Labor Law Amendments

On May 3rd, 2023, a bill on introducing large-scale amendments and additions to the RA Labor Code was adopted in the second reading. A number of changes were made in the code the by the bill.
2023 July 11
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1. Violence and harassment in the workplace will be prohibited.

 

2. The amount of gross wages paid to the employee must now be included in the employment agreement along with other information about the employee.

 

3. An employment agreement can also be concluded by mail or by means of electronic communication, by exchange between the parties, allowing to confirm its authenticity and accurately determine that it comes from an employment contract.

 

4. Employers will be obliged to clearly define the job responsibilities of the employees in the employment agreements. Employers will not be able to use vague or unclear language, such as “performing other tasks instructed by the employer”, which would clearly not fall in the scope of the job responsibilities of the employee.

 

5. It will be possible to terminate the employment agreements in certain cases without any legal action or document. For example, if the employer (individual) passes away, the contract will be considered terminated automatically, without the need for any registration or legal document. Previously, the employee would have to terminate the contract unilaterally based on a document issued by the authorized body that confirmed the death of the employer.

 

6. If an employee violates the notice period when terminating their employment agreement, they will be required to pay a fine to the employer.

 

7. Employers will be obliged to consider certain circumstances during layoffs in determining which employees will be made redundant. These circumstances include being entitled to a disability pension or being the only capable family worker who has reached a certain age, etc. Failure to consider these circumstances will make the dismissal order invalid.

 

8. Employees caring for a child up to two years old will be able to request part-time work. Women with a child under two years old will also be given additional breaks every three hours, in addition to rest and food breaks. During these breaks, the employee will be paid an average hourly wage.

 

9. Employers will be given the opportunity to determine the period of granting leave to an employee without them requesting for the leave if the latter avoids or refuses to use the annual leave or part of it for two and a half consecutive working years.

 

10. An option of study leave referring to studies in foreign educational institutions in order to improve professional qualifications or directly perform work duties will be provided for the employees. This leave will be granted for the entire period of study, but may not be longer than two years.

 

11. Employers will have the option to provide vocational trainings for up to 5 months to new employees before hiring. If an employee fails to complete their duties or refuses to be hired after the training, they will have to pay the actual costs associated with the training, unless agreed otherwise.

 

12. Employers will have the right to organize internships for up to two months for individual interns.

 

HOW CAN WE HELP?

 

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