PLATFORM EMPLOYMENT AND THE OBLIGATION TO CONCLUDE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: ISSUES OF THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

Background. The article is devoted to the main issues of legal regulation of platform employment in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The authors gradually considered the issues of the overarching concept of platform employment, its national legal regulation, the correlation of platform employment with labour relations, and the necessity of mandating Internet platform operators to conclude employment contracts with individuals providing their services. Methods: In the process of analysing the current Kazakhstani labour and related legislation, national and international judicial practice, the authors came to the conclusion that the Social Code adopted in 2023 and the Law ‘On Online Platforms and Online Advertising’ separate the concept of an Internet platform and online -platforms. Internet platforms are so-called work platforms that specialise in mediating the provision of services and work performance. The authors identified several problems that arose with adopting the Social Code. In particular, the authors do not share the legislator’s idea on the need for civil law regulation of relations in platform employment between the contractor and the Internet platform operator. The authors propose a targeted approach to determining the nature of the legal regulation of platform employment. Labour activity using Internet platforms, if it has signs of hidden labour relations specified in the ILO recommendations, should be regulated by labour legislation. Otherwise, the trend towards precarisation of the Kazakh labour society will inevitably strengthen. Results and conclusions: Based on the statistical data analysis, the authors concluded that more and more people with higher or professional education adjoin the number of self-employed, hence the performers of platform employment. The data suggest that precarisation in the Republic of Kazakhstan is rapidly spreading among the underclass labourers and the relatively prosperous and promising able-bodied population of the country.