GILS Employment Law: Armenia
ARMENIA
(1) Maternity and Family Leave Rights
1.1. How long is the duration of maternity leave?
By Republic of Armenia labor legislation it’s called “pregnancy and maternity leave”:
Duration:
1. 140 days (70 days of pregnancy, 70 days of maternity);
2. 155 days (70 days for pregnancy, 85 days for childbirth) in case of complicated childbirth;
3. 180 days (70 days for pregnancy, 110 days maternity) in case of having more than one child at the same time.
1.2. What are the rights of a parent when returning to work after parental leave?
Employees taking care of a child up to 1 year old can:
- not to participate in overtime work without her consent;
- work on weekends, non-working holidays and memorial days only with their consent;
- not involve in heavy, harmful, especially heavy, especially harmful works.
1.3. Do fathers possess the right to take paternity leave?
Yes, paid leave:
Within 30 days after the birth of the child, at the request of the father of the newborn, a paid leave of 5 working days is provided.
Unpaid leave:
The husband of a woman on leave to care for a child up to one year old. The total duration of that vacation cannot exceed 2 months.
1.4. Are there any additional parental leave rights that employers must adhere to?
The essential working conditions of the child's actual caregiver, who is not on leave, during the entire period of caring for a child up to one year old, cannot be changed to less favorable conditions, except for the job title and (or) categories.
The employment contract can not be terminated (by Employer) of the child's actual caregiver, who is not on leave, during the entire period of caring for a child up to one year old, in some cases foreseen by legislation.
1.5. Do employees have the right to flexible working arrangements if they are responsible for dependents?
Yes, а woman who has a child up to 2 years of age, in addition to the break hours provided for rest and feeding, is given an additional break of not less than half an hour every three hours. At the request of the woman, these breaks can be combined with a break for rest and food, or provided at the beginning of the working day or moved to the end of the working day with a corresponding reduction in the length of the working day.
(2) Termination of Employment
2.1. Is it mandatory for employers to provide notice of termination of employment? How is the notice duration determined?
Yes, the notice submitting is mandatory.
The termination notice should be submitted not later than 60 days before (it depends on the base of the contract termination, could be 2, 3, 14, 35,49 days).
2.2. Can employers enforce "garden leave" during the notice period, where the employee remains employed but does not have to attend work?
Not applicable.
2.3. What safeguards do employees have against dismissal? Under what circumstances is an employee considered to be dismissed? Is consent from a third party necessary before dismissal by an employer?
The employer has the right to terminate the employment contract concluded with the employee for an indefinite period, as well as the employment contract concluded for a definite period before its expiration date:
1. in cases of liquidation (cessation of activity) of the employer, removal from the state register, in the case of a notary employer, dismissal from office;
2. in the case of changes in the scope of work and (or) economic and (or) technological and (or) work organization conditions and (or) reduction of the number of employees and (or) positions due to production necessity;
3. in case of non-compliance of the employee with the position held or the work performed;
4. in case of reinstatement of the employee to the previous job;
5. in case of regular non-fulfillment of the duties assigned to him by the employment contract or internal disciplinary rules by the employee without a valid reason;
6. in case of loss of trust in the employee;
7. in case of long-term incapacity of the employee (if the employee has been temporarily incapacitated for more than six months in a row or for more than 180 days during the last twelve months, excluding days of pregnancy and maternity leave);
8. in case the employee is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, narcotics or psychoactive substances at the workplace or performing work functions at the workplace or outside the workplace;
9. in case the employee does not show up for work during the entire working day (shift) due to a disreputable reason;
10. in case of employee's refusal or avoidance of mandatory medical examination;
11. in case the foreigner's residence status is declared void or invalid;
12. in the event that an employee fails to perform his work duties for more than 10 working days (shifts) in a row or during the last three months for more than 20 working days (shifts) as a result of not being allowed to work.
No need for third party consent before dismissal by the employer.
