EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Mariam Rabie, Mohamed Selim and Abdelaziz Mohamed, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
• the total daily working hours shall not exceed twelve hours, and the employees shall be entitled to monetary compensation. Under the Labour Law, overtime work shall be com - pensated as follows: • Overtime During Working Days: In addition to their regular pay, employees are entitled to receive a 35% increase in their salary for overtime during the day, and a 70% increase for overtime hours worked at night. • Overtime During Weekends: In addition to their regular pay, employees are entitled to an additional 100% of their salary for overtime worked. The employer is also obliged to grant the employee a day off during the following week in place of the lost rest day. • Overtime During Public Holidays: In addition to their regular pay, employees are entitled to either double their regular pay, or a compensatory day off, subject to a written request submitted by the employee in accordance with the Labour Law. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts The Labour Law stipulates that an employee may be dismissed if they commit one of the following acts, which shall be deemed a gross misconduct (“Gross Misconduct”), including, inter alia: • assumption of a false identity or submission of false documents; • failure to follow safety instructions; • disclosure of the secrets of the establishment at which they work, leading to the occurrence of seri - ous damage to the establishment; • competing with the employer in the same field; • visible intoxication or being under the influence of drugs during working hours; and • acts of aggression against the employer or general manager and/or committing serious aggression against any superiors either during work hours or related to work. The authority to impose the penalty of dismissal lies within the competent labour court.
It is worth noting that the Labour Law stipulates that an employee shall be deemed to have resigned if he or she is absent from work without a legitimate excuse for more than 20 non-consecutive days within one year, or for more than ten consecutive days, provided that the employer, or its representative, has served the employee with a registered notice accompanied by an acknowledgement of receipt following ten days of absence in the first case and five days of absence in the second case. There are different procedures for terminating employ - ment contracts, depending on whether they are fixed or permanent, which will be further clarified in the fol - lowing two sections. Termination of a Fixed-Term Employment Contract An employer shall not have the right to terminate a fixed-term employment contract prior to its expiry, unless the employee commits a Gross Misconduct. The burden of proof rests with the employer to estab - lish that such misconduct occurred. As a general rule, the Labour Law provides that the employee shall not have the right to terminate a fixed- term employment contract early except in the follow - ing cases: • If the employee resigns, in which case the resigna - tion must be submitted to the employer, to be duly signed by the employee or their authorised repre - sentative, and certified by the competent admin - istrative authority (the Labour Office within the employer’s jurisdiction). The employment relation - ship will not terminate unless a formal decision of acceptance is issued by the employer. • If the employment relationship exceeds five years, the employee may have the right to terminate the employment relationship by providing three months’ notice in accordance with the Labour Law. Where a fixed-term employment contract is termi - nated prior to the expiry of its term without a legally recognised ground, the assessment of compensa - tion is generally subject to judicial discretion. In prac - tice, courts may award compensation equivalent to the employee’s salary for the remaining term of the contract or such other amount as reflects the actual
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