Employee benefits, insurance & workspace: What EORs provide in Azerbaijan
- Natia Gabarashvili
- Aug 2
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Table of contents:
Introduction
Let’s say you’ve found a brilliant developer in Baku. Fluent in English, great with React, eager to work remotely. You’re ready to make an offer, until you realize you have no legal way to hire them, no idea what benefits are required, and no clue how to deliver their laptop without breaking customs law.
Hiring in Azerbaijan without structure isn’t just risky, it’s a fast track to churn. Talented professionals expect more than just a paycheck. They want real contracts. Health insurance. Paid time off. A decent workspace. And they want it all handled without back-and-forth emails and messy logistics.
That’s where an Employer of Record (EOR) steps in.
An EOR lets you legally hire full-time employees in Azerbaijan without setting up a company. It handles payroll, taxes, benefits, equipment reimbursements, and HR onboarding, so your offer looks professional and compliant from day one.
This article breaks down exactly what your EOR should cover in Azerbaijan:
The legally required benefits (and the ones top talent expects anyway)
Health insurance and perks for remote teams
Workspace setup, equipment logistics, and onboarding timelines
So you can focus on building your team, not building a local HR department.
What benefits are legally required in Azerbaijan?
Remote hiring in Azerbaijan isn’t just about salary; it’s about compliance. If you don’t offer the legal minimums, you’re not just being a bad employer. You’re risking audits, fines, and lawsuits. That’s why understanding Azerbaijan’s labor requirements is non-negotiable.
Let’s break it down.
Paid annual leave
Every full-time employee in Azerbaijan is entitled to a minimum of 21 calendar days of paid vacation per year. This increases based on seniority, job type, or employment agreements. For example:
Managers, specialists, and engineers often negotiate 25+ days.
Employees in hazardous conditions may receive additional time off.
Vacation can be split, but at least 14 days must be granted as uninterrupted leave.
Official public holidays
Azerbaijan observes about 19 paid public holidays per year, including:
New Year (Jan 1–2)
Novruz Bayram (around March 20–24)
Victory Day (May 9)
Republic Day (May 28)
National Independence Day (October 18)
Employees working these days are entitled to double pay or compensatory time off, depending on the employment contract.
Sick leave
Employees with a valid medical certificate are eligible for paid sick leave. Payment is made according to seniority and salary history:
The first 14 days are covered by the employer.
After that, payments are typically covered through Azerbaijan’s Social Protection Fund.
Sick leave is not optional. Failing to provide it can trigger penalties from the Ministry of Labor.
Maternity & paternity leave
Let’s be blunt, if you ignore this, you’re in violation.
Maternity Leave:
Female employees receive 126 calendar days of paid leave (70 before birth, 56 after).
In cases of complications or multiple births, leave is extended to 140 or 180 days.
Paid by the State Social Protection Fund, not the employer.
Paternity leave:
Fathers are entitled to 14 calendar days of unpaid leave.
Employers often top this up with paid leave as a competitive perk, especially in white-collar roles.
Social fund contributions (aka payroll taxes)
Here’s what you owe as an employer:
22% employer contribution to the Social Protection Fund
3% withheld from the employee’s gross salary
These cover:
Pension savings
Temporary disability insurance
Unemployment insurance
Parental leave fund
Accident and occupational disease insurance
EORs like Team Up calculate, pay, and file all of this for you, so you never need to learn how the tax code in Baku works.
Employment contracts
In Azerbaijan, verbal agreements are not valid for full-time employment. You must issue a written contract that includes:
Job title and description
Start date
Working hours
Salary and benefits
Termination clauses
These must be in Azerbaijani and registered with the Ministry of Labor. If your employee’s primary language is English, most EORs offer bilingual contracts to avoid confusion and disputes.
Termination rights & severance
The Labor Code provides strict termination protection:
30 days’ notice is required for standard terminations.
Severance pay of 1–3 months is due, depending on tenure.
Unlawful terminations can result in court action or reinstatement orders.
