Kazakhstan to fine employers for disguised labor contracts
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Kazakhstan's Ministry of Labor announced new rules allowing inspectors to reclassify civil-law contracts as employment agreements based on actual working conditions. Employers found violating the Labor Code face fines ranging from 30 to 150 MCI without warning.
Inspection Triggers
Inspections will be initiated based on employee complaints, the ministry stated. Inspectors will assess substantive working conditions rather than contract titles. Under Article 27 of the Labor Code, a contract is deemed employment if it contains any characteristic feature of an employment relationship, such as personal task performance under internal rules or receiving a salary.
Penalty Scale
Fines under Article 86 of the Administrative Code range from 30 MCI (115,500 tenge) for officials to 150 MCI (577,500 tenge) for large businesses. Small and medium enterprises face 60 and 80 MCI respectively. No warning option is available, and no transition period exists beyond the 60-day grace period after the law's adoption.
Additional Obligations
Employers must also timely submit data to the Unified Labor Contract Registration System (ESUTD), including information on contract changes, terminations, and parental leave. The ministry emphasized that civil-law contracts do not shield employers from liability if actual working conditions indicate employment.
What's Next
The new rules take effect after the 60-day grace period ends. It remains unclear how many complaints have been filed or how quickly inspectors will process them.
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Kazakhstan to fine employers for disguised labor contracts
