Labor Market to Be Cleared of Fictitious Contracts

Now it will not be possible to register employees under civil law contracts instead of standard employment contracts, Orda.kz reports. The relevant law was adopted by the Senate.

The document directly prohibits substituting civil law contracts for employment relationships regulated by the Labor Code. This applies to situations where a person actually works as a full‑time employee: performs duties in a position, obeys the company’s internal rules, and receives a salary for the work process itself rather than for a specific result.

In addition, the law introduces additional guarantees for employees. Employers are prohibited from dismissing single parents with children under the age of 14 – even in cases of workforce reduction or decreased production.

The changes also affect labor disputes. Now an independent mediator can be involved in conciliation commissions. And not only representatives of the employer, but also a lawyer, the spouse of the victim, and a trade union representative will be able to participate in accident investigations.

Separately, rules were prescribed for strikes: in hazardous industries, the parties are obliged to ensure the minimum necessary amount of work.

Another innovation is the limitation of the employee’s degree of fault in accidents – it shall not exceed 25%.

In general, the law should reduce gray hiring schemes and make the relationship between employers and employees more transparent.

Original author: Natalya Ovchinnikova

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