Employee benefitsin Egypt

Egypt is replacing its older social health insurance with the Universal Health Insurance System, a compulsory national scheme created by Law No. 2 of 2018 that covers all citizens and their families for insured medical services. It is being introduced governorate by governorate. Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, South Sinai, Luxor and Aswan are live; a second phase covering Minya, Matrouh, Damietta, Kafr El Sheikh and North Sinai is being prepared, and Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia come last.

Where the system is live, the employer pays 4% of the employee's insurable wage each month (at least EGP 50), and the employee pays 1%. An employee who insures a non-working spouse adds 3%, plus 1% for each child or other dependant. Self-employed people and members of liberal professions pay 5% of their insurable wage or declared taxable income, whichever is greater. Patients also pay small co-payments for some services, such as medicines, tests and outpatient visits.

In governorates not yet covered, employees remain insured through the sickness branch of social insurance, which the Health Insurance Organization delivers: private-sector employers pay 3.25% of the insurable wage and employees 1%. Every company also pays a separate universal health insurance contribution of 0.25% of its total annual revenue, which is not deductible for corporate tax.

Group private medical insurance is a common employer-paid benefit for professional staff in Egypt, provided on top of the public system to give faster access to private hospitals and clinics. It is common at mid-size and large employers, multinationals and technology companies, especially for professional roles; it is not required by law.

Local group plans for an employee alone typically cost around EGP 15,000 to EGP 45,000 a year in 2026. Employers that also fund family cover can spend roughly EGP 35,000 to EGP 90,000 per employee in total; others let employees add dependants at their own cost. Plans usually cover hospital treatment and outpatient care within annual limits, with dental and optical cover often included as smaller sub-limits. Medical inflation is high, with insurers' cost trend estimates around 31% to 35% a year, so budgets are reviewed annually. Health care provided in kind to all employees is exempt from income tax.

Dental treatment is usually provided as a sub-limit within an employer's group medical plan rather than as a separate policy. Some employers buy richer dental benefits for professional staff; an add-on dental and optical rider costs around EGP 2,000 to EGP 8,000 per employee a year. Routine care such as check-ups and cleaning is often limited, and major treatment depends on the plan's annual cap.

Optical benefits, such as eye tests, glasses and contact lenses, are usually included as a small sub-limit within an employer's group medical plan rather than bought separately. Some employers fund richer optical limits for professional staff; a combined dental and optical rider typically costs EGP 2,000 to EGP 8,000 per employee a year.

Mental-health support at work, such as counselling sessions, helplines or an employee assistance programme (EAP), a confidential counselling service paid for by the employer, is offered by a minority of Egyptian employers. In a January 2025 survey by Bupa Egypt Insurance and YouGov, 20% of Egyptian businesses offered mental-health support, while 72% of employees wanted more access to it. Where it is offered, it is usually light-touch, such as telemedicine, chat support or a limited number of sessions, often through the medical insurer; guides put typical wellbeing budgets at around EGP 800 to EGP 7,000 per employee a year.

Workplace wellbeing programmes, such as health screenings, wellness workshops, telemedicine, gym memberships or discount cards, are offered by some Egyptian employers, and investment is growing. In a January 2025 survey by Bupa Egypt Insurance and YouGov, one in three workers said their company offered no wellbeing initiatives at all, only 44% were satisfied with what was offered, and 76% of senior leaders planned to increase wellbeing spending in the coming year. Where offered, budgets are usually modest, around EGP 800 to EGP 7,000 per employee a year according to employer guides.

If an employee dies while employed, the employer must pay the family two months' wages, based on the last wage received, to cover funeral costs, with a minimum of EGP 1,000. The payment goes to the widow or widower, or failing that to the eldest child or the person who paid for the funeral. The employer also pays a grant equal to the employee's wage for the month of death and the following two months.

These employer payments sit alongside survivor pensions and grants from the social insurance system under Law No. 148 of 2019. Private life insurance is not required by law.

Every private-sector employee is insured against work accidents and occupational disease through Egypt's social insurance system under Law No. 148 of 2019. The employer alone funds it: 1% of the insurable wage for medical treatment (where the Universal Health Insurance System is not yet live) plus 0.5% for cash benefits, which can rise to 1% for higher-risk activities.

