Legal Regulation of Labour Protection under Hazardous and Dangerous Working Conditions in the Republic of Kazakhstan: From the Soviet List-Based Model to a Risk-Oriented Approach

Abstract

This study examines the evolution of legal regulation of labour protection in hazardous working conditions in the Republic of Kazakhstan, focusing on the transition from the Soviet-era list-based model to elements of a contemporary risk-based approach. The purpose of the research is to identify the structural characteristics of the current regulatory framework and assess the degree to which risk-based mechanisms have been integrated into the system of social guarantees. The methodology combines historical-legal, comparative-legal, formallegal, and systemic-structural approaches, each applied to a specific research task as described in the Methods section. The study draws on the Labour Code and the Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ILO Conventions No. 81, No. 155, and No. 187, and the ILO-OSH 2001 Guidelines. Although occupational risk assessment has been formally incorporated into the regulatory framework, entitlement to statutory social guarantees— including reduced working hours, additional leave, and increased remuneration—continues to depend on approved occupational lists. Thus, the risk assessment procedure exists within the regulatory framework but does not determine the provision of these guarantees. This reveals a structural inconsistency: the legislation incorporates two competing regulatory approaches without clearly establishing their hierarchy or determining which should prevail. In practice, employers continue to rely on the approved lists because the Labour Code and Social Code link the relevant guarantees to them. A substantive transition to a risk-based model would therefore require corresponding amendments to the codes themselves.