In May 2026, a number of federal laws were adopted introducing significant amendments to the regulation of employment relations. Most of the new provisions will enter into force on 1 September 2026. Accordingly, employers are advised to assess, in advance, the potential impact of the upcoming changes on their existing HR processes, internal policies, and local regulatory acts.
Below is an overview of the most significant amendments:
Former participants of the Special Military Operation (SVO) will be granted a preferential right to retain their employment in the event of a redundancy
As of 1 September 2026, amendments to Part 2 of Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (the “Labor Code”) will enter into force, expanding the list of categories of employees who, where productivity and qualifications are equal, are granted a preferential right to remain employed in the event of a workforce or staff redundancy.
Under the current version of the Labor Code, where employees demonstrate equal productivity and qualifications, preference for retention is given to:
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employees with family responsibilities who have two or more dependents[1];
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individuals who are the sole earners in their families;
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employees who sustained an occupational injury or developed an occupational disease while employed by the relevant employer;
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disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War and disabled combat veterans who participated in the defence of the Fatherland;
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employees undertaking professional training or advanced training courses at the employer’s direction without interruption of work;
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a parent with a child under the age of 18 where the other parent has been called up for military service under mobilization, assigned to serve in the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation under mobilization, entered into a military service contract during mobilization, martial law or wartime, or entered into a contract for voluntary assistance in the fulfilment of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation.
Federal Law No. 108-FZ dated 25 April 2026 supplemented this list with employees who were called up for military service under mobilization, assigned to serve in the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation under mobilization, entered into military service contracts during mobilization, martial law or wartime, or entered into contracts for voluntary assistance in the fulfilment of tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, provided that their employment agreements have subsequently resumed effect.
According to the explanatory note issued by the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans’ Affairs, the inclusion of such employees among the categories entitled to preferential retention in employment is intended to ensure additional social guarantees for citizens who performed duties under special conditions, create legal prerequisites for their successful social and labor reintegration, and recognize their special merits before the State.
It should be taken into account that the employer is obliged to grant preference in retention only after assessing employees’ productivity and qualifications. Where differences in these indicators are identified, the preferential right to remain employed shall be granted to employees possessing higher qualifications and demonstrating higher labor productivity.
The number of overtime hours and the procedure for overtime pay have been amended
On 25 May 2026, Federal Law No. 144-FZ (the “Federal Law”) was adopted, introducing substantial amendments to the procedure for engaging employees in overtime work.
As of 1 September 2026, the maximum duration of overtime work will be limited to four hours per day (currently, overtime work is limited to four hours over two consecutive days) and 120 hours per year. However, the annual maximum duration of overtime work may be increased to 240 hours if such a condition is expressly provided for in a collective bargaining agreement or an industry-wide agreement applicable to the employer.
At the same time, the Federal Law establishes categories of employees for whom overtime work may not exceed 120 hours per year under any circumstances. These include: (1) employees whose working conditions, based on the results of a special assessment of working conditions, are classified as harmful working conditions of subclasses 3.3 and 3.4; and (2) employees of state and municipal institutions whose working hours under internal secondary employment exceed one quarter of the monthly working time standard (or the working time standard for another accounting period) established for the relevant category of employees.
Overtime work exceeding 120 hours per year (starting from the 121st hour) must be compensated at no less than double pay for each hour worked, calculated on the basis of the employee’s salary under the remuneration systems in force at the employer, including compensatory and incentive payments.
Where aggregated recording of working time applies, overtime work is compensated based on the amount of overtime attributable to the relevant day (shift) during which such overtime work is performed: the first two hours must be compensated at no less than one and a half times the employee’s regular rate, subsequent hours at no less than double the regular rate, and, starting from the 121st overtime hour per year, each hour must be compensated at no less than double pay.
In addition, employees who have worked more than 120 hours of overtime per year become entitled to one paid day off for medical screening, with their position and average earnings preserved.
