Armenia introduces digital employment contract system: what are its benefits?

Armenia introduces electronic employment contracts

The Armenian government is preparing to launch a digital platform for employment contracts. Starting January 1, 2026, all employment contracts in the country will be concluded exclusively in electronic form. However, from July 2025, employers will have the option to voluntarily begin signing digital contracts.

At a press conference on the initiative, Zhora Sargsyan, head of the Labor and Employment Department, announced that the process of setting up the necessary infrastructure is already underway. He assured journalists that the platform would guarantee the confidentiality of all citizens’ data.

“Everyone will only be able to see their own contracts. Employees will not have access to the contracts of others. Employers will only see the contracts of their own staff and will not have access to agreements their employees have signed with other companies,” Sargsyan stated.

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System will be implemented in stages

The head of the Labor and Employment Department stated that the new regulations will be introduced gradually. Initially, employers and employees can voluntarily join the digital system, with mandatory implementation set for the beginning of next year.

The platform enabling employers to sign electronic employment contracts is still being finalized.

“There will be a standard contract template with mandatory fields that employers must complete. However, the system is flexible—if there are specific terms or working conditions that an employee or employer wants to include, they will have the option to add them,” said Zhora Sargsyan.

The same platform will also allow for contract termination or modifications.

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Regulation also applies to existing employees

Once the online platform is launched, employers will need to upload data not only for new hires but also for employees who were already on staff before January 1, 2026. They will be given additional time—until the end of 2026—to complete this process.

“Employment contracts will be registered with the date of data entry into the system. However, the contract will specify that the employee was originally hired, for example, in 2001,” explained Zhora Sargsyan.

According to him, only employees whose contracts have already been terminated by that time will not need to be added to the electronic system.

All employees will be required to have an electronic signature, but the government does not expect this to cause difficulties.

“Many citizens already declare their income using an electronic signature provided by mobile operators. This means no additional steps will be needed to access digital contracts and sign them,” said Sargsyan.

The contract signing process will work as follows: the employer will draft the contract on the digital platform and sign it electronically. The employee will then receive a notification via email, review the contract, and confirm it with their own electronic signature.

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Benefits: Less paperwork, guaranteed employee registration

According to Zhora Sargsyan, the new system will significantly reduce paperwork and ease the administrative burden on employers.

“Once an employer signs an employment contract on the digital platform, there will be no need to submit a separate registration application to the State Revenue Committee. The contract itself will automatically generate the registration request based on its contents,” he explained.

For employees, digital contracts will also help prevent registration issues. Sargsyan noted that some employers sign paper contracts but fail to register the employee with the relevant authorities:

“In such cases, the paper contract has no legal force—it’s just a piece of paper. With the new system, these problems will no longer occur.”

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Armenia introduces electronic employment contracts