Must an employer in Egypt appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?

Yes, once the establishment has 50 or more workers. Ministerial Decree No. 134 of 2003 requires an internal OSH unit staffed by OSH technicians and specialists according to the number of workers per shift, and the Labour Law of 2025 requires a contracted doctor and a qualified nurse in each shift when more than 50 workers are employed in one place or within a 15 km radius. Below 50 workers no OSH unit is required, and the employer or a person he delegates is responsible for meeting OSH requirements.

Short answer

• Threshold: 50 or more workers on one site, or across the branches of one establishment in the same governorate (Decree 134, Art. 1).
• OSH unit: an internal OSH body (جهاز وظيفي للسلامة والصحة المهنية) reporting directly to the employer or managing director.
• Industrial establishments, workers per shift: 50 to 200: 1 full-time technician; 201 to 500: 1 specialist and 2 technicians; 501 to 1,000: 2 specialists and 3 technicians; each further 1,000: 1 more specialist and 2 more technicians.
• Non-industrial: 50 to 200: one existing worker given the task, not full-time; 201 to 500: 1 full-time technician; above that the table adds staff for each further 500 workers but prints no number.
• Doctor and nurse: more than 50 workers in one place, one town or within 15 km: at least one qualified nurse per shift and a doctor, free of charge to workers (Labour Law, Art. 270).

The OSH unit under Decree 134 of 2003

Article 259 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 lets the minister decide which establishments must create OSH units and committees. Until a new decree is issued, Decree 134 of 2003 applies (Art. 11 of the issuing law keeps earlier decrees in force where they do not conflict). Its Table 1 lists the activities treated as industrial, including construction, transport, loading and storage, marine services in ports, mining, quarries and petroleum, manufacturing, utilities, nuclear energy, health services, hazardous waste treatment and natural gas activities.

Table 2 of the decree sets the staff, counted per shift:

In all cases an industrial establishment with more than 500 workers across all shifts must have at least one specialist. An OSH specialist must hold scientific and practical qualifications whose field matches the work of the establishment (Art. 14); a technician needs an intermediate or above-intermediate qualification, or an equivalent military technical qualification, in a relevant field (Art. 15). In non-industrial establishments the labour directorate may also accept an intermediate technical qualification suited to the work (Art. 16). OSH staff have the same benefits as colleagues of the same grade, and the establishment must provide measuring instruments.

The unit's tasks include advising on design and new equipment, identifying and measuring hazards, daily inspection in every shift, investigating accidents, keeping records, preparing permits to work before maintenance and other dangerous work, maintaining fire and explosion protection, and helping prepare emergency plans.

Is an occupational physician required?

The Labour Law does not use the term "occupational physician". Article 270 requires first-aid means in every establishment and, above 50 workers in one place, a qualified nurse for nursing or first aid in each shift, a doctor who sees the workers in a place the employer provides, and medicines, all free of charge. Pre-employment and periodic examinations are organised through the health insurance system (Arts. 266 and 269), and the establishment doctor, if any, sits on the OSH committee and examines whether a worker's illness relates to the job (Art. 269).

Consultants and outsourcing

OSH consultancy and expert work need a licence from the Ministry of Labour (Art. 262), and the minister may license compliance offices that check conditions and advise (Art. 245). Neither replaces the employer's own OSH unit where Decree 134 requires one, unless a new decree says otherwise; confirm with the labour directorate.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Egypt: law, authorities and employer duties
• Is a safety committee or a worker safety representative required in Egypt?
• Are pre-employment and periodic medical examinations required in Egypt?
• OSH law comparison: appointments and reporting deadlines

Standards and further reading

• Ministerial Decree No. 134 of 2003 on establishments required to set up OSH units and committees, Tables 1 and 2, Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya No. 172 (supplement), 2 August 2003: https://manshurat.org/node/12136
• Law No. 14 of 2025 issuing the Labour Law, Articles 245, 259, 262, 266, 269, 270: https://manshurat.org/content/qnwn-lml-ljdyd-rqm-14-lsn-2025

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.