Resignation in Uzbekistan: Notice Period and Final Pay

Notice period: 14 calendar days

An employee may terminate an open-ended employment contract, or a fixed-term contract before it expires, by giving the employer fourteen calendar days' written notice (part 1 of Article 160 of the Labour Code). The period starts on the day after the employer receives the notice. The notice can be sent by post with acknowledgement of receipt — the count then starts on the day after it is received.

By agreement of the parties, the contract may be terminated before the notice period ends. The employer may lawfully refuse to shorten the period — in that case the employee works the full 14 days.

Special notice periods for certain employees

• Head of the organisation — gives the employer two months' written notice (Article 489 of the Labour Code).
• Deputy heads, the chief accountant and heads of separate divisions — one month's notice (Article 489 of the Labour Code).
• Employees of micro-firms — seven calendar days' notice (Article 506 of the Labour Code).
• Employees of individual entrepreneurs — seven calendar days' notice, which may be shortened by agreement (Article 511 of the Labour Code).
• Special periods also apply to seasonal and temporary workers and to domestic workers (Article 160 of the Labour Code, referring to Articles 494, 499 and 518).

When the employer must release the employee on the requested date

If the resignation is due to the impossibility of continuing to work — enrolment in an educational institution, retirement, election to an elected office and other cases — the employer must terminate the contract on the date the employee requests (Article 160 of the Labour Code). No notice period has to be worked in such cases.

Where a fixed-term contract is terminated early at the employee's initiative, the contract may provide for the employee to pay a penalty under Article 159 of the Labour Code — this should be checked in the contract itself.

Withdrawing the notice

During the notice period — including until the end of working hours on the last day — the employee may withdraw the notice. If the contract has not been terminated when the period expires and the employee continues to work, the notice lapses and can no longer be used to dismiss them (Article 160 of the Labour Code).

If the employee goes on annual leave followed by termination of the contract, they may withdraw the notice until the day the leave begins. In this case the date of termination is the last day of the leave (Article 235 of the Labour Code). Such leave is granted on a written application if this is provided for by the collective agreement, a local regulation, the employment contract or an agreement of the parties.

Documenting the termination

• Termination is formalised by an order of the employer, issued by the person who has the right to hire (Article 170 of the Labour Code).
• The date of termination is the last day of work. If it falls on a day off or a non-working public holiday, the next working day is treated as the last working day.
• The ground is stated in the order exactly as worded in the relevant article of the Code, with a reference to it — here, Article 160 of the Labour Code.
• On the day of termination, the employer issues the work record book or an extract from the electronic work record book and a copy of the order; on written request — certified copies of documents related to the work (Article 171 of the Labour Code).
• If the employee is absent or refuses to take the documents, the employer, no later than the next working day, sends a notice asking them to collect the work record book or to agree to it being sent by post.
• Information on the termination of the contract is entered into the Unified National Labour System (Article 125 of the Labour Code).

The final settlement

The settlement includes unpaid wages, compensation for all unused main and additional leave, and other payments provided for by legislation, labour regulations or the employment contract (Article 172 of the Labour Code). All amounts are paid on the day the contract is terminated.

If the employee did not work on the last day, the amounts are paid no later than three days after they request the settlement. Monthly, quarterly or annual bonuses accrued after the dismissal are paid no later than three days after the employee's request. If the amount is disputed, the employer pays the undisputed amount within these time limits.

As a general rule, no severance pay is due when an employee resigns: it is paid when the contract is terminated on the grounds listed in Article 173 of the Labour Code.

Late settlement: the employer's liability

If the deadline for payments on termination of the employment contract is missed, the employer must pay them together with monetary compensation for each day of delay — from the day after the payment deadline up to and including the day of actual payment (Article 333 of the Labour Code). The compensation is ten percent of the Central Bank refinancing rate; a collective or employment contract may increase it. The obligation arises regardless of the employer's fault.

Personal income tax at 12% is withheld from compensation for unused leave and other payments on dismissal (Article 381 of the Tax Code), just as from ordinary pay.