Legal and compliance checklist for Employer of Record (EOR) services in Kazakhstan
- Gegidze • გეგიძე | Marketing
- Jun 18
- 15 min read
Table of contents:
Introduction
Hiring in Kazakhstan without compliance is like skydiving without checking your parachute.
You might make it until you don’t. And when things go wrong, the fallout isn’t pretty.
The same country that's best known for vast steppes, nomads, and oil reserves is quietly turning into one of the most attractive places to hiring remote teams, especially in tech, finance, and engineering. The talent’s there. The salaries are competitive. The time zone is flexible. And the government? Actively courting foreign business.
But here’s the catch: hiring in Kazakhstan without local infrastructure is like hiking the Tian Shan mountains without a map or boots. You might enjoy the view until labor inspectors show up with questions you can’t answer. Local law is detailed, technical, and not remotely forgiving. DIY hiring here isn’t bold. It’s risky.
That’s why smart companies don’t launch local entities from day one. They use an Employer of Record (EOR), a licensed local partner that acts as your HR, payroll officer, compliance lead, and legal buffer.
An EOR lets you hire in Kazakhstan fast, safely, and without stepping into legal chaos.
No legal entity required.
No navigating tax codes in Russian.
No stress over social fund contributions or misclassified developers.
Here’s what an EOR does for you in Kazakhstan:
Becomes the legal employer on paper (you still manage the day-to-day)
Runs payroll in tenge and withholds the right taxes
Registers employees with local authorities and social funds
Drafts compliant, bilingual employment contracts (Google Translate won’t cut it)
Ensures your team gets the mandatory benefits—paid leave, healthcare, all of it
Keeps you off the radar of Kazakhstan’s tax and labor regulators
In other words, you get boots-on-the-ground support without ever needing to open a local entity or worry about getting penalized for an innocent paperwork mistake.
Still thinking of winging it? Don’t. The Kazakh authorities are sharper than you think, and they’ve got no patience for foreign companies guessing their way through labor law.
If you're expanding into Kazakhstan and want to do it clean, fast, and fully compliant, an EOR isn’t optional. It’s the only move that makes sense.
Let’s break down what matters most.
Understanding Employer of Record (EOR) in Kazakhstan
Let’s get one thing straight: an Employer of Record (EOR) isn’t just a payroll middleman. It’s a fully legal employer on paper, your legal employer of record in Kazakhstan, responsible for hiring, paying, and managing compliance for your team on your behalf. You still run the day-to-day work. The EOR handles the legal mess so you don’t have to.
Here’s how it works in Kazakhstan:
The EOR signs local employment contracts with your hires
It registers them with Kazakhstan’s tax and social authorities
It runs monthly payroll in tenge and files everything properly
It ensures your team receives all the mandatory benefits under Kazakh labor law
You get the team. They get the liability.
Now, how is that different from hiring contractors or doing it directly?
If you hire directly, you need a Kazakh legal entity, a local accountant, tax registration, compliant contracts, and deep knowledge of labor law. If you misclassify an employee as a contractor, using your tools, following your hours, and reporting to your managers, you’re exposed to reclassification risks, back taxes, and legal penalties.
That’s why so many companies expanding to Central Asia choose EOR in Kazakhstan solutions instead. You get full-time employees without opening an entity. No guesswork. No risk.
Legal structure & compliance essentials in Kazakhstan
If you are hiring someone in Kazakhstan, then you’re officially on the hook for following local law, no matter where your company is based.
And Kazakh labor law doesn’t care if you’re new to the market. It expects employment contracts, tax filings, payroll, and benefits to be handled the same way a local company would. No shortcuts. No foreign exceptions.
Here’s what that really looks like:
You need real employment contracts
Not a one-pager in English. We’re talking locally compliant contracts written in Kazakh or Russian, with all the right clauses:
Job title and duties
Salary in tenge (Kazakhstan’s currency)
Probation period
Working hours
Termination terms
These contracts must also be registered with local labor authorities.
Payroll must run in teng
Paying your team in USD or EUR might seem easier. It’s not legal. Salaries must be processed through a licensed local payroll channel, with proper tax deductions and payment reports submitted each month.
Taxes and contributions are your responsibility
Employers must withhold and file:
Personal income tax
Pension contributions
Social security
Health insurance
And yes, the math has to be exact and submitted on time.