An injured employee receives full wage replacement, at the wage on which contributions were paid, for as long as they cannot work, until recovery, permanent disability or death; the employer pays the wage for the day of the injury itself and must transport the injured employee to treatment. A permanent total disability or death caused by work gives a pension of 80% of the relevant wage. Partial permanent disability of 35% or more gives a proportional pension; below 35% it gives a one-off lump sum equal to four years of the proportional pension.

Social insurance pays an old-age pension from age 60 for employees once they have at least 180 months of actual contributions. The pension builds up for each year of contributions, using an age-based factor, and is capped at 80% of the average insured wage used for the calculation. From January 2026 the minimum pension for new retirees is EGP 1,755 a month and the maximum EGP 13,360. Pensions rise each July by at least the inflation rate, up to 15%.

The same branch pays disability pensions and pensions to surviving family members. Employees whose pay exceeds the insurable ceiling can ask for an additional pension by contributing on pay above the ceiling, up to the same amount again. Employers have no obligation to provide a separate private pension.

Egypt's National Organization for Social Insurance runs one compulsory scheme for private-sector employees under the Social Insurance and Pensions Law No. 148 of 2019. It funds old-age, disability and death pensions, sickness, work injury, unemployment and an end-of-service savings account. The employer pays 18.75% and the employee 11% of the insurable wage each month.

The employer's 18.75% comprises 12% for pensions, 3.25% for sickness, 1.5% for work injury, 1% for unemployment and 1% for the end-of-service account. The employee's 11% comprises 9% for pensions, 1% for sickness and 1% for the end-of-service account. Contributions are charged on the actual insurable wage, which includes basic pay, incentives, commissions, overtime and most allowances but excludes expense-type allowances such as transport, travel, housing and car allowances.

From 1 January 2026 the monthly insurable wage is at least EGP 2,700 and at most EGP 16,700, so the maximum monthly contribution is EGP 3,131.25 for the employer and EGP 1,837 for the employee. The limits rise by 15% each January under the current schedule, to EGP 3,200 and EGP 19,300 in 2027. Directors and board members registered as owners in the commercial register are insured as business owners at 21% of their chosen contribution income. The law also adds 1 percentage point to the pension contribution every seven years, split equally between employer and employee, up to a total of 26%.

Private-sector employees are insured against unemployment through social insurance, funded by an employer contribution of 1% of the insurable wage. An unemployed person qualifies after at least 12 months of contributions, including the 6 months immediately before unemployment, provided they did not resign, are registered as unemployed with the labour office and are under 60.

Benefit starts on the eighth day after employment ends and is paid until the person starts a new job, for up to 12 weeks, extended to 28 weeks for a first period of unemployment after more than 36 months of contributions. It is paid as a share of the last insured wage: 75% for the first four weeks, 65% for the next four, 55% for the following four and 45% after that. A person dismissed for listed serious misconduct receives 40%.

Egypt has no general statutory severance payment on every termination. Instead, Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 sets compensation for specific situations.

If an employer ends an open-ended contract without a lawful reason, the employee is entitled to compensation of at least two months' wages for each year of service, on top of all other legal entitlements. Unlawful reasons include union activity, filing a complaint, taking statutory leave, pregnancy, family responsibilities, religion, sex and political opinion. An employee who resigns because the employer seriously breached the contract is treated as unfairly dismissed.

Where an employer reduces or closes its business for economic reasons with approval from the government committee, affected employees receive one month's wages for each of the first five years of service and one and a half months' wages for each later year. If a fixed-term contract has run for more than five years and the employer ends it, the employee receives one month's wages for each year of service. Ordinary expiry of a fixed-term contract of five years or less carries no statutory compensation.

Instead of a lump-sum gratuity paid by the employer, Egypt funds end-of-service payments through social insurance. Each month the employer and the employee each pay 1% of the insurable wage into a personal account held by the National Organization for Social Insurance, which invests it and credits returns. The balance is paid out when the person's insurance rights fall due, for example on retirement.

Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 adds that an employer must pay an end-of-service award under its own rules for any employee, or any part of pay, that social insurance does not cover. All dues on termination, including accrued leave pay, must be paid within seven working days.

Some employers, mainly multinationals and larger companies, add group life insurance, sometimes together with disability cover, to support families beyond the statutory funeral grant and social insurance survivor pensions. Premiums paid by the employer are a taxable benefit unless an exemption applies; employees can deduct their own life-insurance premiums up to EGP 10,000 a year or 15% of net income.

Statutory protection against long-term sickness and disability comes from social insurance, which pays sickness compensation for up to 180 days a year and disability pensions. Some employers add private disability insurance alongside group life cover. How often Egyptian employers provide it is not documented.

Under Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, employees receive paid annual leave of 15 days in their first year of service and 21 days from the second year. Employees with ten full years of service with one or more employers, or who are over 50, receive 30 days. Persons with disabilities and people of short stature receive 45 days. Public holidays and weekly rest days do not count against leave, so the days are effectively working days. Employees in hazardous or unhealthy work or remote areas designated by the minister receive 7 extra days.

An employee with less than a year's service earns leave in proportion to time served, once they have completed at least six months. The employer sets leave dates according to business needs, but the employee must take at least 15 days a year, including at least six consecutive days. Unused balances must be settled, either as leave or as pay, at least every three years, and any balance is paid out on termination. An employee who refuses in writing to take scheduled leave loses the right to payment for it. Casual leave of up to 7 days a year is taken from this entitlement.

Employees of industrial establishments licensed under the Industrial Licensing Facilitation Law No. 15 of 2017 have a longer sick-leave entitlement where the medical body expects recovery. For each three years of service they may take three months at full pay, then six months at 85% of pay, then three months at 75% of pay. The employer pays this wage and deducts whatever wage compensation social insurance pays for the same period.

An employee who is medically certified as unable to work is entitled to sick leave for the period the competent medical body sets. During sick leave, social insurance pays wage compensation of 75% of the insured daily wage for the first 90 days, rising to 85% after that, for up to 180 days in a calendar year. Compensation can never be lower than the legal minimum wage. Employees with designated chronic illnesses receive 100% of the insured wage until recovery, stabilisation or a finding of total disability.

Compensation is paid by the body responsible for sickness benefits, or by the employer where it has agreed with the authorities to pay compensation directly in return for a lower contribution. An employee may use accumulated annual leave alongside sick leave or convert sick leave into annual leave. An employer may not end a contract because of illness until the employee has used all sick leave and accrued annual leave, and must give 15 days' notice after that point; if the employee recovers before the notice ends, the dismissal cannot proceed.

An employee may be absent for an unforeseen reason for up to 7 days a year, with a maximum of 2 days at a time, without needing employer approval in advance. Casual leave is paid but counts against the employee's annual leave entitlement rather than adding to it.

The competent medical authority can bar an employee who has been in contact with a family member suffering from a designated contagious disease from working for an appropriate period of up to three months. The Minister of Health designates the diseases and the medical authority.

An employee who has completed five continuous years with the same employer is entitled to one month of fully paid leave to perform the Hajj pilgrimage or to visit Jerusalem. The leave can be taken once during the employee's service.

An employee who is sitting an exam at any stage of education may choose when to take annual leave, provided they tell the employer at least 15 days in advance. In addition, the employee is entitled to paid leave for the actual exam days, which is not deducted from annual leave, provided they give at least 10 days' notice and prove they sat the exam. Longer study leave depends on the employer's policy or a collective agreement.

A female employee is entitled to four months of paid maternity leave, covering the periods before and after birth, of which at least 45 days must be taken after the birth. She must provide a medical certificate showing the expected date of birth. There is no minimum service requirement, and the leave can be taken up to three times during her total service.

The leave is fully paid. Where she has at least ten months of social insurance contributions, social insurance pays wage compensation of 75% of her insured wage, and the employer pays the rest of her wage; otherwise the employer bears the full wage. Because the insured wage is capped at EGP 16,700 a month in 2026, the employer's share is larger for higher earners.

