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Originally, this article about Russian labor law was to be written twice, once from the perspective of the employee
and again from that of the employer. However, rather than repeat ourselves, we have simply created a map of sorts
for the Russian labor market both in terms of official and unofficial labor practices and with general commentary
inserted from both perspectives where applicable.
We have also tried to provide, wherever possible, commentary on Russian terminology and slang about the
workplace. You will notice that the translations here are not exact. We have tried to provide the commonly used
terms for expressing the concepts in American English and Russian and sometimes the terms do not always exactly
match, but they do refer to the same concept.
This resource has been compiled to give a wide picture for those parties interested in the day-to-day lives of
Russians. If you have commentary, we would love to hear it at jwilson@sras.org.
An English-language synopsis of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Трудовой Кодекс Российской
Федерации) is available from BakerNet.com (click on "Doing Business in Russia" from their website).
For a massive database of commentary on the Labor Code (in Russian), we recommend www.zarplata.ru.
If you are having trouble reading Cyrillic font on your computer click here.
Commentary: Temp agencies are growing in popularity in Russia. Much as in America, companies can lease
employees for a definite or indefinite period of time. Companies sometimes prefer this arrangement because it
makes hiring a temporary employee easier and makes "firing" the employee much easier (since the employee is not
actually fired as his/her primary employment with the temp agency is retained).
2. Equal Opportunity in Race and Nationality (равные возможности по национальным признакам и расовой
принадлежности)
It is legally forbidden to discriminate on the basis of race and nationality in Russia, a country that contains hundreds
of such differentiations and a handful cosmopolitan centers. One never sees job advertisements for "Russians only."
However, informally it seems that this type of discrimination is still fairly commonly practiced.
Commentary: For a handful of stories from Russian workers about how they are treated in the workplace, see the
following article.
Commentary: The phrase "Равные возможности" worked its way into the Russian language around 1990, as the
economy was being revamped along western lines and hence the phrase's close similarity to the English. Below are a
handful of other phrases using the phrase and concept:
Commentary: The following are the top five most popular Russian sites for searching for a job (as listed by
Rambler.ru): www.job.ru; www.rabota.ru; www.joblist.ru; www.superjob.ru; www.zarplata.ru.
If the telephone interview goes well, the candidate is called in for a face-to-face interview (личное собеседование).
This interview is often conducted with several people, including the company director, the head of the
department and sometimes even a company psychologist. Part of this interview may be conducted in a foreign
2. Documentation (документация)
A. Passport (паспорт)
A copy of the employee's passport is made for company records. National passports are the major means of
ID in Russia and must be carried by all persons over the age of 16 at all times. Russian police may stop any
person at any time without cause and if that person does not have proper identification, they are subject to
heavy fines and detention. Separate international passports are used for foreign travel.
C. Photographs (фотографии)
Most employers will also collect several passport-sized photographs of their employees. These are standard
in company records and are often needed to make a special pass (пропуск) for the employee. Russia is
awash with security guards, a holdover from the soviet era, and most employees must show a пропуск as
special identification to access their work places.
1. General Description
The job contract may stipulate a probationary period for up to three months. During this time, the employee may be
terminated with only three days written notice (приказ об увольнении). The notice must state the reasons for
dismissal and those reasons must be among those grounds for dismissal already approved in the labor code or job
contract. During this time an employee may quit with three days notice without giving reason.
Commentary: While the practice is illegal, it sometimes happens that employers will keep probationary employees on
staff and simply release them at the end of the probationary period for not meeting standards. This allows employers
to save on salaries and, since many workers do not know their rights or how to have their rights enforced, the
system is relatively safe.
Commentary: It is not at all uncommon (although illegal) for workers to agree to a one month probationary period
without a contract. Payment for this period is made under the table. Employees sometimes prefer this as they do
not want a one or two week employment period to appear in their work books as they fear this questionable blemish
may hinder their ability to find future employment.
Commentary: These installments are not always equal. Because many businesses charge for their services by the
month, this is not always a convenient arrangement for the employer. To compensate for this, some employers will
pay a small sum (called an "аванс") in the middle of the month and a larger sum (referred to as simply "зарплата")
at the end.
Commentary: In many contracts, salary is stated in dollars or euros and a conversion applied each pay period using
the current exchange rate (курс). Thus, employees are relatively safe from inflation (which is still about four times
greater in Russia than it is the US). It also helps companies doing business internationally (and thus working in
dollars or euros) to keep their budgets tidier. This practice is perfectly legal, so long as the actual salary is paid in
rubles.
Commentary: Of course, many salaries come in currencies other than rubles. Since they are paid in cash, they can
be easily paid in one currency and recorded officially in other. Also, since according to some estimates Russia's black
market totals some 50% of its official economy, it would appear that Russia simply does not have enough rubles
in circulation to adequately fund its total economy. Russia is littered with exchanges (обмены) to handle all this
foreign currency (dollars and euros, mostly).
Commentary: Avoiding the Unified Social Tax, which is fairly high, is probably the main reason that some employers
do not document their employees. This situation has improved since Russia lowered the tax and simplified its
structure, but the situation is still problematic.
Commentary: Child-care leave is obviously not an advantageous arrangement for the employer, as it can make a
female of child-bearing age a near permanent and non-present employee.
1. Quitting
Quitting employees must give two weeks written notice.
2. Firing
To fire an employee for misconduct or poor work performance, the employer must provide proof of disciplinary action
(sometimes proof of several instances, depending on the infraction – see above). There are still greater restrictions
on firing certain groups such as minors and union members; women in particular are almost impossible to fire under
legal auspices. Plus, in order to officially fire an employee, the employee must be given advance notice in writing and
the final termination must be documented and co-signed by the employee.
3. Severence
An employee who loses his/her job is entitled to receive a severance payment equal to two months wages, according
to Russian law.
Commentary: The labor code is generally weighted in favor of the employee in this instance and employers who wish
to operate "by the book" often complain that it is almost impossible to fire an employee once hired.
Commentary: 8.3 percent of the Russian population was officially unemployed as of 2005. However, only about 3%
of all Russians have registered with the unemployment office and only about 1% receives benefits. Low registration
is due, in part, to the fact that benefits are very low. They are calculated by the employee’s official wages, which are
often much lower than an employee’s actual wages. (See section III).
Commentary: The official minimum subsistence level varies across Russia. In Moscow, it is calculated at 4101 RU
per month and in Irkutsk, at 2590 RU per month. In Moscow, a thirty percent payment would thus be equal about
$43 US.
Commentary: The official unemployment figure is approximate at best since many employees are unofficially
employed and many more are on company record books as being employed when they have really been released or
have left.
Commentary: Again, the presence of official and unofficial pay poses a problem, because the pension is figured
based on official pay. (See section III)
Commentary: One thing that President Putin is credited with is reform of the pension system. Most pensioners who
own their apartments now claim that they have barely enough to feed and clothe themselves (which is an
improvement from the nineties), although medications are still a heavy burden.
Commentary: To find out a bit more about the growth of these funds, see the following interview with Bernard
Suchar, one of the founding leaders in the field for Russia.