Mandatory benefits aren’t optional
Every full-time employee in Kazakhstan is entitled to:
Paid vacation (at least 24 days)
Public holidays
Sick leave
Maternity/paternity leave
If you miss one, you’re non-compliant, no excuses.
Your IP and confidentiality clauses must be enforceable locally
That NDA template from another market? Probably useless. If it’s not written to match Kazakhstan’s laws and court system, your company could lose control of whatever your team builds.
What happens if you skip all this?
Fines. Audits. Lawsuits. Tax bills. Lost IP.
If you misclassify a full-time employee as a “contractor,” or pay them under the table, or skip benefit payments, Kazakh authorities will catch it. And they won’t be gentle.
These are the real legal risks of hiring in Kazakhstan without an employer of record. And they hit faster than most companies expect.
What an EOR actually solves
A local Employer of Record (EOR) handles all of this:
Contracts? Drafted and filed.
Payroll? Done monthly, in tenge.
Taxes? Calculated, withheld, paid.
Benefits? Covered.
Legal compliance? Built in.
You still manage the person’s work. But they take care of everything else, and you stay protected.
Employment contracts & documentation in Kazakhstan
Here’s where things get real: if you don’t get the employment contract right, everything else falls apart.
Kazakhstan’s labor system isn’t built for flexibility. It’s built for control by the state. Every employee must have a locally compliant, registered contract that checks very specific boxes. Skip one, and you're immediately exposed to fines, disputes, or worse, your contract being thrown out entirely.
So what does a compliant employment contract in Kazakhstan look like?
It must be:
Written in Kazakh or Russian (or bilingual with English)
Signed before the employee starts working
Registered with Kazakhstan’s Unified Employment System
Stored locally and available for inspection
And it must include:
Official job title and responsibilities
Gross salary (in Kazakhstani tenge)
Standard working hours
Length of probation (if any)
Paid leave entitlements
Termination terms and notice periods
Data protection, confidentiality, and IP transfer clauses that are valid under Kazakh law
Google Translate won’t save you here. If your contract is only in English, it’s not legally enforceable. If it’s missing required clauses, it’s not compliant. If it’s not registered, it’s like it never existed.
What about supporting documentation?
A compliant employment setup in Kazakhstan also includes:
Taxpayer registration for the employee
Social fund enrollment
Local bank account for payroll
Proof of health insurance registration
Signed confidentiality/IP agreements in Kazakh or Russian
Regular payroll records (yes, monthly, on time and in tenge)
If your business doesn’t have a local entity, gathering and filing all this on your own is a non-starter. You’re not just missing paperwork, you’re noncompliant from day one.
This is why most international teams use an EOR.
Through employer of record companies in Kazakhstan, you get all of this handled:
Legally valid, localized contracts
Pre-registration before the hire date
Full payroll and benefit setup
Proper documentation stored and accessible
In other words, you get to hire employees in Kazakhstan without an entity without breaking any laws or guessing what belongs in Clause 7 of a labor contract.
Let your EOR take care of the legal backend. You focus on the team.
Payroll and tax compliance in Kazakhstan
Let’s get one thing out of the way, paying people in Kazakhstan isn’t just about clicking “Send” on a wire transfer. It’s a tightly structured system with local rules, tax authorities that check everything, and penalties that aren’t shy.
If you’re new to the country, here’s how payroll really works, local flavor included.
All salaries run through the local system
Kazakhstan’s payroll process is built to run locally, in tenge (₸). That’s non-negotiable.
Foreign companies often try to pay employees in USD or EUR. That’s illegal under Kazakh currency control laws if the worker is classified as a local employee. You can't bypass this by calling them a "contractor" either, not if they report to you and work full-time.
To stay compliant, salaries must be:
Calculated in tenge
Paid into a Kazakhstani bank account
Processed through local payroll software
Declared via Kazakhstan’s online tax portal
Think of it like running payroll in Germany or Japan, only the interface is in Kazakh or Russian, and most foreign accountants can’t read it.
