DIGITALIZATION OF LABOR RELATIONS: THE ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AND THE NEW PROCEDURE FOR HIRING EMPLOYEES

This article examines the legal framework and practical procedure for concluding electronic employment contracts and hiring employees through the Unified National Labor System (UNLS) of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It analyzes the legal force of an electronic employment contract certified by an electronic digital signature (EDS), the automatic generation of the electronic employment record book under the Labor Code, and the stages of the hiring process in the UNLS, from creating a workplace to issuing the hiring order. Particular attention is paid to the amendments made to the Regulation on the registration of employment contracts by Resolution No. 891 of the Cabinet of Ministers (December 27, 2024), which entered into force on January 4, 2025, and to the requirement that employment contracts be registered in the UNLS regardless of whether they are concluded on paper or in electronic form. The article also covers employees’ access to documents through the my.gov.uz portal, the procedure for correcting erroneous data, and the employer’s liability risks for failing to register a contract on time. Practical problems are identified, including access for employees without an EDS or OneID, the parallel use of paper and electronic contracts, personal data security, and continuity of EDS use when a manager is replaced.