Russian labour law is strongly employee-protective and different from most home-country instincts — which is exactly where foreign employers get caught. Knowing where those instincts create liability is what keeps you clear.
At-will dismissal doesn't exist, grounds for termination are an exhaustive list, and a written contract is required before day one — get any of these wrong and liability follows immediately.
Compliant contracts, working-time and records from the start, and adapting home-country templates rather than applying them.
Russia's Labour Code (Трудовой кодекс РФ) is strongly employee-protective. Foreign companies frequently underestimate how different Russian employment law is from their home jurisdictions — particularly around dismissal, which is heavily restricted, and working time, where violations carry significant penalties. This guide covers the essentials for foreign-owned Russian companies.
All employees must have a written employment contract signed before (or on) the first working day. Late contracts are a common violation and create immediate liability. The contract must specify:
Position title, duties and place of work
Start date (open-ended contracts are the norm — fixed-term contracts are permitted only in specific circumstances listed in Article 59 Labour Code)
Salary amount in rubles — referencing salary "in equivalent to USD/EUR" is not compliant
Working hours and schedule
Social insurance details
Fixed-term contracts (срочные трудовые договоры) can only be used in circumstances defined by law — seasonal work, specific project, replacement of absent employee, new business under 5 years old, and others. Using a fixed-term contract without a valid legal basis is a violation — courts routinely convert them to open-ended contracts, meaning the employer cannot rely on expiry as a dismissal basis.
Probation periods (испытательный срок) must be explicitly stated in the employment contract. Maximum periods: 3 months for standard employees, 6 months for General Directors, chief accountants and their deputies. During probation, either party can terminate with 3 days' written notice. After probation, standard dismissal rules apply.
Salary must be paid at least twice per month — typically the 15th (advance) and the last day of the month (main payment). Delays in salary payment trigger automatic interest liability (1/150 of the CBR rate per day) plus potential administrative fines. Salary must be denominated and paid in rubles — foreign currency salary arrangements for Russia-based employees are only permitted in specific circumstances for employees seconded from abroad.
Pick your situation — we'll tell you where you stand:
Standard working week: 40 hours, 5 days. Overtime is strictly regulated — requires employee consent (in writing for most cases), a cap of 4 hours per 2 consecutive days and 120 hours per year, and premium pay of 1.5× for the first 2 hours and 2× thereafter. Violations of overtime rules carry administrative fines of up to RUB 50,000 per violation for the organisation.
Annual leave: minimum 28 calendar days per year (not working days). Some categories (northern regions, hazardous work) have additional entitlements. Leave cannot be replaced with cash payment except on termination.
Sick leave: paid from the first day, financed by the Social Fund of Russia (SFR). Employer pays the first 3 days; SFR pays the remainder. Employee provides a sick leave certificate (электронный больничный листок) from a doctor.
Maternity leave: 140 days (70 before, 70 after). Cannot dismiss a pregnant employee or an employee on maternity leave except in company liquidation.
Parental leave: up to 3 years. Employee retains the right to return to the same position.
Russian labour law makes dismissal of employees significantly more difficult than in most other jurisdictions. The Labour Code specifies an exhaustive list of permissible grounds for employer-initiated dismissal (Article 81). The most practically relevant:
Redundancy (сокращение штата): requires 2 months' written notice to the employee, notification to the employment authorities and trade union (if any), obligation to offer any available alternative positions, and a severance payment of 2 months' average salary (3 months if the employee registers with the employment service within 2 weeks). The position must be genuinely eliminated — reinstating an equivalent position within a year exposes the employer to reinstatement claims.
Systematic underperformance: requires prior written warnings (замечание or выговор) for specific performance failures, documented according to strict procedural requirements. Each warning must be preceded by a written explanation from the employee, issued within 1 month of the violation, and documented in the personnel file. Two documented warnings within 12 months are needed before dismissal on this basis.
Gross misconduct (in one instance): includes absence of more than 4 consecutive hours, appearing at work drunk, disclosure of trade secrets, theft. Requires a formal investigation (акт), employee explanation, and documentation within 1 month.
Mutual agreement (соглашение сторон): the most flexible route — both parties agree terms. No notice period required if both agree. The agreement typically includes a compensation payment negotiated between the parties.
Russian courts routinely reinstate dismissed employees where dismissal procedures were not followed precisely — even where the substantive reason for dismissal was valid. The procedural requirements (timing of documents, correct forms, correct sequence of steps) are treated as mandatory. A procedurally defective dismissal results in reinstatement plus back pay for the period of unlawful dismissal. Engage specialist advice before initiating any dismissal process.
Several categories of employees have additional protection from dismissal:
Pregnant employees — cannot be dismissed except in company liquidation
Employees on maternity or parental leave
Single parents of children under 14 (under 18 for disabled children)
It's strongly employee-protective — a written contract before day one, no at-will dismissal, an exhaustive list of valid termination grounds, and strict working-time and record rules. Home-country instincts create liability fast, so a compliance check before hiring is worth it.
No — dismissal has to rest on one of a defined list of grounds, applied with correct procedure, or it can be overturned with reinstatement. Getting both the ground and the process right, or negotiating a separation, is what makes a dismissal hold.
Not as written — they'll breach Russian requirements in ways that carry liability. Adapting them to the Labour Code, rather than applying them directly, is what keeps your employment documentation compliant.
This flags how different — and how employee-protective — Russian labour law is. Your question is where your home-country instincts will get you in trouble: the written contract before day one, the near-impossibility of at-will dismissal, the working-time and record rules that carry immediate liability.
Setting up employment in Russia? Home-country instincts create liability fast — worth a compliance check before you hire.
Practical support for international business in Russia.