From the sixth month of pregnancy her daily hours are cut by at least one hour, and she cannot be required to work overtime until six months after the birth. She may not be dismissed during maternity leave, or afterwards unless the employer proves a lawful reason, and she is entitled to return to the same or an equivalent job. For two years after the birth she may take two nursing breaks of at least 30 minutes each a day, or combine them, counted as working time without loss of pay. She may also end her contract within three months of marriage, pregnancy or birth without losing her statutory rights.

A working father is entitled to one day of paid emergency leave on the day his child is born. It is not deducted from annual leave and can be taken up to three times during his total service. Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 introduced this right from 1 September 2025; before that Egyptian law gave no paternity leave. Employers may offer more under their own policies.

A female employee working in an establishment with 50 or more employees may take unpaid leave of up to two years to care for her child. She must have worked there for at least one year, the leave can be taken no more than three times during her service, and at least two years must separate the first and second periods.

Egyptian labour law does not provide adoption or general parental leave. Fathers have only the one-day birth leave.

An employer with 100 or more female employees at one location must set up a nursery for their children or contract a nursery to care for them. Establishments in the same area that each employ fewer than 100 women must share in meeting this obligation. As an alternative, an employer may pay the cost of nursery care. The minister sets the detailed rules.

In addition to the 12 national paid holidays, Christian employees in the private sector receive paid leave on their own religious feasts under Ministerial Decree No. 346 of 2025. For Coptic Orthodox employees these are Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Easter; for Coptic Catholic and Protestant employees they are New Year's Day, Christmas and Easter. The decree also allows late arrival until 10:00 on specified days. These days are not deducted from annual leave.

Egyptian law does not require a 13th-month salary or any other fixed annual bonus for private-sector employees. The statutory pay additions are the annual periodic increase of at least 3% of the insurable wage and, in joint-stock companies, the employees' share of distributed profits. Any bonus promised in the contract, the company's work regulations or a collective agreement, or paid as an established custom, becomes part of variable pay and must then be paid.

Egyptian law does not require a holiday allowance, vacation premium or Christmas allowance. Annual leave is paid at the employee's normal wage, and unused leave is settled in cash at least every three years and on termination. Employers that pay a holiday or Eid allowance do so under their own contract terms or custom.

In Egyptian joint-stock companies, employees are entitled to a share of any profits the company decides to distribute. The general assembly sets the share on the board's proposal at no less than 10% of the distributed profits, capped at the employees' total annual wages. The share is due once the general assembly approves the distribution and must be paid within one month. If the company distributes no profit, no share is due. Employees' profit shares are exempt from income tax.

An annual cash bonus is customary at mid-size and large employers in Egypt, especially in banking, technology and multinational companies, although no law requires it. The most common year-end benchmark is about one month of basic salary; broader performance bonuses for stronger performers or in well-paying sectors often reach one to three months' pay. Some employers also pay retention bonuses, and Ramadan or Eid gifts or cash payments are common on a smaller, discretionary scale.

A bonus that is written into the contract or work regulations, or paid consistently by custom, becomes part of the employee's pay and must continue to be paid. Bonuses are taxed as salary, and those forming part of pay count towards the insurable wage up to the ceiling.

Some Egyptian technology companies and listed firms grant employees stock options or shares to reward and retain staff. Fintech company Fawry, for example, has run an employee stock option plan since 2021 that gives long-serving staff free or discounted shares, issued at 50% of market value after two years; international companies also extend their global option plans to Egyptian staff. Egypt has no tax-favoured employee share scheme: the gain on exercise, the difference between market value and the price paid, is taxed as salary, and later gains on sale are taxed separately.

Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 recognises remote work, part-time work, flexible working hours and job sharing as forms of employment. People working in these ways have the same rights as other employees, including social insurance, the minimum wage, training and collective bargaining. The arrangement must be set out in a written contract, on paper or electronically. By agreement, an employee in one of these arrangements may work for more than one employer or be self-employed alongside the job, as long as they protect each employer's confidential information.

The law gives no general right to request remote or hybrid work. Employers that employ women must, however, include rules on flexible or remote working for women caring for children with disabilities in their women's employment regulations.

