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Lubov Gribanova Director |
From September 1, 2025, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation requires companies to set out in their bonus systems (local regulations) the types and amounts of bonuses, timing, grounds and conditions for their payment, as well as quality, efficiency and duration of work, the presence or absence of disciplinary sanctions, and other bonus indicators.
If a company applies a bonus reduction system, such reduction is permitted but limited by the conditions established by the new version of Article 135 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, as follows:
- only bonuses awarded for the period during which a disciplinary sanction was applied to the employee can be reduced (i.e., not for the entire year while the sanction is in effect);
- bonus reduction must not result in a decrease in the employee's monthly salary by more than 20%.
- the above-mentioned conditions for bonus reduction shall be documented in local regulations, taking into account the opinion of the trade union, if any.
We would like to remind you that on December 6, 2023, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (Ruling No. 56-P) declared the provisions of Part 2 of Article 135 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in its current version unconstitutional, as they “allow the reduction of an employee’s salary (having outstanding disciplinary sanction) without taking into account the quantity and quality of their work, as well as other objective criteria”.
In this regard, in order to align the local regulation with the new requirements, and to avoid administrative liability for violation of labor legislation (Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) and labor disputes with employees, we recommend reviewing and supplementing the company’s bonus system with the mandatory requirements, if they are not already in place.
Marillion's legal team is ready to assist in adapting your company's internal policies to the comprehensive changes in labor legislation.
