hire employees in

Egypt,
made easy

SALARY PAYMENT IN Egyptian Pound (EGP E£)

CONTRACT LANGUAGES Arabic / English

PAYROLL TAX 19.75% – 20.75%

PAYROLL CYCLE Monthly

TIME TO HIRE 24 hours
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The Horizons PEO solution allows you to hire in Egypt, without setting up a costly subsidiary.

Horizons has the most fair price point for Egypt PEO on the market with zero hidden fees. Contact us for a cost breakdown

With extensive experience in the Egyptian hiring market, Horizons can hire new employees in as little as 24 hours.

Horizons' HR management platform was built to easily manage your team in Egypt and anywhere, based on client feedback at each step of development.

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Hire Employees in Egypt — Overview

Egypt: Business Environment

Recruiting employees in Egypt

Interviewing candidates in Egypt

Onboarding employees in Egypt

FAQs

Hiring in Egypt, Made Easy

Client Testimonials

Hire borderless talent with Horizons

Simple, compliant hiring with Horizons PEO

Hire Employees in Egypt — Overview

As the largest Arabic-speaking nation, with a massive labor force, Egypt is a popular expansion destination for companies wishing to expand into both Middle East and Africa. The overall economic picture in Egypt is positive, with the World Bank identifying a “surge in economic activity in 2022”, with expected growth of 5.5 percent — an exceptional achievement in the current global economic environment.

With a high quality higher education system, and an emphasis on the medical sciences and technology, Egypt is a popular location for hiring highly skilled knowledge workers.

Read our Egypt hiring guide to ensure a successful and compliant Egypt hiring experiences.

Facts & Stats

Population

106M (30M labor force)

Capital City

Cairo

Languages Spoken

Arabic (6th worldwide)

Currency

Egyptian Pound (EGP or LE)

GDP per capita

$3,876

Ease of Doing Business

114th in the world

Minimum Wage

6,000 EGP/Month

Average Wage

9,200 EGP/month

Paid Leave

21 days (after 6 months)

Egypt: Business Environment

Business outlook

Historically, the Egyptian economy has been focused on Cairo, the capital city, but a range of recent government programs have sought to geographically diversify industry and bring prosperity to the 27 governates throughout the country.

Major Egyptian exports include crude and refined petroleum, gold, natural gas and fertilizer. Major imports include wheat, packaged medicine and cars. Key industries in Egypt include food processing, textiles, tourism, pharmaceuticals and construction which have all seen a surge in economic activity recently. The World Bank has forecast that this growth will hit 5.5 percent.

Business regulation in Egypt

Egypt has a civil legal system, derived from the French system with commerce being regulated by highly specified codes. As a majority Muslim country, this legal system is adapted with aspects of Sharia law.

Employment in Egypt is primarily regulated by the Egyptian Labour Law No. 12 of 2003 (the “Labour Law”). This law covers virtually all employment relationships in the country, whether the employer is an individual or entity based in Egypt and regardless of whether they employ local or foreign workers. Matters which are not specifically addressed by the Labour Law are governed by the provisions of the Egyptian Civil Code. Additionally, part of the employment relationship falls under coverage of the Egyptian Social Insurance Law No. 79 of 1975.

Business culture in Egypt

As arguably the oldest nation on the planet, Egyptian culture and business culture more specifically is a blend of the different cultural influences that have come to bear on the country. Some key principles of business culture there include:

Networks are valued. While expertise is valued, arguably personal relationships are more important and it is sometimes accepted that rules need to be bent to circumvent business restrictions.
Age and experience matter. This means older people often fill supervisory or leadership positions, and it can be difficult for younger workers to get cut through.
Conservative dress. As a muslim majority nation, it is best to present oneself neatly in conservative clothing.
Non-confrontation. Egyptians generally avoid confrontation and rarely say a direct ‘no’, so if they do not respond positively to a proposal it is likely a negative sign.

Recruiting employees in Egypt

Recruiting employees in Egypt — Overview

Recruitment in Egypt is similar to recruitment elsewhere around the world, where online search methods should be the priority. Note, however, that there are restrictions on hiring expats/foreigners in Egypt: Under the Companies Law of Egypt only 10% of staff can be foreigners, with salaries not exceeding 20% of total wages. There is an exception for designated ‘free zones’ where 25% of total employees can be foreigners.
For Egypt recruitment support, you might consider using an Egypt recruitment agency.

Most important recruitment tools in Egypt

Popular recruiting and jobs sites in Egypt include:

Wuzzuf
Wuzzuf is the most popular online Jobs Site in Egypt with more than 300,000 job seekers per month. It is also a popular learning site, recommending free, online and in-person courses throughout Egypt.

2. Indeed
The international job site Indeed is a popular choice in Egypt.

3. Bayt
Bayt connects North Africa and the Middle east and is the most useful job site when recruiting across those regions.

If you need specialist support for your candidate search in Egypt, you might also consider a specialist recruitment firm. Horizons provides such support to over 185 countries worldwide. Contact us for a free consultation and demo.

Interviewing candidates in Egypt

Interviewing candidates in Egypt — Overview

When interviewing candidates in Egypt it is crucial to remember:

A conservative business culture, formal business dress will be expected of both candidates and interviewers.
Where interviewing in person, it is customary for the guest (in this case a candidate) to be offered tea or refreshments, and offense may be taken if this is refused.
As a hierarchical culture, respect should always be shown for the oldest and most senior people present in the room.

Can I ask the candidate’s previous salary in Egypt?

It is permitted to ask the candidate’s salary history in Egypt. Note, however, that the candidate may choose not to respond, or otherwise not wish to answer the question.

