Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia bordered by Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. It has a workforce of 3 million people (2023) and a GDP of 50.97 billion US dollars (2023).

With a small, diversified economy reliant on tourism, finance, and manufacturing, Jordan faces challenges such as unemployment and dependence on foreign aid. Economic growth has slowed in recent years due to population increases, rising public debt, and worsening poverty. Employment benefits are especially important for workers in Jordan to protect them from exploitation and to ensure the right to a minimum wage.

This guide provides an overview of Jordanian labor laws and details both mandatory and supplementary employee benefits in Jordan. It also explains how Remote People can simplify benefits through its EOR services and recruitment offering.

Jordanian Employment Laws

Labor law in Jordan is primarily dictated by the Labour Code No. 8 of 1996, which details the rights and obligations of employers and employees in Jordan. 

Employee benefits have evolved over the years to advance social protection and provide a range of rights, such as the right to social security, retirement pensions, health insurance, maternity/paternity leave, and severance pay.

Other key acts that provide rights to workers in Jordan include:

  • Civil Health Insurance System No. 104 of 1965
  • Public Health Law No. 43 of 1966
  • Temporary Social Protection Law No. 30 of 1979
  • Development and Employment Fund of 1992
  • Rights of Persons with Disabilities No. 20 of 2017
  • The Social Protection System Related To Maternity Insurance No. 93 of 2020
  • Elderly Care Regulation No. 97 of 2021
It’s strongly advised that companies employing in Jordan consult with legal professionals to ensure that Jordanian labor laws are strictly adhered to.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Jordan 

The primary mandatory employee benefits in Jordan are as follows:

Social Security Contributions

Jodran operates under aSocial Security System, which all employers must pay contributions on behalf of their employees. This system aims to protect workers in Jordan socially and economically, with a range of departments including:
  • Maternity Insurance
  • Unemployment
  • Old Age Pension (Early, Disability, and Death)
  • Workplace Injuries / Occupational Diseases

Employers must pay a social security rate of 21.75%, 7.5% of which is payable via employee contributions.

Annual Paid Leave

All workers in Jordan are entitled to a minimum of 14 days of paid annual leave. If an employee has worked for the same employer for 5 consecutive years, annual leave should be extended to 21 days.

Employees that have worked for a company for less than 1 year are entitled to paid leave on a proportional basis for the duration that they have worked in that year. Annual leave can be carried over to the following year.

Public holidays are not generally counted as part of an employee’s annual leave allowance.

An additional 14 days of paid leave are permitted in the following circumstances:

  • Employee embarks on a Ministry-approved workers’ education course 
  • Employee goes on pilgrimage (payable only if employee has worked for the same employer for 5 consecutive years and can occur only once in an employee’s period of service)

Employers must pay a social security rate of 21.75%, 7.5% of which is payable via employee contributions.

Working Hours

Typical working hours in Jordan consist of 8 hours per day and shouldn’t exceed 48 hours per week over a maximum of 6 days.

Some positions will have irregular hours from the standard working hours in Jordan, such as supervisors and those working in the tourism/service industries.

Fridays are generally taken as a weekly rest day. Rest days can be accumulated with the consent of an employer and used together as leave provided that this period is less than 1 month long.

Night hours typically count as any hours worked between 8 pm and 6 am.

National Minimum Wage

Jordan introduced the right to a minimum wage as part of an amendment to the Jordanian Labour Law of 2003. The minimum wage is set by the Tripartite Commission for Labour Affairs and overseen by the Minister for Labor.

Companies that fail to pay workers at the minimum wage can be fined between 500-1000 dinars, with the penalty doubling if a repeat offence occurs.

The minimum wage in Jordan as of 2025 is 290 JOD per month.

Overtime Pay

Any hours worked by an employee in Jordan that exceed their contracted hours count as overtime and must be paid at a minimum rate of 125% of an employee’s typical wages.

If overtime hours occur on a worker’s weekly rest day or a religious/public holiday, rate overtime rate changes to 150%.

