Leave Policy in Egypt

Adoption Leave in Egypt

Currently, there is no provision for an adoption leave in Egypt. The law only mandates maternity leave for female employees expecting.

Earned Leave in Egypt

Labor laws in Egypt have provisions for annual or earned leaves. The Egyptian Labor Code has the following provisions regarding an earned leave in Egypt:

• You must provide 21 annual leaves to your employees who have worked for at least 1 year.
• If an employee has worked for more than 6 months but less than a year, then they are entitled to annual leaves on a pro-rata basis.
• Be it a personal leave or a vacation, it is considered an annual leave.
• The annual leave quota increases to 30 days once an employee completes 10 service years, whether with one employer or more.
• For employees aged 50 years or more, you must provide 30 earned leaves a year.
• Any public holiday, official day off, and weekly rest day is excluded from annual leave days.
• If any employee is engaged in work involving danger or an unhealthy environment, then they are entitled to 7 additional earned leaves.
• Usually, it is the employer who decides the leave days based on work demands and conditions, and employees are expected to oblige. 
• Employees may also decide on the leave days provided they are sitting for an exam and can notify the employer at least 15 days prior.
• Earned leaves can be accumulated for a year.
• Employees must be allowed 15 leaves for the year, within which 6 must be consecutive leave days.

Maternity Leave in Egypt

The Egyptian law is favorable to expecting mothers and women. All organizations are mandated to provide maternity leave. Articles 91 to 94 of the Egypt Labor Law 2003 specifies guidelines on maternity leave in Egypt:

• All female employees in Egypt are entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave.
• The leave is applicable only when the employee has been working with the same employer for at least a year.
• The employees must provide a 45-day notice period before taking their leave.
• For maternity leave in Egypt, the government sanctions 75% of the employee’s last salary for 120 days. 
• During their maternity leave, employees enjoy full work security. However, employees must rejoin within 45 days of their maternity leave ends. 
• Furthermore, female employees will get 2 fully paid nursing breaks worth 30 minutes each.
• The law also mandates that employees engaged in organizations with more than 50 employees can opt for a maximum of 2 years of unpaid maternity leave.

Parental Leave in Egypt

At present, labor laws in Egypt do not provide parental leave. However, recommendations for shared leaves have been forwarded. Furthermore, if a female employee requires leave after exhausting her maternity leave, she can opt for unpaid leave. 

Paternity Leave in Egypt

There is currently no legal provision for paternity leave in Egypt. It is at the discretion of the employer to grant it or not.

Public Holidays in Egypt

As per government regulations, there are usually 13 public holidays in Egypt. Here are the public holidays for 2024:

• January 1: Coptic Christmas Day. It can be postponed till January 11, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• January 25: Revolution Day
• April 10 to 12: Eid el Fitr Holidays (the dates can be changed depending on the lunar cycle)
• April 25: Sinai Liberation Day
• May 1: Labor Day. It can be postponed till May 2, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• May 5: Spring Festival. It can be postponed till May 9, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• June 16: Arafat Day
• June 17 to 19: Eid al Adha Holidays (the dates can be changed depending on the lunar cycle)
• June 30: Revolution Day. It can be postponed till July 4, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• July 8: Muharram (It can be July 11, depending on the lunar cycle)
• July 23: July Revolution Day. It can be postponed till July 25, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• September 16: Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday. It can be postponed till September 19, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.
• October 6: Armed Forces Day. It can be postponed till October 10, according to the Egyptian Prime Minister’s decision.

Sick Leave Policy in Egypt

The sick leave policy in Egypt is guided by the Social Insurance Law of 1975. It specifies that:

• Employees in Egypt are entitled to 180 paid sick leaves a year.
• An employee with a medical certificate from a competent authority receives sick leave pay as follows:some text
  • 75% of their salary for the initial 90 days.
  • For the remaining 90 days payment is increased to 85%.
• An employee with chronic disease is entitled to a 100% salary for an unspecified time.
• According to the leave policy in Egypt, if an employee has exhausted their sick leaves but needs more, they can convert their annual leaves for the same.
• During their sick leave, an employee in Egypt enjoys job security. An employer can not terminate a contract on such grounds.

Casual Leave in Egypt

Article 51 of Egypt Labor Law 2003 lays down rules and regulations on casual leave in Egypt. 

• Casual leaves in Egypt are counted as part of annual leaves.
• Employees can take a maximum of 6 casual leave days a year.
• They can not take more than 2 days at a stretch.

Unpaid Leave in Egypt

Egyptian labor law provides a few unpaid leaves to employees. These include unpaid maternity leaves for a maximum of 2 years and other special leaves. Recently, some recommendations have been put forward for paid or unpaid shared parental leave.

Other leaves

Study leaves

• Some employers provide study leave to their employees. However, these are not mandatory.
• Study leave duration and pay vary according to the employer and industry.

Carry forward leaves

• According to Egyptian labor law, employees are allowed to carry forward their leaves.
• They can carry forward a maximum of 30 unused annual leaves to the next year.

Special leaves

• These leaves are not mandated by law, and you can provide special leaves to your employees on your own accord.
• Your employees can take these unpaid leaves on grounds like caring for a sick family member, bereavement, attending funerals, and other such occasions. 
• Special leave duration and pay varies according to the employer and industry. 

Pilgrimage leaves

• Article 53 of Egyptian labor law states that certain employees are eligible for pilgrimage leaves. 
• Any employee who has been in continuous service for 5 years is entitled to 30 paid pilgrimage leaves or to visit Jerusalem.
• An employee can avail of this leave only once in his total service period.

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FAQs

Q1: How much annual leave are you entitled to in Egypt?

A1: Employees in Egypt are entitled to 21 fully paid annual leaves. The number of leave days increases gradually with an increase in tenure.

Q2: What is the termination policy in Egypt?

A2: According to the Egyptian termination policy, employees can be terminated by mutual consent or on other grounds like illness, disability, retirement, and poor performance. Furthermore, employers must pay their employees severance pay. If an employee has pending annual leave, then they must receive financial compensation.

Q3: What is the notice period in Egypt?

A3: Employees on probation in Egypt do not have a statutory probation period. After the probation period, an employee has to serve one month's notice for any kind of employment contract.

Q4: What is Article 47 of the Egyptian Labor law?

A4: Article 47 of the Egyptian labor law provides details on annual leaves. It states how many leaves employees are entitled to depending on their work tenure and under what circumstances those leaves can be increased.