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Global HR Compliance in Kyrgyzstan

If you hire an international workforce or plan to hire, then the Hiring and Firing Workforce in Kyrgyzstan Guide below will help you understand the nuances of labour legislation in the country.

Companies hire international workers for various reasons, but in most cases, they are:

  • entering the foreign markets to sell company products. The company hires sales representatives to represent and sell their product to their local client base.
  • hiring a global talent with unique skills that are unavailable in the local market or costs the company less than the talent with similar skills hired in the home country.

Before entering a certain foreign market or engaging a global talent, it is crucial for the company to understand how it can make local hires and reward its workers on a monthly basis. Growing companies often face the challenge of paying benefits and bonuses to the commission-based independent sales representatives they are working with.

If you intend to hire and pay your foreign workforce in full compliance with the labour laws and regulations of Kyrgyzstan, then the Global Employer of Record service by Express Global Employment may be the best way for you to go. We are an International PEO company specialising in global employment, meaning we can employ your employees in Kyrgyzstan and act as their legal employer on your behalf. We will payroll your foreign workforce monthly and provide benefits to them through our global network, so you don’t have to set up your own legal entities there.

We are experts in global workforce employment and aim to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need it, regardless of time zones. We aim to create tailored labour solutions for you that are managed legally and fully compliant with local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Kyrgyzstan.

See the guide below for a general overview of labour rules and regulations in Kyrgyzstan, or contact us if you need to employ workers in Kyrgyzstan or would like to get more details.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Kyrgyzstan Guide

Employment contracts

A labour contract is a contract between an employee and an employer, which states the commitment of an employer to provide an employee with the work as specified in the labour contract.

Labour contract shall be concluded for:

  1. indefinite terms;
  2. for a fixed term not exceeding five years (fixed-term labour contract) unless other duration is set forth in this Code or other legislation.

Fixed-term labour contracts shall be concluded in cases consistent with the Kyrgyz Republic legislation and when indefinite terms of labour contract can’t be applied due to the nature and conditions of the work, including those:

  • supervisor, deputy supervisor and chief accountants of the organizations regardless of their organizational and legal form and ownership form;
  • for replacement of temporarily absent employee, when the latter will have his place reserved pursuant to legislation;
  • for temporary (up to two months) and seasonal works when the work can be done within a certain period (season) only due to natural conditions;
  • for emergency cases to prevent accidents, wrecks, catastrophes and removing consequences thereof; other emergency cases;
  • for works that are beyond the normal run of the organization (reconstruction, assembling and starting and adjusting works, audit), as well as for works relevant to deliberately temporary (up to one year) increase in production or volume of services provided;
  • persons employed by small and medium-sized businesses with staff of up to 25 employees (in retail trade and household service organizations – up to 15 employees), as well as employed by employers – natural persons; with persons sent abroad for work;
  • persons hired to organizations established deliberately for a certain period of time or for execution of deliberately known work;
  • persons hired for deliberately certain work in cases when completion (accomplishment) thereof cannot be determined by a certain date;
  • for work directly relevant to internship and professional training for employees;
  • students;
  • part-time employees;
  • scientific, pedagogy and other employees that concluded labour contracts for fixed-term work on a competitive basis upon the results of the tender conducted pursuant to legislation or regulations of the state agency or local governance bodies;
  • when elected for a definite period of time in the board of the elected body or for an elected position when remuneration is provided;
  • or hired to do work directly related to ensuring operations of the members of elected bodies or officials in public management bodies and local governance bodies, in political parties and other public associations;
  • creative employees from mass media, cinema, theatre and concert organizations, circuses and other persons involved in the creation and (or) performance of works of art, professional athletes in accordance with the List of Professions approved by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic;
  • with retired by age, other persons that are allowed to work for a fixed term only due to medical statement;
  • for public works.
The contract shall be deemed as concluded for an indefinite period of time unless the labour contract states the duration in writing. The contract shall be deemed as concluded for an indefinite period of time when neither party requested termination of the fixed term contract and the employee continues working after the expiry of the contract.

A labour contract concluded for an indefinite period cannot be renewed for a fixed term without an employee’s prior consent.

Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Kyrgyzstan

Working Hours

Work time is when an employee shall carry out labour responsibilities in compliance with the internal labour schedule rules, work schedule, or labour contract terms. Work time shall be computed by setting duration norms for a calendar week (labour week) and within a day (work day, work shift).

The normal duration of work time may not exceed 40 hours a week unless otherwise stated in this Code.
Upon agreement of the parties, labour contracts may set shorter work time duration.

Probation period

When concluding a labour contract, the parties may agree to a test to check that the employee meets work requirements. The condition of such a probationary period shall be set forth in the labour contract.

The absence of such a condition in the labour contract means the employee is hired without a probationary period. Employees subject to a probationary period shall be treated in compliance with this Code and other normative acts, contracts, collective-bargaining agreements and internal normative acts of the organization.

The probationary period shall not exceed three months, and for managers of companies and their deputies, chief accountants and their deputies, managers of branches, representative offices and other special structural departments of organizations, it shall not exceed six months if the law does not set others up. The probationary period shall not include a temporary disability or other periods when the employee was absent.