Here’s what taxes and deductions look like
Let’s say you’re paying a full-time software engineer in Almaty. Here’s what your EOR (or internal payroll team, if you go solo) would handle:
For the employee:
10% Personal Income Tax
10% Pension Fund Contribution
2% Mandatory Social Medical Insurance (from their salary)
For the employer (that’s you or your EOR):
5% Social Tax
3.5% Employer contribution to medical insurance fund
0.5–3% Social contributions, depending on industry and classification
It’s your job (or your EOR’s) to calculate, withhold, file, and pay all of this. Monthly. Accurately. On time.
The paperwork isn’t optional
Kazakhstan’s tax committee (the KGD) expects precise documentation, and they check.
This includes:
Monthly payroll registers
Individual payslips for each employee
Tax filings submitted via the E-Salyk portal
Proof of pension and medical fund contributions
Employment contracts to match every payroll record
It’s not just about compliance. These records matter if there’s ever an audit, dispute, or even a visa application tied to the employee.
This is where an EOR earns their fee
Most foreign companies don’t have a Kazakh bank account, can’t access the tax portal, and don’t want to figure out what “Обязательное социальное медицинское страхование” means on a government form (it’s compulsory social health insurance, by the way).
A local Employer of Record in Kazakhstan takes over:
They employ your team legally under their entity
They run payroll in tenge
They file taxes with KGD
They handle pension and medical insurance payments
They issue payslips
And they keep you out of the weeds
With a strong EOR, you never touch a local payroll platform. You don’t have to read tax law in Russian. You just get one invoice, and your team gets paid, legally, on time, and with full compliance.
Mandatory employee benefits in Kazakhstan
You don’t get to skip the basics just because your team works remotely.
If you’re remote hiring in Kazakhstan, whether it’s one engineer or a full sales team—you’re expected to provide a full stack of mandatory benefits. Not nice-to-haves. Not “we’ll figure it out later.” Legal. Required. Enforced.
And the second that employment contract is signed, you’re on the hook.
Paid time off? Locked in.
Vacation: Minimum 24 calendar days of paid annual leave. And no, you can’t roll it over forever or pretend your “unlimited vacation” policy overrides local law.
Public holidays: Kazakhstan has 12+ official holidays, and if your team works on one, you owe them extra, either in money or days off.
Sick leave: It’s covered through the state fund, but you’re the one who needs to process the paperwork. Delay it? The employee gets delayed pay, and you get flagged.
Maternity leave: 126 calendar days. Fully protected.
Paternity leave: 5 paid days. No, it’s not optional.
Social contributions? Every month. No delays.
Let’s talk numbers. Here’s what happens behind every paycheck:
From the employee’s side:
10% Pension fund
2% Health insurance
From the employer (yes, you):
5% Social tax
3.5% Health insurance
0.5–3% Social contributions (varies by role/industry)
All of it is calculated monthly, submitted through Kazakhstan’s tax system, and tracked in local databases. If you miss one payment, expect a letter. Miss two? Now you’ve got a case.
Healthcare, safety, protections? Yep, those too.
Even if they work from their kitchen table, your Kazakh employees are entitled to:
Reasonable work hours
Rest breaks
Safe working conditions
Special protections for parents, pregnant workers, and people with disabilities
These aren’t “policies”, they’re law. And if your setup ignores them, you’re liable.
So, what does an EOR actually do here?
Everything you don’t want to deal with.
A solid Employer of Record in Kazakhstan:
Drafts the contracts with all this baked in
Handles leave tracking and compliance
Registers employees with the right funds (pension, health, social)
Pays every tax and contribution on time
Keeps you off the radar of labor inspectors and tax authorities
In other words, you get to hire great talent without ever learning Kazakh tax code.
That’s why employee benefits when using an employer of record in Kazakhstan aren’t a headache. They’re handled.
Workspace options and equipment policies for remote employees hired through employer of record in Kazakhstan
Hiring remotely in Kazakhstan is great. Just don’t forget: your dev still needs a chair, a screen, and a reliable way to log in without breaking labor law.
Because yes, Kazakhstan cares how your remote employee works. And no, “they’re working from home, so it’s not our problem” doesn’t fly.
So, do employer of record employees work remotely in Kazakhstan?
Yep. Most of them do. Kazakhstan’s remote workforce is growing, especially in tech and finance. Almaty, Astana, even Karaganda, you’ll find plenty of talent working from home offices (and surprisingly solid workspaces).
But here’s the catch:
Remote work needs to be written into the contract.
