Employment Contracts and Disputes

Employment contract: an agreement between an employee and an employer. All the rules are taken from the Labor Code in force since 30 April 2023.

Employment Contract

• The contract is made in writing, in at least two copies: on paper or in electronic form. One copy is given to the employee, the other stays with the employer (Article 106).
• By duration, it is either open-ended or fixed-term. A fixed-term contract does not exceed 3 years (Article 110).
• Probationary period: no more than 3 months. For managers, their deputies and chief accountants, up to 6 months (Article 130).
• Mandatory terms of the contract (Article 104): workplace, duty, pay, time, that is, the workplace, the job duty, the start date of work, the terms of payment for work and, if necessary, the working-hours regime.
• Work record book: paper or electronic. The electronic record book is formed automatically in the "Unified National Labor System" (Article 125).

Termination and Disputes

Grounds for terminating an employment contract: agreement of the parties (Article 157), initiative of the employee (Article 160), initiative of the employer (Article 161: reduction in the number of employees, violation of work obligations and others).

Type of dispute	How it is resolved
Individual	the commission on labor disputes or the court, chosen by the employee (Article 545)
Collective	conciliation commission, mediator, labor arbitration (Article 573)

• Individual dispute: commission or court. Labor arbitration and a mediator are for collective disputes.
• Disciplinary: reprimand, fine, termination: a reprimand, a fine of up to 30 percent of the average monthly wage, and termination of the employment contract (Article 312). A penalty not provided for in the Code is not applied.

1. Employee and employer reach an agreement
2. A written contract is made
3. The probationary period passes
4. An entry is made in the work record book