New Labor Code, New Norms

We spend most of our lives at work. According to the Gallup Research Center, people spend 81,396 hours at work – a third of their lives. Sleep is the only activity that people spend the most time on.

The rights and freedoms of workers in the labor process, their rights to work, to choose a profession, to work in fair and safe conditions, to be protected from unemployment must be guaranteed by the state. The idea put forward by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev “In the name of human honor and dignity” implies ensuring the fundamental rights and freedoms of every citizen for a peaceful and secure life.

The Head of the state signed the Law “On approval of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. Priority tasks for the development of this Code were outlined several years ago in the Action Strategy adopted on February 7, 2017. And now, almost six years later, the Code has been adopted. The law will enter into force 6 months after its official publication. What human rights guarantees does the new Labor Code promise to provide, what new norms does it provide, and what can be achieved by applying it in practice?

First, a procedure has been introduced to protect the personal data of an employee.

The protection of personal data about facts, events and situations from the life of an employee, as well as members of his family, provided to the employer in connection with labor relations is guaranteed. The employer should not provide third parties with information regarding the time of birth of the employee, the educational institution he graduated from, the organizations in which he worked, marital status, health status, contact details and other information. Now the request “send me the CV of your employee in Telegram ...” is unacceptable.

Second, the duration of employees' annual basic labor leave has been increased and brought into line with international standards.

According to the current Labor Code, the annual basic vacation of an employee is 15 working days. According to the new procedure, the minimum duration of the annual basic labor leave is set at twenty-one calendar days, which aligns with international standards. In accordance with Article 3 of the International Labour Organization’s 1970 Holidays with Pay Convention, the amount of leave granted per year of work in any situation should not be less than three working weeks.

Third, if the day off falls on a holiday, it is transferred to the next business day.

According to the new Labor Code, there are nine non-working holidays. For example, December 8 – Constitution Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan falls on a day off, that is, on Saturday or Sunday. In this case, the day of rest provided for on Saturday or Sunday is postponed to December 9th. It should be noted that there was no such order before.

Fourth, women are provided with additional free days for antenatal (prenatal) care.

The employer is obliged to provide pregnant women with additional free days for antenatal (prenatal) care, perinatal examination and diagnosis, mandatory medical examinations and other mandatory medical procedures, while maintaining the average wage. It should be remembered that this is not considered maternity leave, but is considered additional free days with pay.

Fifth, the procedure for remote work has been legalized.

The International Labour Organization estimates that in the first quarter of 2020, 3% of work time (equivalent to 12 million workplaces) was lost due to the global pandemic in Europe and Central Asia. The COVID-2019 pandemic has shown the need for the legal regulation of remote work in Uzbekistan. Based on the new Labor Code, distance labor relations can be introduced between an employer and an employee, provided that information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, are used. An employment contract for remote work is concluded by exchanging electronic documents.

Sixth, the work of domestic workers is regulated from a legal point of view.

According to statistics, there are at least 67 million domestic workers in the world, 80% of whom are women. People engaged in business or other activities, to meet their daily household needs, need to hire domestic workers, such as nannies, cooks, gardeners, security guards, maids, drivers. In the code adopted in the new edition, social relations in this direction are streamlined from a legislative point of view. The period of employment of domestic workers is included in the length of service of the worker when paying social tax.

Seventh, the procedure for self-defense of the labor rights of an employee has been clarified.

For self-defense, an employee may refuse to perform work that directly threatens his life and health, as well as refuses to perform work at the request of the employer that is not provided for by the employment contract. In this case, the employee is obliged to notify his immediate supervisor or another representative of the employer in writing. If, according to the labor contract, the main task of the teacher is to teach students, and the employer requires him to pick cotton or be on duty at night, then according to Article 531 of the new Labor Code, in this situation, the employee has the right not to comply with the employer’s illegal demand and independently defend his right.

Miryokub Rakhimov,

Acting Assistant Professor of the Labor Law Department

Tashkent State University of Law, Ph.D.