Leisure time – is a time when employee is free from the execution of employment duties and which he can use at his own discretion.

Typеs of leisure time

1. breaks during the office hours (working shift) - is a break for resting and eating;
2. internal shift and special breaks;
3. everyday (shift) break;
4. weekends (rest between rotations);
5. holidays;
6. vacations.

Break for resting and eating

During the office hours (working shift) an employee must be provided with one break for resting and eating limited to thirty minutes in length.

Break time for resting and eating, its duration is set by the rules of labor order, labor, collective agreements.

Break time for resting and eating is not included to the office hours, At works where according to the production conditions break provision is impossible, the employer have to provide employee the opportunity to rest and eat while office hours in specially equipped place. The list of such works, order and place for resting and eating is set by the collective agreement and acts of the employer.

 In-shift and special breaks

At separate the of works employees are provided with in-shift breaks, conditioned with technology and organization of production and labor, which included in the office hours. Types of these works, duration and order of such breaks provision is determined by the collective agreement or acts of the employer.  

The employers who work in cold or hot times of the year on the open air, in closed non-heated premises, and occupied on loading or uploading operations are provided with special breaks for warming or cooling and resting which are included into the office hours. The employer have to provide equipment of premises for warming or cooling and resting of employees.

The women who work and have children at the age of 1,5 year, fathers (adopters) who bring up children at the age of 1,5 year without mother are provided with additional breaks for the child (children) nourishment not less than after each 3 hours of work the following duration:

• who has one child – each break not less than thirty minutes;
• who has two or more children – each break not less than one hour.

Breaks for the child (children) nourishment by the application of employee indicated in paragraph 3 of the given article are joined to the breaks for resting and eating or summed up breaks are provided in the beginning and the end of office hours (working shift).

Breaks for the child (children) nourishment in office hours. During the breaks an average salary of women, fathers, adopters are saved.

Duration of daily (inter-shift) rest

The duration of daily (working shift) rest of the employee between the end and its beginning on the next day (working shift) cannot be less than twelve hours.

Weekends

Employees are provided with days-off weekly.

By five-day working week employees are provided with two days-off, and by six-day working week – one day.

By five-day and six-day working week general day-off is Sunday. The second day-off by five-day working week is determined by the collective agreement or the rules of labor order.

The employees (group of employees) occupied at continuous process industry or industries work stoppage of which is impossible by production-technical conditions or due to necessity of the permanent continuous service of population, and working by the rotation system, days-off are provided in any day of the week in sequence according to the shift timetable (rotation timetable).

The first day of Kurban Bayram celebrated by Muslim calendar on January 7 – is an orthodox Christmas which are weekends regardless of applied regimes of work and timetables of shifting (rotation timetable).

An employee who is in business trip uses weekends in accordance with a labor order of the employer to whom he is directed.

 Work in weekends and holidays

For engaging the employees worked by shift timetable or rotation method according to the rotation schedule to the work in holidays, and in weekends prescribed by paragraph 5 of Article 84 of the given Code, the written consent of employees and issuance of act of the employer is not required.

Work in weekends and holidays is acceptable with the written consent of the employer or at his request on the basis of act of the employer, except for the cases prescribed by the Article 86 of the given Code.

For the work in weekends and holidays an employee as he desires is provided with other day for rest or payment in the amount indicated in Article 109 of the given Code is made.

In the purposes of rational working time usage during holidays, and in weekends prescribed by paragraph 5 of the Article 84 of the given Code, Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has a right to transfer weekends on other office days.

Engagement of pregnant women who provided the reference of pregnancy to the employer to the work in weekends and holidays is prohibited. 

Leave

Leave is a release from work of an employee for the definite period to provide an employee’s position upon return from leave and in cases established by the given Code an average salary is guaranteed.

Types of leaves

Employees are provided with following type of leaves:

• paid annual leaves;
• social leaves.

Paid annual leaves is designated for employees rest, efficiency restoration, health strengthening and other needs of the employee and are provided for the definite number of calendar days guaranteeing working place (position) and an average salary.

Employees are provided with following type of paid annual leaves:

• the main paid annual leave;
• an additional paid annual leave.

The social leave is a release of the employee from work to the definite period in the purposes of creation of favorable conditions for maternity, passing the screening, childcare, getting an education on-job and other social aims.