Training and professional development support is common for professional roles at mid-size and larger employers in Egypt and is widely used to retain staff. Typical learning budgets are around EGP 5,000 to EGP 25,000 per employee a year, with more for specialist certifications. Employers can protect this investment with a training agreement: under Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, an employee trained at the employer's expense who leaves before an agreed period must repay the training costs unless the contract says otherwise. Employers with 30 or more staff that train their own employees can be exempted from the national training-fund levy.

Some employers provide meals at the workplace or pay a meal allowance, depending on the role. Meals served at the workplace to all employees are exempt from income tax, while a cash meal allowance is taxed as salary. Amounts are set by each employer.

Some Egyptian employers help with commuting, either through a monthly transport allowance or company buses for staff. Group transport provided to all employees is exempt from income tax, and transport allowances that reimburse work costs are excluded from the insurable wage; other cash allowances are taxed as salary. Amounts are set by each employer.

Some employers pay a monthly mobile phone or internet allowance, or provide a company phone line, depending on the role. Cash allowances are taxed as salary. Amounts are set by each employer.

Flexible working arrangements are offered by about a quarter of Egyptian companies: in a January 2025 survey by Bupa Egypt Insurance and YouGov, 26% of companies offered them, while 74% of employees named flexible working a priority. Where hybrid work is available for professional roles, a common pattern is one to three days a week at home, set out in a written policy covering hours, equipment, supervision and data security.

Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 recognises remote and flexible work as forms of employment with equal rights, but gives no general right to request them, so arrangements depend on the employer's policy and the employment contract.

Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 treats anyone who works for pay under an employer's management or supervision as an employee, whatever the contract is called. It is the general law for private-sector employment; state civil servants and domestic workers are covered by other rules. The law also protects irregular workers, such as seasonal, construction and casual workers, and people working through new patterns such as remote, part-time or platform work.

Independent contractors are governed by the Civil Code. A genuine contractor controls how and when the work is done, uses their own tools, can serve several clients and bears their own business risk. If a so-called contractor in practice works full time under the client's direction, a court or labour inspector can treat the relationship as employment, and the client can then owe back social insurance contributions, paid leave, notice and termination compensation, as well as fines.

The employer must put the employment contract in writing in Arabic, in four copies: one each for the employer and the employee, one lodged with the social insurance office and one with the labour authority. A foreign employee who does not read Arabic can have a bilingual contract, but the Arabic text prevails. The contract must state the start date, the employer's name and workplace address, the employee's name, qualification, occupation, social insurance number and address, the nature of the work, and the agreed pay, how and when it is paid and all cash and in-kind benefits. Contracts for remote, part-time and other new work patterns may be written on paper or electronically.

A contract is open-ended unless the nature of the work justifies a fixed term. A contract is treated as open-ended from the start if it is not written, does not state its duration, or continues after a fixed term expires without a new written agreement. Fixed-term contracts can be renewed by agreement; if a fixed-term contract runs for more than five years, the employee may end it after five years with three months' notice. The employer must keep each employee's file for at least five years after employment ends.

Every employee covered by Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 is entitled to a periodic annual increase of at least 3% of their insurable wage (the wage on which social insurance contributions are paid). It falls due one year after hiring or after the previous increase. The National Wages Council, the tripartite body that sets minimum pay, has set a floor of EGP 250 a month for this increase. An employer in genuine economic difficulty can ask the National Wages Council to reduce or waive the increase; the council must decide within 30 days, and its decision can be challenged in the labour court.

Many employers give larger increases to keep pace with inflation, but only the statutory minimum is guaranteed.

Employees on a monthly salary must be paid at least once a month, on a working day, in Egyptian pounds or by transfer to their bank account. Piece-rate or commission workers on assignments longer than two weeks receive weekly advances. The employer must give each employee a statement of their pay elements, and a bank transfer receipt counts as proof of payment. Most employers pay monthly, at the end of the month or in the first days of the following month.

Pay consists of basic wage plus variable elements such as commissions, allowances, grants, bonuses, profit share and in-kind benefits. Deductions to repay employer loans are capped at 10% of pay, and total deductions for debts at 25% (50% for family maintenance).

