Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 11.03.1997 No. 133 “On approval of normative acts necessary for the implementation of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan”;
Appendix No. 1 to the Resolution of the CM of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 05.12.2019 No. 971 “Regulations on the procedure for registration of employment contracts, formation and maintenance of electronic workbooks in the interdepartmental hardware and software complex ‘Unified National Labor System'”;
Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 17.04.1998 No. 12 “On the application by courts of legislation regulating the termination of an employment contract”.

2. Competent authorities

State administration in the field of labor is carried out by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan and its territorial bodies.

Control and supervision of compliance with labor legislation and labor protection regulations are carried out by:

1) specially authorized state bodies and their inspections;

2) trade unions.

3. Features of employment

3.1. Hiring

When applying for a job, the employer has the right to request only the following documents:

Passport (must be valid);
Employment record (except for persons applying for work for the first time);
Military ID (for conscripts and conscripts);
a diploma of graduation from a higher or secondary specialized, vocational educational institution, a certificate for the right to perform this work or another relevant document when applying for a job, to which, in accordance with the legislation, only persons with special education or special training can be admitted

Employment is issued by order of the employer. The basis for the execution of the order is an employment contract with an employee. The employment order is issued in exact accordance with the content of the concluded employment contract.

It is important to note that the actual admission of an employee to work by the person responsible for this, or with his knowledge, is considered to be the conclusion of an employment contract from the date of the start of work, regardless of whether the hiring was properly executed (Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan).

If employment is carried out with the condition of a probation period, then such a condition must be prescribed in the employment contract, otherwise it will be considered that the employee is accepted without a probation period.

At the same time, the probation period cannot be applied to the following persons:

pregnant women;
women with children under three years of age;
persons assigned to work at the expense of the minimum number of jobs;
graduates of secondary specialized, vocational educational institutions and higher educational institutions who enter the workforce for the first time within three years from the date of graduation from the relevant educational institution;
employees with whom an employment contract is concluded for a period of up to six months.

It is important to note that the term of the preliminary test cannot exceed three months. The probation period is included in the length of service.

Prior to the expiration of the probationl period, each of the parties has the right to terminate the employment contract by notifying the other party in writing three days in advance. In this case, the termination of the employment contract by the employer is possible only if the test result is unsatisfactory. If none of the parties has declared the termination of the employment contract before the expiration of the probation period, then the contract continues (Article 87 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan).

4. Employment contract

An employment contract is an agreement between an employee and an employer to perform work in a certain specialty, qualification, position for remuneration with subordination to internal labor regulations on the terms established by the agreement of the parties, as well as legislative and other labor regulations.

At the same time, the employer is enterprises, including their separate structural divisions represented by their managers, private enterprises whose owners are also their managers, individuals who have reached the age of eighteen, in cases provided for by law.

An employee may also be a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as foreign citizens and stateless persons who have reached the age of sixteen (in other cases, from the age of fourteen and fifteen with the written consent of one of the parents or a person replacing him in the manner prescribed by law).

4.1. Contract form

The employment contract must be concluded in writing. In addition, the form of the employment contract should be developed taking into account the approximate form of the contract, which is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

In addition, according to paragraph 3 of the Presidential Decree dated 31.10.2019, mandatory registration (including modification and termination) in the “Unified National Labor System” (“ENST”) was introduced from January 1, 2020

A written employment contract (contract) is concluded both with permanent (accepted for an indefinite period) and with employees accepted on the basis of a fixed-term employment contract (for up to five years, for the duration of certain work) at the main place of work and with part-time, homeworkers, etc. A fixed-term employment contract (contract) is concluded when labor relations cannot be established for an indefinite period:

– taking into account the nature of the work to be done;

– taking into account the conditions of its implementation;

– taking into account the interests of employees;

– in cases directly provided for by law.

4.2. Necessary terms

The mandatory terms of the employment contract, according to which the employee and the employer must come to an agreement, are (Article 73 of the Labor Code)

Place of work

The name of the company, institution, organization (its structural subdivision), where the employee is accepted;

Labor function of an employee – specialty, qualification, position for which he will work

Work in a certain specialty, qualification or position (in accordance with the Unified Tariff and Qualification Directory, Qualification Directory of positions of managers, specialists and employees, etc.), the content of which is determined by job descriptions, qualification responsibilities and other regulations;

The day of the start of work

An employment contract concluded in accordance with the law comes into force from the moment of its signing, and if the start date of work is not specified, the employee must start work no later than the working day (shift) following the signing of the contract;

The duration of the employment contract when concluding it for a certain period;
The amount of remuneration and other working conditions

The amount of remuneration is established by agreement of the parties and cannot be lower than the minimum amount established by law and is not limited to the maximum size.

In addition, depending on the specifics of the contract and the terms, there may be other necessary terms. For example, when concluding a fixed-term employment contract, not only the start date of work is stipulated, but also the end date. When hiring an employee for the period of performance of a certain work, the specific work for which the employee is accepted is indicated. When concluding an employment contract with part-timers, a specific duration of daily work is necessarily determined within the maximum provided for by law.

4.3. Execution of the contract

An employment contract is concluded in the amount of at least two copies having the same force, and is transferred to each of the parties for storage.

At the same time, it is important to note that the level of labor rights and guarantees for employees established by law cannot be lowered at the conclusion of an employment contract.

