How right are the amendments introduced to the Labor Code? - Expert Opinion

"Employers, who have not concluded a labor agreement with their employees in Azerbaijan, will be deprived of liberty for a term of three years." This was reported by the head of the State Labor Inspectorate Service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare Idris Isayev during his press conference.

He said that sometimes employers do not reflect the required parameters in the employment contract.

According to the amendments to the Labor Code, changes were also made to the articles linked to it in the Administrative Code. If earlier, a failure to conclude a labor agreement with an employee was punishable by imposing fines, now penalty is provided for the fact that the electronic information system will be missing data on this contract. At the same time changes were made in the Criminal Code to provide that if an employee is allowed to work without entering into an employment agreement, the employer will be fined in the amount of 7 to 10 thousand manat or 3 years of imprisonment.

Commenting on the issue for ANN.Az, the head of the League of Protecting the Labor Rights of Citizens Sahib Mammadov said that these measures will again fall as a burden on the shoulders of small and medium enterprises.

"According to the amendments, the failure to conclude an employment agreement or to conclude it in the due way provides for a fine of up to 8,000 manats, or arrest for a term up to three years. Until now, the Administrative Code has provided a fine of 25,000 AZN for legal persons that have not signed a labor contract or entered it incorrectly, from 3,000 to 5,000 AZN for officials, and if no agreement has been concluded with foreign nationals, the penalty is up to 30,000 - 35,000 AZN. But there are foreign and even local companies that are known to everyone, including government agencies, which do not follow the rules of law. The government agencies cannot even approach those companies. Given this, the entire load will again fall on small and medium enterprises that will not produce any desired effect. The entire capacity of the labor force is concentrated in these companies, which are de facto beyond any state control. Take at least the same Turkish companies operating in Azerbaijan. No control is carried out about them. Naturally I appraise these innovations. But such a decision would be appropriate to take after certain facts are eliminated. Accounting labor agreements will not give good effect either. That is, it will lead to the fact that the labor market will go into the shadows even more," said the expert.

Seymour

ANN.Az