According to the labour legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, discrimination based on gender in labour relations is strictly prohibited. Equal rights are guaranteed for men and women in matters such as recruitment, working conditions, wages, and career advancement. The principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value is also enshrined in the legislation.
The Labour Code of our country provides important safeguards for the protection of the rights of pregnant women and parents with young children. For instance, when concluding an employment contract, no probation period is applied to pregnant women or women with children under the age of three. Certification (attestation) is not conducted for pregnant women, as well as for women who are on social leave until their child reaches the age of three and who have worked for less than one year in their respective position after returning from such leave.
Termination of employment contracts by the employer with pregnant women or women with children under the age of three is prohibited, except in cases of liquidation of the enterprise or expiration of the employment contract. A reduced working time is established for pregnant women, women with children under the age of one and a half, and parents raising a child under the age of three alone, and such reduced working time must not exceed 36 hours per week. Despite working reduced hours, their wages are paid in full, as determined for normal working hours.
Pregnant women, women with children under the age of 14, and women raising children with disabilities may only be engaged in night work, overtime work, work on rest days, public holidays, and non-working days, or be sent on business trips with their consent.
Additionally, regardless of the duration of primary and additional leave, women with two children under the age of 14 are granted 2 calendar days of additional leave, while women with three or more children of the same age, as well as women raising a child with a disability, are granted 5 calendar days of additional leave. Women who adopt or raise a child under the age of two months are entitled to a 56-day postnatal social leave, as well as the aforementioned additional and partially paid leave.
In recent years, further significant amendments have been made to labour legislation in order to increase women's employment opportunities, and these reforms were presented as a model example at the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. According to the latest amendments, provisions related to maternity leave have been further improved in line with international standards. Specifically, the prenatal portion of maternity leave is extended by the number of days between the expected date of childbirth and the actual date of birth, without reducing the postnatal leave period.
All these measures serve to strengthen gender equality principles in labour relations, and the provision of privileges, benefits, and additional guarantees for women is not considered discrimination.
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