Observance of Rights of Persons with Disabilities by Legal Entities in Accordance with the Laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The work on creating equal opportunities for persons with disabilities is underway at the legislative level in Kazakhstan, including the development of the draft law On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning Social Support for Socially Vulnerable Groups of the Population. The purpose of this draft law is to improve social support for vulnerable groups of the population, namely families with children with disabilities.

The Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan came into force on 20 July 2023. Before its enactment, social protection of persons with disabilities was mainly regulated by the Law On Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is also a party to the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2006.

This LawFlash covers the main obligations of legal entities toward persons with disabilities in view of the recent legislation.

QUOTAS

Local executive bodies (akimats) establish quotas ranging from 2% to 4% for the employment of persons with disabilities by employers having 50 employees or more in staff, regardless of the legal status and form of ownership. The quota percentage is set on the basis of the number of employees on the payroll:

• 50–100 employees – 2%
• 101–250 employees – 3%
• More than 251 employees – 4%

The quota obliges an employer to hire an appropriate percentage of persons with disabilities. The employer is also obliged to post information about the availability of vacancies on the electronic labor exchange.

A failure to comply with the established quota entails a warning, while a repeated violation within a year entails a fine imposed on officials and legal entities varying from 5 to 10 MCIs (18 460–36 920 tenge).

SUBSIDIES

In accordance with the Rules for the Organization of Special Workplaces for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities, subsidies are provided by the labor mobility center to employers that meet certain criteria. The purpose of the subsidies is to reimburse the costs of equipping special workplaces and paying salaries to persons with disabilities. The monthly amount of salary subsidies for persons in special jobs does not exceed 30 MCIs (110 760 tenge):

• Initial 12 months of employment – 70% of the amount of salary
• 13–24 months of employment, inclusively – 65% of the amount of salary
• 25–36 months of employment, inclusively – 60% of the amount of salary

LABOR CODE

The Labor Code prohibits restricting the right to conclude an employment contract due to disability of the employee and provides for certain requirements regarding the employment of persons with disabilities:

• An employment contract concluded with a person with a disability must contain terms and conditions for equipping the workplace, taking into account the individual capabilities of such a person
• Persons with a first-degree or second-degree disability must have shorter working hours – no more than 36 hours per week (the standard duration is 40 hours)
• Hiring persons with disabilities to work at night is permitted only with their written consent, provided that such work is not prohibited for them due to their health condition in accordance with a medical report
• Persons with disabilities are not allowed to work overtime
• Persons with a first-degree or second-degree disability must be provided with additional paid annual leaves of at least six calendar days
• Sending persons with disabilities on business trips is permitted provided that such work is not prohibited for them for medical reasons
• Persons with a first-degree disability are not allowed to work on a rotational basis

In general, issues concerning termination of an employment contract in relation to persons with disabilities are regulated in a general manner.

TAX CODE

There are various benefits and exemptions in the legislation, for example, the Tax Code provides employers with the right to reduce taxable income by expenses in the form of two times the amount of expenses incurred for remuneration of persons with disabilities and 50% of the amount of calculated social tax on salary and other payments to persons with disabilities.

OTHER ISSUES

The legislation also establishes other peculiarities (exemptions) for persons with disabilities, including categorization of business entities and compensation for harm, as well as in relation to medical care.