Among Six New Compensation Rulings .. Landmark Court Decision Adjusts a Female Worker’s Salary to the Minimum Wage at the Time of Her Arbitrary Dismissal from El-Hennawi Factory

On July 27, 2025, the North Damanhour Primary Court ordered El-Hennawi Company for Tobacco and Molasses to compensate six female workers with more than EGP one million for their arbitrary dismissal, as well as for the notice period and accrued leave, with 4% interest applied from the date of judgment until full payment.

The rulings were issued in six separate cases, in which the workers were legally represented by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) in cooperation with El-Shorabi Law Office. Among them was a landmark precedent: the recalculation of a worker’s salary based on the statutory minimum wage applicable at the time of dismissal.

In Case No. (484) of 2023, filed by worker “N.S.,” the court ordered the defendant, in his legal capacity, to adjust the plaintiff’s salary to EGP 2,400 as of January 1, 2022, until December 31, 2022, calculated in accordance with item (c) of Article (1) of the Labor Law, inclusive of the employer’s share of social insurance contributions, and then to adjust it to EGP 2,700 from January 1, 2023, until the end of her employment. The court further ordered the payment of all financial differences arising therefrom, to be settled monthly until the termination of service.

The defendant was also ordered to pay the plaintiff EGP 120,500 in compensation for arbitrary dismissal, with statutory interest from the date of judgment until full settlement; EGP 8,100 for the notice period; and EGP 49,140 for accrued annual leave, with 4% interest applied to these sums until full settlement. The court additionally awarded costs and EGP 50 in attorneys’ fees, while dismissing the remaining claims.

Since the worker’s actual salary was only EGP 1,722, the ruling—holding that the wage should be calculated based on what the worker was legally entitled to, not what the employer actually paid—constitutes a judicial precedent. It effectively raised the salary to the statutory minimum wage, thereby affirming it as a fundamental right and correcting the employer’s unlawful practice of paying below the legal threshold.

The Egyptian Center welcomed the ruling and expressed hope for its generalization across labor courts. In its submissions, the Center had argued that compensation should be calculated on the basis of the minimum wage—a position it hopes labor courts will adopt more broadly, particularly under the new Labor Law. The Center emphasized that exemptions from applying the minimum wage cannot extend to workers arbitrarily dismissed by employers claiming financial distress as a means of avoiding their legal obligations.

It should be noted that thousands of employers have sought to evade compliance with minimum wage requirements by submitting exemption requests, which allowed them to pay salaries below the statutory threshold pending review by special committees at labor directorates. These committees, however, have never been established by the Ministry, leaving workers exposed. The precedent established in this ruling provides a measure of protection for arbitrarily dismissed workers against such violations.

In the same hearing, the Center secured five additional rulings in favor of the worker’s colleagues, bringing the total number of judgments against El-Hennawi Factory to ten, out of 29 ongoing lawsuits filed by dismissed workers, with the remainder still under judicial consideration.

In Case No. (466) of 2023, filed by “A.A.M.,” the court ordered the defendant to pay EGP 96,000 in compensation, EGP 5,115 for the notice period, and EGP 40,000 for accrued leave, with 4% statutory interest.

In Case No. (475) of 2023, filed by “S.S.A.,” the court awarded EGP 120,000 in compensation, EGP 5,858 for the notice period, and EGP 43,020 for accrued leave, with 4% statutory interest.

In Case No. (494) of 2023, filed by “S.F.A.,” the court ordered EGP 130,000 in compensation, EGP 6,051 for the notice period, and EGP 47,178 for accrued leave, with 4% statutory interest.

In Case No. (456) of 2023, filed by “S.M.M.,” the court awarded EGP 121,500 in compensation, EGP 5,846 for the notice period, and EGP 42,543 for accrued leave, with 4% statutory interest.

In Case No. (454) of 2023, filed by “A.A.A.,” the court awarded EGP 120,000 in compensation, EGP 5,805 for the notice period, and EGP 41,124 for accrued leave, with 4% statutory interest.

The dispute arose when company management arbitrarily barred the workers from entering the factory after they refused the decision to relocate operations from Damanhour to Borg El-Arab. The relocation appeared intended to reduce the workforce and pressure employees into resignation by forcing them to commute long distances far from their homes.

Following their exclusion, the workers turned to the courts, seeking compensation for arbitrary dismissal, entitlement to statutory bonuses, enforcement of the minimum wage, payment for accrued leave, damages for loss of employment, and reinstatement.

During the proceedings, ECESR’s legal counsel, attorney Mohamed Mamdouh El-Dimyati, submitted a defense brief supported by official documents, including decrees on the minimum wage, regulations on statutory bonuses, and official violation reports against the company for noncompliance, as well as a prior judicial ruling prohibiting the transfer of workers to Borg El-Arab.

The defense further contested the company’s submissions, which included an exemption request from the minimum wage filed with the Federation of Industries, leave records falsely asserting the worker had exhausted her entitlement, and a prior ruling from the Alexandria Primary Court in a similar case. Counsel argued that the cases were factually distinct.

Relying on the expert report of the Damanhour Experts Bureau, which confirmed the worker’s financial entitlements, the court ruled in her favor. ECESR also requested that any compensation be explicitly calculated on the basis of minimum wage regulations, though this was not expressly addressed in the judgments.

The workers’ conflict with El-Hennawi dates back more than 21 years (since 2003), when they began demanding statutory bonuses, opposing extended working hours, resisting workforce reductions, and contesting the denial of childcare leave.

After rejecting a collective agreement signed between the company and the union committee that undermined their rights, management retaliated with a series of measures, including arbitrary dismissals and forced transfers to distant workplaces designed to compel resignations. This pattern repeated over the years, even after court rulings ordering reinstatement.

Over time, management intensified its efforts to relocate the women to another plant in the Fourth Industrial Zone Extension in Borg El-Arab, 112 kilometers from Damanhour. The workers demanded that commuting time be included as part of working hours and that they receive transport allowances—requests management refused. The workers subsequently obtained rulings declaring such transfers unlawful.

In 2021, the company transferred them to an old warehouse in preparation for liquidating the Damanhour plant and forcing their resignation. The workers filed complaints with the Labor Office and official incident reports.

In early 2024, the company again attempted to transfer them to Borg El-Arab, but the workers relied on prior rulings invalidating such relocation. In response, management terminated their employment.