New rules on in-person work took effect in Kazakhstan in September.

Under the current rules for on-site work in Kazakhstan, different types of facilities must follow different rules. For example, specific rules apply for office premises and other facilities which are included on a list established by state chief sanitary doctors separately across Kazakhstan for their relevant administrative and territorial units. Currently this list covers the following:

  • facilities provided services to population;
  • wholesale and retail sale (storage) facilities for consumer products and goods;
  • cultural and leisure facilities;
  • accommodation services;
  • organisations engaged in passenger transportation, airports, stations, river and sea ports, auto stations/state border checkpoints, passenger service points;
  • educational and childcare organisations;
  • sanatorium-resort and recreation facilities;
  • public catering facilities;
  • medical and social facilities of all types;
  • healthcare organisations;
  • pharmacy organisations;
  • vital infrastructure and public service facilities;
  • organisations providing excursion activities;
  • communications and telecommunications facilities.

Employees in these facilities who do not have 'green' (safe) status (that is, those who have been vaccinated against or exposed to COVID-19 within the last three months or have a negative PCT test result no more than seven days' old or have permanent or temporary medical contraindications to vaccination confirmed by a medical opinion) must be transferred to remote work. At the facility entrance, there must be a no-contact temperature check for employees and visitors; only individuals who have no symptoms of acute respiratory diseases or similar are admitted.

If the epidemiological situation worsens, meeting the critical risk level zone criteria (if hospital bed occupancy rate exceeds 70% and 200 people per 100,000), the relevant region transfers to the 'dark red' zone and the following restrictive measures must be put into effect:

  • The activities of all enterprises and organisations which do not participate in the Ashyq app system is suspended, regardless of the form of ownership (in Spring 2021 Kazakhstan launched the Ashyq project, which requires the use of a mobile application to access business facilities). There is an exemption for central governmental authorities, akimats (municipal authorities), law enforcement authorities, healthcare organisations, mass media, food stores, pharmacies and life-support organisations, (including those whose work is allowed without Ashyq).
  • Remote work must be maintained for 80% of employees of governmental authorities, offices, national companies and other organisations (except for fully vaccinated individuals, those who have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past three months and those with permanent medical contraindications).

Depending on zone colour, regions must comply with a ratio of remote to office employees:

  • 80:20 in the red zone;
  • 50:50 in the yellow zone; and
  • 30:70 in the green zone.

Employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to be taken into account in these ratios: all employees who are fully vaccinated or who have been exposed to COVID-19 within the last three months can work on-site.

Further details are available here, here and here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.