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Kazakhstan employment regulations on maternity leave
Nurzhan Stamkulov, Ali Dautalinov, Assem Zhaksylykbayeva
Lawyers, Synergy Partners Law Firm LLC
Kazakhstan employment regulations provide for:
a) mandatory maternity leave by law; and
b) optional unpaid leave to care for a child until the child reaches the age of 3.
For employers it is important to consider the duration of maternity leave granted to employees and calculations of payments.
In this article, we tried to cover answers to questions related to maternity leave and unpaid leave.
The duration of maternity leave granted to employees by law
In accordance with article 99.1 of Kazakh Employment code a pregnant woman applies for maternity leave by submitting a medical certificate indicating the starting date when a woman will not attend the office/place of job.
The law allows women to take leave and not visit place of job not only before childbirth, but also after the childbirth with guaranteed minimum days.
The duration of maternity leave depends medical conditions of a woman.
For convenience, please see the table for duration of maternity leave.
| Situations for maternity leave | Minimum days when a woman will have leave during pregnancy | Minimum days when a woman will have leave after a childbirth |
| Usual situation for a woman | 70 days | 56 days |
| A situation where a woman has complicated childbirth or the birth of 2 or more children | 70 days | 70 days |
| A situation where a woman was born or lived in nuclear contaminated area | 91 days | 79 days |
| A situation where a woman was born or lived in nuclear contaminated area — complicated childbirth or the birth of 2 or more children | 91 days | 93 days |
| If a woman has early childbirth on 22-29 weeks from the pregnancy date
and a child is born with a body weight of 500 grams or more and if a child has been lived more than 7 days |
The law does not provide leave. In practice the employer provides unpaid leave for days required to recover based on medical prescriptions or medical recommendations | 70 days
93 days for woman was born or lived in nuclear polluted area 56 days, if a child lived less than 7 days |
An employer must consider all relevant facts and medical conditions of the pregnancy when calculating the total duration of maternity leave. We recommend asking the pregnant employee for the necessary details.
Due to outdated legal provisions and limited social coverage for maternity leave, in practice most companies try to continue paying a woman the same salary during pregnancy and for six months after the child’s birth.
State social payments are made to pregnant women starting from the seventh month of pregnancy, as well as childcare payments until the child reaches 1.5 years of age. In practice, these amounts are very low, and employers often provide additional payments to bring the employee’s income closer to her regular monthly salary.
Employee’s payments during maternity leave
Please note that Kazakhstan employment law regulations indicate that an employer is free of any obligations to pay salary during maternity leave, unless it is stipulated by an employment agreement.
In accordance with Article 99.4 of the Kazakhstan Employment Code, an employer may provide payment for maternity leave if this is stipulated in the employment contract, collective agreement, or the company’s internal policies.
Usually in standard employment agreements there are no provisions related to any additional payments or an employers’ obligations to pay during maternity leave.
State payments during maternity leave
During maternity leave, Kazakhstan state authorities will pay social payments to a woman in maternity leave during such 4 month that is about and rounded to average monthly salary calculated in accordance with Rules for calculating average salary[1].
The article 77.1 of the Kazakhstan Social Code stipulates that female individual must receive state payments from the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF) or payments from the state during the maternity leave in any cases.
This means an employee in case of maternity and pregnancy must receive social payments from state SSIF in any case.
State social payments are calculated according to Rules for calculating the social benefits in connection with pregnancy and childbirth[2].
We recommend skipping details on any state social payments, as it is a state obligation.
Additional social payment regarding maternity leave
In practice many companies try not only to follow employment law standards, but instead try to cover and pay additional payments related to maternity leave:
- an employer allows women to take maternity leave from the 4 months of pregnancy.
- although a woman receives social payments during maternity leave, an employer during a woman’s pregnancy pays the same average monthly salary from 4 months before childbirth and 6 months after a childbirth.
It is important to note, that Employment regulations set only minimum guarantees, that could not be lower that state standards. However, an employer could apply any higher standards and pay more by its own discretion.
This approach requires that an employer will issue special order, and any amendments to an employment agreement are not required. An employee must read such order and sign that she is informed about such order. These steps are sufficient, enough for an employer.
In practice, we recommend considering medical conditions on pregnancy, medical history and records and other facts of the woman who gave birth or in the pregnancy period.
[1] Unified rules for calculating average salary approved by Order of the Minister of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 30, 2015, No. 908.
[2] Rules for calculating the social benefits in connection with pregnancy and childbirth, approved by the Order of the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 27, 2023, No. 248