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What are the new developments in labor legislation?
What are the new developments in labor legislation?
President Ilham Aliyev has approved the amendments made to the legislation regulating labor relations. In total, more than 400 amendments have been introduced to the Labor Code and a number of other laws.
These amendments aim to improve labor legislation in line with the Conventions of the International Labour Organization and international practice, to establish more reliable mechanisms for the protection of employees’ rights, to apply flexible and socially oriented legal regulation in labor relations, and to introduce new concepts into legislation in accordance with modern requirements.
The concept of an “employee with family responsibilities” has been added to the terminology of the Labor Code. This concept refers to an employee whose ability to commence employment or perform labor functions is limited due to providing care or assistance to a family member in need of care or support.
Granting benefits, privileges, and additional guarantees to employees with family responsibilities in labor relations will not be considered discrimination. When organizing shift work schedules and assigning employees to night shifts, special needs of employees, including those related to the fulfillment of family responsibilities, will be taken into account.
One of the new amendments provides a legal basis for employees to perform their labor functions in the form of remote work using electronic, software-technical, and other means. For this purpose, the concept of “remote (distance) work” has been introduced into the Code. Additional terms and conditions of employment related to remote work will be determined by the employment contract based on mutual agreement of the parties.
In the legislation, the term “termination of an employment contract” has replaced the term “cancellation of an employment contract.” The legal foundations for the establishment of the Tripartite Commission on Labor and Social Issues have been strengthened. Relevant regulation has also been introduced into the Code to ensure that an employee’s average wage during leave is preserved at a level not lower than their last wage.
The new amendments also include:
- payment by the employer of an allowance in an amount of at least three times the employee’s average monthly wage upon termination of the employment contract due to the employee being called up for military service;
- inclusion among employees entitled to at least 46 calendar days of annual paid leave of employees with disabilities resulting from the defense of the country’s territorial integrity, independence, and constitutional order, the events of January 20, the performance of military service duties, including service at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, employees awarded the title of “war veteran,” those who performed military service in combat zones, and employees awarded the highest state honors of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
- extension of the paid portion of maternity leave prior to childbirth by the number of days from the expected date of delivery until the actual date of birth, without shortening the postnatal portion of the leave;
- granting men 14 calendar days of paid leave in connection with the birth of a child;
- termination of the employment contract with an employee who has continuously lost working capacity for more than six months and is unable to perform their labor function, where it is not possible to adapt the workplace or transfer the employee to lighter work in accordance with an individual rehabilitation program;
- granting unpaid leave at the main place of employment to an employee sent on a business trip at an additional place of employment, and vice versa, for the duration of the business trip;
- inclusion of occupational safety organization within the labor function of one of the employees knowledgeable in this field at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, or, if this is not possible, establishment of a position of occupational safety specialist;
- establishment of a position of occupational safety engineer at workplaces created by individual employers where the number of employees exceeds 50;
- the employer’s obligation to take measures to enable an employee working part-time to work full-time when a vacancy arises and the circumstances that previously necessitated part-time work change;
conducting occupational safety briefings for employees working in harmful workplaces, professions, and on machines, mechanisms, and equipment posing high risk at least once every three months, and at least once a year at other workplaces, and other provisions.
President Ilham Aliyev has approved the amendments made to the legislation regulating labor relations. In total, more than 400 amendments have been introduced to the Labor Code and a number of other laws.
These amendments aim to improve labor legislation in line with the Conventions of the International Labour Organization and international practice, to establish more reliable mechanisms for the protection of employees’ rights, to apply flexible and socially oriented legal regulation in labor relations, and to introduce new concepts into legislation in accordance with modern requirements.
The concept of an “employee with family responsibilities” has been added to the terminology of the Labor Code. This concept refers to an employee whose ability to commence employment or perform labor functions is limited due to providing care or assistance to a family member in need of care or support.
Granting benefits, privileges, and additional guarantees to employees with family responsibilities in labor relations will not be considered discrimination. When organizing shift work schedules and assigning employees to night shifts, special needs of employees, including those related to the fulfillment of family responsibilities, will be taken into account.
One of the new amendments provides a legal basis for employees to perform their labor functions in the form of remote work using electronic, software-technical, and other means. For this purpose, the concept of “remote (distance) work” has been introduced into the Code. Additional terms and conditions of employment related to remote work will be determined by the employment contract based on mutual agreement of the parties.
In the legislation, the term “termination of an employment contract” has replaced the term “cancellation of an employment contract.” The legal foundations for the establishment of the Tripartite Commission on Labor and Social Issues have been strengthened. Relevant regulation has also been introduced into the Code to ensure that an employee’s average wage during leave is preserved at a level not lower than their last wage.
The new amendments also include:
- payment by the employer of an allowance in an amount of at least three times the employee’s average monthly wage upon termination of the employment contract due to the employee being called up for military service;
- inclusion among employees entitled to at least 46 calendar days of annual paid leave of employees with disabilities resulting from the defense of the country’s territorial integrity, independence, and constitutional order, the events of January 20, the performance of military service duties, including service at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, employees awarded the title of “war veteran,” those who performed military service in combat zones, and employees awarded the highest state honors of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
- extension of the paid portion of maternity leave prior to childbirth by the number of days from the expected date of delivery until the actual date of birth, without shortening the postnatal portion of the leave;
- granting men 14 calendar days of paid leave in connection with the birth of a child;
- termination of the employment contract with an employee who has continuously lost working capacity for more than six months and is unable to perform their labor function, where it is not possible to adapt the workplace or transfer the employee to lighter work in accordance with an individual rehabilitation program;
- granting unpaid leave at the main place of employment to an employee sent on a business trip at an additional place of employment, and vice versa, for the duration of the business trip;
- inclusion of occupational safety organization within the labor function of one of the employees knowledgeable in this field at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, or, if this is not possible, establishment of a position of occupational safety specialist;
- establishment of a position of occupational safety engineer at workplaces created by individual employers where the number of employees exceeds 50;
- the employer’s obligation to take measures to enable an employee working part-time to work full-time when a vacancy arises and the circumstances that previously necessitated part-time work change;
conducting occupational safety briefings for employees working in harmful workplaces, professions, and on machines, mechanisms, and equipment posing high risk at least once every three months, and at least once a year at other workplaces, and other provisions.