2.4. Are there specific employee categories enjoying special protection against dismissal?
Тhe Termination of the employment contract of the below mentioned cases (employees categories) at the initiative of the employer is prohibited:
1. during the period of the employee's temporary incapacity for work, except for the some cases foreseen by RA Labor code (clause 7 of part 1 of Article 113);
2. during the employee's vacation;
2.1. with pregnant women, from the date of submitting a certificate of pregnancy to the employer until the expiration of one month after the date of termination of pregnancy and maternity leave;
2.2. the actual caregiver of the child, a person who is not on vacation during the entire period of caring for a child up to 1 year old, except for the provisions of clauses by RA labor code ( 1, 5, 6, 8 and 10 of Article 113, Part 1);
3. after the adoption of the decision to declare a strike and during the strike, if the employee participates in the strike in accordance with the procedure established by RA Labor code;
4. during the performance of duties imposed on the employee by the state or local self-government bodies, (except for the cases foreseen by RA Labor code (part 1 of Article 124 of this Code);
5. during the period of prevention of natural disasters, technological accidents, epidemics, accidents, fires and other cases of an emergency nature or immediate elimination of their consequences, if, due to these cases, the employee did not report to work;
6. during the period of unplanned transfer or unplanned provision of holidays for educational (including pre-school) institutions, if the employee did not report to work in order to organize the care of a child under the age of 12.
In case the contract terminates due to changes in the scope of work and (or) economic and (or) technological and (or) work organization conditions and (or) reduction of the number of employees and (or) positions due to production necessity, in the presence of other equal conditions, the right of preference to stay at work is given to a former military officer entitled to a disability pension, as well as a family member (spouse, child) of a former serviceman receiving a disability pension with a deep degree of functional limitation or a deceased (deceased) or missing or declared dead military officer, father, mother, relative sister, relative brother, grandmother, grandfather), if he:
1. is engaged in the care of a former military officer receiving a disability pension with a deep degree of functional limitation, or in the care of the children, grandchildren, brothers or sisters of a deceased (deceased) or missing or declared dead military officer until the latter reach the age of 18;
2. has a disability;
3. is the only able-bodied employee of the family who has reached the age defined by legislation.
2.5. Under what circumstances is an employer justified in dismissing employees: 1) due to individual reasons; 2) business-related grounds? Do employees receive compensation upon dismissal, and if so, how is it calculated?
See the answer of clause 2.3. (Termination of employment) (1,2).
In the case of termination of the employment contract on the grounds foreseen by RA Labor Code, the employer shall pay the employee a severance allowance in the amount of his average salary for one month, and the employer, taking into account the employee's continuous work experience with the given employer, shall pay the employee severance pay benefit:
1. in the case of working for up to one year, in the amount of ten times the average daily salary;
2. in the case of working for one to five years, in the amount of twenty-five times the average daily salary;
3. in the case of working for five to ten years, in the amount of thirty times the average daily salary;
4. in the case of working for ten to fifteen years, in the amount of thirty-five times the average daily salary;
5. in the case of working for fifteen years or more, in the amount of forty-four times the average daily salary.
The collective or labor contract or the written agreement of the parties may provide for the payment of severance pay for a longer period or in a larger amount.
Yes, employees receive compensation upon dismissal by employer initiative.
2.6. Are there particular protocols that employers must adhere to regarding individual dismissals?
Yes, the procedures established by the Լabor code of the RA, employment contract signed between the employer and the employee and internal legal acts of employer.
2.7. What claims can an employee pursue if they are dismissed? What remedies are available for a successful claim?
Depending on which basis the employer terminates the employment contract. If dismissal is illegal, the employee can file a claim to the court asking to reinstate him in his previous job and to collect the average salary from the employer for the benefit of the employee for the entire period of forced downtime.
2.8. Can employers resolve claims before or after they are initiated?
Yes, they can reach an agreement with the employee before the latter files a claim, or reconcile after the claim or accept the claim.
