13 May, 2020
The law of the Republic Kazakhstan dated May 4, 2020 No.321-VI "On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on labour issues" has a number of novelties in current Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is worth mentioning that the Law comes into force after 10 working days from the date of its official publication, namely from May 16, 2020.
In this publication we would like to emphasize the most significant changes in the Labour code of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
- Now the acts of the employer can be drawn up in the form of an electronic document and signed by means of an electronic digital signature;
- In case the probation period has expired and the employer has not notified about the termination of the employment contract, the employee is considered to have passed the probation period;
- Changes were made to the concept of "disciplinary misconduct". Now a disciplinary action is an illegal, guilty non-performance or improper performance of employees' labour duties, as well as a violation of labour discipline. The element of guilty is now present.
- The concept of “labour dispute” has also been amended. An employment dispute is a disagreement between an employee and an employer, including a person who previously had an employment relationship with the employer. In other words, a former employee can also be a party to a labour dispute.
- The requirement for an internal act of the employer, the regulatory compliance employees involved in a remote work, safety requirements and labour protection, and ensure the safe performance of duties was established ;
- In case of non-payment of the salary by the employer in full and within the terms established by labour and collective agreements, the employer is liable in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The employer pays the employee arrears and penalties for the period of delay in payment. The amount of the penalty is calculated based on 1.25 times of the official refinancing rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the day of fulfilment of obligations to pay wages and is calculated for each overdue calendar day, starting from the next day when payments should be made, and ending on the day of payment;
The provision was deleted from the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to which: the employment contract may provide for the right of the employer to terminate the employment contract without notifying the other party of such termination of claims, with a compensation payment, the amount of which is determined by the employment contract. Such termination of the employment contract does not always negatively affect the employee or somehow violates his rights, since the compensation payment established by the employment contract can be an impressive amount. That is in practice only the court can decide whether this ground for termination of the contract is a violation of the employee's rights or not;
An employment contract concluded for a certain period of time may be extended for no more than twice.
For further information, please contact:
Saniya Perzadayeva, Managing Partner, Unicase Law Firm
saniya.p@unicaselaw.com