Employees may be assigned overtime working hours above the typical 48-hour week in the following circumstances:

  • To perform annual inventory tasks, finalize budgets, or prepare for sales periods
  • To close the accounts of an establishment
  • To avoid losses in goods or perishable materials
  • To prevent technical hazards
  • To deliver or transport specific materials

Paid Public Holidays

Public holidays in Jordan are generally considered paid days off unless they occur on weekly rest days. The public holidays in Jordan are as follows:

  • January 1: New Year’s Day
  • March 31: Eid al-Fitr (movable date)
  • April 1 – April 3: Eid al-Fitr Holiday (movable date)
  • May 1: Labor Day
  • May 25: Independence Day
  • June 5: Arafah (movable date)
  • June 6: Eid al-Adha (movable date)
  • June 7 – June 9: Eid al-Adha Holiday (movable date)
  • June 26: Muharram / Islamic New Year (movable date)
  • September 4: Prophet’s Birthday (movable date)
  • December 25: Christmas Day

Paid Sick Leave

Workers in Jordan are entitled to paid sick leave if they are unable to attend work due to sickness.

Employees should receive a minimum of 14 days per year of sick leave at full pay if they can provide an approved report from a medical practitioner.

Sick leave may be extended by an additional 14 days at full pay if the employee is hospitalized. This extra leave would be paid at half pay if the employee isn’t hospitalized but can produce an updated medical report from a practitioner.

Maternity Leave

Female workers in Jordan are entitled to maternity leave when they have a baby.

Maternity leave consists of 10 weeks paid in full, which is typically taken 4 weeks before birth and 6 weeks after birth.

Women are entitled to time off with full pay for nursing in the first year of delivery, to a maximum of 1 hour per day.

Female employees working for companies with 10 or more workers are permitted to a maximum of 1 year of unpaid parental leave to raise their children. Employees’ jobs must remain secure unless they have completed employment during this period.

Employers with 20 or more married female employees must provide childcare facilities for children under the age of 4. 

Paternity Leave

Jordan announced a 3-day paternity leave entitlement for fathers in May 2019. Paternity leave is fully paid by employers and must be taken immediately after the birth of a child.

Pension

The pension system in Jordan consists of a pay-as-you-go system plus voluntary arrangements for both personal and occupational pensions. The public pension system in Jordan includes:

  • Civil Pension System: Covers government employees recruited before 1995 (employees recruited post-1995 are redirected to the Social Security Corporation)
  • Military Pension System: Covers members of the armed forces recruited before 2002 (employees recruited in the armed forces post-1995 are redirected to the Social Security Corporation). Participants receive benefits after a service period of 16 years or more and are paid upon reaching 60 years of age.
  • Social Security Corporation: Covers private sector workers and public sector workers/military workers recruited post-2002. The contribution rate is set at 14.5%, 5.5% of which is paid by the employee and the rest is paid by the employer.

Old-age pensions pay out at 60 for men and 55 for women, provided that they have paid at least 60 months of contributions. Reduced old-age pensions are payable from the age of 45.

Jordan also promotes private pension schemes via the following systems:

  • Life Insurance Policies
  • Voluntary Personal Pension Schemes
  • Voluntary Occupational Pension Schemes

Severance Pay

Employees that have been dismissed for reasons not including employee misconduct may be eligible for severance pay, otherwise known as “end of service compensation”.

Severance pay is payable at the rate of one month’s pay for each year of service, payable on a pro-rata basis for worked portions of a year.

Employees are generally only eligible for severance pay if they are not covered by the Social Security system. If an employee is covered by Social Security, their needs are usually met by this system.

Circumstances where severance is necessary include:

  • Employee termination (except in the event of gross misconduct)
  • Resignation due to changes in employment contracts or employee health issues as a result of work
  • Completion of fixed-term contract

Severance is generally not payable if:

  • Employee has committed gross misconduct
  • Employee has resigned without a valid reason

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Jordan

Employers are encouraged to provide supplementary benefits to their employees in Jordan. Supplementary benefits have been proven to improve job application rates and increase the chances of employees staying in job roles for longer.

Some examples of supplementary benefits that could be offered include:

  • Performance bonuses
  • Enhanced healthcare schemes
  • Attractive pension opportunities
  • Transport, food, or accommodation expenses
  • Holiday bonuses
  • Additional maternity/paternity leave

Optimize Employee Benefits with Remote People

Remote People helps companies hire and operate compliantly in Jordan by streamlining benefits, payroll, and day-to-day HR while keeping you aligned with Jordanian labor laws. Our team manages employment contracts, payroll and tax withholding, statutory benefits, and ongoing compliance so you can focus on growth, not admin.

We also handle full-cycle recruitment in Jordan—sourcing, screening, and onboarding top local talent. With on-the-ground expertise in language, culture, and market norms, we shorten time-to-hire and improve candidate fit.

If you’re building a team in Jordan, talk to Remote People. We’ll make hiring, compliance, and payroll feel straightforward from day one.