2.9. Does an employer bear additional obligations when dismissing multiple employees simultaneously?
Not applicable.
2.10. How can employees enforce their rights regarding mass dismissals, and what are the consequences if an employer fails to comply with its obligations?
In case of a mass dismissals of employees or positions, the employer is obliged not later than two months before the termination of the employment contracts, to provide data on the number of employees to be released (according to professions and gender-age composition) to submit to the state body authorized by the government of the Republic of Armenia and the employee representative in the field of employment, if it is planned to lay off more than ten percent of the total number of employees within two months, but not less than 10 employees (mass layoffs).
In case of Employer fails to comply with the said obligation, the respective control body (Labor inspection) will determine a fine (penalty) or the case should be settled by judicial procedure.
(3) Data Protection and Employee Privacy
3.1. How does the employment relationship get impacted by employee data protection rights? Is the transfer of employee data across borders unrestricted for employers?
Тhere is a whole chapter (16) on protection of personal data of employees.
Particularly, when transferring the employee's personal data, the employer is obliged to comply with the following requirements:
1. not to disclose the employee's personal data to third parties without the written consent of the employee, except when it is necessary to prevent the threat to the life and health of the employee, as well as in other cases provided by law;
2. not to disclose his personal data for commercial purposes without the employee's written consent;
3. to warn the persons receiving the employee's personal data and to request certification that these data can be used only for the purposes for which the employees are informed. Persons receiving personal data of employees are obliged to maintain confidentiality. This provision does not apply to the transfer of personal data of employees in accordance with the law;
4. transfer personal data of employees to the employer in accordance with the internal legal acts of the employer;
5. to reserve the right to get to know the personal data of employees only to persons with such powers, moreover, these persons can receive only the personal data of the employee, which are necessary to perform a certain function;
6. not to request information about the employee's health, except for the data related to the employee's ability to perform work functions;
7. when transferring the employee's personal data, including to the employees' representatives, to be limited to only that data, the transfer of which results from the purposes of personal data processing or is necessary for the realization of these purposes.
3.2. Are employees entitled to obtain copies of any personal information held by their employer?
All personal data should be provided from employees to the employer, otherwise only by written consent of the employee to receive it from a third party.
3.3. Do employers have the authority to conduct preemployment checks on prospective employees (such as criminal record checks)?
Yes, in case the employer has a respective normative document (Policy) on making security checks of potential employees.
3.4. Do employers have the right to monitor employee emails, phone calls, or use of company computer systems?
In case the employer has such a normative document (Policy) and there is an employee’s written consent on it.
3.5. Can employers control an employee's use of social media both inside and outside the workplace?
Nothing foreseen by the RA legislation on Employer’s such control.
(4) Court Practice and Procedure
4.1. Which courts or tribunals hold jurisdiction over employment-related complaints, and what is their composition?
First Instance Civil Court of the RA, by a single judge or Arbitration, if an agreement has been concluded between the Employee and the Employer.
4.2. What procedures govern employment-related complaints? Is conciliation obligatory before proceeding with a complaint, and is there a fee for employees to submit a claim?
Employment-related complaints are regulated by the Labor Code of the RA and other related legal acts. Conciliation is not mandatory․ Employees are exempted from the obligation to pay any fee.
4.3. What is the typical duration for resolving employment-related complaints?
Considering the overload of the courts for about 1 year.
4.4. Is it possible to appeal against a decision at the first instance, and if so, how long does such an appeal usually take?
Yes, possible, the appeal should be submitted within one month from the publication of the judgment. The complaint examination and publication of the decision will take about 6-10 months, in some cases more.
(5) Work Permits
5.1. What are the restrictions or limitations placed on individuals holding a work permit in terms of job duties, employer changes, or duration of stay?
