Introduction.

With a population of over 100 million and a work force of 31.2 million, it comes as no surprise that the vast majority of the legal inquiries that we receive are concerned with Egyptian Labour Law. With this in mind, we decided to create a guide which is designed specifically to assist entrepreneurs with some of the common dilemmas they face when they are initiating or terminating employment agreements within their business.

This book does not detail every aspect of the law, but rather gives entrepreneurs an insight into the most frequently asked questions which we believe particular attention should be paid too. The overall aim of this book is to help investors engage in employment agreements that are transparent, legal and balanced and to avoid future litigation.

Those who are interested in attaining general information on the Egyptian investment climate can reference our first publication "Egypt Land of Opportunities" which outlines the most lucrative areas of investment in postrevolutionary Egypt. If however, you are more interested in finding out detailed information about the Egyptian taxation system, reference should be made to our second book "Egypt Tax Summaries 2018" which summarises corporate and personal tax rates within the country.

To begin, it is important to attain some general knowledge on the regulatory system in place for employment agreements within Egypt. Firstly, it should be noted that there are four essential laws which govern employment relationships in the country, namely, Law No.47 for the year 1978, which applies to civil servants of the State; Law No.48 for the year 1978, which organizes the rules applicable to public sector employees; Law No.203 for the year 1991, which was promulgated to address special requirements for employees working in the public commercial sector of the State; and Law No.12 for the year 2003, which aims at regulating the relationship between employers and employees in the private sector. This book will only be looking at Law No. 12 of 2003 since we are primarily concerned with private sector relationships, however, reference will also be made to Social Insurance Law No. 79 of 1975, which details the insurance due to permanent and temporary employees in both the private and public sectors from their employers, as well as a number of other related laws to help paint a complete picture of employment in Egypt.

Secondly, it is important to keep in mind that the law was drafted in a manner which favours the employee as it is primarily written for their protection, and judicial application of the law tends to follow this motive, which is why an attempt at amicable reconciliation prior to litigation is encouraged. With regards to the mediums in which the law is heard, the Labour Department of the court of first instance handles employment-related complaints and disputes, whereas the Labour Office is the administrative institution before which all labour-related disputes begin.

Below, you will find Egypt's country profile, as well as some more general information regarding the Egyptian labour force and the law that governs it.

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.