EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Farida Rezk, Omar Aboul-Ella, Mariam Rabie and Mohamed Selim, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
3.5 Directors’, Officers’ and Shareholders’ Liability
remain valid as it provides better benefits in the interests of the employee. 4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts In accordance with the provisions of the New Labour Law as well as the Previous Labour Law, an employer must conclude an employment contract with an employee. It must be drafted in Arabic and provided in three identical copies. The employment contract must include the fol - lowing information: • start date of the contract; • employer’s name and place of employment; • employee’s name, qualifications, profession or craft, social insurance number and resi - dence; • the nature and type of work to be carried out by the employee; • agreed salary, method and time of payment; and • any other benefits, in cash or kind. Furthermore, according to the New Labour Law, the employment contract may be issued in a bilingual format – Arabic and the employee’s native language – provided that the employee is a foreign national and does not speak Ara - bic. However, in the event of any discrepancy between the two versions, the Arabic text shall prevail. Under the Previous Labour Law, employment contracts were required to be issued in three counterparts: one retained by the employer, one by the employee, and one submitted to the com - petent Social Insurance Office. The New Labour Law builds upon this framework by mandating that employment contracts be issued in Arabic and in four counterparts, with the additional
The Companies Law No 159 of 1981, in general, does not recognise the concept of piercing the corporate veil, therefore, the liability of share - holders in a JSC or allotment holders in an LLC is strictly limited to the paid-in capital. However, the aforementioned rule is subject to certain exceptions, such as if the number of shareholders in a JSC becomes less than three, then the concept of piercing the corporate veil shall apply to the remaining shareholders in a JSC to legitimise their legal status by increasing the number of shareholders to reach the mini - mum required number. 4. Employment Law 4.1 Nature of Applicable Regulations On 3 May 2025, the New Egyptian Labour Law No 14 of 2025 (the “New Labour Law”) was offi - cially published in the Official Gazette. In accord - ance with its provisions, the New Labour Law shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the lapse of 90 days from the date of its publication (ie, 1 September 2025). The New Labour Law will replace the previous Labour Law No 12 of 2003 (the ”Previous Labour Law”). Under both the Previous and New Labour Law, any condition or agreement that violates the pro - visions of the Labour Law and/or derogates from the employee’s rights and entitlements, shall be considered invalid. However, in the event that a rule and/or a stipulation originating either from the employment contract, employment practice, or any other employer resolution or internal work regulation, grant the employee better rights and/ or benefits not provided by the provisions of the Labour Law, the said rule and/or stipulation shall
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