5. Amendment of employment contract

Changes in working conditions (the amount of pay, working hours, technical working conditions, etc.) are possible on the basis of legislative acts, or on the basis of an agreement of the parties.

The employer has the right to change the working conditions without the consent of the employee only if such changes are predetermined by changes in technology, organization of production and labor, reduction in the volume of work (products, services), resulting in a change in the number of employees or a change in the nature of work.

The employee has the right to demand changes in working conditions from the employer in the following cases:

In case of temporary transfer to another job for valid reasons and if such work is available at the enterprise (Article 94 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan);
If an employee needs to be provided with easier work for health reasons or work that excludes the impact of unfavorable production factors (Article 218 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan);
In the case of pregnant women, when transferring to a lighter job (Article 226 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan);
In the case of women with children under the age of two, when transferring to a lighter job (Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan);
In the case of pregnant women, as well as in the case of women with children under the age of 14, when establishing a part-time working day or part-time working week (Article 229 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan);
In the case of nursing women (Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan).

It is important to note that a change in the workplace that is not stipulated in the employment contract is not considered a change in working conditions and does not require approval from the employee.

Changes to the employment contract are made by order of the employer.

6. Dismissal

First of all, it is important to note that when the owner of the enterprise changes, as well as its reorganization (merger, accession, division, transformation, separation), labor relations continue with the consent of the employee (Article 98 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan).

The employment contract may be terminated:

By agreement of the parties;
At the initiative of one of the parties;
After the expiration date;
Due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties;
on the grounds provided for in the employment contract.

The term of termination of employment relations may be provided for in an employment contract concluded by the employer with the head of the enterprise, his deputies, the chief accountant, and in the absence of a chief accountant position at the enterprise – with an employee performing the functions of the chief accountant, and in other cases where this is permitted by law.

due to non-election (failure to pass the competition) for a new term or refusal to participate in the election (competition).

6.1. Termination of the employment contract on the initiative of the employee

An employment contract may be terminated at the initiative of an employee upon a written notice to the employer 2 weeks in advance. At the same time, if there is no consent of the employer, then after the expiration of the warning period, the employee has the right to stop working, and the employer is obliged to give the employee a work record and make settlements with him.

However, by agreement of the parties, the employment contract may also be terminated before the expiration of the warning period. If, after the expiration of the warning period, the employment contract with the employee has not been terminated and the employment relationship continues, then the application for termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employee loses its force, and termination of the employment contract in accordance with this application is not allowed.

6.2. Termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer

Unlike an employee, an employer has the right to terminate an employment contract only on the following grounds:

changes in technology, organization of production and labor, reduction in the volume of work that led to a change in the number (staff) of employees or a change in the nature of work, or the liquidation of the enterprise;
non-compliance of the employee with the work performed due to insufficient qualifications or health status;
systematic violation of the employee’s work duties;
a single gross violation by an employee of his work duties.
termination of an employment contract with part-timers in connection with the admission of another employee who is not a part-timer, as well as due to restrictions on part-time work under working conditions;
termination of the employment contract in connection with the change of ownership with the head of the enterprise, his deputies, the chief accountant, and in the absence of the position of the chief accountant at the enterprise – with the employee performing the functions of the chief accountant.
achievement of retirement age by an employee in the presence of the right to receive a state retirement pension in accordance with the legislation.

Termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer is not allowed during the period of temporary disability and the employee’s stay on leave provided for by legislative and other normative acts on labor, except in cases of complete liquidation of the enterprise.

At the same time, the employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing of his intention to terminate the employment contract with the employees in the following terms:

at least 2 months before upon termination of the employment contract due to changes in technology, organization of production and labor, reduction of the volume of work that resulted in a change in the number (staff) of employees or a change in the nature of work, or in connection with the liquidation of the enterprise, as well as in connection with the achievement of retirement age by the employee if he has the right to receive a state pension according to age in accordance with the legislation;
at least two weeks before the termination of the employment contract due to the employee’s non-compliance with the work performed due to insufficient qualifications or health condition;
at least 2 months before the termination of the employment contract in connection with the change of the owner of this enterprise with the payment of commensurate compensation;
at least 3 days before the termination of the employment contract in connection with the commission of guilty actions by the employee with the payment of commensurate compensation.

However, such a warning may be replaced by monetary compensation corresponding to the duration of the warning period by agreement of the parties.

Nevertheless, it is important for the employer to keep in mind that termination of the employment contract for the above reasons is possible only with the prior consent of the trade union committee or other representative body of employees, if such consent is provided for by a collective agreement. However, such consent is not required if the termination of the contract:

is caused by the liquidation of the enterprise;
with the head of the enterprise on any of the grounds provided for by the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
in connection with the change of ownership with the head of this enterprise, his deputies, the chief accountant, and in the absence of the position of chief accountant at the enterprise – with an employee performing the functions of the chief accountant.

7. Penalty for termination of the employment contract

It is important to note that in case of early termination of a fixed-term employment contract on the initiative of an employee, the payment of a penalty by the employee may be established. Moreover, such an agreement may provide for the payment of a penalty by the employer if the employment relationship is terminated at the initiative of the employer on grounds unrelated to the guilty actions of the employee. However, it is important to note that the contract must necessarily provide for the amount of the penalty, otherwise the parties are exempt from its payment.

Labor relations in Uzbekistan

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