What is the typical salary increase at a new job in Egypt?

As in many other countries, new employees would typically expect a 10% increase compared to their prior salary. Note, however, as unemployment is higher in Egypt than in some other countries, candidates may not be able to command the premium that they could elsewhere.

Onboarding employees in Egypt

Onboarding employees in Egypt – Overview

Onboarding employees in Egypt requires gathering the following documents from candidates:

A copy of their National ID
Social security number
Bank account details
Any degree or qualification certificates
Photos
A criminal background/police check
Labor certificate

Once these are provided, we suggest that you review the employment contract, code of conduct, and any essential training to completely your onboarding process.

Best remote working tools to use in Egypt

Businesses in Egypt use most of the remote work tools that are in use in other countries, including Teams, Zoom and Slack. Note, however, that due to low connectivity, some other apps are popular for messaging including Viber and Pinngle Safe Messenger.

Holiday season in Egypt — 2024

Holiday Schedule in Egypt [2024]

Egypt has a range of national public holidays that are celebrated annually. In 2024 these holidays are:

Date	Holiday name
1 Jan, 2024	New Year’s Day
7 Jan, 2024	Coptic Christmas Day
25 Jan, 2024	Revolution Day
26 Jan, 2024	Day off for Revolution Day
09 Apr, 2024	Sham El-Nessim
10 Apr, 2024	Eid el Fitr (Islamic calendar, date varies)
11 Apr, 2024	Eid el Fitr (Islamic calendar, date varies)
12 Apr, 2024	Eid el Fitr (Islamic calendar, date varies)
25 Apr, 2024	Sinai Liberation Day
1 May, 2024	Labor Day
15 Jun, 2024	Arafat Day (Tentative Date)
17 Jun, 2024	Eid al-Adha (Islamic calendar, date varies)
18 Jun, 2024	Eid al-Adha (Islamic calendar, date varies)
19 Jun, 2024	Eid al-Adha (Islamic calendar, date varies)
30 Jun, 2024	June 30 Revolution, Eid al-Adha Holiday (Tentative Date)
8 Jul, 2024	Muharram (Islamic calendar, date varies)
23 Jul, 2024	Revolution Day July 23
24 Jul, 2024	Day off for Revolution Day July 23
16 Sep, 2024	Prophet Mohamed’s Birthday (Islamic calendar, date varies)
6 Oct, 2024	Armed Forces Day

What is the typical salary increase employees in Egypt expect?

Currently, workers can expect an increase of at least 9% every 18 months.

FAQs

Should I hire freelancers or employees in Egypt?

Freelancers are a good choice for Egypt hiring where your needs are short-term or project-based. Where you need fulltime ongoing engagement, it is usually best to hire en employee. You could hire an employee yourself, directly, via a subsidiary. Or you could engage an Egypt Employer of Record solution (more on this below).

Can I hire foreigners in Egypt?

Yes, but as outlined above, it is important to be aware of the restrictions on hiring expats or foreigners: Only 10 percent of employees can usually be foreigners.

How do I open an Egypt subsidiary?

To set up an Egypt subsidiary, you need to:

Complete a trade name clearance certificate
Get certification from an authorized bank
Submit all notarized company documents to the Companies Establishment Department
Issue notification of incorporation
Apply for a commercial registry certificate
Register for tax
Register all employees with the National Authority of Social Insurance.

How do I hire employees in Egypt?

You can open a subsidiary using the steps outlined above. Or, you can engage an Employer of Record (EOR) solution in Egypt, to hire staff on your behalf. This is usually a far more efficient and cost-effective mechanism for hiring overseas staff.

Hiring in Egypt, Made Easy

Your business can easily hire employees in Egypt without opening a local entity. We handle local employment law, complex tax regulations, and international payroll in 180+ countries worldwide. All you need to do is focus on your business.

Success stories from businesses we’ve helped enter and grow in new markets.

Client Testimonials

"As a seed-stage, London-based startup, we were initially hesitant to expand internationally due to the administrative workload involved. Horizons completely took the headache out of the process, allowing us to hire a team of software engineers in Germany."

Gabor SzedlakCo-founder & COO

"I truly appreciated the thoroughness and the professionalism of Horizons personnel while we hired internationally with them. When they advised our international expansion, they spoke confidently and were knowledgable on all subject matters pertaining to international employment."

Gary PaskyVice President of Software Development

"On deciding to begin commercial activities in Asia Pacific, we needed a provider to handle the employment and remuneration of our workforce. With Horizons the result was fast, efficient, and fit-for-purpose. We recommend Horizons as an EOR provider.”

Chris MorrellManaging Director

"The collaboration with the Horizons team is excellent. Both our local employee as well as our HQ in Germany are more than pleased with the support provided and the simplicity of the service. We can highly recommend the Horizons solution to anyone."

Christoph EngelbertCo-Founder & CTO

"We needed an EOR that could provide expert support for payroll in APAC. We are pleased with Horizons’ expertise and the fact that they are flexible, responsive, and easily accessible from Belgium. They were able to provide services within the short timeline we required."

Katia FlamandHuman Resources

Horizons has been very effective in providing our company support in all the administrative procedures, sometimes complex, required by the Singaporean administration.

Gerald iannoneSales Director

Horizons’ team provided a superb service from start to finish, making a complex process a simple one. Everything was taken care of in an efficient and accurate manner, with quick communication whenever required. Highly recommended and would use again in the future if the need arises.

Philipp RinbergerManaging Director

hire employees in

Egypt,
made easy

Simple, compliant hiring with Horizons PEO