Employment and labor laws vary from country to country. This guide is intended to provide the most up to date information available. We will update this guide as needed when changes are made to the laws.
Employment Contracts
Employers are legally required to provide formal written contracts for all employees that include salary/wage, termination terms, job title, etc. The contracts must be written in Russian and use the Russian Ruble currency (RUB).
Working Hours
The standard working week in Russia can be no more than 40 hours, 8 hours per day.
Overtime
Overtime compensation is compulsory if work time exceeds the standard number of work hours. The maximum number of overtime hours is 4 hours in two successive days and 120 hours per year.
Overtime work hours and payment are strictly regulated per the employment contracts/collective agreements. They are usually paid at 150.00% of the regular hourly salary rate for the first two hours of overtime, increasing to 200.00% of the regular hourly rate after that.
Public Holidays
The government decides each year which date public holidays falling on weekends are moved to as a day off in lieu.
For the year 2024:
- 1 Jan (Monday): New Year’s Day
- 2 Jan (Tuesday): New Year’s Holiday
- 3 Jan (Wednesday): New Year’s Holiday
- 4 Jan (Thursday): New Year’s Holiday
- 5 Jan (Friday): New Year’s Holiday
- 6 Jan (Saturday): New Year’s Holiday
- 7 Jan (Sunday): Orthodox Christmas Day
- 8 Jan (Monday): New Year’s Holiday
- 23 Feb (Friday): Defender of Fatherland Day
- 8 Mar (Friday): International Women’s Day
- 29 Apr (Monday): Spring & Labor Day Holiday (Day Off in Lieu of 27 April)
- 30 Apr (Tuesday): Spring & Labor Day Holiday (Day Off in Lieu of 2 November)
- 1 May (Wednesday): Spring & Labor Day
- 9 May (Thursday): Victory Day
- 10 May (Friday): Victory Day Holiday (Day Off in Lieu of 6 January)
- 12 Jun (Wednesday): Russia Day
- 4 Nov (Monday): National Unity Day
- 30 Dec (Monday): New Year’s Holiday (Day Off in Lieu of 28 December)
- 31 Dec (Tuesday): New Year’s Eve (Day Off in Lieu of 7 January)
Annual Leave (Vacation)
Employees are entitled to 28 calendar days (20 working days) of paid leave per year. One period of leave should be no less than 14 days; the remaining leave days can be taken as single days or combined days. Certain employee types might be entitled to additional annual leave days, such as teachers, workers under the age of 18, employees working in the Far North and equivalent regions, those who work under hazardous and dangerous conditions, and those set up on contracts with irregular working hours.
Vacation pay is the worker’s average salary accrued during the 12 calendar months proceeding the vacation period and should be paid out to workers at least 3 days in advance of leave.
All unused vacation days carry over for a further 12 months.
Sick Days
Employees are entitled to take sick leave in the event of illness or injury.
In case of sickness, the employee is entitled to a sick leave allowance paid by the employer for the first three days of sickness and subsequently by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (from insurance payments made by the employer) from the 4th day onwards.
Sick leave allowance varies depending on the overall length of service, but it does not exceed 2,301 RUB per day (employers can choose to pay above this rate) and can also be granted to an employee taking care of a sick child or sick relative.
Maternity Leave
The allowance for early registration with a medical institution during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is 708.23 RUB starting from 1 February 2021. Maternity allowance is a one-time payment that is provided to the employee who is on maternity leave. The total amount of maternity allowance accrued for 140 days may not exceed 340,795 RUB in 2021. Maternity leave allowance is calculated based on the earnings of the two calendar years preceding the year of the maternity leave. Earnings for two years are divided by the number of calendar days in the previous two years minus the excluded periods, such as temporary disability periods. The total maternity leave allowance to be paid is calculated by the average daily earnings multiplied by the number of calendar days of maternity leave.
The employees are also entitled to statutory childbirth allowances, a one-time payment of 18,886.32 RUB starting from 1 February 2021.
The duration of childcare leave may be up to three years from childbirth.
The childcare allowance for childcare leave of up to 1.5 years may not exceed 29,600.48 RUB in 2021. Starting in 2021, all social allowances are paid by the social fund directly to employees.
Paternity Leave
Paternity leave falls under parental leave.
