Doing Business in Russia
Doing Business in Russia 21
each individual is recorded over his/her
lifetime. This work book indicates the
grounds for termination of employment
contracts and records rewards and
achievements at work, the work
performed by an employee, transfers to
another place of permanent work, etc.
Every entry into the work book is
attested by the signature of the
authorised representative of the
employer and by the employer's stamp.
Employee Trial Periods
Trial periods (typically up to a maximum
of three months) are permitted to
assess the suitability of employees
for a position. Certain categories of
employees are not subject to trial
periods (e.g. pregnant women, minors,
transferees). The trial period can be
extended to six months for directors,
deputy directors, chief accountants,
deputy chief accountants and directors
of branches, representative offices or
other divisions.
The trial period for an
employee cannot exceed
3 months.
Salary
The Labour Code guarantees timely
salary payments to employees as
follows:
The employer should pay salaries at
least twice a month. If salary payment
is delayed by more than 15 days, the
employee has the right to notify the
employer and stop working. If this
happens, the employer is likely to be
obligated by a court to reimburse the
employee for each idle day with two-
thirds of the average salary (calculated
based on the actual salary accrued and
the actual working time for the past 12
months).
The employer must also pay interest on
each day of delayed salary payment. The
amount must be no less than 1/300th
of the refinancing rate of the Bank of
Russia.
Administrative fines can be levied
on employers (RUB 30,000 to RUB
50,000) and their responsible officials
(RUB 1000 to RUB 5000) for delayed
salary payments. In some cases, the
employer's business activities can be
suspended for up to 90 calendar days.
If the responsible official has already
been penalised for delayed salary
payments, then they can be prohibited
from holding executive positions for a
period of 1 to 3 years.
If salary payments are delayed for more
than two months (three months in cases
where partial delay of salary payment
has occurred), criminal liability applies.
The Criminal Code provides that if it can
be proven that employees were paid
less than half of the salary payable to
them due to the personal motives of
the general director, or due to actions
motivated by self-interest, then the
general director can be fined up to
RUB 120,000, or fined by an amount
equal to his/her wage or income from
other sources for a period of up to one
year. The general director may also be
disqualified from occupying certain
positions or engaging in certain activities
for a period of up to one year, or the
general director may be subject to a
forced labour for a term of up to two
years, or the general director may even
be imprisoned for a term of up to one
year.
More stringent criminal liability applies if
the salary payments are delayed in full
for more than two months, or if salary
is paid at an amount below the Federal
minimum salary level (as of 1 July 2016,
that level is RUB 7,500) for more than
two months, or if the above mentioned
violations caused severe consequences.
Minimum statutory monthly salary
The minimum statutory monthly salary is
used to regulate wages, compensation
and other payments made under labour
legislation, and also to calculate taxes,
levies, penalties and other payments.
As of 1 July 2016, the Federal minimum
statutory monthly salary is RUB 7,500.
This minimum statutory monthly
salary is used only to calculate labour
remuneration and allowances covering
temporary inability to work.
Different levels of minimum salary
may be established by regional local
authorities in Russia, but these levels
cannot be lower than the Federal
minimum level. As of 1 November 2016
the minimum salary level for Moscow is
RUB 17,300.
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