Employee dismissal in Uzbekistan: grounds and procedure

A dismissal is lawful when it has a statutory ground, the required procedure is followed, the order uses the correct wording, and the employee receives the documents and final payment due. The grounds for terminating an employment contract appear in the general statutory list (Article 155 LC). An error in either the ground or a mandatory step may lead to reinstatement.

In brief:

• An employee normally resigns after giving 14 calendar days of written notice (Article 160 LC); the law does not impose a separate duty to “work off” that period.
• An employer may dismiss an employee only on a ground expressly provided by law and supported by evidence.
• Before a redundancy dismissal, the employer checks vacancies and the employee’s preferential right to remain.
• On the last working day, the employer issues the documents and pays salary, unused leave compensation and any other amounts due.
• If the dismissal is unlawful, the employee can request documents, go to court and seek reinstatement.

Updated: 04 September 2026

Grounds for dismissing an employee

The ground controls the rest of the process: the notice period, whether vacancies must be offered, whether union consent is necessary, the availability of severance pay and the wording of the order. An employer cannot replace the real ground with a more convenient “agreement of the parties” entry or pressure the employee into submitting a resignation.

If a fixed-term contract expires but work continues and neither party demands termination for one week, the contract becomes indefinite. A contract made to replace an absent employee ends on the date that employee returns.

Resignation at the employee’s initiative

The employee submits a written notice personally or sends it by post with proof of delivery. The notice period starts on the day after the employer receives it. The parties may agree on an earlier date, but that agreement does not change the legal ground into termination by mutual agreement.

The employee does not have to perform 14 days of work after filing the notice. This is a notice period, not a separate “work-off” obligation, and it may include weekends, annual leave or temporary incapacity. Once it expires, the employee may stop work and the employer must issue the documents and final payment. If the period expires, the dismissal is not completed and employment continues, the notice loses effect. The Supreme Court guidance confirms these rules (paragraph 20 of Resolution No. 26).

When the employer may dismiss an employee

Employer-initiated dismissal must be justified. The lawful employer grounds (Article 161 LC) include liquidation or cessation of an individual entrepreneur’s activity, changes in headcount or staffing, inability to perform the job because of insufficient qualifications, systematic breach of duties and a single gross breach.

For redundancy or insufficient qualifications, the employer cannot proceed directly to a dismissal order. It must offer suitable work corresponding to the employee’s specialty and qualifications or, if none is available, other available work. Termination is permitted only if the employee refuses, no vacancy exists, or the employee does not satisfy the requirements of the available job. These are the transfer safeguards (Article 144 LC).

For a single gross breach, merely labelling conduct as serious is not enough. The conduct must appear in the list established by the internal labour rules or a contract where the law permits such a list, under the gross-breach rule (Article 162 LC). The employer must also prove fault, seriousness and the surrounding circumstances.

Procedure for employer-initiated dismissal

The exact process depends on the ground, but it normally includes checking the evidence, offering vacancies, giving written notice, obtaining any mandatory approval and issuing an order. Payment in lieu of the notice period does not cancel severance pay, unused leave compensation or other amounts due.

Trade union committee consent is required only when a collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement says so. The committee communicates its decision within 10 days; after consent, the employer has no more than one month to terminate. The exceptions and periods are in the approval rules (Article 164 LC).

Before dismissal for misconduct, the employer asks for a written explanation and records any refusal in an act. The disciplinary order is presented for signature within 3 working days (Article 313 LC). A sanction is imposed no later than one month after discovery, normally no later than six months after the conduct, or within two years following an audit, subject to the disciplinary time limits (Article 314 LC).

Evidence of misconduct, internal investigations and sanctions are covered in Labour discipline.

Protected employees and special rules

An employer generally cannot dismiss an employee at its initiative during temporary incapacity, annual or other statutory leave, a business trip and other protected periods. Discriminatory grounds and grounds not found in law are prohibited. The general safeguards (Article 163 LC) contain the main restrictions; some do not apply on liquidation or cessation of an individual entrepreneur’s activity.

A pregnant employee may be dismissed at the employer’s initiative only on liquidation or cessation of an individual entrepreneur’s activity. A fixed-term contract is subject to extension rules and a narrow exception when the employee being replaced returns. These pregnancy safeguards are set by Article 408 LC.