Parental Leave
The relative or guardian who takes care of the child can request paid parental leave at any time until the child reaches the age of 18 months. The payment of the allowance is covered by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation.
Employees are entitled to up to five days of unpaid leave following the birth of a child.
Employees raising a child without the child’s mother are granted the same benefits guaranteed to women.
Other Leave
Depending on the contract/collective agreement, employees may be allowed additional leave types once approved between the employer and employee for the following:
- Bereavement leave: employees are entitled to 5 days of paid leave for the death of a family member.
- Study leave: employees studying higher education are entitled to 40 days paid leave during the first two years of learning and 50 days paid leave for the remaining learning term; the employer pays this allowance.
- Military leave: Employees who are parents and spouses of military personnel, killed or seriously injured during military service, or due to a disease associated with military service are entitled to up to 14 calendar days of unpaid leave during a year.
Employee Severance and Terminations
Termination Process
Termination of employment agreements is one of the most heavily regulated areas of Russian employment law, involving a specific set of formalities (notices, deadlines, severances) for the various dismissal grounds of which there are six groups:
- Separation agreement
- Expiration of the term of a fixed-term employment agreement
- Termination at the initiative of the employee (resignation)
- Termination at the initiative of the employer (for cause, related to transfers and redundancy)
- Forced termination, due to circumstances beyond the parties’ control
- The illegal signing of an employment contract (e.g. hiring someone who is banned from that profession)
“At-will” termination of employment relationships is generally not permitted, except for a CEO of a Russian entity. In any case, whenever an employer intends to terminate an employment contract even on the grounds of an employee having served a resignation notice, the dismissal procedure must be carried out in strict compliance with all legislative and procedural requirements applicable to that particular ground for dismissal.
Notice Period
Notice periods in Russia are not required. Notice only applies if dismissal is a result of liquidation, redundancy, failed probation, or end of fixed term contract.
Severance Pay
Employees terminated due to liquidation or redundancy are entitled to a severance payment equal to their average monthly wage. Additionally, the employer must pay the dismissed employee their average monthly salary when they are looking for a new job but for two months from the termination date. On the 3rd month from termination, the worker is entitled if no job was found and the employee registered with the employment service within 2 weeks after dismissal.
Probation Period
Probation or trial periods are generally set within the collective agreements, however, common practice in Russia is three months, extending to 6 months for directors, senior managers, etc.
Payroll Cycle
According to Russian legislation, salary shall be paid at least every half month on a day specified by the work regulations, by a collective agreement, or by an employment agreement. Companies are now required to pay salary no later than 15 calendar days after the last day of the payroll period.
In Russia, the minimum monthly salary established at the federal level is 16,242 RUB per month, but can differ by federal district.
13th Salary
There is no statutory requirement for 13th-month salary payments in Russia.
Contributions
Employer Payroll Contributions
VISA
Employees need both a Russian work permit and a visa to live and work in Russia.
There are two visa options available:
- Single-entry: This visa is valid for 90 days. The Russian Consulate will issue it based on a work visa invitation, which employees get once they have a work permit.
- Multiple-entry: The local office of the Russian Migration Police reissues the multiple-entry visa based on how long the work permit is valid.
Employees also must have a Russian work permit. Anyone from non-Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries can apply for the standard work permit valid for the length of the employment contract. It requires securing a temporary residence permit first. Skilled professionals with a salary of over 1 million RUB can apply for the work permit for highly qualified professionals, which gets processed faster. This permit is valid for three years and allows family members to obtain Russian visas.
The Russian Federation requires all employees to make a doctor’s appointment, as the country has additional restrictions on people traveling with HIV/AIDS. A doctor must test all individuals for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and leprosy.
Remote Work
The Russian Labor Code legislates three different types of remote working agreements: permanent teleworking, combined agreements when teleworking does not exceed six consecutive months per year, and combined agreements when employees can alternate between remote working and on-site working.
Teleworking agreements should be written and outline all remote arrangements, including the working hours, the location of telework, etc.
Employers now have the right to introduce mandatory teleworking in exceptional circumstances such as a pandemic. The terms and conditions of this new right should be outlined in employers’ internal policies.
Employers are required to provide remote employees with necessary work tools and bear their installation, repairs, and maintenance costs.
VAT
The standard VAT rate in Russia is 20.00%.