The latest Egyptian government decisions to protect the country from the spread of the coronavirus have had an unprecedented economic impact on commercial enterprises. Due to the reduction in business hours and the ensuing loss of profits, many businesses may no longer have a need for all of their employees, or they may be financially unable to pay employees their full salaries.
Paid Leave
Although employees are entitled to a certain number of days of paid annual leave, proportional to their employment period, the employer has the legal right to schedule such annual leave. Employers can instruct employees to take their annual leave now. If the employee has a remaining balance of annual leave from the previous three years, those days can also be added to this year’s paid leave.
50% Deduction in Employee Salaries
If an employee arrives at work and is unable to complete his duties because of circumstances beyond the employer’s control, the employer is only obligated to pay the employee 50% of the salary for that day. Egyptian jurisprudence indicates that this legal principle can be applied to all situations in which the employee is unable to work due to unforeseen, uncontrollable circumstances.
Employees’ Resignation
In some cases, it may be more efficient for certain employees to resign. The Egyptian Labor Law gives employees the right to resign at any time.