That includes:
Home address as the legal work location
Expected work hours
Equipment provided
Communication rules
A line that says, “Yes, we both agree this is a remote setup.”
No contract clause = no legal cover. Simple.
Who provides the equipment when hiring via an Employer of Record in Kazakhstan?
You do. The EOR just makes sure it’s official.
You’re expected to equip your remote hire with what they need to actually do the job. That usually means:
Laptop
Software access
Headphones
Maybe a monitor or standing desk if you’re fancy
Can you offer a stipend instead? Sure. Just don’t call it “freelancer freedom” and hope the tax office looks away. It has to be documented, taxed correctly (if needed), and tracked.
This is why equipment policies for employees hired via employer of record in Kazakhstan matter. You can’t wing it. Your EOR partner will help you list every item, track who gets what, and make sure there’s a signed acknowledgment in place (because that MacBook is still yours, not theirs).
Workspace setup for employer of record employees in Kazakhstan: What are your options?
Home offices – Most common. Clean, easy, and cheap.
Coworking spaces – Especially in Almaty and Astana. You can cover a monthly fee or split it with your employee.
Stipend-based setups – You hand over a budget (say $100/month), and the employee decides how to spend it: internet, a better chair, whatever. Just keep it transparent.
No matter what you pick, workspace options for remote employees hired through employer of record in Kazakhstan must be written down, agreed on, and tied to the employment agreement.
Because if something goes wrong, a data breach, a safety issue, or an equipment return, you’ll want more than a Slack chat to back you up.
Hiring independent contractors vs EOR employees
Let’s get this out of the way: hiring someone in Kazakhstan as a “contractor” just to skip the paperwork?
That might feel lean and flexible. Until the local authorities decide you’ve misclassified them—and now you owe taxes, penalties, and maybe their laptop back.
So here’s the question:
Should you hire independent contractors or use an Employer of Record (EOR)?
Let’s break it down without the legal jargon or startup fluff.
Hiring contractors in Kazakhstan: Fast and loose
Independent contractors in Kazakhstan are common. Developers, designers, and marketers they’ll often offer to work as freelancers.
That setup can work. But only if:
They invoice you
They work on multiple projects (not just yours)
They set their own schedule
They use their own tools
You don’t manage their day-to-day work
In other words, they’re not acting like an employee.
The minute you ask them to work full-time, join team meetings, report to your managers, and use your internal tools? You’ve crossed the line.
And under Kazakh law, that’s misclassification.
The risks of misclassifying contractors
When a contractor behaves like an employee but isn’t hired as one legally, you’re exposed. And Kazakhstan’s labor inspectors don’t take that lightly.
Here’s what could happen:
You pay back taxes and unpaid social contributions
Your IP rights could be challenged (because the contract wasn’t valid)
The contractor could sue you in labor court, and win
You face fines and audits from tax authorities
You could be blacklisted from hiring in Kazakhstan again
This isn’t a “maybe.” It’s happened to companies hiring remotely across Central Asia—thinking a quick freelance agreement was enough. It wasn’t.
EOR employees: Fully legal, zero guesswork
Hiring through a Kazakhstan Employer of Record (EOR) means:
Your team is employed legally under a registered local entity
Contracts are compliant and enforceable
Payroll, taxes, benefits, all handled
No IP ownership issues
No audit risk
No 2am lawyer calls
It’s everything you’d expect from local employment, just without the hassle of opening a company in Kazakhstan.
Employer of Record vs. PEO: Making the right choice
If you’re hiring in Kazakhstan and thinking,
“Maybe we’ll just use a PEO and skip the legal setup.”
Stop right there.
That move doesn’t work here. Not legally. Not operationally. Not unless you like expensive mistakes.
Let’s break it down properly, so you make the right call the first time.
What’s a PEO in Kazakhstan?
A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) is a co-employment model.
Your company and the PEO share employer responsibilities, HR admin, payroll, taxes, benefits, etc.
But here’s the fine print:
PEOs can only operate in Kazakhstan if you already have a legal entity registered in Kazakhstan.
That means:
You’ve opened a local company
You’ve hired a legal rep
You’ve registered for taxes
You’ve got a local bank account
You’re submitting monthly filings
In short: you’ve done the hard part. The PEO is just helping you run it.
If you haven’t done any of that?
A PEO is useless.
