Egypt minimum wage, working hours and overtime 2026: the rules for private-sector payroll

The private-sector minimum wage in Egypt is EGP 7,000 a month, in force since 1 March 2025, and no private-sector increase had been decided as of October 2026. Labour Law 14/2025, in force since 1 September 2025, caps normal working time at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week and sets overtime at the hourly wage plus at least 35% for daytime hours and 70% for night hours. Work on the weekly rest day or a public holiday is paid at a higher rate again, or compensated with another day off.

The minimum wage

The National Wages Council sets the private-sector minimum wage. Its February 2025 decision raised it from EGP 6,000 to EGP 7,000 a month from 1 March 2025. The same decision set, for the first time, a minimum of EGP 28 an hour for part-time workers.

Points payroll teams should know:

• It is a gross figure. The Ministry of Labour has said the EGP 7,000 is the wage before employee deductions (social insurance and tax) and includes the allowances that form part of the wage under the Labour Law. It is not a net-pay guarantee.
• Exemption for the smallest firms. Establishments with fewer than 10 workers may apply to the Ministry of Labour for an exemption; it is not automatic, and the Ministry has said it will not accept other exemption requests.
• Public sector is separate. The public-sector minimum rose to EGP 8,000 from July 2026. A matching private-sector rise has been discussed but not decided as of October 2026.

The 3% annual raise

Labour Law 14/2025 (article 12) makes an annual periodic raise a statutory right: at least 3% of the insurance wage (the wage on which social-insurance contributions are paid), due a year after hiring or after the previous raise. The National Wages Council's 2025 decision added a floor of EGP 250 a month. A firm in genuine economic difficulty can ask the Council to reduce or suspend the raise temporarily; it cannot simply skip it.

Item	Figure	Since
Private-sector minimum monthly wage	EGP 7,000	1 March 2025
Part-time minimum (per hour)	EGP 28	1 March 2025
Minimum annual raise	3% of the insurance wage, at least EGP 250 a month	Law 14/2025 and NWC 2025
Public-sector minimum (for comparison)	EGP 8,000	July 2026

Working hours

Labour Law 14/2025 keeps the familiar limits of Law 12/2003:

• 8 hours a day, 48 hours a week of actual work (article 117). Meal and rest breaks do not count. The Minister can set lower limits for particular industries or groups of workers.
• Breaks. At least one hour of rest or meal breaks in the day, arranged so that nobody works more than five hours without a break (article 118).
• Span of the day. The time between the start and end of the working day, including breaks, is capped. Egyptian sources differ on whether the new law kept the 10-hour span of the old law or raised the overall limit, including overtime, to 12 hours; several law-firm summaries describe a 12-hour cap on total time at the workplace, with exceptions. Check the Arabic text before relying on either figure for shift design.
• Weekly rest. At least 24 consecutive hours, paid, after no more than six days of work (article 123). Rest days and public holidays are not deducted from annual leave.

Most offices run five days of 8 hours (40 hours); factories often run six days of 8 hours (48 hours). Both are lawful.

Overtime premiums

Article 121 lets an employer require work beyond the normal hours when the business needs it, against an overtime premium. The rates are minimums; a contract or collective agreement can give more.

When the extra hours fall	Rate	Example on EGP 33.65 an hour
Daytime overtime	Hourly wage + 35%	EGP 45.43
Night overtime	Hourly wage + 70%	EGP 57.21
Weekly rest day	Double the day's wage, plus a substitute rest day in the following week	EGP 538.40 for an 8-hour day
Public holiday	The day's wage plus twice that wage (three times normal pay), or a substitute day off on the employee's written request	EGP 807.60 for an 8-hour day

The law does not fix the hours that count as "night". Many employers use the Ministry's working-hours decrees as a guide (roughly 9 pm to 6 am); put the definition in your overtime policy so it is applied consistently.

The hourly wage

The law does not prescribe a divisor for turning a monthly wage into an hourly one, so practice varies. The two common approaches:

• Hours in the legal month: 48 hours × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = 208 hours. EGP 7,000 ÷ 208 = EGP 33.65. This is the same as dividing by 26 working days and 8 hours.
• Calendar month: EGP 7,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 8 = EGP 29.17.

Whichever you adopt, write it into the payroll policy and apply it to every employee. Using the wage the employee actually receives for normal hours (basic plus fixed allowances) is the safer reading of the law's definition of "wage".

Public holidays

Ministerial Decree 294/2025 lists the days that are paid holidays for private-sector workers (Coptic Christmas, 25 January, Sinai Liberation Day, Labour Day, Sham El-Nessim, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, 30 June, Islamic New Year, 23 July, Prophet's Birthday, 6 October, and others the Minister adds each year). A separate decree (346/2025) covers religious holidays for Christian employees. Count the days from the decree in force for the year; the Minister announces the private-sector days before each holiday.

Worked example: a month with overtime

Try it in the calculator

Common mistakes

• Paying overtime at the basic wage only. The premium is on the wage, which under the Labour Law includes fixed allowances. Paying 135% of a stripped-down basic rate is the most common underpayment we see.
• Treating the minimum wage as net. EGP 7,000 is the gross wage. A net of EGP 7,000 would need a gross of about EGP 8,185 under the 2026 rules.
• Forgetting the substitute day. Rest-day work needs both the double pay and another day off in the following week.
• Skipping the 3% raise. It is now a legal obligation, not a budget choice. Document the date each employee's raise falls due.
• Leaving overtime out of the insurance base. Overtime is variable pay and counts towards the insurable wage, up to the monthly ceiling (EGP 16,700 in 2026).
• No written night-hours definition. Without one, disputes over the 70% rate are hard to defend.

FAQ

Does the minimum wage apply to part-time staff?

Yes, through the hourly minimum of EGP 28. A part-timer on 20 hours a week must receive at least EGP 28 for each hour, and the monthly EGP 7,000 is not pro-rated below that.

Can an employee refuse overtime?

Article 121 allows the employer to require overtime when the needs of the work demand it, within the daily cap and against the premium. Routine overtime that stretches every day to the cap is likely to be challenged; use it for genuine peaks.

Is Friday always the rest day?

No. The law requires 24 consecutive paid hours after at most six working days; the employer chooses the day and can rotate it for shift workers.

Are managers exempt from overtime?

The old law's executive regulations excluded some senior and supervisory roles from the hours rules. Labour Law 14/2025 leaves the detail to new executive regulations, which were still awaited in part as of October 2026. Until then, treat exclusions cautiously and put any agreed exemption in the contract.

How does SalaryEG handle overtime?

Enter overtime as a variable addition for the month; SalaryEG adds it to gross, recalculates the insurable wage within the 2026 limits, applies the tax brackets and shows the employer cost.

Sources

• Labour Law 14/2025, Official Gazette issue 18 bis, 3 May 2025, articles 12, 117–123, 129 (Arabic text via Eastlaws).
• National Wages Council decision of 10 February 2025 raising the private-sector minimum wage to EGP 7,000 from 1 March 2025 (Ministry of International Cooperation; Enterprise).
• Ministry of Labour statement on applying the EGP 7,000 minimum (gross wage; exemption for firms under 10 workers) (Masrawy, 20 February 2025).
• Clyde & Co, "New Labour Law issued in Egypt", May 2025 (link).
• Habib Al Mulla & Partners, "A landmark reform for Egypt's workforce" (link).
• Ministerial Decree 294/2025 on paid public holidays for workers (Mondaq summary).
• Ahram Online on the public-sector minimum of EGP 8,000 from July 2026 (link).