What is the main occupational safety and health law in Kazakhstan and who enforces it?

The main occupational safety and health (OSH) law of Kazakhstan is the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 414-V of 23 November 2015, whose Section 4 "Safety and labour protection" sets the duties of employers and workers, and whose chapters 21 and 22 govern state and internal control. It is enforced by state labour inspectors of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population and their regional departments, while hazardous production facilities are also supervised by the industrial safety authority under the Law on Civil Protection.

Short answer

• Main law: Labour Code No. 414-V of 23.11.2015 (Трудовой кодекс Республики Казахстан; Қазақстан Республикасының Еңбек кодексі): Section 4, chapters 17 to 20 (Articles 179 to 190), plus chapters 21 and 22 of Section 5 on state and internal control (Articles 191 to 203-1).
• Detailed rules: orders of the labour ministry on training, risk management and attestation of workplaces, and an order of the Minister of Health on medical examinations.
• Enforcer: state labour inspectors (Article 191), organised in the ministry's Committee of State Labour Inspection and its regional departments.
• Other regulators: the industrial safety authority (Committee for Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations) for hazardous production facilities; the sanitary-epidemiological authority of the Ministry of Health for occupational disease and medical examinations.
• Sanctions: fines under the Code of Administrative Offences (Articles 93 to 96) and criminal liability under Article 156 of the Criminal Code.

The legal framework in practice

Kazakhstan has no separate OSH act. The Labour Code covers employment and OSH together. Chapters 17 to 20 form Section 4; chapters 21 and 22 belong to Section 5 on control of compliance with labour law:

The Labour Code delegates detail to ministerial orders: the Rules on OSH training, briefing and knowledge testing (Order No. 1019 of 25 December 2015, revised in 2026), the Rules on occupational risk management (Order No. 363 of 11 September 2020, revised in 2026), the Rules on attestation of production facilities (Order No. 1057 of 28 December 2015) and Order ҚР ДСМ-131/2020 of the Ministry of Health on mandatory medical examinations.

Industrial safety is a separate regime. The Law "On Civil Protection" No. 188-V of 11 April 2014 defines hazardous production facilities (опасные производственные объекты), such as sites handling flammable, explosive or toxic substances, metal melting and mining, and requires registration, production control, emergency plans and industrial safety training. A facility that reaches the authority's threshold quantity of a listed substance (for example 5 tonnes of chlorine or ammonia) also needs a registered industrial safety declaration.

Product rules come from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): for example TR CU 012/2011 for Ex equipment and TR CU 019/2011 for personal protective equipment, both marked with EAC.

Who enforces it and how

State control of labour law, OSH included, is exercised by state labour inspectors (Article 191): the Chief State Labour Inspector of the Republic, chief inspectors of the ministry, and the chief and other inspectors of the territorial units in each region, the capital and the cities of republican significance. Under Government Decree No. 628 of 6 August 2024, these territorial units are departments of the ministry's Committee of State Labour Inspection (Комитет государственной инспекции труда). Control takes the form of inspections and preventive control with a visit, under the Entrepreneurial Code.

Inspectors can issue orders and conclusions that the employer must carry out (Article 182), investigate serious and fatal accidents as chairs of special investigation commissions (Article 188) and impose administrative fines. An employer that declares its own compliance through the digital system, and is found compliant, receives a three-year "certificate of trust" that is considered when inspection lists are drawn up (Article 200).

Where an accident happens at a hazardous production facility, a state inspector for industrial safety joins the commission, and if it results from an industrial accident (авария) a representative of the industrial safety authority chairs it, with the labour inspector as a member.

Common mistakes

• Looking for a stand-alone OSH act. The duties are in the Labour Code and ministerial orders, not in a separate law.
• Relying on old English translations. The Code has been amended many times, including in 2025 and 2026; use the current consolidated text.
• Ignoring the industrial safety regime. Plants with hazardous substances, pressure systems, mining or metal melting answer to two inspectorates.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Kazakhstan: law, authorities and employer duties
• What are the penalties for breaking occupational safety rules in Kazakhstan?
• Which rules apply to major-hazard chemical sites in Kazakhstan?
• OSH law comparison: appointments and reporting deadlines

Standards and further reading

• Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 414-V of 23 November 2015, consolidated text: adilet.zan.kz
• Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 188-V of 11 April 2014 "On Civil Protection".
• Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, government portal: gov.kz
• Committee for Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, government portal: gov.kz
• ILO, labour inspection country profile: Kazakhstan

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.