ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aram Orbelyan, Narine Beglaryan, Artur Hovhannisyan, Lilit Karapetyan, Sarkis Knyazyan and Shushanik Stepanyan, Concern Dialog
The grounds for termination specified in the Labour Code are as follows: • in the case of: (a) the liquidation of a company (termination of the activity of an individual entrepreneur); (b) reduction in workforce or positions result - ing from changes in workload, economic or technological conditions, work organisation, or production-related needs; (c) non-compliance of the employee with the posi - tion held or the work performed; (d) reinstatement of the employee at their previous job; (e) periodic non-fulfilment by an employee (with - out a valid reason) of the duties assigned to them by an employment contract or internal regulations; (f) loss of trust in the employee; (g) the employee’s long-term incapacity for work (if the employee has been temporarily incapaci - tated for more than six consecutive months or for more than 180 days within the last twelve months, excluding days of maternity leave); (h) an employee’s refusal or evasion of mandatory medical examinations; and (i) the residence status of a foreign worker being recognised as invalid; • if the employee: (a) is in the workplace under the influence of alcohol, narcotic drugs or psychotropic sub - stances; (b) fails to show up for work for no valid reason during the entire working day; and (c) is excluded from work for more than ten con - secutive working days or more than 20 working days during the previous three months because of their failure to submit the necessary docu - ments required to attend work during isolation declared in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Labour Code, the employer is obliged to give notification prior to dismissal to employees in cases specified by the Labour Code. For example, where the employment contract is terminated due to the liquidation of the company or a reduction in the staff, the employer must provide employees with two months of prior notice.
According to the Labour Code, it is possible for an employer to provide pay in lieu of notice, which is calculated by multiplying the employee’s average daily salary by each day of notice. 4.5 Employee Representations The Labour Code allows the establishment of employ - ees’ representatives, such as a trade union or works council elected by the assembly (conference) of work - ers. Apart from that, the Law on Trade Unions regu - lates and guarantees the activities of trade unions. A works council is elected if the organisation does not have a trade union (or any trade unions) or if any existing trade unions do not unite more than half of the organisation’s employees. At the same time, the presence in the organisation of works councils elected by employees should not interfere with the exercise of the trade unions’ functions. Employees’ representatives have the power to develop charters, conduct negotiations, propose organisation - al improvements and participate in decision-making processes. They also oversee labour law implementa - tion, have access to employee information, and can propose measures for better working conditions and fair compensation. They can organise lawful strikes and appeal to the court against violations. Employ - ees’ representatives play a crucial role in protecting workers’ rights and promoting collaboration between employees and employers. If an employee’s representative violates the rights of the employer or breaches legislation or agreement norms, the employer has the option to seek legal action through the appropriate procedures defined by the legislation, requesting the cessation of the repre - sentative’s unlawful activities. Employee representation is not a widespread practice in Armenia. There are some single cases of the prac - tice, and it is expected to develop in the future.
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