Egypt Leave Laws & Holidays

Last updated on July 30, 2026.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Egypt

Vacation Leave Quota

21 days

Full-time employees in Egypt (under 50 years old) are entitled to 21 days of fully paid vacation leave. Employees have this right after one full year of service at the employer. If an employee’s service at the company is more than 6 consecutive months but less than a full year, vacation days are calculated proportionally (pro-rated) based on the number of months of employment.

More Vacation Days

Certain groups of employees are entitled to 30 days of paid vacation:

• Employees with more than 10 years of service;
• Employees over 50 years old.

Whichever of these two conditions comes first is applicable.

Rules for Taking Vacation

An employee must submit and receive approval from the employer for any vacation leave requests. If an employee does not take their approved and scheduled leave, it cannot be rescheduled or compensated unless an employer specifically approves it.

Egypt leave laws say that at least 6 days of all vacation days employees must take consecutively.

Casual Leave

6 days per year

• Employees are also entitled to up to 6 days of casual leave per year, which can be taken without giving a specific reason. (This can be any type of personal leave that an employee needs.)
• A maximum of 2 days can be taken consecutively per leave.
• Casual leave days are counted as part of the vacation leave entitlement.

PTO Payout at the Termination

Employers required to pay.

If the employment of a worker ends and he or she still has a certain number of untaken vacation days, the employer is required to pay that worker for all these unused days. Additionally, the employer must pay at least 2 months of regular salary for each year the employee has worked for the company.

Sick Leave in Egypt

Up to 6 months of paid sick leave.

Employees in Egypt are entitled to up to six months of partially paid sick leave (75%–85% of salary). Employees are required to give an official medical certificate to have a valid sick leave absence.

Employees are allowed to take their vacation days for the purpose of sick leave, if needed.

Payout

Sick leave pay is financed by the social security of Egypt. Sick pay varies according to the duration of leave:

• 75% of regular salary for the first 90 days of leave;

• 85% of the regular salary from the 90th day to the 180th day;

• 0% of regular salary from the 180th day onwards.

Work-Related Injury Leave

In the unfortunate event of a temporary disability, employees are entitled to fully paid sick leave (100% of their regular salary) starting from day 1 of the injury.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Egypt

4 months

Employees in Egypt are entitled to at least 120 days (4 months) of maternity leave with full pay. (It used to be 3 months under the old law). The entitlement for maternity leave now applies from day one of employment. (The old 10-month minimum service requirement under the old law was removed).

Maternity leave begins 45 days before the expected date of birth. Furthermore, an employee is required to take at least 45 days of maternity leave after childbirth.

Employees may take up to 3 periods of maternity leave while employed.

Payout

During maternity leave, an employee receives their regular salary, up to a maximum monthly pay of 10,900 EGP (at this moment, this sum is applicable).

Maternity leave is paid by:

• 75%: Egypt’s social security system,

• 25%: an employer.

However, the standard practice is that the employer pays the full 100% for the entire duration of maternity leave.

Paternity Leave in Egypt

1 day

Under the new Labor Law of 2025, fathers are now entitled to 1 day of paid leave to be taken on the exact day of their child’s birth. This leave can be taken 3 times during their total period of employment.

Parental Leave in Egypt

2 years of unpaid leave.

Mothers in Egypt are entitled to up to 24 months (2 years) of unpaid leave for the purpose of taking care of a child. An employee may take this type of leave a maximum of three times during her employment. This leave applies to employers who have 50 or more employees. An employee must have completed at least 1 year of service in the company.

Bereavement Leave in Egypt

Not required by law.

Bereavement leave is not defined by law. Employees may use their days of casual leave when needed for this unfortunate purpose.

However, most employers operating in Egypt allow 3 to 5 days of paid bereavement leave for close family members.

Jury Duty Leave in Egypt

Jury duty leave is not specified by Egypt leave law, as Egypt doesn’t have a jury system.

Military Leave in Egypt

Unpaid but job-protected leave.

Employees may take military service during their employment, and employers are required to provide this leave. An employer is also required to restore them to their previous job position.

Those employees working on a fixed-term type of contract may experience that their contract ends during their military service. These employees may request to return to their jobs within 30 days of being released from military service.

Payout

The employer doesn’t pay salary during service (the military does).

Voting Leave in Egypt

Voting leave is not specified by law, but elections run 2–3 days with long polling hours.

Public Holidays in Egypt

(*) Dates movable each year according to the Islamic lunar calendar.

The government of Egypt decides each year whether public holidays that happen on weekends are transferred to the following weekday or simply lost as such. Specific religious holidays are always scheduled by the lunar cycle, and those are set closer to their upcoming dates.

An employer may demand that certain employees work on holidays, but must offer double wages in that case.

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/egypt

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Egypt, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/egypt

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Egypt, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/egypt

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.