☑️ The Basics

Currency: Lebanese pound (Oyster chooses to pay salaries in USD due to the ongoing economic crisis and multiple exchange rates)

Public Holidays: up to 20 public holidays (see here)

Employer Taxes: 22.5% of gross salary with caps and exceptions, refer to the bottom of the page under Taxes In Lebanon → Employers

Official Language: Arabic

Payroll frequency: Monthly

Two things to know about employing in Lebanon

1. There are 6 different exchange rates for USD <> LBP transactions due to the ongoing political crisis. You don't need to worry about that, though. Oyster pays employees in USD, which protects your hire from the currency fluctuations.
2. In addition to the mandatory benefits (which included transportation benefits), some companies in Lebanon also offer private health and life insurance, food allowances, and family and education allowances. These allowances do not form part of the NSSF (National Social Security Fund) employer contributions but is accounted for as operational expenses, and are free of tax.

Employment in Lebanon

Notice Period

Written notice must be provided for terminations except in cases of contract violation. The notice period for dismissals and resignation depends on the employee's length of service with the employer:

• Less than three years: one month
• Between three and six years: two months
• Between six and 12 years: three months
• 12 years and above: four months

In lieu of letting employees serve out their notice period, employers can also choose to pay them compensation equal to the wages that would have been earned during the notice period.

The employer and employee can terminate the employment contract at any time by mutual consent, as long as the employee's consent is expressed in writing.

Termination & Severance

Employees are entitled to severance pay in case of unfair or abusive termination, the amount of which can be equal to between 2 and 12 months' wages. The assessment of severance pay should take into consideration:

• the nature of the work
• the employee's age
• the duration of employment
• the employee's health and family status
• the materiality of the damage
• any misuse of the termination right.

Probationary period

Three months

Minimum Wage

LBP 675,000 per month (~$500 USD per month)

IP protection and non-compete agreements

The validity of non-compete agreements in Lebanon depends on the legitimacy of their provisions. They must be clearly stated, and limited in their duration and geographical scope.

An employer is not legally required to give additional consideration (salary bonus, or other benefits) to the employee during the non-compete period, but such compensation, if offered, can strengthen the validity of the agreement in courts.

Working Hours

Up to 8 hours a day, 48 hours per week.

Overtime

The maximum number of working hours per day can be extended to 12 hours, the wage for overtime hours must be 1.5 times the usual hourly wage.

Paid Holidays

Employees get no paid vacation during their first year of service. Thereafter, their entitlement to paid time off depends on their length of service.

• 1 (completed year)-5 years of service: 15 days
• 5-10 years: 17 days
• 10-15 years: 19 days
• More than 15 years: 21 days

Sick pay and time off

Entitlement to sick leave depends on the length of service.

• Between three months and two years: Half a month on full pay and half a month on half pay
• Between two and four years: One month on full pay and one month on half pay
• Between four and six years: One and a half months on full pay and one month and a half pay
• Between six and 10 years: Two months on full pay and two months on half pay
• More than 10 years: Two and a half months on full pay and two and a half months on half pay

Parental leave

Employees are entitled to 10 consecutive weeks fully paid paid maternity leave, paid by the employer.

Employees are also entitled to three days paternity leave.

Taxes in Lebanon

<aside> 💡 You can get a detailed breakdown of the employer contributions for any gross salary by using our Oyster Cost Calculator

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Employees

Social Security

• 3% (ceiling of LBP 2,500,000)

Income tax

• LBP 0-6,000,000: 2%
• LBP 6,000,000- 15,000,000: 4%
• LBP 15,000,000-30,000,000: 7%
• LBP 30,000,000-60,000,000: 11%
• LBP 60,000,000-120,000,000: 15%
• LBP 120,000,000 and above: 20%

Employers

Total social contributions (22.5%)

• For sickness and maternity (medical): 8% (ceiling of LBP 2,500,000)
• Family allowances: 6% (ceiling of LBP 1,500,000)
• End of service allowance: 8.5% (on the whole salary)

<aside> 🌍 ← Country Knowledge Base

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<aside> 🚀 Check out our public Oyster HQ

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<aside> 📚 Visit Fully Distributed, the Oyster future of work blog.

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