Work conditions in Kazakhstan

The Active Population in Figures

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration

40 hours

Retirement Age

63 for men and 61 for women.

Working Contracts

The labor contract is governed by legal provisions and to a lesser extent by collective agreements and individual negotiation.
The formalism of labor contract is very rigid. The procedures for layoff and hiring are rather flexible.

Labour Laws

Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises.

Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage

The monthly minimum wage is KZT 85,000 (approx. USD 168.24) as the government (specifically the Ministry of National Economy) decided to freeze it at the 2024 level for the 2026 budget year.

Average Wage

KZT 448,620 (approx. USD 406) in 2025, according to the Bureau of National Statistics.

Social Contributions

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: 20% of covered earnings (3,5% for social insurance, 2% for health insurance, 5% for pension and 9.5% for social tax).
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: Every employee should pay 10% of his salary to a pension fund whose present withdrawals benefit them and they should also contribute to their own withdrawal as well as 2% of his salary for health insurance.

Social Partners

Employer Associations

EUROBAK - European Business Association of Kazakhstan
ABWK - Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan
NAP - Independent Association of Kazakhstan’s Businessmen
KNDA - Kazakhstan National Directors Association
KRRK - Confederation of Employers

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

The employees are protected against any anti union discrimination by the law. But violations to this law have taken place (union members have been dismissed and threatened). Big enterprises have also created conditions so that creation of a union and collective negotiations are rendered impossible.

The law guarantees the right to strike but its application is legally highly controlled. The government has drawn a list of strategic industries and companies in which strike is authorised according to certain conditions. Generally, the employees can only go on strike if a dispute has not been resolved through existing arbitration channels. The employees should necessarily give the employers an advance notice of 15 days for the strike.

Labour Unions

Federation of Unions

Unionisation Rate

32.8 % in 2006 (as per Federation of Unions)

Labour Regulation Bodies

Labor Ministry