Kazakhstan employment law changes from July 2026

Amendments to the Kazakhstan Employment Law took effect on 11 July 2026 and 4 August 2026
Our lawyers would like to draw your attention to the most important changes.

The process of an imposing disciplinary action on employees is becoming more complex.
Previously, an employer could impose disciplinary action simply by issuing a single internal document, and such actions did not require additional written arguments. Under the new rules, the employer must now also issue a “mini-decision” before the penalty can be applied.

Our lawyers use the definition “mini-decision” as an informal label, since the act of an imposing disciplinary action must contain the following information about the        the misconduct (Article 65 of the Employment code):

(1) The seriousness of the misconduct — in other words, how significantly an employee breached his/her job duties, and how this affected or could have affected the employer;

(2) The circumstances in which an employee committed the misconduct. Here, our lawyers consider whether an employee was at fault and intended to commit the misconduct, along with other details showing whether it was intentional or unintentional;   

(3) The degree of the employee’s remorse

 Our view  

 In our view, complex employee terminations will require more legal work hours,   since lawyers will need to include additional details about the misconduct in   documents and acts. At the same time, these amendments   to the Employment   code protect employees from being dismissed unlawfully through purely formal   disciplinary acts.

Increase in workplace safety requirements  

The amendments clarify, more explicitly, that employers must keep equipment and   machinery in proper condition to prevent harm to employees’ life and health   (Article 182 of the Employment code).

More detailed rules for dismissing financially liable employees

If a financially responsible employee wishes to terminate the employment   contract, the employee must provide the employer with at least 30 calendar days’   prior written notice. During this notice period, the employer must take all   reasonable steps to accept the handover of the employee’s property, documents,   work assignments, and other assets entrusted to the employee (Article 56.5 of   the Employment code of Kazakhstan).
If an employee resigns, the employer must complete all formalities within one  month

If an employee resigns of his/her own decisions, an employee must still give the employer one month’s written notice, as it was before. Under the new rules, the employer must now settle all payments and issue all required documents to the employee no later than one month after the notice.

Protection of employees’ private life

Employers must respect the privacy of employees’ personal lives and must not treat employees disrespectfully (Article 22.27 of the Employment code).

Note: This overview is for general informational purposes only and does not cover all recent changes in Kazakhstan’s employment legislation.

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