Employee benefitsin Syria

Covered employers fund the public work-injury branch through contributions on insured wages. This statutory branch addresses employment injury protection and is distinct from a private medical or travel insurance policy.

Acted provides health insurance and repatriation assistance for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

The International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), which supports nongovernmental organisations’ safety, provides private health insurance or an allowance for its national-staff Finance Manager role in Damascus, advertised with a 31 October 2026 deadline. Eligibility requires the right to live and work in Damascus.

Acted provides psychological assistance for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. Access follows the employer arrangement.

When a worker dies, the employer pays the family or designated beneficiary 2 months of wages plus the full wage for the month of death. This legal payment is distinct from an employer life-insurance policy.

The public social-insurance system provides contributory pension protection for covered workers, financed by employer and employee contributions on insured wages. Entitlement and payment depend on registration and the applicable contribution record; the existence of the law does not establish uninterrupted operational access.

For workers outside social insurance, the termination circumstances listed in article 62 trigger compensation of 1 month of the last wage per year of service, with fractions paid proportionally. This is not a universal payment for every termination or for every insured worker.

Where an employer cannot establish a statutory dismissal ground, compensation is 2 months of the last wage per service year, with proportional fractions and a cap of 150 minimum monthly wages, in addition to applicable notice rights. Separate reinstatement and compensation rules apply to protected dismissals.

Acted provides life insurance for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package, with benefits governed by the insurance policy.

Acted provides pension participation for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. Plan terms govern contributions and retirement benefits.

Acted provides unemployment insurance for European Union citizens in its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. Eligibility is limited to European Union citizens under the employer arrangement.

Workers in ministerially designated hazardous, arduous, unhealthy or remote work receive 7 additional paid working days of annual leave. A job title alone does not establish designation.

The employer schedules annual leave with at least 1 month’s notice. Workers must receive at least 6 consecutive days each year. Written worker request and employer consent can carry leave forward; statutory cash compensation rules apply where an employer prevents use.

After a full year, paid annual leave is 14 working days through the initial 5-year service tier, 21 working days after 5 years and 30 working days from 10 years or for workers over 50. First-year entitlement is proportional. Weekly rest and official holidays do not consume annual leave. Accrued leave is paid at the last wage when employment ends.

Under Labour Law 17, medically certified sickness is paid by the employer at 70% of wages for the first 90 days and 80% for the following 90 days within a contract year. Medical certification and the statutory process apply; this is wage replacement rather than private treatment insurance.

A worker receives 5 fully paid days for the death of a direct ancestor or descendant, such as a parent, grandparent, child or grandchild, or of a sibling or spouse. This leave is separate from annual leave.

After 6 months of service, a worker receives 7 fully paid days for marriage once during service.

A worker can use up to 6 days a year for urgent reasons, no more than 2 days per occasion, deducted from annual leave. When annual leave is exhausted, the time is unpaid.

Employer and worker may agree unpaid leave for up to 30 consecutive days a year. The worker pays both social-insurance contribution shares for this leave.

After 5 years with the same employer, a worker may receive fully paid pilgrimage leave once during the career: 30 days for Muslim pilgrimage or 7 days for Christian pilgrimage. It is separate from annual leave.

Acted provides 25–43 days of total annual leave a year for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. The applicable contract determines the leave schedule.

The International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), which supports nongovernmental organisations’ safety, provides 1.75 working days of annual leave per month for its Damascus national-staff Finance Manager role on a renewable 12-month contract, advertised in October 2026.

Acted provides rest and recuperation every 3 months, including flight support and an allowance, for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

After 6 continuous months with the same employer, a worker receives fully paid maternity leave of 120 days for the first birth, 90 for the second and 75 for the third, subject to medical certification. Leave can start in the final 2 months of pregnancy. An additional month of unpaid leave is available on request. If the infant dies, the remaining maternity leave is halved.

For 24 months after birth, a nursing worker receives 2 paid breaks each working day of at least half an hour each. The breaks can be combined and count as paid work.

At establishments with more than 15 workers, a female worker may take up to 1 year of unpaid childcare leave on no more than 3 occasions during service, with a right to return. She pays her own social-insurance share during the first leave and both shares on subsequent occasions.

An establishment employing at least 100 women at one site must provide or arrange a nursery when there are at least 25 children under age 5. The statutory workforce and child thresholds determine applicability.