Such test shall not be applied to minors, disabled persons, winners of the competition, persons who graduated from primary, secondary and high professional educational establishments and first starting work at this profession, elected persons, persons hired for seasonal work, for less than two months of work, persons transferred to work in another region or to another organization, other cases stipulated in other normative legal acts.

An unsuccessful probationary period enables the employer to terminate the labour contract with the employee before the probationary period expires with three days’ written notice. The employer shall state the grounds for an employee’s recognition of probation test failure in writing. Employee may appeal employer’s decision in the court.

When the employer does not make a decision to terminate the labour contract before the probationary period expires, the employee shall be regarded as past the probationary period, and afterwards, the labour contract could be terminated in compliance with general procedures. If an employee decides during the probationary period that this work does not fit him, he may terminate the labour contract upon his own wish by giving three days’ written notice to an employer.

Annual Leave

Employees shall be granted annual principal paid leave for 28 calendar days. Annual principal paid leave longer than 28 days (extended principal leave) could be granted to employees pursuant to this Code and other laws.

Extended annual leave with a duration of more than 28 days shall be granted to:

  1. civil servants pursuant to the Kyrgyz Republic legislation;
  2. employees under 18 (including those accepted for professional training) and disabled persons – thirty calendar days. When an employee reaches the age of 18 or disability is removed during the work year in which an extended annual leave was granted, the duration of the latter shall not be reduced;
  3. employees of forest production and forestry – thirty calendar days. The government of the Kyrgyz Republic shall compile the list of industries, works, professions and positions that could be granted the right for an extended principal leave.

Parental Leave

Women, upon request and upon the medical statement, shall be given leave on pregnancy and childbirth with the duration of seventy calendar days before childbirth and fifty-six (in case of complicated childbirth and seventy for the birth of two or more children) calendar days after the birth, and paid public social insurance in the statutory amount.

The leave-on pregnancy and birth shall be calculated and granted to the women regardless of the number of days spent on leave before childbirth. Working women, upon request, shall be granted additional unpaid maternity leave until the child reaches eighteen months. Parties of the labour agreement may agree to increase the maternity leave for eighteen more months.

Maternity leave could also be used in entirety or in parts by the father, grandmother, grandfather and any other relative of the child or guardian de facto taking care of the child. Women or persons stated in paragraph two of this Article, upon request, may be granted an opportunity to work part-time or at home during maternity leave. The above employees’ workplace shall be reserved during maternity leave. Maternity leaves shall be added to general and professional work records (except when calculating pension on preferred conditions, for the duration of work and other statutory cases).

Overtime

Overtime work is work carried out by the employee upon the employer’s initiative in excess of established work time (daily work, shift) duration and work carried out in excess of the normal quantity of work hours within the accounting period. Calling up to overtime work shall be done upon an employer’s suggestion, order or consent and upon an employee’s written agreement.

Overtime work shall be allowed in the following extraordinary cases:

  1. works required for the defence of the country or for prevention of production accidents or removal or subsequences of production accidents or natural disasters;
  2. necessary works for the public in the area of water, gas, heating, electricity supply, drainage, transportation, and communication – for removal of unexpected circumstances that constraint normal functioning thereof;
  3. necessity to carry out (complete) work which was not completed during normal work hours due to unexpected delay caused by technical production conditions, when failure to carry out (complete) such work may entail damage or destruction of employer’s property, state- or municipally-owned property, or pose a threat to life and health of people;
  4. carrying out temporary work to fix and recover mechanisms or facilities when disrepair thereof may lead to termination of work for a significant number of employees;
  5. continue work when shift colleague does not show up when no break is possible. In such cases, the employer shall immediately take steps to replace the shift person with another employee.

No overtime work for more than four hours within two days in a row shall be allowed for the same employee. It shall be prohibited to call up to overtime work the employees that carry out difficult physical work or work in harmful or hazardous labour conditions. Disabled employees or pregnant women could be called up to overtime work unless a medical statement prohibits such work. Minors shall not be allowed to work overtime.

State minimum salary

Kyrgyzstan’s minimum monthly wage was increased to KGS 2,337.00 on January 1, 2023.

The Kyrgyz government reviews the minimum wage annually, typically increasing in line with inflation. The minimum wage is intended to ensure that all workers in Kyrgyzstan earn a living wage.

Employee dismissal

The following are the grounds for termination of the labour contract:

  1. agreement of the parties;
  2. expiry of terms of the labour contract;
  3. employee’s initiative;
  4. employer’s initiative;
  5. request or agreement of the employee to be transferred to work to another employer or transfer to an elected (work) position;
  6. circumstances beyond the control of the parties.
  7. refusal of the employee to be transferred to another work due to health state backed up with medical statement;
  8. refusal of the employee to continue work due to changes in significant labour conditions;
  9. refusal of the employee to continue working in the organization due to change of the owner, change of accountability (supervision agency) and reorganization;
  10. refusal of the employee to be transferred due to the employer’s move to another locality.

Labour contracts could be terminated on other grounds in compliance with this Code and other legislation. In all cases, the last day of work shall be considered a dismissal date.

Termination of a labour contract shall be formalized by the employer issuing an act (order, resolution). Termination of labour contract due to the reasons stated in the Labour Code shall be followed by severance payment in the amount not less than two average monthly wages. A labour contract or collective-bargaining agreement may provide for other cases when severance payment is provided in regular or higher size.

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