The period of stay in the Republic of Armenia depends on the agreement signed between the country and the Republic of Armenia, the type of residence status of a person in the Republic of Armenia. The right of residence in RA is granted for 1 year, 5 years and 10 years. In all cases, the given period can be extended if there is an appropriate basis. There are no other restrictions connected with citizenship or other criteria.
5.2. What are the requirements for obtaining a work permit?
On January 1, 2022 work permit.am platform was launched, which is addressed to digitalize the whole process of granting work permit and residence status to foreigners in Armenia. The process starts with an online employer registration. Any person authorized by the head of the executive body of the employing company can act on the system on behalf of that legal person (employer) registered on the system. Maybe there will be a need to visit the migration service to register an account and gain access. The employer presents a request for getting residence status on the work base for the foreigner via this system. The description of the vacancy should be filled in. To hire a foreign candidate for the presented vacancy, confirmation is needed from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. After this confirmation, the foreigner’s data should be filled in. Next, the foreigner gets an e-mail notification on getting residence status on a work basis.
To apply for work permit, the document requirements are the following:
- Passport which is valid during all period of residence;
- SSN, which can be received in Armenia;
- Labor contract.
Migration service can also present other additional requirements if it will be necessary.
5.3. Are there any recent changes or updates to work permit regulations or policies that individuals or employers should be aware of?
There are no significant changes since January 1, 2022. The valid process and requirements are described above.
5.4. Are there specific industries or occupations that have different requirements or exemptions for obtaining a work permit?
According to Article 23 of the law of RA on Foreigners, there are the following exceptions concerning obtaining a work permit.
The following persons may work in the Republic of Armenia without a work permit:
(a) those holding permanent and special residence status of the Republic of Armenia, as well as those holding temporary residence status of the Republic of Armenia on the grounds provided for in Article 15(1) (d) of this Law;
(b) those holding temporary residence status of the Republic of Armenia on the grounds provided for in Article 15 (1) (c) of this Law, for a period not exceeding the term of residence;
(c) family members of employees of diplomatic representations and consular offices, international organizations and their representations accredited in the Republic of Armenia, based on the reciprocity principle;
(d) workers of border regions as well as culture and sport specialists arriving for a short term;
(e) founders, directors, or authorized representatives of commercial organizations with foreign capital;
(f) employees of commercial organizations of a foreign State, to work in representative offices of those organizations located in the Republic of Armenia;
(g) foreign specialists arriving for a term not exceeding six months, to train employees for installing, repairing, and exploiting machines, equipment, and machine tools delivered to its branch or representative office by a foreign commercial organization, or purchased from foreign commercial organizations;
(h) specialists or other persons arriving based on the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia;
(i) lecturers of foreign education institutions invited to deliver lectures at educational institutions of the Republic of Armenia; accredited representatives of foreign media organizations;
(j) foreign citizens and stateless persons holding refugee status, having obtained political asylum in the Republic of Armenia, for a period not exceeding the term of residence;
(k) students performing work in the framework of work exchange programmed during holidays based on relevant international treaties.
Also, citizens of the EAEU member states who work in the Republic of Armenia, as well as their family members are exempted from the requirement to obtain any permission-type document for the whole period of their employment contract in accordance with the Treaty on the EAEU.
5.5. What is the ratio of foreign and local labor?
Although, it is generally observed that the majority of the labor force in Armenia consists of local workers, during the last 2 years many foreigners relocated to Armenia from different countries. Foreign labor is typically seen in sectors such as IT, and hospitality.
(6) Tax
6.1. What are the legal obligations and requirements regarding the individual income tax paid by employers?
Income tax must be paid by the employer up to and including the 20th of the following month. Salary and payments equal to it are calculated on an accrual basis (taxed in the month for which they are calculated, regardless of the circumstances of payment), and the allowance is cash-based (taxed in the month in which it is paid).
6.2. What is the percentage of withholding tax?
The percentage of withholding tax in Armenia is 20%.
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