Hiring employees in Egypt
If you are planning to expand your business to the North African nation of Egypt, you will probably be interested in hiring part of your workforce locally. However, the laws and customs surrounding Egypt recruitment can be difficult to follow, with unique regulations, compliance rules, and more all complicating the process.
Horizons supports businesses through the Egypt recruitment process, offering consultancy and outsourcing services to take care of your recruitment in Egypt for you. With our assistance, you can find, recruit, and onboard your workers quickly and compliantly, even if you don’t have a registered entity in Egypt.
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Egypt hiring guide
Explore some of the key information about Egypt recruitment and how to hire the best talent to help with your Egypt expansion.
How to find and hire employees in Egypt
Hiring locally in Egypt is a necessity for the majority of businesses, as it is legally required for companies to hire 90% of their employees from Egypt (or 75% in certain designated ‘free zones’).
To find suitable employees for your business, the simplest place to start is generally by using the internet. In Egypt, there are several commonly used job sites, including Bayt and Wzayef (both also used across the Middle East), Indeed, and various other examples. Professional networking websites, such as LinkedIn, are also increasingly popular in Egypt.
Many employers also use dedicated recruiters or recruitment consultants, such as Horizons, to manage their Egypt recruitment for them.
Employment discrimination laws in Egypt
Employees and job candidates in Egypt are protected from specific kinds of discrimination by employers. For example, gender, religion, age, and ethnicity-based discrimination are all illegal. These protections, and other important laws, are detailed in the country’s Labour Law.
Due to these rules, as in any country, you should always conduct yourself professionally when dealing with employees and candidates and avoid discriminatory behavior or language. Egypt recruitment experts at Horizons can advise you about avoiding discrimination and its potentially serious ramifications.
Onboarding staff in Egypt
While English is spoken by many people, the official language of Egypt is Arabic, so you will generally need to provide training, onboarding, and documentation (such as employment contracts) in Arabic. There are also several important documents and pieces of information (such as their ID, bank details, and criminal record) that employers need to get copies of.
Beyond this, employers can choose whatever methods suit them and their new employees best for onboarding. We recommend simply being as transparent about expectations as possible, being open to answering any questions new recruits may have, and providing adequate training for people to perform their roles properly. Additionally, it is usually advisable to send a representative to Egypt to assist with the onboarding process and oversee the initial stages.
Compliance for Egypt recruitment
Employees in Egypt are entitled to various rights, such as maximum working hours, overtime pay, vacation, and so on, so you are legally required to provide these as an employer. All details of entitlements should be included in a formal employment contract for clarity and to avoid the chance of any disputes arising. For more information about employee entitlements in Egypt, visit our Egypt PEO page.
