School teachers allegedly being asked to apply for unpaid leave. Ministry of Public Education comments on the case

“At the moment, when intensified quarantine measures are ongoing, we are being asked to apply for unpaid leave. However, we recently went on vacation”.

“They are asking us to voluntarily give up half of our salary until an indefinite period of time due to the burden on the state budget”.

Kun.uz has received appeals in the above-mentioned content from employees of secondary public schools.

Laylo Rustamova, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Education, explained that an employee should be paid in accordance with the established procedure after the end of the main annual leave.

“According to the joint letter of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of May 4, 2020, due to the complete or partial termination of the activity of an organization as a result of quarantine, as well as due to the nature of the employee’s duties or other reasons in cases where it is not possible to transfer his/her work to a remote regime, flexible work schedule or work at home, he/she shall be paid a salary not less than the one specified in the contract.

Therefore, during the quarantine period, after the end of the main annual leave period, employees will be paid in the manner specified in the joint letter,” the ministerial official said.

In the abovementioned joint letter, it is recommended – even in the cases when it is not possible to switch to remote work mode, flexible work schedule, or work at home – not to send employees of budget organizations during the quarantine period on unpaid leave and to reconsider previously adopted orders on this issue.