Dismissing an employee

Dismissal of an employee is the termination of the employment contract and labor relations between the employer and the hired employee.

An employment contract for an indefinite period, as well as a fixed-term employment contract, may be terminated at any time by agreement between the employee and the employer.

Termination at employee's initiative

An employee has the right to terminate an employment contract and resign at will by providing written notice to the employer, typically 14 calendar days in advance. The head of an organization should notify the employer 2 months in advance, deputy heads of the organization and a chief accountant must notify 1 month in advance.

During the notice period until the end of the last day of the notice period, the employee has the right to withdraw the submitted resignation notice.

An employment contract with an employee may also be terminated in the following cases:

• when the employee refuses to continue work under new working conditions
• when the employee refuses to continue work due to a change in the company's ownership
• when the employee refuses to relocate to work in another location with the employer
• when the employee refuses to transfer to another job due to health reasons, if the new job is not contraindicated for the employee

Termination by employer

An employee may be dismissed and the employment contract terminated by the decision of the employer if there are justified grounds for termination. The employer may terminate the employment contract for reasons including changes in the number or staff of employees, the employee's insufficient qualifications, systematic violation of labor duties by the employee, a single gross violation by the employee of their labor duties, termination of the employment contract with part-time employees due to the hiring of another employee who is not a part-time employee, or liquidation of the organization.

The employer must notify the employee in writing at least 2 months in advance of their intention to terminate the employment contract due to a reduction in the number or staff of employees, or in the event of liquidation of the organization. In case of violation of labor duties by the employee, the employer may notify the employee of its intention to terminate the employment contract at least 3 days in advance.

The employer is obligated to offer the employee a less qualified job or other available work if the employee does not meet the qualifications for the position held. Termination is allowed if the employee refuses to transfer, if the employer does not have vacant positions, or if the employee does not meet the qualification requirements for another job. The employer is obligated to notify the employee in writing at least 2 weeks in advance.

The new owner has the right to terminate the employment contract with the head of the organization, their deputies and the chief accountant within 3 months from the date of acquiring the organization. The employer is obligated to notify the employee in writing at least 2 months in advance.

The employer must submit information about possible employee layoffs to the trade union committee at least 2 months in advance.

An employee may also be dismissed and the employment contract terminated in the following cases:

• upon the expiration of the employment contract
• if the employer does not have work that is not contraindicated for the employee due to health conditions
• due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties (conscription of the employee for military service, a court verdict that excludes the possibility of continuing work, reinstatement of the previous employee, and other cases)
• if the employee is not elected or fails to pass a competition for a new term

A microfirm has the right to stipulate in the employment contract with an employee any other grounds for dismissing the employee. A microfirm is a company with a total annual income of up to 1 billion Uzbek soums, owned by individuals.

Termination of fixed-term contract

An employment contract concluded for a fixed term shall be terminated upon the expiration of its term.

A fixed-term employment contract may include a mutual obligation of the employee and the employer to pay a penalty for early termination. According to this obligation, the employee or the employer shall pay a penalty to the other party if the employment relationship is terminated at their initiative.

The amount of the penalty payable by an employee may not exceed the amount of the penalty payable by the employer. If the employment contract does not specify the amount of the penalty, the parties shall be exempt from paying it.

Limitations on termination

It is prohibited to terminate an employment contract at the initiative of the employer on grounds not provided for by law.

Termination of an employment contract with pregnant women at the initiative of the employer is not allowed (except in cases of liquidation of the organization). It is also prohibited to terminate an employment contract at the initiative of the employer during the following periods:

• temporary disability of the employee
• employee's vacation periods
• employee's business trip

Procedures for dismissal of employee

Termination of the employment contract shall be formalized by an order. The employer's order must state the grounds for termination of the employment contract in strict accordance with the wording of the articles of the Labor Code of Uzbekistan.

The day of termination of the employment contract shall be the last day of work. If the last day of work falls on a weekend, holiday, or other non-working day, the first working day following it shall be considered the last working day.

On the day of termination of the employment contract, the employer is obligated to issue the employee their paper-form labor book or an extract from the electronic labor book, as well as a copy of the order on termination of the employment contract. If this is impossible due to the absence of the employee or their refusal to receive documents, the employer is obligated to send the employee a written notification no later than the next business day about the need to appear to pick up the documents or give consent to send it by mail.

A paper-form labor book left by the employee must be issued by the employer no later than 3 days from the date the employee requests the handover of the labor book.

The termination of the employment contract must be registered in the unified national labor system my.mehnat.uz within 3 working days from the date of termination of the employment contract.

Reinstatement at work

An employee who believes that the employment contract with them was terminated illegally may appeal to the court. When considering disputes, the burden of proving the legality of terminating the employment contract lies with the employer.

Payment settlement with employee

Upon termination of the employment contract, the employee must be paid a final settlement. The final settlement shall include payment to the employee of:

• unpaid wages
• compensation for all unused vacations
• payments for the period of job search (if terminated on certain grounds)
• severance pay

Payment of all amounts due to the employee from the employer, as a rule, shall be made no later than the day of termination of the employment contract with the employee. If the employee did not work on the day of termination of the employment contract, then the corresponding amounts must be paid no later than 3 days after the employee submits a request for settlement.

In the event of a dispute about the amounts due to the employee on termination of the employment contract, the employer should immediately pay the undisputed part of the amount.

In some cases, the employer pays the employee an average salary for the period of job search after dismissal, but no more than 2 months. Such payments are made upon termination of the employment contract with the employee on the following grounds: layoffs, employee's refusal to continue work under new working conditions, employee's refusal to move to work in another location together with the employer, liquidation of the organization, reinstatement of an employee who previously performed this job, etc.

Severance pay

Severance pay is a one-time cash payment to an employee upon termination of an employment contract made to mitigate the consequences of the employee losing their job. The employer pays severance pay in the following cases:

• upon dismissal of an employee at the initiative of the employer (if not related to the employee's misconduct)
• upon dismissal of an employee due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties (conscription of an employee for military service, reinstatement of an employee who previously performed this work, liquidation of the company, etc.)
• upon dismissal of an employee in connection with the employee's refusal to continue work under new working conditions
• upon dismissal of an employee in connection with the employee's refusal to move to work in another location together with the employer
• upon dismissal of an employee in connection with the employee's refusal to continue work in connection with a change in the ownership of the company

The minimum amount of severance pay increases with the employee's length of service. The amount of severance pay cannot be less than:

• 50% of the average monthly earnings – for employees with up to 3 years of work experience
• 75% of the average monthly earnings – for employees with 3 to 5 years of work experience
• 100% of the average monthly earnings – for employees with 5 to 10 years of work experience
• 150% of the average monthly earnings – for employees with 10 to 15 years of work experience
• 200% of the average monthly earnings – for employees with over 15 years of work experience