Hire employees in Lebanon

The Lebanese economy is currently battling a severe financial and economic crisis. The growing inflation has strongly decreased the value of the local currency – more than 90% compared to the US-dollar since 2019 – and thus devalued Lebanese salaries which now are among the lowest in the world.

In this difficult economic situation, Lebanese workers are desperately looking for employment opportunities with foreign employers. The wide use of French and English plays into the hands of international organizations looking to hire employees in Lebanon.

Although it’s not legally required, employers should draft a written employment contract when hiring an employee in Lebanon. The Lebanese Labor Code doesn’t specify any minimum requirements concerning the contract terms, but it’s recommended to include the following information:

• Identification of both parties

• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts)

• Workplace

• Job description, duties and responsibilities

• Salary

• Working hours

• Leave

• Notice periods for employment termination

If the contract doesn’t specify the general terms of employment, the minimum requirements outlined in the Labor Code apply. Contracts can either be permanent or fixed-term (fixed period or for the duration of a specific task).

Probation Period

The first 3 months of employment are generally considered as the employee’s probationary period.

Working Hours and Breaks

The Labor Codes rules that an employee’s normal working hours shouldn’t exceed 48 hours per week. Employees are legally entitled to at least 36 consecutive hours of rest every week.

Overtime

Every hour exceeding the employee’s normal working hours is considered as overtime and must be remunerated at a rate of 150% of the usual wages.

Employees should be paid on a monthly basis.

Minimum Wage

The national minimum wage is currently fixed at LBP 675,000 per month.

Sick Pay

Sick leave in Lebanon is paid. However, duration and payment depend on the employee’s seniority. The rules are as follows:

• 3 months – 1 years of service: 1 month of sick pay (half a month on full salary and half a month on 50%)

• 2 – 4 years of service: 1.5 months of sick pay (1 month on full salary and half a month on 50%)

• 4 – 6 years of service: 2.5 months of sick pay (1.5 months on full salary and 1 month on 50%)

• 6 – 10 years of service: 4 months of sick pay (2 months on full salary and 2 months on 50%)

• Over 10 years of service: 5 months of sick pay (2.5 months on full salary and 2.5 months on 50%)

The employee is obligated to provide a medical certificate.

Bonuses

There are no legal obligations to pay an annual bonus.

Employees and employers in Lebanon are subject to the following tax and social security contribution rates (last review February 2023):

Taxes

Employers

17%

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• Corporate tax rate: 17%

• VAT (standard rate): 11%

Employees

up to 25%

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Individual income tax rates range from 2% to 25%. The lowest income tax bracket is LBP 18 million. The highest bracket is LBP 675 million.

Social security

Employers

22.5%

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22.5% of employee salary:

• 8% Sickness and maternity benefits scheme (LBP 5,600,000 income ceiling)

• 6% Family benefits scheme (LBP 3,425,000 income ceiling)

• 8.5% End of service gratuity fund

Employees

3%

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3% of employee salary go to the sickness and maternity benefits scheme

Please note that the social security contributions indicated above do not necessarily reflect the actual employment costs. These may differ depending on the employment contract and due to other factors (e.g. 13th and 14th salary, health insurance allowances, accrual for severance pay, etc.).

Annual Leave

After having completed one year of service with the employer, the employee earns 15 days of paid annual leave.

Furthermore, the country counts 13 public holidays. However, only two of them must be observed. For the others, the employer can decide whether they grant employees a day off or not.

Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to 10 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. The government intends to introduce a 3-day paternity leave. However, there currently are no legal provisions for it yet.

Parental Leave

There is no statutory parental leave other than maternity leave.

Additional Leave and Benefits

Upon death of a close family member, the employee can take 2 days of paid bereavement leave. There also is a statutory transportation and schooling allowance employees are entitled to.

In addition to employment termination by default – i.e. expiry of a fixed-term contract – resignation and mutual agreement, the employment agreement can also be unilaterally terminated by the employer for the following reasons (non-exhaustive list):

• Economic situation of the business or redundancy due to restructuring

• Underperformance of the employee

• Absence from work without valid excuse

• Gross misconduct

Summary dismissals due to misconduct enter into effect immediately and are hence not subject to any notice. In all other cases, the employer is obliged to give notice to the employee. However, the length of the notice period depends on the employee’s seniority:

• Up to 3 years of service: 1 month

• 3-6 years of service: 2 months

• 6-12 years of service: 3 months

• Over 12 years of service: 4 months

The same notice periods must be respected by employees who wish to resign.

Upon termination of their employment, employees are entitled to an end-of-service indemnity equal to one month’s salary for each year of service. In case of unfair dismissal, the employer has to provide additional severance pay which can amount to up to 12 months of salary.