Labor law in Afghanistan

The formal framework is Labour Law No. 35 of 2007, Official Gazette No. 914. It covers workers in ministries and government bodies, joint and private agencies, independent commissions, local and foreign non-governmental organizations, and generally administrative staff in the military, police and national-security sector, although special rules may apply. Foreign workers generally need a work permit or introduction letter and must follow separate rules for foreign citizens. Private employment agencies require approval from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA). Informal day work and casual work often have weak practical protection or may fall outside effective coverage. A written employment contract may be for a definite or indefinite period. It should state the legal basis, work or profession, wage and allowances, working hours, leave, workplace or organizational unit, signature date and duration. The employer, worker and MoLSA receive separate copies. A fixed-term contract normally lasts one year; mutual extension is possible, and if neither side acts within one month after expiry, the contract can continue on the same conditions. Probation may last up to three months, and a worker under 18 signs through a legal representative. Contract changes require mutual agreement and may not reduce protection below the Labour Law. Normal working time averages no more than 40 hours per week. A one-hour prayer or lunch break is excluded from working time, and Friday is the weekly rest day. Reduced limits apply to workers aged 15 to 18, pregnant workers and people in underground or harmful work. The stated limits are 35 hours per week for workers aged 15 to 18 and pregnant workers, and 30 hours for underground or health-harming work. Overtime compensation is normally 25 percent above the normal hourly rate and 50 percent on weekends or public holidays. Public-holiday work requires agreement, employer approval and a qualifying urgent or continuous-service reason. Annual paid recreational leave is generally 20 days, 25 days for workers under 18 and 30 days for underground or harmful work. A worker normally becomes entitled to annual leave after 11 months. Urgent leave can reach 10 days per year, and sick leave can reach 20 days per year; a medical certificate is required after five consecutive sick days. Paid maternity leave is 90 days, with an additional 15 days for abnormal birth or twins. Pilgrimage leave can reach 45 days once. Unused recreational leave is payable proportionally. Employers prepare leave schedules, while seasonal workers may receive proportional entitlements. Wages begin from the contract or appointment date and may be paid monthly, every 15 days, weekly or by piece rate. Private and non-governmental employers agree wages with workers, but the Labour Law provides that the level may not fall below the minimum applicable to government employees. The current Afghan-afghani amount was not confirmed in the reviewed primary material, so no reliable amount should be assumed. Wage discrimination is prohibited, and food allowances or other supplements may apply. Work on a public holiday is compensated at twice the normal rate if no compensatory day is provided within two weeks. During an eligible work stoppage, the stated payment is 100 percent for the first two months and 50 percent during months three and four, with exclusions for seasonal and daily work. Social-protection rules include disability, death and retirement frameworks, but access in practice is fragmented. The Labour Law prohibits discrimination in recruitment, wages and allowances, occupation, training and social security. Employers have duties concerning occupational safety and health, including safety equipment, first aid, treatment, transport and medical expenses for work-related harm. An incident should be reported to MoLSA within three days. The Ministry of Public Health and MoLSA identify occupational diseases and harmful-work categories. Women and young workers are restricted from physically arduous, health-harming and underground work, while hazardous child work under 18 is prohibited. The framework identifies 244 harmful occupations and 31 worst forms of child labour, including mining, brickmaking, chemical work, work at heights, dangerous transport, begging and bonded labour. A 2024 labour estimate reported that 22 percent of children aged 5 to 14 were working and that 3.4 percent of those aged 15 to 17 were in hazardous work. Formal non-discrimination rules coexist with severe de facto restrictions on women's access to work. Restrictions affect most jobs, include the non-governmental-organization employment ban introduced in 2022 and United Nations work restrictions introduced in 2023, and were followed by further nationwide access constraints under the 2024 PVPV framework. The legal text and actual ability to obtain or keep work therefore cannot be treated as identical. Informal workers, women and children may face especially limited access to effective protection. Workers and employers may voluntarily form unions as social organizations, and employees have a stated right to join. Government or political financing is prohibited. The High Labour Council is the highest labour decision body. MoLSA guidelines approved in 2025 provide for a labour-issues and worker-rights secretariat with participation from bodies such as the National Union of Afghanistan Employees, unions, private employment agencies, chambers, agriculture and livestock groups, and artisans. Afghanistan has ratified ILO Conventions C100, C105, C111, C138 and C182, but not C087, C098 or C029. The reviewed sources do not clearly establish a collective-bargaining or strike procedure, and practical union independence and freedom remain constrained. Labour disputes can first be discussed directly between the employer and worker. A formal case may then proceed to an organizational Labour Dispute Settlement Commission, the High Commission of Work Related Dispute Resolution and the competent court. Disciplinary complaints can proceed through an organizational commission, the Central Dispute Settlement Commission and then the court. Reinstatement may be available after illegal dismissal. MoLSA inspection and complaint services provide a parallel administrative channel. Reports recorded 462 worker complaints addressed in the first half of 2024, while a 2026 report recorded 50 petitions, 45 handled cases and restored rights for 292 workers. The reviewed material did not establish a statutory filing deadline, general filing fee, arbitration procedure or standard duration. Employment may end by mutual agreement, expiry of a fixed term, retirement, death, disabling incapacity, work stoppage exceeding six months, dissolution or workforce reduction, a final conviction preventing the work, repeated violations after warnings, refusal after reassignment or failed probation. Before dismissal, the employer should transfer the worker to a similar job where feasible. An indefinite-term worker generally gives one month's written notice, and the reviewed sources do not establish a general payment-in-lieu rule. Paid leave cannot be used to transfer, terminate or resign from employment unless the organization is dissolved. Group dismissal requires MoLSA approval, and closure after a prolonged stoppage requires three months' notice to MoLSA. Severance periods reported in the Labour Law and comparative material are one month after one year of service, two months after one to five years, four months after five to ten years and six months after more than ten years, subject to checking the precise local wording. Illegal dismissal may lead to reinstatement and wages and benefits for the dismissal period calculated from the average of the last six months. The Directorate of Labor Inspection and Guidance within MoLSA monitors contracts, working hours, wages, safety, leave, discipline, disputes and work permits in the centre and provinces. MoLSA reported inspections of 118 institutions in the first quarter of 2025, involving 8,485 Afghan workers and 43 foreign workers referred for permit matters, and inspections of 470 public and non-public institutions in a 2026 report. Workers, trainees and employers can use complaint services, but enforcement capacity, impartiality and personal safety may vary. No reliable general fee, statutory deadline or standard processing time was established for complaints or permits. The practical effect of a legal right therefore depends on employment form, documentation, the responsible body, local access and the security of using the available procedure.