The following types of social leaves are provided to employees:

• unpaid leave;
• educational leave;
• pregnancy and maternity and adoption of newborn leave;
• unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years;
• leave for undergoing screening tests in an amount of no more than three working days during the year;
• leave for medical registration for pregnancy up to twelve weeks in an amount of at least three working days.

The period of the social leave is counted to labor experience, except as otherwise permitted by applicable law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Provision of leave is executed by act of the employer.

Duration of the main paid annual leave

The main annual paid leave to employees are granted for twenty-four calendar days, if more days are not provided by this Code and other normative legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, employment, collective agreements and acts of the employer.

Additional paid annual leaves

Additional paid annual leaves are provided: 

1. employees engaged in heavy work or work in harmful and (or) hazardous working conditions, not less than six calendar days according to the List of production facilities, workshops, professions and positions, list of heavy work, work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions .

Additional annual paid leave available to employees whose work is heavy, harmful and (or) dangerous conditions confirmed by the results of attestation of industrial facilities on labor conditions.

In the event of failure to employer certification of industrial facilities on labor conditions, as well as jobs, are not subject to certification, the additional annual paid leave shall be granted in full in accordance with the List of production facilities, workshops, professions and positions, list of heavy work, work in harmful and ( or) dangerous working conditions;

2. persons with disabilities of the first and second groups of at least six calendar days.

Additional paid annual leave is granted to the employees of the sending party based on the results of certification of production facilities for the working conditions of the receiving party.

The other categories of workers are provided with additional annual leave and its duration can be set by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Additional annual paid leaves of incentive nature for long-term continuous operation, the implementation of important, complex, urgent work, and other types of work may be established for employees by labor, collective agreements.

Calculation of the duration of annual paid leave

The duration of annual paid leave is calculated in calendar days, excluding public holidays falling on days of annual paid leave, regardless of the applicable operating modes and shift schedules.

When calculating the total duration of annual paid leave an additional annual paid leaves are added to the basic annual paid leave.

Calculation of labor experience while provision of annual paid leave

The labor experience while provision of annual paid leave includes:

• actual time worked;
• the time when the employee actually did not work, but he retains a place of work (position) and salary in whole or in part;
• the time when the employee actually did not work due to temporary incapacity for work, including time spent on maternity leave;
• the time when the employee actually did not work before reinstatement.

Determination of period and order of annual paid leave provision

Annual paid leave is provided to an employee for the first and subsequent years of work by mutual agreement at any given time of the year.

The working year is twelve calendar months, calculated from the first day of the employee.

According to the agreement between the employee and the employer paid annual leave may be divided into parts. In this case, one of the parts of the paid annual labor leave must be at least fourteen calendar days.

Payment for annual leave is made not later than three working days prior to its beginning, and in the case if annual leave is provided out of the schedule of leaves - no later than three working days from the date it is granted.

Employees who work under an employment contract on part-time work, annual paid leave shall be granted at the same time as leave on the main job.

If the duration of annual paid leave under the employment contract on part-time work is less than the length of leave on the main work, the employer at the request of the employee - pluralist gives him leave without pay for the days that make the difference in the duration of the leaves.

Provision of leave, transfer or review of annual paid leave is made by act of the employer.

Order of annual paid leave provision:

The order of annual paid leave is determined annually in accordance with the schedule of leaves approved by the employer, taking into account the views of employees, or set out the schedule of leaves by agreement of the parties.

In the event of a change in the schedule of leaves due to production necessity the employer must notify the employee about it in less than two weeks before the start of the leave.

Cases and order of annual paid leave transfer

Annual paid leave is transferred in whole or in part in the following cases:

• temporary incapacity for work of the employee;
• maternity and pregnancy leave.

Annual paid leave (its part) in the cases prescribed by paragraph 1 of this article is transferred at the request of the employee during the period of annual paid leave. The transferred leave by agreement of the parties may be attached to the leave for the next business year, or at the request of the employee provided separately in the current working year.

Non-provision of the unused annual paid leave or part of it for two consecutive years is prohibited.

Recalling from annual paid leave

Annual paid leave may be terminated by the employer in the event of operational needs only with the written consent of the employee.

Unused annual paid leave in connection with the revocation by agreement of the employment contract parties is provided for the current business year or the next business year, at any time either joins the annual paid leave for the next business year.
In case of recalling from the employee's annual paid leave instead of the unused part of leave at other times by agreement between the employee and employer compensation payments for unused days of the annual paid leave is made to the employee.