A time limit has been established for adopting a decision on placing an employee on a part-time working schedule
The Federal Law introduced amendments to Part 2 of Article 93 of the Labor Code, establishing a specific time limit for adopting a decision on placing an employee on a part-time working schedule.
As of 1 September 2026, employers will be required to decide on the establishment of a part-time working schedule no later than five business days from the date of receipt of the employee’s written application. The employer is obliged to make such a decision within the time limit established by labor legislation where the relevant application is submitted by employees for whom the employer is required to establish part-time working hours upon request, including:
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pregnant women;
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one of the parents (guardians or custodians) of a child under the age of 14 (or a disabled child under the age of 18);
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a person caring for an ill family member in accordance with a medical certificate.
It should be recalled that, for the above categories of employees, part-time working hours are established for a period convenient to the employee, but not exceeding the duration of the circumstances constituting the grounds for the mandatory establishment of part-time work.
The working and rest time regime, including the duration of daily work (shift), start and end times of work, and break periods, shall be determined in accordance with the employee’s preferences, taking into account the employer’s operational and production requirements.
The possibility of recalling employees working under harmful and/or hazardous working conditions from annual leave
The current version of the Labor Code prohibits recalling employees engaged in work involving harmful and/or hazardous working conditions from annual leave. However, as of 1 September 2026, employers will be permitted to recall such employees from leave for the purposes of preventing a catastrophe or industrial accident, or eliminating the consequences of a catastrophe, industrial accident, or natural disaster.
At the same time, the recall of an employee from leave shall be permissible only where the prevention of the above circumstances falls within the employee’s assigned job functions, and where the procedure for such recall is established by a collective bargaining agreement, agreements, local regulatory acts, or the employment agreement.
Hours worked by an employee recalled from leave in connection with the circumstances that served as the grounds for such recall must be compensated at no less than double pay. The portion of annual leave not used due to the employee’s recall must, at the employee’s discretion, either be granted at a convenient time during the current working year or added to the employee’s annual leave for the following working year.
The recall from leave of employees under the age of 18 and pregnant women remains prohibited.
The employee headcount threshold upon reaching which small businesses are permitted to conclude fixed-term employment agreements has been increased
The Federal Law has expanded the ability of small businesses to conclude fixed-term employment agreements with employees by mutual agreement of the parties.
As of 1 September 2026, employers with a larger workforce will be entitled to exercise this right, as the maximum employee headcount threshold has been increased from 35 to 70 employees.
It will become possible to terminate an employment agreement pursuant to subparagraph “g” of Part 6 of Article 81 of the Labor Code where criminal prosecution against an employee has been discontinued on non-exonerating grounds
The Federal Law expands employers’ ability to terminate employment agreements with employees pursuant to subparagraph “g” of Part 6 of Article 81 of the Labor Code for committing theft at the workplace (including petty theft) of another person’s property, embezzlement, intentional destruction of property, or intentional damage to property.
Currently, dismissal pursuant to subparagraph “g” of Part 1 of Article 81 of the Labor Code is possible only where there is a court judgment that has entered into legal force or a ruling in an administrative offence case. In practice, this creates significant difficulties for employers, since criminal investigations and court proceedings often take a considerable amount of time. As a result, employers are effectively deprived of the ability to promptly terminate employment relationships even in situations where the employee’s unlawful conduct is evident.
As of 1 September 2026, employers will be entitled to dismiss employees not only following the entry into legal force of a guilty verdict or a ruling issued by a judge, authority, or official authorized to consider administrative offence cases, but also where criminal prosecution has been terminated by a court on non-exonerating grounds (for example, in connection with the imposition of a judicial fine).
Although, in such cases, the court effectively confirms the commission of an unlawful act while releasing the individual from criminal liability subject to certain conditions, the termination of criminal proceedings on non-exonerating grounds does not in itself indicate the employee’s innocence.