What notice period applies to terminating an indefinite employment contract in Egypt?

Article 156 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 requires either party ending an indefinite contract to notify the other in writing three months before termination. Article 158 provides that the period runs from the date the notice is received and that the notice cannot be made conditional, and Article 161 prohibits any agreement waiving the notice or reducing its length while allowing the parties to extend it.

Can an Egyptian employer dismiss an employee itself?

No. Article 148 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 gives the power to impose the penalty of dismissal to the competent labour court and leaves the remaining disciplinary penalties to the employer or its delegate. The same article states that a worker may only be dismissed where he has committed a gross fault, and lists the situations that count as gross fault.

What compensation is payable for unlawful dismissal in Egypt?

Article 165 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 gives a worker whose indefinite contract is ended by the employer for an unlawful reason compensation for the harm suffered of not less than two months' wage for each year of service, on top of his other legal entitlements. Article 164 separately requires payment of the wage for the notice period where the employer terminated without giving notice.

Termination Letter in Egypt

Two features make an Egyptian termination letter different. First, the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 sets a single written notice period of three months for an indefinite contract, running from the date the notice is received, and the parties may agree to lengthen it but not to waive or shorten it. Second, an employer cannot dismiss on its own authority: the power to impose the penalty of dismissal belongs to the competent labour court, and an indefinite contract may in any case only be ended for a legitimate and sufficient justification.

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Governing law

Termination of an individual employment contract is governed by Articles 154 to 171 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, with the disciplinary route governed by Article 148 and the dispute route by Articles 149 and 150.

Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Arts. 148 to 171 (Official Gazette No. 18 (bis), 3 May 2025, Arabic)

What a termination letter has to contain in Egypt

Where the contract is for an indefinite period, either party may end it provided it notifies the other party in writing three months before termination.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 156
Neither employer nor worker may terminate an indefinite contract except for a legitimate and sufficient justification, and in every case the termination must be made at a time suited to the circumstances of the work.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 157
The notice may not be made subject to a suspensive or resolutive condition, and the notice period starts to run from the date the notice is received.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 158
An employer who ends an indefinite contract without notice, or before the notice period has run out, must pay the worker an amount equal to the wage for that period or the remaining part of it.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 164
Where an employer ends an indefinite contract for an unlawful reason, the worker is entitled to compensation for the harm suffered of not less than two months' wage for each year of service, on top of his other legal entitlements. The article lists union membership or activity, bringing a complaint or claim against the employer, taking statutory leave, colour, sex, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion and political opinion as unlawful reasons.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 165
A worker's resignation must be in writing, signed by the worker or his special attorney and certified by the competent administrative authority, and service does not end until a decision accepting the resignation is issued, the resignation being deemed accepted if the employer does not rule on it within ten days.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 167

Form, notarisation and registration

Before the court stage, either party has ten days from the dispute arising to ask for an amicable settlement by a committee chaired by the director of the labour directorate with the worker and the employer or their representatives as members, and the committee must finish its work within twenty-one days of the request.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 149
A worker is treated as having resigned if he is absent without legitimate justification for more than twenty non-consecutive days in one year or more than ten consecutive days, but only after the employer has sent him a warning by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt after ten days of absence in the first case and five days in the second.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 166

What catches drafters out

Agreeing to waive the notice requirement or to shorten the notice period is not permitted, although the parties may agree to lengthen it, and the employer may release the worker from observing all or part of the notice only where the worker is the one terminating.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 161
Where the dispute concerns dismissal the court must decide it as a matter of urgency within three months of the first hearing, and if the papers on their face show the worker's claim is sound the court obliges the employer to pay the worker the equivalent of his wage from the date of dismissal up to a maximum of six months, by a final decision.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 150
Where the worker ends the contract because the employer breached a substantial obligation under the law, the individual or collective contract or the establishment's internal regulations, or because the employer or its representative assaulted the worker or a member of his family, the termination is treated as a termination by the employer without legitimate justification.
Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025, Art. 168