A woman with a child under three, or a single father or guardian raising a child of that age, may be dismissed at the employer’s initiative only on a limited set of grounds. Additional protection against dismissal for insufficient qualifications applies after childcare leave. The parent and guardian safeguards appear in Article 409 LC.

An employee under 18 may be dismissed at the employer’s initiative only with the consent of the local labour authority. This minor-employee safeguard appears in Article 421 LC. Separate rules apply to elected union officials, managers, seasonal workers, temporary workers and certain other categories, so status must be checked before the process starts.

Redundancy procedure

Redundancy must be real: organizational or technological changes must make continuation of the previous work impossible. Renaming an organization, changing its subordination or formally rearranging posts does not by itself establish liquidation or redundancy. This test comes from the Supreme Court explanation (paragraph 28 of Resolution No. 26).

The employer offers all suitable available vacancies and gives written notice. At least two months before the expected release, it provides the union and local labour authority with information through ENST, including the profession, specialty, qualifications and pay. This is part of the release procedure (Article 166 LC).

An employee with higher qualifications and productivity has the preferential right to remain. If those are equal, the employer considers dependants, the absence of another independent earner in the family, long service with the employer, disability, the absence of sanctions and other statutory circumstances. The employee-comparison rules are in Article 167 LC.

A release is classed as mass when an organization or division with at least 20 employees is liquidated, or when redundancy affects at least 50 employees in 30 days, 200 in 60 days, or 500 in 90 days. The statutory thresholds appear in Article 98 LC. Additional employment and public-authority measures apply in that situation.

Dismissal order and documents

Termination is formalized by the person who has authority to hire. The order must reproduce the lawful ground accurately and cite the relevant paragraph and article. The termination date is the last working day; if it falls on a weekend, public holiday or another non-working day, termination occurs on the next working day. These are the formalization rules (Article 170 LC).

On the dismissal date, the employer provides the paper employment record book or an extract from the electronic record and a copy of the order. If the employee is absent or refuses the book, written notice must be sent by the next working day. An unclaimed book must be issued within three days after the employee asks for it. The document delivery process is set by Article 171 LC.

The employment record book does not state the ground or reason for termination; it records employment activity. This follows from the employment-record rules (Article 125 LC). On written request, the employee may also obtain certified copies of other employment-related documents.

What the final settlement includes

The final settlement includes unpaid salary, compensation for all unused basic and additional annual leave and any other payments provided by law, collective instruments or the employment contract. All amounts are paid on the dismissal date. If the employee did not work that day, payment is made no later than three days after the employee’s demand. If an amount is disputed, the employer must pay the undisputed part on time. These final-payment rules appear in Article 172 LC.

Severance pay and average earnings retained during a job search are available only on specified grounds. They do not replace salary or unused leave compensation. Only lawful deductions may be made, such as for leave taken in advance, and that deduction is prohibited for certain termination grounds.

Calculating unused leave compensation

On termination, the employer compensates every unused day of basic and additional annual leave; Sundays are excluded from payment. This is the leave-compensation rule (Article 234 LC).

For an incomplete working year, divide the full annual leave entitlement by 12 and multiply it by the number of complete months worked. A remainder of at least 15 calendar days is rounded to a month, a smaller remainder is ignored, and half or more of a resulting day is rounded up. The leave-days formula is in Article 224 LC.

Average earnings are normally based on income in the preceding 12 months. For these payments, average daily earnings are average monthly earnings divided by 25.3. Included income, excluded periods and cases with no earnings in the calculation period are governed by the average-earnings rules (Article 257 LC).

Example. Assume average monthly earnings of UZS 7,590,000 and that payroll has confirmed 12 compensable leave days excluding Sundays. Average daily earnings are UZS 7,590,000 / 25.3 = UZS 300,000. Compensation is UZS 300,000 × 12 = UZS 3,600,000 before mandatory deductions.

Accrual, carry-over and cash replacement of leave are covered in Annual leave.

When severance pay is due

Severance pay is due for statutory termination reasons that are generally unrelated to culpable conduct, including liquidation, redundancy, insufficient qualifications, refusal to continue after specified changes, and certain circumstances beyond the parties’ control.

Collective instruments or the employment contract may increase the amount. For dismissal based on culpable conduct, severance pay, payment in lieu of notice and additional financial guarantees are unavailable unless the law provides otherwise.