Team Up’s EOR model builds all of this into the contract structure, so you’re covered before a dispute even begins.
Health insurance and extra perks in Azerbaijan
Hiring someone in Azerbaijan without offering any benefits beyond the legal bare minimum is like inviting them to dinner and then serving tap water and plain toast. Technically, you fed them. But don’t be surprised when they ghost you the next day.
Top talent in Azerbaijan, especially in tech, design, and engineering, isn’t just comparing salary offers. They’re comparing the full package.
Is private health insurance mandatory?
Legally? No.
Realistically? Yes, if you want to compete.
While the Azerbaijani government does offer basic public healthcare access, most white-collar professionals (especially those with multinational experience) expect some form of private insurance. This is particularly true for:
Mid-to-senior software engineers
Product managers and marketers
Client-facing professionals with international roles
If you’re hiring remotely from abroad, not offering private health insurance signals that you’re not serious about supporting your team.
What perks are expected?
Here’s what’s common and often expected:
Phone & internet stipend (₼40–₼100/month)
Wellness allowance (covering gym or mental health apps)
Annual training or learning budget (₼500–₼1,000/year)
Flexible schedule or reduced Fridays
Coworking membership in cities like Baku or Ganja
Some employers also offer performance bonuses, home-office equipment stipends, and even transport allowances depending on role and location.
Western expectations vs local norms
Let’s be honest. Western tech companies have raised the bar globally, and Azerbaijani workers know it.
Even if your local competitors aren’t offering wellness stipends or tech reimbursements, candidates who’ve worked for German, UK, or US firms now expect more than just the basics.
If your offer doesn’t feel competitive, top-tier candidates simply won’t engage. Or worse, they’ll leave after 6 months.
How do EORs help you stay competitive?
A good Employer of Record provider in Azerbaijan isn’t just a legal middleman. They help you structure compensation packages that feel global without breaking your budget.
Here’s what that looks like with Team Up:
We advise you on market-based benefit expectations
We structure perks into a locally compliant offer
We handle admin, payments, and reporting so you don’t have to
Want to see why top companies prefer EORs for building competitive benefit packages in emerging markets?
Workspace setups for EOR employees in Azerbaijan
Let’s be real.
You can offer a great salary.
You can throw in equity.
However, if your employee is working from a shaky chair with Wi-Fi that cuts out every time it rains in Baku, they’re likely to leave.
So… do EOR hires work remotely in Azerbaijan?
Yes. Almost always.
The majority are based in Baku, Ganja, or Sumqayit.
And unless the role requires a physical presence (which, let’s face it, most don’t anymore), they’re expecting remote work.
What kind of setup are we talking about?
Most professionals in Azerbaijan want one of two things:
A monthly stipend to upgrade their home setup (think desk, chair, high-speed internet)
A coworking membership at a proper space in town
Here’s what you’re looking at:
Home office stipend: ₼70–₼150/month
Coworking membership in Baku: ₼150–₼300/month (SUP VC, Workify, INNOLAND... you’ve got options)
Coworking is especially popular with junior hires or client-facing roles. Senior devs? They’ll probably just ask for fast Wi-Fi and quiet.
Why does this matter?
Because the workspace is retention.
Because if they feel like an afterthought, they’ll look elsewhere.
Because no one wants to push code from their cousin’s kitchen table on a broken laptop.
What Team Up does differently
We don’t just say “remote-friendly” and call it a day.
We structure workspace perks into your monthly offer
We recommend setups that match local expectations
We handle contracts, payments, and admin so you don’t touch the paperwork
Want to see what else we handle for your hires in Azerbaijan?
Who handles the equipment and setup in Azerbaijan?
Short answer: You do.
Long answer: We make it easy for you.
What’s typically expected?
If you're hiring a developer, designer, or support rep in Azerbaijan through an Employer of Record (EOR), here’s the basic kit they’ll need:
Laptop (Mac or Windows, let’s not start that war)
Monitor(s) if applicable
Keyboard, mouse, headphones
Licensed software (VPNs, productivity tools, dev environments, etc.)
