax and payroll, employee onboarding and offboarding, and leave and benefits administration, enabling efficient workforce management. 

Book a demo today!

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