Hire Remote Staff in Egypt

Egypt can suit a small business that wants a remote team in a single country with a clear time zone rule. Egypt uses UTC+2 and observes summer time, and the IANA time zone database has set that summer time to run from the last Friday of April to the last Thursday of October since 2023. On the EF English Proficiency Index 2025 it ranks 89th of 123 countries, in the low band, so English needs careful screening. A new Labour Law, number 14 of 2025, replaced Law 12 of 2003 and has applied since 1 September 2025. This guide covers hours, English, the three ways to hire, what the new law changes and what to budget.

Time zone and overlap

Egypt uses Eastern European Time, UTC+2. Under the rules in the IANA time zone database, summer time (UTC+3) starts at midnight at the start of the last Friday of April and ends at the end of the last Thursday of October. Other countries change their clocks on different dates, so the gap to your own city can change several times a year.

Check the dates that matter to you with our time-zone overlap tool before you fix a daily meeting or a support rota. Many small businesses split the day so that the team member starts early and the manager schedules shared calls inside a window that suits both sides, and the tool shows how large that window is.

English and language

The EF English Proficiency Index measures adults who chose to take the EF test, so it describes a national average and not any individual candidate. In the 2025 edition Egypt is 89th of 123 countries and regions with a score of 458, in the low proficiency band (EF EPI 2025). A low national band means you should test spoken and written English in every interview, and it is wise to assess it with a live call and a written sample for any role that talks to customers.

If a role needs another language, such as French, German or Italian, assess that in the interview too instead of assuming it from a CV. Employment contracts in Egypt must be in Arabic, which is covered below, so plan for Arabic documents with a translated copy for managers who do not read Arabic.

Roles listed in the salary table

The salary table on this page lists ranges for software developers, QA engineers and data analysts, customer support and virtual assistants, digital marketing, design and other roles, each with a named source, a year and the exchange rate used. Treat the ranges as estimates and starting points for a conversation, because Egyptian pay in dollars depends on the exchange rate on the day. The salary benchmark explorer lets you compare roles, and the Remote Hiring Cost Calculator adds employer costs.

Role guides on this site explain what each job involves and how to screen for it: software developer, customer support agent, digital marketer and virtual assistant.

Three ways to hire

Independent contractor

An Egyptian professional can invoice a foreign client, but calling someone a contractor does not decide the legal position. Law firm Clyde & Co reports that Egyptian law already treated a relationship as employment where the employer controlled and supervised the work and the person received pay, whatever the arrangement was called, and that the 2025 law formally recognises remote work, part-time roles, flexible arrangements and job sharing as work patterns (Clyde & Co). If you set the hours and direct the daily work, treat the arrangement as employment. Our misclassification risk checker and the EOR versus contractor comparison explain the difference.

Employer of record

An employer of record employs the person in Egypt, issues the Arabic employment contract and runs payroll, while you direct the daily work. Ask for an itemised quote that separates salary, social-insurance contributions, the statutory pay rise described below, the provider's fee and the cost of notice and severance if the role ends.

Your own Egyptian entity

A local company gives you direct control but adds registration, payroll, accounting and filing work, and you become responsible for the employer duties described in the compliance section. Obtain written estimates of formation cost and timing from an Egyptian lawyer and accountant before deciding, and compare them with an employer of record quote for the number of people you expect to hire in the first year.

What the 2025 Labour Law changes

Law firm Clyde & Co reports that Labour Law 14 of 2025 was published in the Egyptian Official Gazette on 3 May 2025 and took effect on 1 September 2025, with specialised labour courts starting on 1 October 2025. EY gives the same dates. The Ministry of Labour publishes the law text on its website, in Arabic (Ministry of Labour), and the points below are taken from the two published summaries.

• Contracts. According to Clyde & Co and EY, employment contracts must be in Arabic and prepared in four copies, one each for the employer, the employee, the Social Insurance Authority and the competent administrative body. A non-Arabic speaker may also receive a version in their own language, and the Arabic version prevails in a dispute.
• Annual pay rise. Clyde & Co and EY report an annual raise of at least 3 percent of the social-insurance salary.
• Annual leave. Clyde & Co and EY report up to 15 days in the first year, 21 days in later years and 30 days after ten years of service.
• Notice. Clyde & Co reports three months of notice for an indefinite-term contract whatever the length of service, and EY reports a three-month resignation notice.
• Dismissal without legitimate reason. Clyde & Co reports at least two months of salary for each year of service.

Our 13th-month pay guide compares year-end payments across countries, and the glossary explains severance pay and notice periods.

How to budget

Start from the salary table and add what the law and your provider add: social-insurance contributions, the annual pay rise of at least 3 percent of the insured salary, the cost of leave and a reserve for notice and severance, which grows with each year of service. Ask your adviser or provider for the current contribution rates and income tax rules in writing, because they change and are collected by Egyptian authorities. Also agree in writing which currency the contract uses and how often the pay rate is reviewed.

Leave also affects cost. An employee who has 21 days of annual leave, plus emergency leave of up to 7 days taken from that balance, is away from work for a set part of the year, so build cover into a customer support rota or a development sprint plan instead of assuming year-round availability. The Remote Hiring Cost Calculator lets you test different salary levels and employment routes.

Practical tips

• Put working hours, leave, the pay rise and notice terms into an Arabic contract, with a translated copy for your managers.
• Test English in the interview with a live call and a written task, and test any extra language you need.
• Keep contractor engagements project-based and independent. If you direct the work every day, consider employment.
• Ask any provider to name the legal employer and to show how it handles the four-copy contract and the social-insurance registration.
• Plan your meeting times with the time-zone overlap tool, because summer time starts and ends on dates that differ from yours.
• Agree the currency of pay and a review date in the contract so that both sides know when a salary is reconsidered.

Egypt also appears in the multilingual EU support countries list.

Sources

• EF English Proficiency Index 2025, ranking of 123 countries and regions
• IANA time zone database, Africa file, Egypt zone and summer time rules
• Clyde & Co, New Labour Law issued in Egypt, law firm summary of Law 14 of 2025
• EY, Egypt enacts new labor law, tax alert summarising Law 14 of 2025
• Ibrachy & Dermarkar, New Egyptian Labor Law No. 14 of 2025, law firm summary
• Ministry of Labour, Labour Law 14 of 2025, official publication page in Arabic
• Personal Data Protection Law 151 of 2020, English translation of the law hosted by Andersen Egypt

References checked on 13 October 2026. The Labour Law points come from published law firm and advisory summaries, and the official Arabic text is on the Ministry of Labour website. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.