The minimum wage for private-sector employees is EGP 7,000 a month, set by the National Wages Council, the tripartite body that sets minimum pay, from 1 March 2025. It remains in force in October 2026. The same decision set Egypt's first minimum rate for temporary work. Employers that underpay can be fined EGP 100 to 500 for each affected employee, doubled for repeat violations.

The EGP 8,000 minimum that took effect on 1 July 2026 applies to government employees, not to the private sector. Previous private-sector decisions exempted establishments with ten or fewer workers and allowed employers in financial difficulty to apply for an exemption.

An employer may exceed the normal limits on hours only to meet unusual work demands or exceptional circumstances, and must notify the labour authority within seven days with the reasons and expected duration. Overtime is paid at no less than the hourly wage plus 35% for daytime hours and plus 70% for night hours (between sunset and sunrise). An employee who works on the weekly rest day receives an extra day's wage, double pay in total, plus a substitute rest day in the following week. Work on an official holiday earns the day's wage plus twice that wage, triple pay in total, or a substitute day off if the employee asks in writing.

Total presence at the workplace may not exceed 12 hours a day. Pregnant employees cannot be required to work overtime from the start of pregnancy until six months after birth. Delegated managers who exercise the employer's authority are excluded from the hours limits.

The legal maximum is 8 hours of actual work a day and 48 hours a week, excluding meal and rest breaks. Many office employers, including most international and technology businesses, contract for 40 hours over a Sunday-to-Thursday week. Work must include one or more breaks totalling at least one hour, arranged so that nobody works more than five consecutive hours. The span from the start to the end of the working day, including breaks spent at the workplace, may not exceed 10 hours, or 12 hours for intermittent work designated by ministerial decree, such as transport, data-centre monitoring and online technical support.

Each employee receives at least 24 consecutive hours of paid weekly rest after no more than six working days. Pregnant employees work at least one hour less a day from the sixth month. Employers must post the schedule of hours, breaks and rest days and send a copy to the labour authority. Labour law sets no shorter Ramadan hours for the private sector; government offices shorten hours during Ramadan and many private employers follow suit by policy.

An employment contract may include a probation period of up to three months. An employer may hire the same employee on probation only once. The law sets no minimum probation length and no separate notice rule for ending employment during probation, so the contract should state how probation ends.

An employer may end an open-ended contract only for a lawful and sufficient reason, at a time suited to the work. Dismissal as a disciplinary penalty can be imposed only by the specialised labour court, and only for serious misconduct listed in the law, such as using false documents, causing serious loss that is reported within 24 hours, repeated breach of written safety rules, disclosing secrets, competing with the employer, intoxication at work or assaulting a manager. Either party may first ask a settlement committee at the labour directorate to resolve a dispute within ten days of it arising; the committee has 21 days. In a dismissal case the court must rule within three months of the first hearing and can order the employer to pay the employee's wage from dismissal for up to six months in the meantime.

Economic redundancies require approval from a government committee, which decides within 45 days. When employment ends for any reason, the employer must pay all wages and other dues within seven working days, return the employee's documents and issue a service certificate on request within 15 days.

Either party may end an open-ended contract with three months' written notice, regardless of length of service. Notice cannot be waived or shortened by agreement, though it can be lengthened; an employer may release a resigning employee from all or part of the notice. Notice cannot be given during leave, and sick leave during the notice period pauses it. While serving employer notice, the employee may take one paid day, or eight hours, a week to look for work. An employer that ends the contract without notice must pay the wage for the notice period or the remaining part, and the employer may also release the employee from work while paying through the notice period.

Resignation must be in writing, signed by the employee and certified by the labour authority. Employment ends only when the resignation is accepted; the employer has ten days to decide, after which it is deemed accepted, and the employee may withdraw the resignation within ten days of being told it was accepted. An employee who is absent without valid reason for more than 20 days in a year, or more than 10 consecutive days, is treated as having resigned, provided the employer sent a registered warning after 10 days or 5 days respectively.

