Kazakhstan
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
₸85,000 /mo
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
~17.5%
Understand employer tax
Annual leave
24 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
1 month min
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The default and most common form of employment in Kazakhstan; a permanent contract with no fixed end date, used for ongoing/regular work. Must be in writing and signed by both parties, with the employee registered in the mandatory personnel, tax, and pension systems no later than the day work begins.
Fixed-term contracts may only be used where the work is genuinely temporary: for a defined period of at least one year, for the duration of a specific project/task, to replace a temporarily absent employee, for seasonal work, or for internships. If the employment relationship continues after a fixed term expires without formal renewal or termination, or is renewed consecutively as fixed-term for the same role, it is generally deemed converted into an indefinite contract.
Standard working week is 40 hours (max 8 hours/day); reduced weekly hours (36 hours) apply to minors, employees with disabilities, and hazardous-condition workers. Overtime is capped at 2 hours/day (1 hour for hazardous work), generally limited to around 12 hours per accounting period without employee consent, and must be paid at no less than 150% of the regular rate (or compensated with time off by agreement). Night work (10pm-6am) attracts an additional wage premium.
Probation must be agreed in writing in the employment contract; it cannot be applied to pregnant women, employees under 18, first-time jobseekers within one year of graduation, or certain other protected categories. During probation, either party may terminate with 3 calendar days' written notice and no severance obligation.
Kazakhstan's Labour Code does not require a statutory 13th or 14th month payment. Year-end or performance bonuses are common in practice but remain fully discretionary, governed by internal company policy, collective agreements, or individual contracts.
For most private-sector roles employers have flexibility in job titles, but titles/duties are best aligned with the state's Unified Tariff and Qualification Directory (ETKS) or the Qualification Directory of Positions of Managers, Specialists and Other Employees (KS), since this classification affects pension-registry treatment (e.g., eligibility for the additional employer-paid 'professional pension' contribution for hazardous occupations) and matters for regulated/licensed professions. [REVIEW: confirm current practical enforcement for typical EOR-hired roles.]
Employer payroll cost is approximately 17.5% on top of gross salary in 2026: 6% Social Tax (flat rate; the prior netting mechanism against social contributions was removed in the 2026 reform), 5% Obligatory Social Insurance to the State Social Insurance Fund (capped at 7x minimum monthly wage), 3% Obligatory Social Health Insurance (OSMS) (income capped at 40x minimum wage, i.e. KZT 3,400,000/month in 2026), and 3.5% Mandatory Employer Pension Contribution to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) — a rate phasing up annually (1.5% in 2024, 2.5% in 2025, 3.5% in 2026, 4.5% in 2027, 5% in 2028). Employees in hazardous/harmful conditions additionally require a 5% employer-funded 'Professional Pension Contribution.'
Employees contribute approximately 12% of gross salary: 10% Mandatory Pension Contribution (OPV) to the UAPF (capped at 50x minimum wage) and 2% Obligatory Social Health Insurance (OSMS) (capped at 20x minimum wage). A separate flat 10% Individual (Personal) Income Tax is also withheld from salary but is not a social contribution.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Kazakhstan's mandatory payroll contribution system funds pensions, medical insurance, and social insurance through employer- and employee-paid contributions to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF), the State Social Insurance Fund, and the Social Health Insurance Fund. As of 2026, the employer-paid Mandatory Pension Contribution is being phased in on a legislated annual schedule (1.5% in 2024 rising to 5% by 2028).
Kazakhstan does not operate a single state 'workers' compensation' fund; instead, the Labour Code requires every employer to purchase mandatory Compulsory Insurance of an Employee Against Accidents During the Performance of Labour (Official) Duties from a licensed commercial insurer, covering injury, occupational illness, or death arising from work.
The premium is paid entirely by the employer and calculated as a percentage of payroll that varies by the employer's assigned occupational-risk class, with higher-risk industries (mining, construction) paying materially more than low-risk office-based businesses; employers must also carry out mandatory workplace risk assessments and, in many industries, periodic employee medical examinations.
Kazakhstan's Labour Code requires severance pay only for no-fault, employer-initiated terminations — most commonly liquidation of the employer or redundancy/staff reduction — and the statutory minimum is one average monthly wage. Employees dismissed for cause (misconduct, failed probation, etc.) or who resign voluntarily are not entitled to severance, though all employees must be paid out for any accrued, unused annual leave regardless of the reason for termination.
Higher severance amounts may be agreed in the individual employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement, and some other no-fault grounds (e.g., a documented health-based inability to continue in the role) can trigger additional average-wage compensation under the Code.
There is no statutory 13th (or 14th) month salary requirement in Kazakhstan. Employers are free to pay discretionary year-end, holiday, or performance bonuses, but these are governed entirely by company policy, individual contracts, or collective agreements rather than by law.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
