Russia: New remote work law due in force on 1 January 2021, employers need to prepare now

On 26 November 2020, the State Duma adopted a draft law amending the Labour Code of the Russian Federation (Labour Code) in relation to the regulation of distant (remote) working (Draft Law). The law is due to come into force on 1 January 2021.

The reform of remote work regulation in Russia is long overdue. The pandemic has made this process inevitable, as the authors of the Draft Law state, because the existing regulation has come into multiple conflicts with the actual processes existing in the employment field, due to the “insufficient flexibility and limited possibilities of using information technology in labour relations”.

In the initial draft, the Draft Law's authors had planned to make numerous amendments to the remote work chapter of the Labour Code. However, not all of the original proposals found their way into the final draft of the law.

In this update, we summarise the key amendments provided under the Draft Law which impact, in particular: remote work options, requirements for employment agreements, exchanging HR documents without an electronic signature, and additional grounds for employee dismissal.

Remote Work Options

Previously, the Labour Code provided for one type of remote working, which involved performing work duties on a permanent basis anywhere other than the employer's offices while using the internet.

The Draft Law version, as adopted, provides for the following remote work options:

1. permanent remote work (as already provided under the Labour Code),


2. remote work on a temporary basis for a period of no more than six months


3. switching between remote work and office work, and


4. temporary remote work in an emergency situation (disasters, industrial accident, acts of God, epidemics, and other situations endangering the life or normal living conditions of all or part of the population).

To conclude remote work employment agreements in points 1-3 above, it is necessary to have the mutual consent of both the employee and the employer. An employee's transfer to remote work in an emergency situation - point 4 - does not require the employee's consent and is done by the employer unilaterally.

Formalities in an emergency situation

As noted above, employees may be transferred to temporary remote work in emergency situations at the employer's initiative. In such a case, no changes need to be made to the employment agreement. The employer is only required to adopt a bylaw, e.g. in the form of an order, which must include the following provisions:

• a reference to the emergency situation;
• the list of workers transferred to remote work;
• the period for which the employees are so transferred;
• the arrangements to supply employees with the necessary equipment and facilities; and
• the procedure for organising the employees' work.

Under the Draft Law, employees’ attention must be drawn to the bylaw such that it can be confirmed that the employee received the document. In our opinion, this may be done in the form of an email delivery confirmation report or an email from the employee acknowledging that he/she has read the bylaw.

Place of work clause in the employment agreement

Under the previous remote work regulations, the employment agreement between the employer and remote worker had to include a provision confirming the place where the worker would work.

The Draft Law's authors pointed out in an explanatory note that this workplace clause is no longer relevant because it is impossible and unnecessary for the employer to control the precise place where the remote work is being performed. As such, there was a proposal to remove the requirement that employment agreements with remote workers must include a workplace clause. However, the proposed amendments have only been approved in part. The remote work regulation itself does not require a workplace clause, but the general regulation in the Labour Code which applies to all employment agreements – including for remote workers - still includes a provision requiring a place of work clause. This permits different interpretations of the law as to whether the workplace is to be specified in employment agreements for remote workers. The courts and/or law enforcers will have the final say on this issue.

Exchanging HR documents without an electronic signature

Initially, the Draft Law's authors had intended to lift the mandatory requirement to use an electronic signature; however such relaxation of the rules was removed from the final draft. So, as previously, to enter into and terminate an employment agreement, an employee must have an enhanced qualified electronic signature or an enhanced non-qualified electronic signature. The only alternative is the exchange of hard copy documents.

However, the Draft Law broadens the scope for how the employee and employer interact in relation to other matters during the employment relationship e.g. in relation to the issuance or change of policies, internal orders, changes to other HR documents, etc. In these cases, an electronic signature is not required as long as the employer has defined the methods of communication in advance. Employers should now start drafting provisions in respective HR policies and employment agreements that establish the methods and deadlines for exchanging such information with remote workers.

Additional grounds for the dismissal of a remote worker

Of special interest is the new ground for dismissal being introduced, i.e. where a remote worker changes the place of performing his/her job duties, if this makes it impossible for the employee to perform his/her duties as before. It appears that this ground will apply when, as a consequence of moving to a different location, the employee is unable to perform his/his job, e.g. due to a lack of internet access.

Another ground provides for the termination of the employment agreement if, during the period of working, the employee fails to interact with the employer, without a reasonable excuse, for more than two consecutive days after the date of receiving a request.

The Draft Law removes the ability for employers to include any additional grounds for dismissing remote workers other than those provided under the Labour Code (which includes all grounds applicable to regular employees). Previously it was possible for employers to terminate remote workers for other additional grounds which resulted in a large amount of abuse by the employer. This is no longer possible.

Other aspects

The Draft Law also makes changes to certain other aspects governing employment relations with remote workers. In particular, it covers in more detail matters such as making equipment available to the employee, the application of occupational safety rules, the regulation of the working and leisure time regime, etc.

As the law may come into force as early as 1 January 2021, employers have a tight timeframe to update their remote work arrangements. We recommend that employers act now to review and where necessary revise internal policies, other HR documents and employment agreements governing remote work relationships to comply with the new law.