All employees require contracts, and they must be available in Arabic, in triplicate (one for the employee, one for the employer, one for the Social Insurance Office). 90% of your employees must be Egyptian and 80% of wages must go to them. Within those figures, 75% of your technical positions must be occupied by Egyptians and they must account for 70% of all technical and support staff wages. While you may hire employees for specified or unspecified periods of time, according to Egyptian law 5% of your staff must be disabled.
For a more detailed breakdown of holidays, maternity leave and rules about firing employees, see the chapter on employment contracts in our Jobs section.
This is just the basics, though there are numerous resources available for your perusal. The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) plays an active roles in the Egyptian business world. It holds a monthly luncheon discussing the state of the Egyptian economy and puts out a monthly magazine, aptly titled Business Monthly. There is a library of business-related texts at the USAID office in Downtown Cairo and the Middle East Library for Economic Services (MELES) can provide you with legal information (it does charge for its services).