Disclaimer: The information provided in this Q&A is accurate as of March 14, 2024, and is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

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According to the Labor Code of Armenia (hereinafter also referred as “The Code”): The employment contract is terminated:

According to the Code: The employer has the right to terminate the employment contract in the following cases։

According to the Code, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract with the employee based on “loss of trust”, if the employee:

Cassation Court of Armenia has recently issued a precedent on a labor dispute, where the principle of special relationship and loyalty between the employee and employer has been established, according to which, in certain circumstances “the EE must behave reasonably predictable and manifest lawful behavior, loyalty to the ER, prudence and conscientiousness, tact and common sense, contributing to the stability and efficiency of labor relations.” 

Not necessarily violation of disciplinary rules only may lead to loss of trust. Means that even if separate pieces of employee’s overall behavioral puzzle do not qualify for a policy or rule violation, the general picture of an employee’s behavior (once put together) may contribute to the loss of trust towards such an employee.

As per the Code, employers are required to provide advance notice to employees before dismissal in situations outlined within the Labor Code.

The duration of notice periods for terminating employment contracts varies depending on the grounds for termination.

For example, in the cases of termination due to the liquidation (termination of activity) of the employer or when the number of employees is reduced, the employer must provide employees with two months of prior notice.

In case of non-observance of the notice period, the employer is obliged to pay the employee damages for each overdue day of notice, which is calculated based on the employee's average daily wage.

The employer is entitled to terminate the employment contract without giving notice to the employee in instances specified by the Code. These include the following cases:

According to the Code, In the notice of the termination of the employment contract, the following are mentioned:

In accordance with the Code, employees have the right to receive severance payments upon termination in these cases:

Depending on the grounds for termination, severance payment is either:

All employees have the right to receive paid annual leave. The minimum duration of annual leave is 20 working days for a five-day working week and 24 working days for a six-day working week.

The duration of leave may vary for certain specialized job roles.

According to the Code, for each working year, annual leave is provided in the given working year, based on the application submitted by the employee to the employer for granting annual leave. The working year begins on the date of the employee's employment on the day specified in the employment contract and ends on the corresponding month and date of the next calendar year.

Annual leave for the first year of employment is granted after six months of continuous employment with the given employer. With the agreement of the parties, the annual leave may also be granted before the employee has been continuously employed for six months with the given employer. For the second and each subsequent working year, annual leave is granted at any time of the working year.

By agreement of the parties, annual leave may be granted in parts. If the annual leave is granted in parts, one part of the annual leave must be at least 10 working days in the case of a five-day working week, and at least 12 working days in the case of a six-day working week.

Yes, but there is a time limit. According to the Code, if an employee avoids or refuses to use annual leave or a part of it for two and a half consecutive working years without submitting an application for granting annual leave, the period of granting annual leave to the given employee is determined by the employer. The ER should pay a penalty to the employee for each missed day after that period in the amount of 0.15% of the employee's average monthly salary, but not more than the average monthly salary.

Avoidance or refusal can be expressed by all means, including evasive behavior.

This is a recent addition to the Code, effective as of December 1, 2023.

Accrued vacation days before December 1, 2023, are not subject to new regulations. The employer, on its own initiative, cannot send the employee to vacation for the vacation days accrued before December 1, 2023.

According to the Code, for annual leave, the employer pays the employee an average wage.

The average monthly salary amount for the period of the last 12 months before the employee is eligible for vacation days shall be taken as a basis for calculation.