RUS
А+ | А-
Home | Insights | Job in Russia portal – new requirements for information posted by employers
09.11.2021

Job in Russia portal – new requirements for information posted by employers

Effective January 1, 2022, some provisions of the Federal Law “On Employment in the Russian Federation" ("Employment Law”) will be amended and include new requirements. In particular, according to the new subsection 3.2 of Section 25, employers will be required to post, whether on the Job in Russia portal or another public online resource, information on available vacancies and terms of hiring employees, as well as information on available special work places fit for disabled employees. Non-compliant employers will be penalized by fines.

Who will be subject to the new requirements

The new requirements will apply to the following categories of employers:
- government agencies of the Russian Federation and its constituents, bodies of local administrations, government and municipal institutions and unitary institutions;
- legal entities in whose charter capital there is a participation interest held by the Russian Federation or its constituent or a municipality;
- employers with an average personnel headcount over 25 for a previous calendar year;
- newly created companies (including those created as a result of transformation) with an employee number over 25.

What companies will have to do exactly

The Russian Labor Ministry has already drafted the Procedure for Providing Information by Employers to Help Ensure Public Employment, which explains in detail how to fulfill the requirements set by Section 25 of the Employment Law.

According to the Labor Ministry draft, employers referred to in subsection 3.2 of Section 25 of the amended Employment Law will be required to post the following information electronically on the consolidated online employment and labor platform known as Job in Russia:

1. No later than three months before commencement of a relevant action:

  • Notice of a resolution on winding up of an organization or termination of business of an individual entrepreneur, or staff redundancy and potential termination of employment agreements;
  • Information on introduction of a shorter workday (shift) and/or shorter workweek or suspension of operations;

2. Monthly, no later than ten business days following the reporting month:

  • Information on initiation of insolvency (bankruptcy) procedures against the employer;
  • Information required to take measures for professional rehabilitation and assistance in employment of disabled persons;
  • Information on created or allocated jobs for employment of disabled persons according to the relevant quota, including information on local regulations containing information on such requirements

With regard to Note 13 on information for rehabilitation and assistance in employment of disabled persons:
Neither the Employment Law nor the Procedure explains what kind of information is required for taking measures for rehabilitation and assistance in employment of disabled persons and what particular information is to be provided by employers in this regard. Relevant local legislation, in particular the legislation of Moscow, does not specify such requirements either and therefore many employers do not provide such information. Probably, the Labor Ministry will provide clarifications in the course of developing special forms for submission of such kind of information.

3. Within the next day after a vacancy has become available at the company, it is necessary to publicize information on the need in new employees and the terms of their hiring. If the relevant information has not changed during the then-current month or the company has no vacant positions, the relevant information should be posted no later than the last calendar day of that month.

With regard to other employers, the draft mentions that they are not exempt from provision of such information and may choose at their discretion the way how to do it. There are two ways: either to post information on the Job in Russia online platform or submit it to an employment authority in a paper or electronic format.

What fines may be imposed on a company for non-compliance with the new requirements

Failure to provide information or provision of incomplete or untrue information or untimely provision of information to government authorities, where required by law, constitutes an administrative offence. As per today, liability for employer’s failure to provide information under Article 25 of the Employment Law, to which the draft Procedure extends, is defined by the general provisions of Article 19.7 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences. This article provides for imposition of a fine up to RUB 5 thousand, and currently no other types of administrative liability for a violation of the Employment Law and the Procedure are envisaged.

Nevertheless, to avoid imposition of administrative liability on the company or its officers and preclude any unnecessary problems with job seekers sent by government employment agencies, it is strongly recommended to employers to ensure that the company’s staff list should always be in line with the actual situation within the company and for this purpose to timely strike off redundant vacant positions from the staff list and also positions that require lengthy and thorough selection of prospective employees.

Finally, I would like to draw attention of employers to subsection 5 of Article 25 of the Employment Law, which is currently effective. According to it, even now any employer refusing to hire a job seeker sent by a government employment agency is required to submit to the agency information on the date of interviewing the job seeker and the reasons for refusal of employment. Please note that an unreasonable refusal of employment can be challenged by a job seeker in court, so it is very important in this context to timely strike off redundant vacant positions from the company’s staff list.