Arab Contract of Employment

The contract of employment is the legal instrument which regulates the conditions of employment of the vast majority of the working 1 people of the world. More than any other civil contract based on mutual rights and obligations, this contract is characterised by the importance of its human elements. Sir William Blackstone once under­ lined the human and legal significance ofthe relationship, by classifying it immediately after the two great human relationships of husband and 2 wife and of parent and child. The contract is thus nationally and internationally important. In 1927 the International Labour Conference adopted a resolution "requesting the governing body of the Office to consider the possibility of placing the question of the general principles of contracts of employment on the agenda of a future session of the Conference. "3 This question was regrettably not followed up. The reason though not the justification, lies in the difficult task of limiting the bounds of the contract and of reconciling the different legal systems in the various countries. The effort spent by the LL. O. during the last few years towards the adoption of an international recommendation on the termination of the contract, which is yet to bear fruit, illustrates the difficulties involved. In the Arab countries the importance of the contract of employment was more felt since the introduction of industry thirty years ago.

I. Introduction.- Section I. Selection of the U.A.R. (Egypt) and the Sudan and the Legal Systems of Both Countries.- Section II. Emergence and E on aluation of the Legislation Which Regulates the Contract of Employment In the U.A.R. and Sudan.- Section III. Legislation Regulating the Contract of Employment In the Other Arab Countries.- II. the Contract of Employment.- I. Definitions.- Section I. the Contract of Employment.- The Elements of the Contract:.- (1) Work.- (2) Remuneration.- (3) Control.- The Consensual Nature of the Contract.- Distinction of the Contract of Employment From Related Contracts:.- (a) the Contract of Independent Work or of Ser on ices.- (b) the Contract of Agency.- (c) Partnership.- Section II. the Employer.- Section III. the Worker.- Contro on ersial Contracts of Certain Persons:.- (i) Persons Performing Work of A Religious Character.- (ii) Teachers.- (iii) Ad on ocates.- (iv) Journalists.- (v) Doctors.- (vi) Company Directors.- (vii) Commercial Tra on ellers, Representationes, Local Salesmen And Other Intermediaries.- (viii) Artists.- (ix) Kerosine Distributors.- (x) Dri on ers.- (xi) Shoe-Makers.- Certain Persons Expressly Excepted From the Definition of the Worker:.- (a) Casual Workers.- (b) Dependent Members of the Employer’s Family.- (c) Domestic Ser on ants.- (d) Go on ernment Officials and Workers.- (e) Apprentices.- (f) Agricultural Workers.- (g) Maritime Workers.- (h) Other Workers.- Summary.- II. Formation of the Contract of Employment.- Section I. Capacity and Consent of the Parties.- Section II. Form of the Contract.- Section III. Duration and Renewal of the Contract.- Duration of the Contract:.- (a) the Limited Contract:.- (i) Contract For A Definite Period of Time.- (ii) Contract For Seasonal Work.- (iii) Contract For Specific Work.- (iv) Long-Term Contracts and Contracts For Life.- (b) the Unlimited Contract.- Renewal of the Contract.- Section IV. No on ation and Vicarious Performance of the Contract.- Section V. Terms of the Contract.- Summary.- III. Rights and Obligations of the Parties.- Section I. Rights and Obligations of the Parties Arising At the Commencement of and During Employment.- (a) Transportation.- (b) Pro on ision of Work by the Employer and Personal and Exclusi on e Ser on ice by the Worker:.- (i) Pro on ision of Work by the Employer.- (ii) Personal Ser on ice of the Worker.- (iii) Exclusi on e Ser on ice by the Worker.- (c) Faithful Ser on ice of the Worker and the Bona Fides of Both Parties:.- (i) the Care of A Reasonable Man In the Performance of the Work.- (ii) the Employer’s Orders.- (iii) Care For the Work Materials and Equipment.- (iv) Preser on ation of Professional Secrets.- (v) the Bona Fides of the Parties.- (d) Work Rules.- (e) Disciplinary Rules and Measures.- (f) Medical Treatment and Protection From Dangers At Work.- (g) Housing and Food.- (h) the Worker’s In on entions.- Section II. Rights and Obligations of the Parties Arising on and After the Termination of Employment.- (a) Transportation.- (b) Certificate of Ser on ice and Return of the Worker’s Papers.- (c) the Worker’s Competition With the Employer After the Termination of the Contract.- Summary.- IV. Wages.- Section I. Defintion and Kinds of Wages.- Section II. Agreement on Wages.- Section III. Protection of Wages.- (a) Payment of Wages In Legal Tender.- (b) the Worker’s Freedom of Purchase.- (c) Time, Place and Periodicity of Payment of Wages During Employment.- (d) Payment of Wages At the Termination of the Contract.- (e) Deductions From Wages:.- (i) Disciplinary Deductions.- (ii) Compensatory Deductions.- (iii) Deductions In Satisfaction of Loans.- (iv) Other Deductions.- (f) Attachment and Assignment of Wages.- (g) Priority of Wages.- Summary.- V. Lea on es and Holidays.- Section I. Annual Leaone.- Section II. Sick Leaone.- Section III. Public Holidays.- Section IV. Other Lea on es.- Summary.- VI. Suspension, Frustration and Termination of the Contract of Employment.- Section I. Suspension and Frustration of the Contract.- Particular Causes:.- (a) Sickness.- (b) Disability.- (c) Criminal Offences and Imprisonment.- (d) Military Ser on ice.- (e) Strikes, Lock-Outs and Other Work Stoppage.- (f) Death.- (g) Bankruptcy, Winding Up and Closing Down of the Establishment.- Section II. Termination of the Contract.- (a) Legal Termination.- (1) Termination of Limited Contracts.- (2) Termination of Unlimited Contracts by Either Party With Notice.- (3) Termination by Either Party of Unlimited Contracts Without Notice or Limited Contracts Before Expiry:.- (i) Failure to Carry Out Contractual Obligations.- (ii) Misrepresentation.- (iii) Assault.- (iv) Breach of Safety Regulations.- (v) Criminal Offences, Dishonesty and Immorality.- (4) Termination by the Employer of Unlimited Contracts Without Notice or Limited Contracts Before Expiry:.- (i) the Worker’s Absence from Work.- (ii) Serious Material Damage To the Employer’s Property.- (iii) Disclosure of Professional Secrets.- (iv) Intoxication.- (v) During Probation.- (b) Unjustifiable and Wrongful Termination.- Summary.- VII. the Termination Gratuity.- Section I. Conditions of Entitlement and Calculation of the Gratuity.- Section II. Substitution of the Gratuity by Other Benefits.- Section III. Distribution of the Gratuity or the Substituted Benefits Among Beneficiaries.- Summary.- Selected Bibliography.