Azerbaijan

Located on the border of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan became the world's first secular, democratic, Muslim-majority nation in 1918. While it’s classified as a developing country, Azerbaijan has a high rate of economic development. In Azerbaijan there is a standard probation period of 3 months, during which either party can cancel the contract with 3 days notice.

The minimum wage in Azerbaijan is 300 AZN per month. They have standard working hours of 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day. In certain industries, the employer can impose a 6-day work week where daily working time limits may not exceed 7 hours (if the weekly total is 40 hours), 6 hours (if the weekly total is 36 hours), or 4 hours (if the weekly total is 24 hours).

Employees cannot work overtime for more than 2 consecutive days, or over 4 additional hours. If the salary is based on time worked, the overtime amount paid per hour will be calculated at 200% of the salary. If the salary is based on the production of work, overtime must be paid at an amount no less than the regular hourly wage of employees in the same pay scale.

Parental Leave

Pregnant employees are eligible for 126 days of paid maternity leave, 70 days need to be taken before the expected birth date, and 56 days after. In the case of a difficult birth the maternity period can be extended for additional 14 days. Maternity leave is paid for by the State Social Protection Fund at 100% of the regular salary.

Fathers are eligible for 14 days of unpaid paternity leave after a child’s birth, and female employees adopting children under 2 months of age are entitled to 56 calendar days of leave.

Sick Leave

Employees can take a paid sick leave if they submit medical documentation. The first 14 days of the sick leave are paid by the employer, and any days after are paid by the State Social Protection Fund.

Paid Leave

Azerbaijan has 24 public holidays, and employees are entitled to a minimum of 21 days of paid time off per year.

This amount increases with the number of years of employment within a company:

• 5-10 years = Additional 2 days of leave per year
• 10-15 years = Additional 4 days of leave per year
• 15+ years = Additional 6 days of leave per year

An employee’s vacation leave can be split into multiple periods, but one of the vacation periods must be 2 weeks long.

Process

Termination of an employment contract in Azerbaijan follows a strict process and must be managed in accordance with the Employees Act (Angestellten-Gesetz).

An employee’s final payment must be delivered before the final day of employment, and the resignation agreement should be registered with a notification to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population, providing details of the role and salary of the employee being terminated.

Notice Period

All employees must give at least one month of notice, no matter how long their service to the company. The standard notice that an employer must give to an employee depends on the employee’s length of service:

• 0-2 years = 6 weeks notice
• 2-5 years = 2 months notice
• 4-15 years = 3 months notice
• 15-25 years = 4 months notice
• 25+ years = 5 months notice

If you are terminating an employment agreement due to downsizing, 2 months of notice is required. During this 2-month period the employee is allowed to take one day of paid time off per week for finding new employment.

Severance Pay

In general, severance pay after termination varies depending on the length the employee has been employed at the company:

• 1 year or less = 1 month salary
• 1-5 years = 1.4 times the monthly salary
• 5-10 years = 1.7 time the monthly salary
• 10+ years = 2 times the monthly salary

In addition to severance pay, a termination payment of 2 months salary must be given if: terms of employment were changed, employee is called for Military Service, employee can no longer perform their duties due to a permanent disability. For employees who are terminated due to redundancy, a minimum of 3 months of severance pay is required.

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