Risk-based differentiation of additional paid leave for employees exposed to hazardous working conditions: A human resource management perspective from Kazakhstan

Additional paid annual leave for employees working under hazardous conditions is an important component of occupational safety and employee well-being, but its allocation may not fully reflect employees’ actual exposure to hazardous work. This study aims to develop a human resource management framework for differentiating additional paid leave according to actual working time under hazardous conditions in Kazakhstan. The study uses documentary and legal analysis of the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, relevant governmental regulations and methodological documents, supplemented by comparative analysis of occupational safety and HRM approaches and illustrative case-based calculations. The results show that the existing list-based approach provides a clear statutory basis for entitlement but does not necessarily account for differences in the duration of hazardous exposure during the reference period. The proposed framework links occupational risk assessment, recorded exposure time, employee entitlement, additional leave calculation, and workforce planning. A proportional calculation based on actual time worked under hazardous conditions is presented as a mechanism for differentiating leave entitlement, while recognizing that exposure duration does not independently capture the severity or intensity of occupational hazards. The study contributes a conceptual HRM framework for integrating occupational safety information into employee-benefit administration and workforce planning. The findings provide a basis for further empirical and digital-system development while preserving applicable statutory and contractual guarantees.