New legislative acts aimed at strengthening a safe and healthy working environment

The new legislative acts signed by President Ilham Aliyev are aimed at strengthening a safe and healthy working environment and ensuring a clearer definition of employers’ responsibilities in this area.

The legislative acts were drafted and adopted in accordance with the relevant subparagraph of the Action Plan for the implementation of the “State Program on Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Their Precursors, and Drug Addiction for 2025–2030”, approved by the Order of the Head of State dated 17 September 2025.

According to the new amendments made to the Labour Code and the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Narcological Service and Control”:

- employment without a medical certificate on health status is prohibited for jobs with heavy, harmful and hazardous working conditions, as well as for workplaces in the food industry, public catering, healthcare, trade and similar sectors;
- individuals applying for professions and positions with activity restrictions for narcological patients must submit a medical examination report issued by a state narcological medical institution;
- if it is discovered that an employment contract has been concluded with a narcological patient for workplaces where employment restrictions apply, or if during the employment period a person is identified as a narcological patient through mandatory medical examination, the employment contract shall be terminated regardless of the will or intention of the parties;
- employees working in the specified professions and positions shall undergo periodic mandatory medical examinations at the employer’s expense in accordance with the “List of jobs requiring mandatory medical examinations of employees” approved by the Board of the Ministry of Health, and shall also immediately undergo relevant mandatory medical examination if there are observations or reasonable suspicions that the employee is under the influence of substances affecting the human psyche.