Recalling from annual paid leave of the employee who has not attained the age of eighteen years, pregnant women who provided the employer with a pregnancy certificate and workers engaged in heavy work or work in harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions is prohibited.

Unpaid leave

By agreement of the parties of the employment contract on the basis of statements of the employee, he may be granted with leave without pay.

The duration of unpaid leave is determined by agreement between the employee and the employer.

On the basis of the employee notice the employer must grant leave without pay for up to five calendar days for:

• marriage registration;
• child birth;
• death of close relatives, as well as the spouse (wife) and (or) their relatives (full and half brothers and sisters, parents (parent), children, grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren);
• other cases prescribed by labor, collective agreement.

Educational leave

Employees studying at educational institutions are granted with study leave to prepare for and taking tests and examinations, laboratory work, preparation and defense of diploma work (project) to undergo training programs for military-trained reserve.

Payment for study leave is determined by agreements, collective labor contract, training contract.

The employer provides workers directed for training, internship abroad in the framework of the international "Bolashak" scholarship, educational leaves with the employer (positions).

Leave due to paternity and child (children) birth, adoption of child (children)  

Pregnant women, women who have a child (children), women (men) who have adopted (adopt) a newborn child (children) are provided with the following release in connection with the birth of a child:

• maternity leave;
• leave for workers who adopt (adopt) a newborn child (children);
• leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years.

A pregnant woman from the date specified in the sheet of temporary disability, giving the right to maternity leave, is executed by presenting sheet of temporary disability, confirming the right for this kind of leave. 

Pregnant women processed it by providing the childcare sick leave confirming the right for the given type of leave from the date indicated in the list of sick leave which gives right for the leave due pregnancy and childbirth. 

Leave due to paternity and child (children) birth is provided with duration:

• seventy calendar days before childbirth and fifty six calendar days after childbirth - while easy delivery;
• seventy calendar days before childbirth and seventy calendar days after childbirth - while complicated delivery;
• ninety one calendar day before childbirth and seventy nine calendar days (in case of complicated delivery or birth of two and more children) after childbirth - for women living on the territories suffered from nuclear tests effect, while easy delivery;
• seventy calendar days after childbirth - in case of childbirth when the period of pregnancy is during twenty two and twenty nine weeks and birth of a child with the body weight five hundred gramms and more who lives out more than seven days;
• fifty six calendar days after childbirth - in case of childbirth when the period of pregnancy is during twenty two and twenty nine weeks and birth of a dead unborn child or child with the body weight five hundred gramms and more who dies before seven days;
• ninety three calendar days after childbirth - for women living on the territories suffered from nuclear tests effect in case of childbirth when the period of pregnancy is during twenty two and twenty nine weeks and birth of a child with the body weight five hundred gramms and more who lives out more than seven days;
• seventy nine calendar days after childbirth - for women living on the territories suffered from nuclear tests effect, in case of childbirth when the period of pregnancy is during twenty two and twenty nine weeks and birth of a dead unborn child or child with the body weight five hundred gramms and more who dies before seven days.

When a woman applies for a sheet of temporary disability during pregnancy, the leave is calculated in total and is provided completely regardless of the number of days actually used by her before childbirth and the duration of work with the employer.

When a woman applies for a certificate of temporary incapacity for work in the period after childbirth, only leave after childbirth is granted for the duration provided for in part two of this paragraph.

Employees who adopt (adopt) a newborn child (children) are provided (one parent) with leave for the period from the date of adoption (adoption) and prior to the expiration of fifty-six days after the birth of the child.

The employer pays for maternity leave, leave of absence of employees who adopt a newborn child (children), with preservation of the average salary, if it is prescribed by the terms of employment and (or) collective agreement, the employer's act, minus the amount of social payment in case of loss of income due to pregnancy and childbirth, adoption of the newborn child (children), carried out in accordance with legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on compulsory social insurance.

Unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years

The employer is obliged to grant unpaid leave to the employee to attend to a child up to the age of three years:

• at the choice of parents - mother or father of the child;
• a parent raising a child alone;
• other relative actually raising a child left without parents or guardian;
• employee who adopted a newborn child (children).

Unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years is provided on the basis of a written application of the employee with an indication of its duration and the provision of a birth certificate or other document confirming the fact of birth.

The employee can use unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years in whole or partly.

During unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years the employee retained job (position).

In the case of return to work before the expiry of unpaid leave to attend to a child up to the age of three years, the employee must notify the employer of his intention to one month before the start of work.