Rank-and-file state company workers can’t be fired for bribery, court rules

The case was brought before a court in Kazakhstan after a lawsuit was filed by a locomotive driver. He was dismissed following a bribery conviction and challenged the decision, arguing that the regulation violated his constitutional right to freedom of labor.

Constitutional Court limits scope of dismissal rules

The Constitutional Court ruled that mandatory termination of employment contracts at an employer’s initiative applies only to individuals authorized to perform government functions or those in equivalent positions.

«The extension of the contested regulation to all employees of the quasi-public sector, without regard to their functional status, leads to a disproportionate expansion of the scope of restrictions on the right to work,» the court said in its ruling.

Right to challenge dismissal upheld

As a result, a Kazakhstani citizen convicted of bribery who is not classified as a government employee has the right to challenge his dismissal.

The court also recommended that the government bring existing legislation into compliance with its decision.