Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country bordering Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded to the east by the Caspian Sea, to the north by Russia, to the northwest by Georgia, to the west by Armenia and Turkey, and to the south by Iran. The country has a total land area of 82,658 square kilometers.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Azerbaijan.
|
Capital :
Baku
|
Currency :
Azerbaijani Manat (₼, AZN)
|
Languages spoken :
Azerbaijani
|
|
Population :
10.32 million (2022 est.)
|
Minimum wage 2023 :
345 AZN (monthly)
|
Cost of Living index :
$ (122 of 139 nations)
|
|
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
|
VAT - standard rate :
18%
|
GDP - real growth rate :
5.6% (2021 est)
|
The holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2023.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Azerbaijan is 14 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
Daily working hours may not exceed eight hours. Normal weekly working hours corresponding to normal daily working hours may not exceed 40 hours.
In general, an employee should have a five-day work week with two days off.
Depending on the nature of the industry, service, and terms of employment, an employer or the relevant authority may establish a six-day week with one day off within weekly working hours. In a six-day work week, daily working hours may not exceed seven hours for a weekly quota of 40 hours, six hours for a weekly quota of 36 hours, and four hours for a weekly quota of 24 hours.
Overtime must not exceed two hours per day (per shift) in areas where working conditions are challenging and the workplace hazardous. If the pay is time-based, the hourly rate must be calculated at 200% of the regular wage.
An employment contract may be executed for a probationary period to examine an employee’s professional qualifications and ability to perform a particular job. The probationary period should be established with the consent of the parties and may not exceed three months.
An employment contract that does not include a probationary period is considered to have been entered into without one.
An employee may terminate an employment contract by notifying the employer in writing one calendar month in advance.
If an individual employment contract is terminated due to a reduction in employees or staff, the employee should be officially notified by the employer two months in advance.
Before the end of the probationary period, one of the parties may terminate an individual employment contract by notifying the other party in writing with three days’ notice.
At least 21 calendar days of paid base vacation must be granted to employees.
The employees listed below are eligible for 30 calendar days of paid base vacation per year:
Depending on the employee’s seniority, eligible employees are entitled to the following amounts of additional vacation time:
| Length of Employment | Additional Days |
| The seniority of 5 to 10 years | 2 additional calendar days |
| The seniority to 15 years | 4 additional calendar days |
| The seniority of over 15 years | 6 additional calendar days |
Doctors have the right to issue a sick leave of no more than three days each time, and generally no more than six days for that illness or disability. The benefit of temporary loss of working capacity is paid by the employer for the first 14 days, and then for the remaining days by the state social insurance system. The temporary loss of work capacity allowance is paid to the insured until the period of loss of working capacity is restored.
Regardless of the amount of base and additional vacation time, working women with two children under the age of 14 are eligible for two additional calendar days of vacation time. While women with three or more children of this age or with a disabled child under the age of 16 should be eligible for five additional calendar days of vacation time. Fathers raising their children as single parents and adoptive parents are also eligible for the additional vacation time, as stated above.
A single parent or another family who is directly caring for a child until they are three years old should be eligible for partially-paid social leave. An employee caring for a child may use partially paid social leave completely or in part at their discretion.
Women should be granted pregnancy and maternity leave of 126 days, starting from 70 calendar days prior to childbirth and ending 56 calendar days after childbirth. In the event of abnormal or multiple births, women should be granted 70 days of leave after childbirth.
The right to pregnancy and maternity benefits applies to persons with a minimum of six months of the social insurance period. In both cases, the monthly maximum allowance cannot exceed 25 times the minimum wage. The State Social Protection Fund pays the benefit under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Men whose wives are on maternity leave are entitled to up to 14 calendar days of unpaid leave.
Women who adopt or raise a child under the age of two months are entitled to 56 days of postpartum social leave.
Persons who have been wounded in the struggle for the freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including National Heroes of Azerbaijan, Heroes of the Soviet Union, and winners of the Order of Independence, should be granted a base vacation of at least 46 days.
Employees who are pursuing their education while continuing to work should be eligible for the following paid leaves:
Unpaid leaves of the following duration should be granted at the employee’s request and with the employer’s consent in the following cases:
| Length of Leave | Type of Leave |
| Up to 14 days | For women with children under the age of 16, or single parents or guardians |
| Up to 1 month | For disabled people, regardless of the category of cause of the disability |
| Up to 14 days | For employees who were on active military duty in wartime |
| Up to 14 days | For employees who were injured defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan |
| Up to 14 days | For parent raising children suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and for parents with disabled children under the age of 16 |
| Up to month | For employees attending graduate school |
| Up to 14 days | For employees taking entrance examinations for higher educational institutions |
| Up to 7 days | For employees taking entrance examinations for special secondary educational institutions |
| Up to 14 days | For inventors applying for the first time for inventions or proposals outside their place of employment |
| Up to 14 days | For one relative caring for a sick family member |
The social security system in the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of Unemployment Insurance and Public Pension. Public Pension also includes pensions for disability and survivors. The state is in charge of social protection schemes, which focus on prevention and meeting basic social needs. These programs are universal in the sense that they apply to all citizens and residents of the country.
The employer contributes 22.5% and the employee contributes 3.5%. The Social Security deductions are detailed as follows:
| Benefits | Employer Contributions | Employee Contributions |
| Unemployment Insurance | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Public Pension (including disability, survivors’s pension, and health insurance) | 22% | 3% |
| Total | 22.5% | 3.5% |
The employer contributes 22%, while the employee contributes 3% to the public pension, which covers the health insurance.
In Azerbaijan, medical insurance is required. Azerbaijanis are all covered by a national health insurance plan and have access to free medical care. Primary, inpatient, and outpatient services, as well as emergency care, vaccinations, and lab services, are all covered under the national health insurance system.
The employer bears the full cost, and contribution rates vary depending on the industry risk. Insurance companies administer the program.
Employers who are fully or partially responsible for unfortunate incidents or work-related illness must pay full compensation for the employee’s losses or poor health, as well as their medical bills, and the costs of social security organizations that paid the employee’s pension and stipends.
The employee who has suffered health problems as a result of production accidents or work illnesses that are the employer’s fault, or family members and other dependents of an employee who has died because of the same reasons are to be paid a lump sum amount by the employer, monthly payments, and other extra fees related to the unfortunate incident.
Both the employer and employee contribute 0.5% each to unemployment insurance.
Insured persons in case of termination of employment relationships with the abolition of the state body or legal entity or the reduction of the number of employees registered as unemployed in the employment centers are entitled to an unemployment insurance payment.
The employer contributes 22% to the public pension, while the employee contributes 3%.
People who have reached the retirement age and accrued pension capital that is not less than the minimum pension amount or reached 25 years of insurance contributions are entitled to an old-age pension. The age limit for old-age pension for men is 65 and for women is minimum of 63 years old.
Women who have more than five children are entitled to the benefit with the condition that all children are alive. The amount of benefit is 55 AZN. The benefit is paid by the State Social Protection Fund under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
A funeral allowance is paid in the event of the death of a person who has paid an insurance benefit from unemployment, as well as if the deceased person is the beneficiary of allowances given below:
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.