Employment contracts in Egypt: mandatory particulars and four copies

Executive summary

• The employer must put the employment contract in writing, in Arabic, in four copies: one for the employer, one for the worker, the third for the competent social insurance office and the fourth for the competent administrative authority (article 89 of Labour Law 14 of 2025).
• The contract must state "in particular" its start date, the employer's name and the address of the workplace, the worker's details including their insurance number, the nature and type of the work, and the wage with the method and date of payment and all other agreed benefits (article 89).
• Where there is no written contract, both the worker and the employer may prove the employment relationship, its duration and the rights arising from it by every means of proof (article 89), and the contract is deemed to be of indefinite duration from its conclusion (article 88).
• Breach of article 89 carries a fine of EGP 500 to EGP 5,000, multiplied by the number of workers concerned and doubled for a repeat offence (article 288).
• In the new forms of work, such as remote and part-time work, the relationship must be clear and specified in a written contract, on paper or electronically (article 99).

The duration of the contract, fixed or indefinite, is covered in fixed-term and indefinite employment contracts in Egypt, and the probation period in probation in employment contracts in Egypt; what is specific to a foreign worker's contract is covered in Foreign employees' contracts in Egypt.

The duty to write, and the language

The Labour Law issued by Law 14 of 2025, published in the Official Gazette on 3 May 2025, applies "from the first day of the month following the lapse of ninety days from the date of its publication" (article 13 of the issuing articles, our translation), that is, from 1 September 2025. The chapter on the individual contract governs "the contract by which a worker undertakes to work for an employer under its management or supervision in return for a wage" (article 86, our translation). The core rule reads:

"The employer shall draw up the employment contract in writing in the Arabic language in four copies; the employer keeps one copy, one copy is handed to the worker, the third is deposited with the competent social insurance office, and the fourth copy with the competent administrative authority" (article 89, our translation).

Writing is the employer's obligation. The article mentions a second language only for a foreign worker who does not have a good command of Arabic: that contract may be drawn up in Arabic and the worker's language, and the Arabic text applies if the two differ in interpretation. Where an Egyptian worker needs a version in another language, the safer course, in our view, is an attached translation, with the contract stating that its Arabic text prevails.

An employer of ten or more workers has a further rule. The work regulation it prepares must cover, in particular, "the conclusion of employment contracts" (our translation; article 2 of Minister of Labour Decree 162 of 2026 on the general rules for the work regulation, published in Al-Waqa'i Al-Misriya on 13 August 2026 and in force from the following day). Among the decree's substantive rules for the regulation, "the department responsible for human resources, or whoever the employer authorises, shall draw up an employment contract for each worker containing the essential particulars set out in the law" (article 22 of the decree, our translation). The regulation itself is covered in Work regulation and disciplinary penalties.

The mandatory particulars

"The contract must include in particular the following particulars" (article 89, our translation):

The words "in particular" make the list a minimum, not a closed list. The list does not mention the duration of the contract, but article 88 deems a contract to be of indefinite duration from its conclusion "if the contract does not state its duration"; reading the two texts together, an employer that wants a fixed term has to write it down. Any probation period belongs in the contract itself: "the probation period is set in the employment contract" (article 90, our translation).

Article 22 of Decree 162 lists the particulars in similar terms, with two differences: the date of conclusion alongside the start of effect, and "the cash and in-kind benefits established for the worker" instead of "agreed". The date of conclusion can be read in two ways: as a particular added to the law, or as detail of it, since the decree describes the list as "the essential particulars set out in the law". In practice the outcome is the same if both dates are written.

"Any condition or agreement that contravenes the provisions of this law, even if it predates its entry into force, is void if it reduces the worker's rights established in it", while better benefits or conditions in individual contracts continue to apply (article 6, our translation). Every standard contract signed before 1 September 2025 should therefore be reviewed against the new law.

The four copies and who keeps each

The employer also gives the worker "a receipt for the papers and certificates the worker has deposited with it" (article 89, our translation). The worker's file is covered in Mandatory records for the labour office, and the deposit of the fourth copy in Hiring and leaving notices to the labour office.

On the social insurance side, article 19 of the executive regulations of Social Insurance and Pensions Law 148 of 2019 (Prime Minister's Decree 2437 of 2021) requires a private-sector employer to attach to the worker's data, wage and contributions "a photocopy of the employment contract (if any)", within two weeks of the worker joining; the details are in Social insurance forms 1, 2 and 6. Article 19 of the regulations, issued in 2021, does not mention the third copy the law requires, and article 89 does not refer to the regulations. In our view, the copy should be attached on time, and the employer should keep evidence that the social insurance office received the third copy.

Where there is no written contract

"Where there is no written contract, each of the worker and the employer has the right to prove the employment relationship, its duration and all the rights arising from it by every means of proof" (article 89, our translation).

The absence of writing does not prevent the relationship from existing, and an unwritten contract is deemed to be of indefinite duration from its conclusion (article 88). Article 89 is among the provisions listed in the second paragraph of article 288, which punishes their breach with the penalty set in the first paragraph of article 288: a fine of not less than EGP 500 and not more than EGP 5,000, multiplied by the number of workers concerned and doubled for a repeat offence. The person responsible for the actual management of a legal entity faces the same penalty if they are shown to have known of the breach and their failure in the duties of that management contributed to it (article 298).

New forms of work. These are any work a worker performs "in a non-traditional way" for an employer and under its management or supervision in return for a wage, including in particular remote work, part-time work, flexible work and job sharing (article 96). What applies to traditional employment relationships applies to them "taking into account the nature of each job and the way it is performed" (article 97, our translation). Article 99 adds:

"The employment relationship in the new forms of work must be clear and specified in a written employment contract, on paper or electronically, and the worker may prove the employment relationship by every means of proof" (article 99, our translation).

The rule on proof can be read in two ways. On the first reading, article 97 carries article 89 over to these forms of work, so the employer may also prove the relationship by every means. On the second, article 99 is a special rule that gives this to the worker alone and is silent on the employer. In our view, an employer should not rely on anything other than the written contract in these forms of work, and should draw it up before work starts, stating where and when the work is to be performed.

What this requires

• A written contract in Arabic for every worker, with all five particulars, plus the date of conclusion, the term if it is fixed, and any probation period.
• A review of the standard contract to remove any condition that reduces a right the law establishes, even if it predates 1 September 2025, with the closing clause stating that it is made in four copies.
• Distribution of the copies: the employer (with a copy in the worker's file), the worker, the social insurance office, and the labour relations office (on paper or electronically), with evidence of delivery.
• A copy of the contract with the worker's data to social insurance within two weeks of joining, and a receipt to the worker for any papers deposited.
• For remote, part-time, flexible and shared work: a written contract, on paper or electronic, that sets out the relationship clearly.
• For employers of ten or more workers: rules on concluding contracts in the work regulation, naming who drafts them.

The firm's Social Insurance & Labour Department reviews and drafts standard employment contracts against the Labour Law and its decrees, and follows up the deposit of the copies with social insurance and the labour office, as part of its social insurance and labour compliance services.

Mahmoud Nassef, Founder Partner
Chartered Accountant, Ministry of Finance, Egypt

Member, Egyptian Society of Accountants & Auditors
Member, Egyptian Tax Society
Member, Egyptian Society for Public Finance and Taxation

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Disclaimer: This bulletin is prepared for general information on the legislation in force at the date of its publication. It does not constitute a professional opinion or tax or legal advice on any particular matter, and it should not be relied upon in place of advice based on an examination of the circumstances of each case. Nassef & Partners International accepts no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, in reliance on its contents. The positions stated remain subject to subsequent legislation and decisions.