Labour Law 17 gives covered private employees at least 13 paid official holiday days determined by ministerial decision. A holiday coinciding with weekly rest is replaced by the first following working day under that law. Working an official holiday earns the ordinary daily wage plus twice that wage, totaling 300%. The separate government closure calendar is not a universal private-sector closure instruction.

For an agreed work-training mission, regular wages continue and the employer pays transport and residence allowances. The worker must return within 15 days after completion; an agreed service commitment or repayment obligation can apply.

Establishments with more than 50 workers must allocate at least 1% of payroll to a vocational training fund administered with worker representation. This is an establishment funding obligation, not an individual cash allowance.

Acted provides food at the organization’s guesthouse for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

Acted provides a week of pre-departure training, including 4 days of in-person security training, for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. Security training forms part of the week.

Acted contributes to luggage transport of up to 100 kg for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package. The applicable contribution depends on contract length.

Acted provides a free 30-minute consultation with a tax consultant for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

Acted covers visa fees for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

Acted provides guesthouse accommodation for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

Acted provides flights every 6 months for its international-staff Damascus coordinator role under the November 2026 deployment package.

Employee protections attach to remunerated work under an employer’s direction and supervision. A contractor label alone does not establish independent status. Labour Law 17 has exclusions, including public workers, agricultural workers under a separate law, domestic service, casual work and part-time work of no more than 2 hours a day. Public employment rules should not be applied as the private employment baseline.

A covered employment contract must be written in Arabic in 3 copies, with an additional foreign-language copy for a non-Arab worker. A copy is deposited with the social-insurance directorate within 3 months. Required terms include job, workplace, duration, remuneration, hours and benefits. Absence of writing does not prevent a worker from proving employment by other evidence.

The Syrian pound was redenominated on 1 January 2026: 100 old pounds equal 1 new pound. Salary and contract obligations preserve their real value under the conversion rules. Current wage amounts in this guide use new Syrian pounds; historical nominal figures require their original date and denomination.

Monthly paid workers must be paid at least monthly, no later than the sixth day of the following month. Wage documentation and any benefits in kind belong in the employment agreement.

From 1 May 2026, the general minimum monthly wage for workers covered by Decree 67 is 12,560 new Syrian pounds, including private-sector workers. The decree’s separate public salary increase is not a mandatory percentage increase for every private salary.

Ordinary work is limited to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, excluding breaks. Workers receive breaks totaling at least 1 hour and should not work more than 5 consecutive hours without a break. Workplace presence is generally capped at 10 hours a day, subject to statutory exceptions.

Daytime overtime is paid at the ordinary hourly wage plus a 25% premium, totaling 125%; nighttime overtime carries a 50% premium, totaling 150%. For overtime on a weekly rest day or official holiday, those premiums double to 50% and 100% respectively. Separate statutory compensation applies for ordinary work on rest days and holidays. Exceptional extended work is generally capped at 10 effective hours a day, including 2 overtime hours, with statutory notification and exception rules.

Workers receive at least 24 consecutive paid hours of weekly rest after no more than 6 working days. If required to work that rest day, the worker receives the ordinary daily wage plus an equal additional amount, and a replacement rest day in the following week.

A contract may specify probation of no more than 3 months, used only once with the same employer. Either party may end the probationary relationship without notice or compensation. Continued employment counts the probation period toward service.

If an employer ends a fixed-term contract early without lawful grounds, the remaining contractual wages are payable. A worker ending it gives 2 months’ written notice. Fixed contracts and extensions exceeding 5 years with interruptions totaling no more than 4 months become indefinite; continued work after expiry also changes the contract status.

An indefinite employment contract normally requires 2 months’ written notice by either party, which may be extended by agreement. Payment instead of notice covers the unserved period. Employer notice gives the worker paid job-search time of 1 day or 8 hours each week, with advance notice to the employer. Protected leave affects when notice can run.

For covered employees, the employer pays 14% of insurable wages for pension protection, 3% for work injury and an additional 0.1% charge, totaling 17.1%. Employees contribute 7%. From 1 June 2026, the monthly insurable wage floor is 12,560 new Syrian pounds and the ceiling is 211,400 new Syrian pounds. Proposed reductions discussed in 2026 are not enacted rates.