ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aram Orbelyan, Narine Beglaryan, Artur Hovhannisyan, Lilit Karapetyan, Sarkis Knyazyan and Shushanik Stepanyan, Concern Dialog
working time) and the weekly duration (excluding cumulative working time); • the type and duration of annual leave, including minimum, additional or extended vacation; • the position, first name and last name of the per - son signing the legal act on behalf of the organisa - tion; and • the methods by which the employer and employee shall notify each other regarding employment- related matters. Parties to the contract can agree to include additional conditions in the employment contract or individual legal act, but these conditions must be no less favour - able than what is established by law. Fixed-Term Contracts Generally, an employment contract is intended to be of indefinite duration. However, it is also possible to conclude an employment contract for a fixed term if labour relations cannot be defined for an indefinite period, considering the conditions or the nature of the work to be done. The Labour Code specifies certain circumstances in which an employment contract may be concluded for a fixed term. These include the fol - lowing cases: • with employees holding elected positions for the specified term; • with employees appointed for a duration pre - scribed by law; • with employees performing seasonal work; • with individuals engaged in temporary work lasting up to two months; • with an employee who is filling in for a temporarily absent employee; • with learners undergoing practical workplace train - ing and performing specific work within the frame - work of work-based learning under a vocational education and training programme; and • with foreigners for the duration of validity of a work permit, in cases when a work permit is required for employment by RA legislation. 4.3 Working Time Under Armenian legislation, the regular working hours must not exceed 40 hours per week and eight hours
per day (exceptions are specified by the Labour Code, other laws or legal acts). Certain categories of employees, such as those work - ing in healthcare organisations with continuous duty, guardianship organisations, children’s educational institutions, specialised energy, gas and heat supply organisations, specialised communication and emer - gency response services, etc, may have 24-hour con - tinuous work shifts. The specific list of such occupa - tions is determined by the government of the Republic of Armenia. Any work performed beyond the specified limits shall be classified as overtime work and must be compen - sated according to the following rate: for each hour of overtime, in addition to the regular hourly rate, a supplement of no less than 50% of the hourly rate must be provided. The total working hours, including overtime, must not exceed 12 hours per day (including breaks for rest and meals) and 48 hours per week. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts An employment contract can be terminated through various means. The most common cases are: • termination at the employee’s initiative; • mutual agreement; • expiration of the contract; or • termination at the employer’s initiative. The employment contract can also be terminated by the force of law. For example, when the employer fails to notify the employee of the termination of an employment contract that was originally agreed upon for a specific period, and the parties also do not sign the appropriate individual legal act to terminate such a contract, and the employment relationship does not continue in practice, then in such cases, the law may deem the contract terminated. The Labour Code provides an exhaustive list of rea - sons that entitle an employer to terminate an employ - ment contract. This implies that an employee cannot be dismissed by the employer for any arbitrary reason.
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