COUNTRY

Employment contracts in Tajikistan must be written. The employment contract should state, at minimum:

• the identities of the employer and the employee,

• the workplace,

• the employee’s job title,

• information about the working conditions and the safeguards in place if the job is difficult or dangerous,

• date the employee will begin work,

• term of the employment contract,

• normal working hours,

• rest times and the length of the employees’ annual leave,

• salary information,

• rights and responsibilities of both the employer and the employee,

• procedures for amending and terminating the contract,

• procedures for compensatory payments,

• information about insurance, and

• the date and serial number of the contract.

The standard workweek in Tajikistan is 40 hours over either five or six days. Shorter maximum daily hours apply to some employees. Overtime is allowed in only a few exceptional cases and the employee must consent to the overtime hours. Employees may not work more than four hours of overtime over two consecutive days (two hours for difficult or dangerous jobs) or more than 120 hours of overtime per year. Employees are entitled to extra pay for overtime worked. The rate of pay is 150% to 200%, unless otherwise provided in a collective agreement of individual employment contract.

Tajikistan does not provide for paid sick leave.

Female employees receive 140 days of fully paid maternity leave in Tajikistan, with 70 days of leave taken before the birth and 70 days of leave taken after the birth. Either parent may take unpaid leave to care for a child until the child is three years old.

Employers in Tajikistan are not required to pay their employees bonuses.

Employees receive a minimum of 24 days of paid annual leave in Tajikistan. Employees with certain types of disabilities receive either 35 or 42 days, depending on their official category of disability.

In Tajikistan, the public holidays are:

• New Year’s Day

• International Women’s Day

• Navruz Celebration

• Victory Day

• Eid-al-Fitr

• Day of National Unity

• Eid-al-Adha

• Independence Day

• Constitution Day

Tajikistan does not have universal healthcare. Employers must provide private insurance.

An employer may only terminate an employee in Tajikistan either because of the needs of the business or for employee misconduct. The employer generally must provide notice to the employee in advance of dismissal. The notice period is one to two months depending on the reason for dismissal. Employees may be entitled to severance depending on the reason for dismissal. The minimum severance payment is three months of the employee’s average monthly salary.