Egypt’s Labour Law 14 of 2025: what changed for employers
Law No. 14 of 2025 replaced the 2003 Labour Law on 1 September 2025. Here is what changed in leave, notice, resignations, overtime, pay and discipline, and the HR checklist that follows.
The short answer
The new law took effect on 1 September 2025, with specialised labour courts from 1 October 2025. For most employers the practical changes are: three months’ notice for every open-ended contract, longer maternity leave, seven days of casual leave, a minimum 3% annual raise, resignations that must be authenticated, and overtime that only needs to be notified.
Your contracts, work regulations, leave balances and payroll rules all need a review. This guide summarises the changes from law-firm and EY summaries; check the official text or a lawyer before you change a policy.
Leave
| Leave | Under Law 14 of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | 15 days in the first year (after 6 months), 21 days from the second year, 30 days after 10 years or from age 50 |
| Employees with disabilities | 45 days a year from the start |
| Casual leave | 7 days a year (was 6), at most 2 days at a time, within annual leave |
| Maternity leave | 4 months paid (was 3), at least 45 days after birth, up to 3 times; no minimum service |
| Paternity leave | 1 paid day on the day of birth, up to 3 times, not taken from annual leave |
| Childcare leave | Unpaid, up to 2 years, up to 3 times, in establishments with 50 or more employees |
| Exam leave | Paid on the actual exam days, with 10 days’ notice |
Notice, resignation and termination
- Notice to end an open-ended contract is 3 months, whatever the length of service, and cannot be shortened by contract
- A resignation must be submitted in person or by a representative and authenticated by the labour authority; pre-signed undated resignations are invalid
- The employee can withdraw a resignation within 10 days of being told it was accepted
- Absence of more than 20 separate days or 10 days in a row in a year can be treated as resignation, after a registered warning
- Termination without a lawful reason: the court awards at least two months’ wage per year of service
- A fixed-term contract renewed beyond five years that ends: one month’s wage per year of service
- Disciplinary dismissal goes through the labour court, which must rule within three months of the first hearing
Working hours and overtime
Normal hours stay at 8 a day or 48 a week, not counting breaks. Overtime is paid at least the hourly wage plus 35% for daytime hours and plus 70% for night hours, and the employer now only has to notify the labour office, rather than get prior approval.
Work on a public holiday can be compensated with a day off instead of extra pay, if the employee chooses. Rest-day rates and caps follow the law’s articles and your work regulations: confirm them with your lawyer.
Pay, raises and deductions
- Minimum annual raise of 3% of the insurance wage, due a year after hiring or the last raise; a company in difficulty can ask the National Wages Council to reduce it
- Wages can be paid by bank transfer
- Disciplinary deductions: at most 5 days’ basic pay for one violation, and 5 days in a month in total
- Loan repayments: at most 10% of the wage a month, with no interest
- Training fund: 0.25% of the minimum insurance wage per employee a year (EGP 10 to 30), for establishments with 30 or more workers
Contracts and records
- Employment contracts in Arabic, in four original copies; a second language is allowed for non-Arabic speakers
- Probation of up to 3 months, once per employer
- Work regulations required from 10 employees (Ministerial Decree 162 of 2026 sets how)
- Employee files kept for 5 years after the contract ends
- An annual employee data statement to the labour office, updated each January
HR checklist
- Update contract templates: notice, probation, four copies, Arabic text
- Change casual leave to 7 days and add the new maternity, paternity and childcare rules to your leave policy
- Review work regulations and the penalty list against the deduction limits
- Plan the 3% annual raise in the budget
- Set the payroll system to notify overtime and pay day and night rates correctly
- Train managers: resignations must be authenticated and dismissals go to court
Free tools for this
- Annual leave calculatorFrom the hire date and age: annual leave days a year, and when the next step up comes.
- Overtime pay calculatorOvertime hours on workdays, rest days and holidays, turned into pay from the monthly salary.
- End of service calculator (Egypt)Notice pay, minimum compensation, fixed-term grant and unused leave under Labour Law 14 of 2025.
Sources
- EY: Egypt enacts new labor law, effective 1 September 2025
- Matouk Bassiouny: insights into the 2025 Labour Law
- Careerians: 20 key changes in Labour Law 14/2025 (with article numbers)
Rules change. Check the official text, or ask your accountant or lawyer, before you rely on a figure.
HR rules you can change when the law does
keyt HR keeps leave types, overtime rates, deductions and approvals as settings, so a new law is a configuration change, not a new system.
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