AZERBAIJAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Farid Nabili, Pari Gasimli and Sona Abdullayeva, Caspian Legal Center
Unpaid leave is granted at the request of employees or by mutual agreement of the parties. The maximum period of unpaid leave may not exceed six months. At the employee’s request, unpaid leave shall be granted within a working year in the following cases and for the specified durations (selected situations): • to one of the parents of a child diagnosed with a chronic illness (based on the opinion of a medical advisory commission), or to another family member directly responsible for the child’s care – until the child reaches the age of four; • to male employees whose wives are on maternity leave – for up to 14 calendar days; • to employees who sustained injuries (wounds, trau - ma or concussion) in the course of defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan – for up to 14 calendar days; • to parents raising a child living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as to parents of a child with a disability – for up to 14 calendar days; and • to employees enrolled in doctoral (or adjunct) stud - ies – for up to one calendar month. 5.3 Other New Manifestations There are some new developments in the employment sector in Azerbaijan, including the following. Desk Sharing Desk sharing has gained traction as companies seek to reduce office rental costs. In Azerbaijan, this prac - tice lacks specific legal regulation and is typically absent from individual employment contracts. Instead, employers implement it as an organisational strategy. Platform Workers In recent years, job losses due to the Covid-19 pan - demic and the entry of white-collar workers into freelance work have supported the growth of the gig economy. As a result, employees and employers have begun to prefer freelancing over office work, and many daily services have been accessed across plat - forms. The platform economy creates new business opportunities. However, the emergence of platform work reveals a number of its shortcomings, includ - ing frequent violations of the rights of platform work -
ers, and their deprivation of labour rights regulated by labour legislation. In order to prevent these violations, a number of legal and administrative measures have been envisaged within the framework of the Action Plan for the Pre - vention of Informal Employment in the Republic of Azerbaijan approved in 2017. In accordance with the Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019–2030, the implementation of complex measures aimed at the prevention of informal employment has been set as a priority. Based on the 2020 Rules for Conducting and Coordinating Control Measures in the Field of Legalization of Informal Employment, monitor - ing will be carried out in accordance with the direc - tions of action through the unified electronic informa - tion resource “Control over Informal Employment”, and responsibility measures will be taken in connec - tion with the detected facts of informal employment. In this context, the List of information systems and resources that require integration into the relevant information resource has already been approved. Trade unions may be established on a purely voluntary basis, without any discrimination among employees, without prior permission from the employer. Employ - ees may join relevant trade unions and engage in trade union activities to protect their labour, social and eco - nomic rights and legitimate interests. Status of Trade Unions According to the legislation, a trade union can be divided as follows: • local status – a trade union association that unites the primary organisations of trade unions of enter - prises operating in one administrative territorial unit on a sectoral basis; • territorial status – a trade union association that unites local trade unions operating in one adminis - trative territorial unit; 6. Collective Relations 6.1 Unions • republican status – a trade union association that unites primary, local and territorial trade unions operating in sectors and separate sectors; and
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