Amendments to Armenia’s Labor Code

A number of amendments have been made to Armenia’s Labor Code; however, many issues have come up while putting those changes into effect, said RA State Labor Inspectorate Deputy Armen Smpatyan and head of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Department of Labor and Employment Tadevos Avetisyan, while meeting with journalists today.

According to Smpatyan, during the first half of this year, the State Labor Inspectorate has found more officially registered workers than all of last year. Referring to violations, Smpatyan and Avetisyan both stressed that most oral agreements are violated.

Avetisyan, in turn, highlighted the amendments to the Labor Code, noting that Article 105 refers to substantial changes in work conditions: “During the organization of work, the employer is given the opportunity to change the work terms; that is, the wages and work mode, and for that, exact timelines for notification are defined,” said the Labor Ministry staffer, adding that if the employee doesn’t agree to those terms, it is expected that he will resign.

A fine, in the employee’s benefit, will be issued to those employers who are late in distributing pay. “A penalty of 0.15% for overdue wages for each day is planned,” said Avetisyan. 

Legislation also defines the period when an employee must take vacation. “If in the given year, the employee receives the right to a vacation, that employee must take vacation up to 18 months after the end of the given year,” said Smpatyan.  

He also added that various comments on the amendments to the Labor Code have already been heard. Smpatyan has already spoken during discussions organized by different organizations and called on individuals, if necessary, to apply to the State Labor Inspectorate, who conducts weekly seminars.