Kazakhstan Response to Covid-19: Employment Update

Published
April 3, 2020

Dear clients, colleagues, and friends,

Today many businesses are facing a harsh perspective of losing their most valuable asset, their employees. We have thought of some strategies that might help you to solve this conundrum.

COVID-19: LOOKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO RETAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES? WE HAVE SOME OPTIONS FOR YOU

In the current unsettling economic situation, we are receiving a continuous stream of inquiries from our clients related to the strategies to navigate through a temporary shutdown of their businesses.

Many companies have invested in converting into remote operations for their employees. But what about the workers for whom it is not feasible? Below we would like to offer you some possible solutions to this dilemma.

1. TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN allows the employer to retain its employees and reduce its related costs for the period of inability to operate normally.

The Shutdown is a temporary suspension of the operations due to economic, technological, organizational, or any other reasons related to the production process or natural disasters. We believe that the current situation gives a sufficient basis to declare a company shutdown.
Shutdown Documentation. The employers shall issue an order declaring shutdown for reasons beyond the control of the employer or the employees (the amount of compensation to the workers will vary depending on the reasons).
Wages of the Employees. The employer shall pay the salaries provided by the employment contract or collective agreement for the case of a shutdown, but not less than the minimum monthly wage (MMW for 2020 is 42,500 KZT).
Transfer to a Different Position. In case of a shutdown, the employer has a right to transfer any of its affected employees to a different position or job that is allowed by the health condition of the employee. The consent of the employee is not required. The employee is paid for the role she is performing during the shutdown.

2. REDUCED WORKING HOURS allow to keep the employees and distribute reduced work volume between several workers.

The employer might consider reduced working hours (per day or per week) for the employees whose workload has diminished due to the current situation. Steps to take:

To obtain the consent of the employee;
To amend the employment contract;
Wages will be reduced accordingly.

3. UNPAID LEAVE allows to retain employees who lost their workload and reduces the costs of the employer.

Upon mutual agreement, the employer is entitled to put its employees on unpaid leave. Steps to take:

To obtain from the employee an application for unpaid leave where the period is specified (dates or reference to the event, example for the duration of quarantine or emergency);
To issue an order and familiarize it to the employees (employee’s signature is required);
The wages are forfeited. The employee is entitled to apply for the government support of MMW (42,500 KZT).

Disclaimer: In this reference, we briefly highlighted possible options. For your convenience, we omitted some details. If you need any further information, we would be pleased to respond to all your inquiries.