Example. If the employee’s average monthly earnings are UZS 7,590,000 and service with the employer is 12 years, minimum severance is UZS 7,590,000 × 150% = UZS 11,385,000.

On liquidation, redundancy and certain other non-culpable grounds, average earnings are retained, taking severance into account, for a job-search period of no more than two months. If the employee registers as a job seeker within 30 days, the local labour authority may certify entitlement for a third month. The grounds and conditions are in the job-search guarantees (Article 100 LC).

What the employer must do

The employer should follow a documented sequence: identify the exact ground, assemble evidence, check prohibitions and safeguards, offer vacancies, send notices, obtain approvals, issue the order, deliver documents and make final payment. Termination must be registered in ENST within 3 working days (paragraph 36 of the Regulation approved by Resolution No. 971), and the record is signed electronically.

An official who breaches labour legislation may receive an administrative fine of 5–10 BRV, 10–15 BRV for a repeat offence, or 10–20 BRV for an offence involving a minor employee. The amounts are in the administrative liability rule (Article 49 CAO). At the BRV currently configured by the site, those ranges are UZS 2.200.000–4.400.000, 4.400.000–6.600.000 and 4.400.000–8.800.000 respectively.

A knowingly unlawful dismissal committed after an administrative sanction may result in criminal liability, including a fine of up to 25 BRV, deprivation of a specified right or correctional work. The criminal liability rule appears in Article 148 CC. At the BRV currently configured by the site, the maximum fine is UZS 11.000.000.

Changes in 2025–2026

Recent amendments expanded electronic formalization and oversight:

• From 1 November 2025, the Chapter 29 LC rules for microfirm employers also apply to businesses with up to 50 employees under subparagraph “g” of PF-126.
• From 1 September 2025, service, agriculture and construction businesses with up to 50 employees may formalize electronic conclusion and termination of contracts in ENST through Face ID.
• If an organization has been liquidated or is inactive and the contract cannot be terminated normally, the ENST Directorate may, on the citizen’s application, record that employment has ended in fact. This power is in subparagraph ii of PF-126.
• From 1 January 2026, an employment-law violation recorded by ENST may be considered without the employer and resolved by an electronic administrative decision.

Challenging an unlawful dismissal

The employee may seek cancellation of the order, reinstatement, average earnings for enforced absence, reimbursement of related expenses and compensation for moral harm. The employer bears the burden of proving that the ground and procedure were lawful. The available relief follows from the employee remedies (Article 174 LC).

A reinstatement claim must be filed within three months from delivery of a copy of the dismissal order. A different period applies to other employment disputes, so the claim and the document-receipt date should be identified immediately. The reinstatement deadline appears in Article 560 LC.

Employees are exempt from court costs for claims arising from individual employment relations under the employee court-cost exemption (Article 562 LC). A judgment reinstating the employee or changing the dismissal date or wording is enforced immediately (Article 569 LC).

Before filing, collect the resignation and proof of receipt, notices, vacancy offers, dismissal order, electronic employment-record extract, payslips, internal labour rules and correspondence. Request missing documents in writing and record when they are received, because that date may affect the filing deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Must I work 14 days after resigning?

No. The employee must give notice, but does not necessarily have to perform work throughout the period. The parties may agree on an earlier date, and annual leave, weekends or illness may fall within the period. After it expires, the employee may stop work.

Is the dismissal date a working day?

Yes, it is normally the final working day. The employer completes termination, delivers the documents and pays the final settlement on that day. If the agreed date is a weekend, holiday or another non-working day, termination occurs on the next working day.

What payments are due on dismissal?

Accrued but unpaid salary and compensation for all unused annual leave are always due. Severance, retained earnings during a job search and other payments depend on the termination ground and the employment or collective agreement.

Can an employee be dismissed while sick or on leave?

Not normally at the employer’s initiative. The exception is liquidation or cessation of an individual entrepreneur’s activity. The restriction does not prevent termination on another lawful ground, such as the employee’s own initiative.

What if the employer does not close the ENST record?

First send the employer a written demand to register termination and issue an extract. If the organization has been liquidated or is inactive, the ENST Directorate can be asked to record that employment ended in fact. In other cases, the employee may apply to the State Labour Inspectorate and protect the right in court.