On 28 July 2026, the Egyptian Minister of Labour issued Ministerial Decree No. 162 of 2026 (the “Internal Regulation Decree“), establishing the general rules governing internal work regulations under the new Labour Law No. 14 of 2025. Published on 13 August 2026 and effective the following day, this decree marks a significant step towards building a modern, balanced and fair work environment in the Egyptian labour market.

At GLA, we have reviewed the decree in detail and set out below the key takeaways for employers and employees alike.

Who Is Affected?

The decree applies to every private-sector establishment with ten (10) or more employees, requiring the adoption of an internal work regulation in line with the new requirements. Thid means that a significant portion of Egypt’s workforce will benefit from standardized, transparent workplace rules, while employers fact strict deadlines for the preparation, ratification and submission of these regulations to the competent Labour Directorate.

Mandatory Content of Internal Work Regulations

The decree sets out an extensive list of mandatory content requirements that are now in force, designed to ensure that the rights and obligations of both employers and employees are clearly documented. Every qualifying establishment’s internal work regulation must address, among other things:

• Recruitment and selection: procedures for announcing vacancies and organising the hiring process.
• Training and skills development: identifying training needs and enhancing employees’ capabilities.
• Employment contracts: rules governing the conclusion and documentation of contracts, as well as maintaining each employee’s service file.
• Performance management: mechanisms for evaluating employee performance based on objective, fair and measurable KPIs, with a right to notification of results and a grievance mechanism.
• Promotions, transfers and secondment: published systems based on efficiency, merit and disciplinary record, with safeguards preserving employees’ wages, grades and promotion eligibility.
• Wages and entitlements: linking pay to job grade and competence, guaranteeing equal pay for men and women for work of equal value, and providing periodic increments no lower than the statutory minimum.
• Working hours, rest periods and overtime: organising shift systems, publishing schedules and ensuring overtime compensation meets statutory minimums.
• Leave entitlements: covering annual leave, official holidays, casual leave, paternity and childbirth leave, sick leave, study leave and pilgrimage leave.
• Workplace health and safety: ensuring a safe work environment that accounts for the rights of persons with disabilities, including emergency evacuation plans and appropriate warning systems.
• Grievances and internal dispute resolution: establishing mechanisms for receiving and examining complaints, with particular attention to complaints from women and persons with disabilities, and providing for internal settlement of disputes before recourse to the courts.
• Discipline and termination: defining violations, graduated disciplinary penalties and grounds for terminating the employment relationship.

Combating Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination

The decree introduces robust protections against harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace. The decree itself defines harassment and bullying in detail. It then requires each employer’s regulation to set out the specific prohibited acts that constitute forms of harassment, assault or bullying; whether committed by superiors, colleagues or subordinates, and prescribe disciplinary penalties for each, with aggravated sanctions where the offender holds supervisory authority over the victim. Employers must also establish a clear mechanism for receiving complaints, investigating them and taking appropriate action.

In addition, the decree prohibits all forms of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, in recruitment, training, promotion, wages or any other aspect of employment, and requires employers to guarantee equality and equal opportunity. Positive measures for women, persons with disabilities and children are expressly permitted and do not constitute prohibited discrimination.

New Forms of Work: Remote, Hybrid and Flexible Arrangements

One of the decree’s most consequential provisions concerns non-traditional work patterns. Where employers apply flexible work, remote work or any other non-standard arrangement, the regulation must include dedicated rules covering working hours, duties, performance evaluation mechanisms and follow-up; without prejudicing employees’ statutory rights. This formalises what has until now been largely informal across many Egyptian workplaces.

Protection of Existing Employee Benefits

The decree embeds a strong non-regression principle: all benefits actually granted to and enjoyed by employees before the regulation’s preparation must be included. This means the decree cannot be used as an opportunity to reset or dilute existing entitlements; a significant safeguard for employees. Where legislation conflicts in respect of a benefit, the provision most favourable to the employee shall prevail.

Prohibition of Forced Labour

The decree reiterates the prohibition of forced labour through direct or indirect practice, including withholding employees’ national ID cards or passports and making unlawful wage deductions to repay loans or debts.

Discipline: Flexibility with Boundaries

While employers retain flexibility to design their own graduated schedule of disciplinary penalties, ranging from verbal or written warnings, to wage deductions within statutory caps, suspension or demotion, tailored to their establishment’s activity. However, dismissal from service may only be imposed by the competent Labour Court upon proof of gross misconduct, and only after lesser sanctions have been exhausted where the nature of the violation permits.

Key procedural safeguards:

• Investigation must commence within seven (7) days of discovery of the violation and must not exceed three (3) months.
• No penalty may be imposed more than thirty (30) thirty days after the conclusion of the investigation.
• Deductions for a single violation may not exceed five (5) days’ basic wage, and total monthly deductions for penalties may not exceed five (5) days’ basic wage.
• Penalties imposed under the regulation are maximum thresholds; the employer may impose a lesser penalty or close the investigation depending on the circumstances.

A Structured Ratification Process

The decree introduces a certification procedure with fixed time limits:

1. The employer files the draft regulation with the competent Labour Directorate.
2. The Directorate forwards a copy to the competent trade union within three (3) working days.
3. The union has fifteen (15) days to provide written comments (silence is deemed approval).
4. The Directorate reviews and either certifies or raises a reasoned objection within thirty (30) days (silence means the regulation is deemed effective).

Termination: Clear Separation of Grounds

The decree requires employers to address each ground for termination separately in their regulations, without conflating constructive resignation with voluntary resignation, or resignation with the notice period, or termination with disciplinary dismissal. Notably, the decree prohibits the inclusion of a notice period for resignation in the regulation; a notice period may only be agreed in case of mutual termination, rescission by consent or similar bilateral arrangements.

What Should Stakeholders Do Now?

We recommend that employers take the following steps as a priority:

1. Audit existing HR policies: map current policies, contracts and any existing regulation against the full mandatory content checklist and identify gaps.
2. Conduct a benefits review: ensure no currently enjoyed right or benefit is omitted or narrowed in the new regulation.
3. Formalise new work arrangements, document flexible, remote and hybrid work arrangements as now required.
4. Develop KPI and promotion frameworks, establish objective, published performance evaluation and promotion systems.
5. Implement anti–harassment and anti-bullying policies: establish clear definitions, complaint mechanisms and escalation procedures as required by the decree.
6. Review termination provisions: ensure each ground for termination is addressed separately and that no resignation notice period is included in the regulation.
7. Prepare and file the regulation: submit the completed regulation to the competent Labour Directorate without delay.

For employees, the decree represents a meaningful strengthening of workplace protections. Workers should familiarize themselves with the new framework and understand their rights; particularly in relation to anti-harassment and anti-bullying safeguards, the non-regression principle protecting existing benefits, and the procedural guarantees that now govern disciplinary action.

Authors: May Elmahdy, Senior Associate