Arabic–English HR glossary
Contracts, payslips and policies in the region are often written in Arabic and read in English, or the other way round. Here are the HR and payroll terms that come up most, with the Arabic used in Egypt and the Gulf and what each means.
The glossary
| English | Arabic | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Basic salary | الراتب الأساسي | Pay before allowances; the base for gratuity in the UAE |
| Gross salary | الراتب الإجمالي | Basic plus all allowances, before deductions |
| Net salary | صافي الراتب | What the employee receives after deductions |
| Allowance | بدل | Fixed extra pay for housing, transport and so on |
| Housing allowance | بدل السكن | Counts towards GOSI in Saudi Arabia |
| Overtime | العمل الإضافي | Hours beyond the legal working hours, paid at a premium |
| Payslip | قسيمة الراتب | The monthly statement of pay and deductions |
| Payroll | مسير الرواتب | The monthly run that calculates and pays salaries |
| Social insurance | التأمينات الاجتماعية | Pension and benefits scheme (NOSI in Egypt, GOSI in Saudi Arabia) |
| Insurance wage | الأجر التأميني | The part of pay on which social insurance is charged |
| Income tax | ضريبة الدخل | Withheld from salaries in Egypt; none on salaries in the UAE and Saudi Arabia |
| Annual leave | الإجازة السنوية | Paid days off each year |
| Casual leave | الإجازة العارضة | Short unplanned leave; 7 days a year in Egypt, within annual leave |
| Sick leave | الإجازة المرضية | Leave with a medical certificate, paid on a sliding scale |
| Maternity leave | إجازة الوضع | Paid leave around childbirth |
| Unpaid leave | إجازة بدون أجر | Approved absence without pay; may not count as service |
| Public holiday | عطلة رسمية | A paid day off set by the government |
| Attendance | الحضور والانصراف | Clock-in and clock-out records |
| Lateness | التأخير | Arriving after the start time and grace period |
| Permission (short leave) | إذن | Approved absence of a few hours |
| Business trip / errand | مأمورية | Work outside the office, counted as attendance |
| Probation | فترة التجربة | The trial period at the start of a contract |
| Notice period | مهلة الإخطار / فترة الإشعار | Time between notice of termination and the last day |
| Resignation | الاستقالة | The employee ends the contract |
| Termination | إنهاء الخدمة | The employer ends the contract |
| End-of-service gratuity | مكافأة نهاية الخدمة | Lump sum due on leaving in the UAE and Saudi Arabia |
| Final settlement | التسوية النهائية / المخالصة | All dues paid when employment ends |
| Fixed-term contract | عقد محدد المدة | A contract with an end date |
| Open-ended contract | عقد غير محدد المدة | A contract with no end date |
| Work regulations | لائحة العمل / لائحة تنظيم العمل | The company rules approved by the labour authority |
| Disciplinary penalty | جزاء تأديبي | Warning, deduction or other penalty after an investigation |
| Salary advance / loan | سلفة | Money lent to the employee and deducted in instalments |
| Work permit | تصريح العمل | Government permission for a foreign employee to work |
| Org chart | الهيكل التنظيمي | Who reports to whom |
| Performance review | تقييم الأداء | A periodic review of goals and results |
Tips for bilingual HR documents
- In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the Arabic text of a contract prevails; in the UAE, the Arabic text prevails if there is a conflict
- Use one term for one thing across contracts, payslips and policies
- Egypt and the Gulf sometimes use different words for the same thing, such as مهلة الإخطار and فترة الإشعار for notice
- Keep numbers, dates and IDs in Latin digits for systems, even in Arabic text
Free tools for this
Put your policies into the system
keyt HR turns your leave types, attendance rules and approvals into settings, so the policy you wrote is the policy that runs, in Arabic and English.
keyt HR: HR, attendance and payrollSee it working