Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Egypt, and how often must it be reviewed?

Yes. Article 253 of the Labour Law issued by Law No. 14 of 2025 requires every establishment to assess and analyse its risks and the industrial and natural disasters it can foresee, to prepare emergency plans, to test them by drills and to notify them to the labour authority. The law sets no review interval, but inspectors are entitled to see the risk analysis, Decree No. 211 of 2003 defines the emergency plan as a written plan, and the decree requires periodic review and re-notification when conditions change.

Short answer

• Legal basis: Labour Law 2025, Art. 253: risk and disaster analysis, emergency plans, drills, training, correction where needed.
• Notification: the emergency plans, any changes to them, and the storage or use of hazardous substances must be notified to the competent administrative authority (Art. 253).
• Documentation: inspectors may review "the emergency plans and the risk analysis of the establishment" (Art. 257), and Decree 211 defines an emergency plan as a written plan, so keep both on file in writing.
• Review: no fixed period in the law; Decree 211 of 2003 requires periodic and regular review according to the hazardous materials, technology and possible disasters, and re-notification when quantities of products or hazardous stock change.
• Who: the OSH unit (from 50 workers) carries out hazard identification and measurements; the OSH committee follows the risk analysis programmes (Decree 134 of 2003). External licensed consultants may help (Arts. 253 and 262).

What the law and Decree 211 require

Article 253 is the core duty. The establishment must assess and analyse risks, foreseeable industrial and natural disasters and disasters caused by operations; prepare emergency plans to protect the establishment, its workers and visitors; test the plans by practical exercises; train workers; and correct the plans if needed. It may use an OSH consultant or consultancy centre. If it fails to comply within the deadlines the authority sets and this creates imminent danger, the authority must order closure or stop a machine until the danger is removed.

Decree 211 of 2003 (chapter on emergency plans) adds detail that is still applied:

• the assessment follows approved national and international standards and methods;
• it starts at the design, trial and commissioning stage, based on maximum production capacity;
• it is reviewed "periodically and regularly" according to the hazardous materials used and stored, the technology and the potential disasters;
• it looks at the type and amount of hazardous, toxic, flammable and explosive substances that could be released, failures of safety systems such as relief valves and controls, maintenance programmes, human and organisational errors, design defects and the effectiveness of the emergency response plan;
• the emergency plan is submitted to the competent executive bodies, and they are informed when the establishment's situation, production quantity or hazardous stock changes.

The decree's definitions describe risk assessment and analysis as identifying the degree and type of expected risks, their causes and consequences, and the means of prevention, and define the emergency plan as a written set of measures and procedures prepared in advance for potential hazards.

How to set a review cycle that will stand up to inspection

Because no interval is fixed, the employer has to justify the cycle. A defensible approach, which is good practice rather than a legal number:

1. Review at least once a year and record the date and reviewer.
2. Review immediately after a serious accident, an occupational disease, a near miss with major potential, an inspector's finding, or a change in process, equipment, layout or hazardous stock.
3. Re-test the emergency plan after each review and record the drill.
4. Send the updated emergency plan to the labour directorate when it changes (Art. 253).

Common mistakes

• Treating the emergency plan as the whole risk assessment. The law requires both an analysis of risks and the emergency plan; daily hazards (machinery, manual handling, chemicals) need assessing too.
• Not notifying changes. Article 253 requires the authority to be told of changes to plans and of hazardous substances.
• Copying another site's document. Decree 211 ties the analysis to the site's own materials, capacity and technology.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Egypt: law, authorities and employer duties
• Which rules apply to major-hazard chemical sites in Egypt?
• Workplace risk assessment: process, team, records and review

Standards and further reading

• Law No. 14 of 2025 issuing the Labour Law, Articles 253, 257 and 262: https://manshurat.org/content/qnwn-lml-ljdyd-rqm-14-lsn-2025
• Ministerial Decree No. 211 of 2003, definitions and chapter on emergency plans, Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya No. 227 (supplement b), 5 October 2003: https://manshurat.org/node/12155
• Ministerial Decree No. 134 of 2003, tasks of the OSH unit and committee: https://manshurat.org/node/12136

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.