And no, telling them to “just use what they’ve got” isn’t going to fly. You wouldn’t do that with an in-house hire, so don’t do it here.
Reimbursement vs. logistics
You’ve got two paths:
1. Reimbursement:
You approve the budget. Your employee buys the gear locally. We handle reimbursement and payroll reporting.
2. Centralized Procurement:
You send us the specs. We handle the local sourcing, shipping, delivery, and even warranty claims end-to-end.
If you’re scaling beyond 3–5 hires in Azerbaijan, this route saves time and keeps things clean.
What about timing?
Let’s not lose your hire’s first week to shipping delays.
With Team Up:
We start logistics before the start date
We sync equipment delivery with onboarding
We coordinate with the employee directly, in Azerbaijani or English, so you don’t have to
This means your hire starts on time, with everything they need, and zero chaos in your inbox.
Why this matters for retention
You can’t retain top talent in Azerbaijan with a half-baked offer.
Set up signal commitment.
If your new hire’s laptop arrives late, their workspace budget is vague, or they’re still asking about sick leave three weeks in, guess what they’re thinking?
“This company doesn’t have its act together.”
Now, imagine the opposite.
Hardware arrives before Day 1
Their contract is in English and Azerbaijani
Insurance is handled
Benefits are clear
Their coworking seat is ready
And they didn’t have to chase anyone for it
You’ve just made a remote hire feel like part of a real company, not some spreadsheet line item.
Perks aren’t just perks. They’re retention tools.
Mid-level and senior hires in Baku aren’t desperate. They’ve got options. What keeps them around?
A stipend that covers fast internet and their phone bill
Private health coverage (not just the legal bare minimum)
A real desk, not their kitchen table
A manager who doesn’t ask them to explain payroll taxes
Team Up builds all of that into your offer. You get a competitive package without building internal HR in Azerbaijan from scratch.
What does this look like in practice?
Say you’re hiring a mid-level React developer.
Here’s what we typically include under your direction:
€150/month internet, phone, and equipment stipend
Private health insurance with dental and vision
24 days PTO (including public holidays)
Paid sick leave, parental leave, and pension contributions
An optional coworking desk in central Baku
Fully localized employment contract
Monthly payroll, tax, and reporting—all done for you
We don’t just run payroll. We run the whole experience, so your hires stick around, perform better, and feel like they matter.
Want to talk to someone who’s built a remote team in Azerbaijan this way?
Final Comparison: EOR vs in-house HR ops
Let’s get real. Building your own HR infrastructure in Azerbaijan sounds impressive… until you actually do it.
Here’s the trade-off:
With an EOR like Team Up:
You hire legally within days
Your monthly cost is predictable
Compliance, taxes, and benefits? Covered
You focus on managing the person, not the process
With your own entity:
You’ll need local legal counsel, payroll vendors, insurance brokers, and someone to manage all of that
You’ll spend months setting up before your hire even signs a contract
You’ll be personally liable for compliance mistakes
That’s a lot of time, money, and stress for what’s essentially one or two team members.
When does in-house make sense?
You’re hiring 20+ people in Azerbaijan
You’re opening a physical office and need a local leadership team
You want total control over every aspect of HR
In that case, sure, build the infrastructure. But if you just need great talent without the legal headache?
You don’t need an empire. You need an Employer of Record.
Conclusion
Hiring talent in Azerbaijan isn’t hard.
Doing it right, compliantly, competitively, and without wasting six months on setup?
That’s where most companies stumble.
Here’s the truth:
If you’re offering a salary but skipping the benefits, workspace, or proper equipment, you’re not just cutting costs. You’re cutting corners. And top talent sees that from a mile away.
A full-stack EOR like Team Up gives you more than payroll.
It gives your team what they need to show up, stay, and perform.
So skip the legal guesswork and vendor juggling.
Book a call to see how we handle hiring in Azerbaijan