An Egyptian employer's statutory payroll cost is mainly social insurance at 18.75% of each employee's insurable wage, capped at EGP 16,700 a month in 2026, so the maximum is EGP 3,131.25 per employee per month. For a salary well above the cap, the effective employer rate is much lower: about 7% at EGP 45,000 a month.

Other employer charges depend on size and location. Establishments with 30 or more employees pay 1% of basic wages to the Workers' Emergency Benefits Fund, which pays wages to workers when an establishment closes or downsizes, and a training-fund contribution of 0.25% of the minimum insurable wage per employee each year, at least EGP 10 and at most EGP 30 per employee; employers that train their own staff can be exempted. In governorates where the Universal Health Insurance System is live, the employer pays 4% of the insurable wage (minimum EGP 50 a month). All companies also pay a universal health insurance contribution of 0.25% of annual revenue. Employees separately bear 11% social insurance, a 0.05% Martyrs and Victims Fund deduction from gross pay and income tax, all withheld by the employer.

Employment income is taxed under Income Tax Law No. 91 of 2005 at progressive annual rates: 0% up to EGP 40,000, 10% to EGP 55,000, 15% to EGP 70,000, 20% to EGP 200,000, 22.5% to EGP 400,000, 25% to EGP 1,200,000 and 27.5% above that. Every employee also receives an annual personal exemption of EGP 20,000 on salary income. Employee social insurance contributions are deductible.

The lower bands are withdrawn progressively for higher earners: once annual taxable income exceeds EGP 600,000 the 0% band no longer applies, and above EGP 1,200,000 the first EGP 1,200,000 is taxed at 25%. The same rates apply to non-residents on income for work performed in Egypt. The employer withholds tax monthly and pays it to the Egyptian Tax Authority within 15 days of the following month. The tax year is the calendar year.

Cash allowances, bonuses, overtime and most benefits in kind are taxed as salary. Certain benefits are exempt when they are provided in kind to all employees: meals served at the workplace, group transport or the equivalent transport cost, health care, tools and uniforms needed for the job, and housing the employer owns or rents for staff to do their work. Severance pay, employees' statutory profit share, and pensions and end-of-service payments meeting legal conditions are also exempt.

An employee may deduct contributions to private insurance funds and premiums for life, health and pension insurance with an Egyptian-licensed insurer, up to 15% of net income or EGP 10,000 a year, whichever is lower. Stock options are taxed as salary on exercise, on the difference between market value and the price paid; dependants' expenses, school fees and hardship allowances are taxable. Gift vouchers are taxable.

Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, published in the Official Gazette on 3 May 2025, came into force on 1 September 2025 and replaced Labour Law No. 12 of 2003. It is the general law for private-sector employment; better terms in contracts, collective agreements, work regulations or custom continue to apply, and rights employees already had are preserved. The Minister of Labour issued the implementing decrees in 2025, covering working hours, holidays, foreign workers, inspections and dispute settlement.

Specialised labour courts took over employment disputes from 1 October 2025. Collective agreements are negotiated between employers or employer organisations and trade unions, and the National Wages Council, a tripartite body, sets minimum wages and the minimum annual increase. The law prohibits discrimination, forced labour, harassment and bullying.

A foreign national may work in Egypt only after the Ministry of Labour grants a work permit and immigration authorities allow entry and residence for work; employers may not employ a foreigner before the permit is issued. Under Ministerial Decree No. 279 of 2025, permits usually last up to one year and must be renewed at least two months before expiry, with a justification of continued need from the fourth year. Applicants generally need at least three years of authenticated relevant experience, and foreign experts may have to train two Egyptian assistants. Permit fees are set by decree within a statutory range of EGP 5,000 to EGP 150,000. Short assignments of up to 14 days need written ministry approval.

Foreign employees are capped at 10% of an establishment's Egyptian workforce, with exceptions. Companies Law No. 159 of 1981 separately requires Egyptians to make up at least 90% of a company's staff and receive at least 80% of its total wages. Foreign investors holding investor residence are exempt from the permit requirement for their investment activity, with a notice duty for the employer. Breaches can be fined EGP 20,000 to EGP 100,000 for each worker, doubled for repeat violations.