Starting from 2025, amendments made to the Labor Code of Azerbaijan have significantly changed the mechanism for calculating vacation payments. The main innovation is that vacation pay cannot be lower than the employee's last salary.
According to Article 111.1 of the Labor Code, an employee is paid an average salary for the duration of their vacation. Under the previous rules, the average salary was calculated by dividing the total amount received over the last 12 months by the number of working days, and the resulting figure was multiplied by the number of vacation days. Under the new rule, if this amount is less than the employee's last received salary, the vacation pay will be paid at the level of that last salary.
Chairman of the State Labor Inspectorate Service Fərman Zeynalov commented on the matter: “With the new amendment, vacation pay cannot be lower than the employee's last salary. While the employee is on vacation, their position salary, professional salary, and an amount not lower than the minimum wage level are preserved. This is a fairer approach.”
According to paragraph 5 of Article 140 of the Labor Code, vacation pay must be paid no later than 3 days before the start of the vacation. In addition, in accordance with the requirements of Article 111, calculations must be made on a daily rather than monthly basis.
It should be noted that the failure to pay vacation pay due to workplace closure or other reasons does not exempt the employer from liability. This change is aimed at better protecting workers' social rights and ensuring fairer vacation payments.