Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented countries with unprecedented challenges. While understandable given the unprecedented scale of the economic impact, one of the questions that can be asked in this respect is whether businesses that terminated workers and/or reduced their working hours, did so in compliance with the requirements of the labour laws of their respective countries. To shed some light on this question, the ILO commissioned research in five countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, namely Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation. Researchers considered whether or not key provisions related to 1) the termination of employment; 2) the reduction of working hours; 3) annual leave; and 4) emergency provisions (i.e. state of emergency, force majeure, etc.) were applied in practice. Based on the findings of the research, the report recommends that Government, in consultation with the social partners, ensure that legislative frameworks are emergency responsive and that a strategic compliance system is in place within which relevant institutions, such as courts and labour inspection services, can provide effective compliance guidance through the provision of advisory services and effective enforcement.