Changes in rules for paying bonuses to employees to take effect on September 1, 2025

Amendments to the Russian Labor Code (Federal Law No. 144-FZ dated June 7, 2025) will take effect on September 1, 2025. These amendments will clarify the requirements for employers’ local policies and procedures regarding bonus payments to employees. These changes aim to eliminate arbitrary reductions in employee payments and align the provisions of the Russian Labor Code with the position of the Russian Constitutional Court.[1]

These are the key innovations:

• The types of bonuses, their amounts, the time limits, grounds, and conditions for paying bonuses to employees are to be determined by the employer’s local policies and procedures.
• When establishing a bonus system, quality, efficiency, and duration of work, as well as whether an employee is subject to any disciplinary sanction, are to be taken into account.
• A bonus may be reduced if the reduction is related to a disciplinary sanction and applies to the accrued bonus for the period (g., the month), in which the sanction was applied. The reduction cannot decrease the employee’s monthly earnings by more than 20%.

All employers are recommended to check their bonus policies and bring them in line with the new requirements before September 1, 2025. To avoid disputes with employees or complaints from regulatory agencies, employers may need to completely revise their employee bonus system.

The Forte Tax & Law team stands ready to advise you on issues of employment law and the resolution of labor disputes. Do you have any questions or would like to discuss something? Please send an email to Robert Gurdyumov or Ekaterina Belyaeva.

 

[1] Ruling No. 32-П of the Russian Constitutional Court dated June 15, 2023 In the case of verification of the constitutionality of Part Two of Article 135 and Part One of Article 193 of the Russian Labor Code in connection with the complaint filed by citizen E. V. Tsaregorodkaya