What’s an Employer of Record (EOR)?
An EOR in Kazakhstan is a fully local legal entity that hires on your behalf.
The EOR becomes the official employer on paper. You manage the day-to-day work. They handle everything legally.
Here’s what the EOR does:
Signs Kazakh-language employment contracts
Registers your employees with tax and social funds
Runs payroll in tenge
Pays income tax, pension, health insurance, and social contributions
Tracks and enforces benefits, vacation, sick leave, maternity, etc.
Maintains full labor law compliance
Issues payslips, manages terminations, audits, and all the legal stuff you don’t want to touch
All while you get to hire employees in Kazakhstan without setting up a company there.
Talent pool accessibility through EOR in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s talent market is no longer a secret; it’s a strategic advantage.
Skilled engineers, multilingual sales reps, data analysts, QA testers, and finance pros. All are working remotely. All are eager for global opportunities. And yet, most international companies never tap into this market. Why?
Because hiring in Kazakhstan looks complicated from the outside.
The legal setup. The payroll requirements. The tax compliance. It’s enough to scare off companies that don’t have six months and a legal team.
That’s where EOR providers in Kazakhstan come in.
How employer of record services help access the talent pool in Kazakhstan
Using an Employer of Record is like flipping a switch.
Suddenly, you can:
Hire locally without opening a company
Onboard your first employee in less than 2 weeks
Offer compliant contracts, benefits, and payroll
Avoid legal risks, tax errors, and classification issues
No legal entity. No wasted time. No calls with lawyers who bill by the hour.
Just access to real talent fast.
What skills are available through an Employer of Record in Kazakhstan?
Here’s what international teams are hiring right now through EORs:
Software Engineers (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java, .NET)
DevOps & Infrastructure specialists
QA Engineers (manual + automation)
Data Analysts & BI experts
Finance & Accounting professionals
Customer Support (RU/EN bilingual)
Project Managers & Product Owners
Designers (UX/UI, product, branding)
Sales Development Reps (APAC & EMEA coverage)
Many speak solid English, work flexible hours, and come from top universities or global outsourcing teams.
So whether you're building a product team or scaling client support, the talent pool for employer of record services in Kazakhstan has depth, and it’s underpriced compared to EU and US markets.
12-point compliance checklist for hiring via EOR in Kazakhstan
If you're hiring in Kazakhstan through an EOR or otherwise, this isn’t a “nice to have” list.
It’s your do-this-or-get-fined checklist.
Here’s what full compliance actually looks like:
Bilingual employment contract (Kazakh or Russian + English), signed before the start date
Legal job title and clear responsibilities written in line with local labor codes
Salary set in Kazakhstani tenge (₸) and paid through a registered local payroll channel
Monthly payroll taxes withheld and filed, including income tax, pension, and health contributions
Employee registered with Kazakhstan’s Social Insurance Fund
Medical insurance payments are made through the government’s Unified Health System
Mandatory benefits included: vacation, public holidays, maternity/paternity, sick leave
Work hours, overtime rules, and rest days are documented in the contract
Remote work officially stated, with address and hours listed for home-based roles
Data protection, confidentiality, and IP clauses are valid under Kazakh law
Signed acknowledgment of equipment or stipends if devices are provided or reimbursed
All documentation is stored locally and audit-ready in case authorities come knocking
A solid Employer of Record in Kazakhstan will check every one of these for you.
If your setup misses even one? You’re out of compliance. Period.
Conclusion and call to action
Kazakhstan has the talent. The time zone. The rates. The infrastructure.
But none of that matters if you hire wthe rong.
Trying to navigate labor law, taxes, contracts, and social fund registrations without a local team?
That’s not bold, it’s reckless. One misstep, and you're looking at backpay, penalties, and legal headaches that could’ve been avoided.
An Employer of Record in Kazakhstan simplifies everything.
You get:
Fully compliant employment
Fast onboarding
Clean payroll and tax handling
Zero legal exposure
And you do it without opening a local entity, hiring lawyers, or reading government forms in Russian.
At Team Up, we help companies scale smart. Whether you’re hiring one QA or building a full development hub in Central Asia, we make sure your growth doesn’t turn into a legal mess.
Ready to hire in Kazakhstan without the risk?
Let’s talk. We'll handle compliance. You handle the team.