The Plenum of the Constitutional Court, having examined the compliance of paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 144 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Constitution, based on the request of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman), adopted a Decision.
Information on this was provided to Modern.az by the Press Service of the Constitutional Court.
It was stated that the request concerned the compliance of the norm providing for the non-payment of compensation to employees for unused additional leave days upon termination of an employment contract with the principles of equality, social state, and proportionality of restriction of rights enshrined in the Constitution.
The Decision states that, according to legislation, in addition to basic leave, certain categories of employees are granted the right to additional leave based on working conditions, length of service, for women with children, as well as for specialists working in territories liberated from occupation. While compensation is paid for unused basic leave days upon termination of an employment contract, the non-payment of compensation for additional leave restricts the actual exercise of that right.
The Plenum notes that the complete deprivation of an employee, who could not use the right to additional leave due to objective reasons, from the opportunity to receive compensation for this right transforms the essence of the right into a formal character and is inconsistent with the principle of equality. At the same time, establishing different legal consequences based solely on the criterion of continuation or termination of employment relations cannot be considered an objective and reasonable basis.
Considering the foregoing, the Plenum of the Constitutional Court considers the provision in paragraph 3 of Article 144 of the Labor Code, which stipulates the non-payment of compensation for additional leave, to be inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and declares that the application of this norm must be suspended. Until appropriate amendments are made to the legislation, compensation for unused additional leave days must be ensured for employees upon termination of an employment contract, in the manner and amount stipulated for basic leave.
