Employment in Mongolia

Formal employment in Mongolia is established through the work relationship between an employee and an employer. The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Protection, the General Office of Labour and Welfare Services (GOLWS; Хөдөлмөр, халамжийн үйлчилгээний ерөнхий газар), local labour and welfare offices, labour inspectors, social insurance bodies and workplace dispute bodies each handle different parts of employment administration. Services for people seeking work are generally free. GOLWS and aimag, capital, district, soum and khoroo services can provide counselling, career information, labour-market information, placement, training and skills assessment. Ulaanbaatar had four Job-Center locations in 2024, and E-job and Job-Center access was being expanded in 2025. An employer should disclose the duties, employment terms and salary before work begins. The employment contract normally has to be written and the employee must receive a copy. If a written contract is exceptionally not made at the start, it must generally be provided within 10 business days. It should state the job or position, duties, workplace, salary and working conditions. Changes require agreement from both sides. An employer may assign work outside the contract only with the employee's consent and advance payment for that work. A relationship that functions as employment cannot be treated as self-employment merely by changing its label. An employment contract is generally indefinite. A fixed-term contract is limited to situations such as apprenticeship, probation, seasonal work, replacing an absent employee, temporary work or time-limited financing or project work. A fixed-term relationship lasting more than two years generally becomes indefinite. Probation may last up to three months and may be extended once for up to another three months; the salary cannot be below the wage fixed for the job. An ordinary apprenticeship has the same three-month limit and one possible three-month extension. A subject-matter apprenticeship may last up to two years with one extension of up to one year, and its base salary must be at least 70% of the salary for a comparable permanent job. A vocational education and training internship can use a tripartite agreement for up to three years, with pay at least equal to the minimum wage, but it does not automatically create a permanent job. Part-time work is limited to 32 hours per week and carries the same employment rights. Home and remote work are legally recognized. A foreign national needs to follow the Labour Migration Law and the applicable work-permission and C-visa process, with access mediated by the employer and the state. Employment services can help with matching, but the employer's actual requirements determine whether a position is available. Normal working time is 40 hours per week and eight hours per day. Total working time may reach 56 hours per week, and overtime may not exceed four hours per day. Employees generally receive at least 12 hours of daily rest and a meal break of at least one hour. Shift schedules should be announced at least 48 hours in advance. Night work runs from 22:00 to 06:00 and requires rest on the following day after night hours. On-call duty may be used up to eight times per month, normally with at least 24 hours' notice. The allowance is at least 50% when on call at the employer's location and at least 30% at another location. Mining and extraction work can use a roster of up to 12 hours per day followed by 14 days of work and 14 days of rest; the employer handles travel time and travel costs according to the applicable rule. From 1 April 2025, the minimum wage is 4,715 MNT per hour or 792,000 MNT per month. A sectoral minimum may be higher. Employers generally pay salary at least twice a month on fixed dates and provide a payslip showing salary components and deductions. Overtime and weekend work must generally be paid at least 1.5 times the ordinary rate, night work at least 1.2 times, and public-holiday work at least twice the ordinary rate when no compensatory rest is given. A delayed salary creates a penalty of 0.3% of the amount due for each overdue day. Lawful deductions are generally limited to 20% of net pay after social insurance and tax; child support and multiple permitted deductions can reach 50%. An employee may give immediate notice when work is unsafe, overtime exceeds the legal limit, or salary is more than 30 days overdue. The employee cannot be disciplined for exercising that right lawfully. Annual leave becomes available after six months of employment. The basic entitlement is 15 working days, rising to 20 for minors and persons with disabilities. Seniority can add 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 or 14 working days after 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-31 or at least 32 years of service. Work under non-standard conditions can add 5, 7, 9, 12, 15 or 18 days. One continuous part of annual leave must be at least 10 business days. Maternity leave is 120 days, or 140 days for twins. A father receives at least 10 paid days. Child-care leave can last until the child reaches age three, with a return to the previous or a similar job. Paid breastfeeding or child-care breaks total two hours for a child under six months, or for twins under one year, and one hour for a child aged six to twelve months or a child requiring special care. Pregnancy and caring for a child under three generally protect the employee from night work, overtime, travel and public-holiday work unless the employee agrees, subject to statutory exceptions. Mongolian employment protections prohibit discrimination based on nationality, language, race, age, sex, pregnancy or maternity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and union membership. Pressure, violence and sexual harassment are prohibited. Employees may complain to management, a union or nongovernmental organization, a workplace dispute body, labour inspection, the National Human Rights Commission or a court. Employees may organize, join unions and bargain collectively, and voluntary strikes are subject to the applicable rules. An employer may not keep an original identity document, passport or certificate as security. An employer with at least 25 employees must generally reserve at least 4% of jobs for persons with disabilities. The minimum employment age is 15; employees under 18 may work no more than 30 hours per week and may not work at night or overtime. Workers aged 15 to 18 use a tripartite contract. Mandatory social and health insurance reduce take-home pay. The employee social-insurance contribution is 9.5%, consisting of 8.5% pension insurance, 0.8% benefit insurance and 0.2% unemployment insurance. The employer contribution is 10.5%, 11.5% or 12.5% depending on occupational risk. In 2026, health insurance is 4%, split equally between employee and employer. Employment salary tax is generally 10% of the taxable base after social-insurance and health-insurance deductions. Employees can check their contribution records and request corrections. The employer normally withholds, pays and reports these amounts each month. An employee who ends employment normally gives 30 days' written notice, although the parties can agree on an earlier date. Employer termination grounds include liquidation or job cuts, qualification or performance problems after a warning and reasonable improvement period, inability to work for health reasons where no transfer is possible, repeated or serious breach, loss of trust or property-related grounds, and forged qualifications. For liquidation, job cuts, qualification problems or health inability, the statutory notice is at least 30 days. Severance for specified grounds is at least one month's base salary after 6-24 months of service, two months after 2-5 years, three months after 5-10 years and four months after at least 10 years. The employer should issue the termination decision in writing before handover, settle final salary and allowances, update insurance records and provide an employment reference within five business days when requested. A termination, expiry or transfer dispute generally has a 30-day filing period. Other employment-right disputes generally have a 90-day period. A workplace with at least 20 employees must have an internal dispute commission, which aims to resolve a matter within 10 business days; a court remains available. Unemployment benefits belong to the unemployment system rather than employment itself, but eligibility generally requires at least 24 months of unemployment-insurance contributions, including nine continuous months before registration and active job seeking. Herder, assistant-herder and household work are locally relevant forms of employment. Labour standards generally apply to assistant herders and house cleaners, while voluntary insurance arrangements may be available. For assistant-herder work, non-cash pay may not exceed 30%, and living at the workplace on weekends or public holidays is not required unless agreed. Mining rosters, remote work, youth and vocational pathways, disability access, women's employment and older-worker access create additional practical differences. Formal contract terms, pay records, insurance registration and the responsible local service should be checked separately from the general labour rules.