Audit of HR documents, lawful dismissal and redundancy, fixed-term contracts and defence of the employer in court.
What does an employer in Uzbekistan face for an unlawful dismissal?
Article 174 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan brings three consequences at once: the employee is reinstated in the previous job, the employer pays for the entire period of forced absence from work and pays compensation for moral damage. Most often a dismissal is held unlawful not because the ground was missing but because of the procedure: before imposing a disciplinary penalty the employer must request a written explanation from the employee and impose the penalty no later than one month from the day the misconduct was discovered. Separately, the law prohibits termination of an employment contract at the employer's initiative during periods of temporary incapacity for work, during statutory leave and during a business trip.
These are not abstract risks but the scenarios that break deals and turn decisions of state bodies against you.
Reinstatement in the previous position, pay for the entire period of forced absence and compensation for moral damage — plus the employee is back on the payroll.
Typical mistake: No written explanation was requested before the penalty was imposed, or the one-month period from the day the misconduct was discovered was missed. The ground may be watertight while the procedure is already lost.
Every non-renewal turns into an unlawful dismissal with reinstatement and forced absence pay. With a headcount of several dozen this is a systemic risk, not an isolated dispute.
Typical mistake: The fixed-term contract was concluded without a ground provided by the code. Such a contract is deemed concluded for an indefinite term; exceeding the aggregate term of fixed-term contracts gives the same result.
Severance pay grows with length of service and reaches two hundred per cent of the average monthly wage, and on top of that come payments for the breached notice period.
Typical mistake: No written notice against signature at least two months in advance, and no offer of a transfer to other available work. Redundancy is a procedure, not a manager's decision.
The dismissal is set aside regardless of how well founded the ground was.
Typical mistake: The employee's status on the date of the order was not checked. The law expressly prohibits termination at the employer's initiative during incapacity for work, leave and business trips.
Any labour dispute becomes a dispute without evidence: the employer has no orders, no signed acknowledgements and no record of the procedure.
Typical mistake: HR is run “as it goes”: there is a contract and nothing else. Meanwhile the conclusion, amendment and termination of an employment contract are subject to mandatory registration in the state information system.
The wording of orders and contracts refers to rules that no longer exist, and that is the first thing the employee's representative uses.
Typical mistake: It was overlooked that the Labour Code now in force was adopted in 2022 while the 1995 code was repealed. Both the grounds for termination and the procedures have changed.
Contracts, orders, internal regulations, signed acknowledgements and state registration — what exists, what is missing and what contradicts the code.
We review fixed-term contracts against the statutory grounds and bring them into a shape that will survive a dispute.
We run the procedure step by step: ground, explanation, deadlines, order and final settlement — so the decision is not reversed in court.
Notice against signature, offer of a transfer, calculation of severance pay and the order of selection — the whole procedure.
Representing the employer and handling claims for reinstatement and forced absence pay.
Permits for foreign employees and executives, and monitoring of their validity periods.
We review a sample of contracts and orders: the systemic error is usually visible in the first five files.
We separate the breaches that can be fixed now from those that have already created dispute risk, and set priorities.
Contracts, internal regulations, orders, acknowledgements and registration — together with training for the HR team.
We handle complex dismissals and redundancies and defend you in disputes and inspections.
Every point comes with a link to the primary source so you can check it yourself.
The Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan now in force was adopted by the Law of 28 October 2022 No. ZRU-798; the earlier law adopting the 1995 Labour Code has been repealed.
lex.uz — ZRU-798An employment contract is concluded either for an indefinite term or for a fixed term of no more than three years; if no term is stated in the contract, it is deemed concluded for an indefinite term (Article 110 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 110 of the Labour CodeA fixed-term employment contract concluded in the absence of the grounds provided by the code is deemed concluded for an indefinite term (Article 111 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 111 of the Labour CodeThe grounds on which an employment contract may justifiably be terminated at the employer's initiative are listed in part two of Article 161 of the Labour Code and include liquidation of the organisation and a change in headcount or in the staffing schedule.
lex.uz — Article 161 of the Labour CodeOn liquidation or a change in headcount or in the staffing schedule, the employer must notify the employee in writing against signature at least two months in advance (Article 165 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 165 of the Labour CodeThe minimum amount of severance pay depends on length of service with the given employer and increases with that service (part 3 of Article 173 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 173 of the Labour CodeOn unlawful termination of an employment contract the employee is reinstated in the previous job, with mandatory pay for the period of forced absence and payment of compensation for moral damage (Article 174 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 174 of the Labour CodeTermination of an employment contract at the employer's initiative is prohibited during periods of temporary incapacity for work, while the employee is on leave provided by law and while on a business trip (Article 163 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 163 of the Labour CodeBefore imposing a disciplinary penalty the employer must request a written explanation from the employee, and the penalty is imposed no later than one month from the day the misconduct was discovered (Articles 313 and 314 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Articles 313, 314 of the Labour CodeThe conclusion and termination of an employment contract, as well as the making of amendments to it, are subject to mandatory registration in the state information complex (Article 109 of the Labour Code).
lex.uz — Article 109 of the Labour Code| What we compare | Fixed-term | Open-ended |
|---|---|---|
| When it is permitted | Only where the code provides a ground | Always |
| Maximum term | No more than three years; exceeding the aggregate term turns the contract into an open-ended one | Not limited |
| If there is no ground | Deemed concluded for an indefinite term | — |
| What it gives the employer | Nothing where the ground is absent: non-renewal becomes an unlawful dismissal | A clear termination procedure with defined notice periods and payments |
A fixed-term contract is not a flexibility tool but an exception with a closed list of grounds. Companies that put the whole team on one-year contracts “to make parting easier” get exactly the opposite: open-ended relationships and a run of lost cases.
We will go through your situation, say what can realistically be done and in what timeframe, and name the cost once we understand the scope. Without that, any figure would be invented.
Консультация по задаче — бесплатно. Стоимость работы называем после того, как поймём объём.
There are no testimonials or case studies here: they cannot be verified. Only what you can confirm yourself.
This material is for reference only and is not legal advice on your specific situation. Rules and tariffs change — check the current version through the links to the primary sources above. To have your case assessed, send a request.