Azerbaijan has proposed introducing hourly pay for employment contracts lasting less than one month and for workweeks of no more than 20 hours. The changes are contained in draft legislation and have not yet taken effect.
The proposed amendments to the Labor Code would establish a separate minimum hourly wage, Vesti Baku reported. The hourly minimum would have to be higher than the hourly rate calculated from the country’s current monthly minimum wage.
If an employee works for less than one hour, the employer would be required to pay for a full hour. The same rule would apply to a partial final hour of a shift.
Electronic Wage Payments
The bill would also require salaries and other payments to be transferred through an electronic payment system to a bank account selected by the employee. The proposal is intended to improve oversight of timely wage payments and combat informal employment.
Another provision concerns annual leave. The statutory minimum of 21 calendar days could not be replaced with cash compensation, except when compensation is paid upon termination of an employment contract.
The final rules will depend on the bill’s passage in parliament and approval under Azerbaijan’s legislative process.