State Duma to change remote work rules
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many employees have been working from home, and Russian authorities have, as a result, been compelled to change the provisions of the Labor Code regulating remote work. On July 21, 2020, the State Duma approved in the first reading a bill amending the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regulating remote work[1]. This new bill provides for possible temporary transfer of employees to remote work and allows also combining remote work with office work. You can find out more about these and other changes in our review below.
The State Duma plans to introduce the following new notions:
- Temporary remote work which entails temporary work outside the usual permanent workplace (outside the office). This new notion will allow employees and employers to provide that employees will work remotely for a specific period. For example, due to the epidemiologic situation or under other circumstances, employees will work remotely for 2 months or another period depending on the circumstances that called for temporary remote work, and after that period, employees will be able to return to office work as usual.
- Combined remote work which consists of both work outside the usual permanent workplace (outside the office) and remote work. This new notion will allow employees and employers to provide that employees will work remotely and at the workplace for some time. For example, 3 days a week in the office and 2 days a week remotely.
We believe that these upcoming changes to the regulation of remote work will be positive since both temporary and combined remote work have existed in practice for a while, but they were not regulated properly, and the absence of proper regulation gave rise to additional risks for both employees and employers. In our opinion, the introduction of temporary and/or combined distance work will result in a more appropriate regulation of remote work conferring certain guarantees. This will also allow employers to legally formalize the relationships with remote workers rather than resorting only to “gentlemen agreements” as previously.
How and when to set up temporary remote work?
Temporary remote work is established on the following grounds: agreement of the parties, business need, epidemic or other circumstances threatening life or normal living conditions of the entire or part of the population. Temporary remote work is formalized and documented by:
- Concluding employment contracts or additional agreements to employment contracts. Please note that employment contracts for remote work and agreements amending employment contracts may be concluded by exchanging electronic documents, and no qualified electronic digital signatures are required to sign them;
- Issuing internal regulations (simplified procedure put in place by employers) in cases of natural or man-made disaster, accidents at work or other exceptional circumstances threatening life or normal living conditions of the entire or part of the population.
Employees and employers must also establish a procedure for interacting with each other, providing for a specific time for performance of remote work and a schedule for remote work. This procedure is set out in internal regulations and employment contracts for remote work.
How to set up combined remote work?
Combined remote work and temporary remote work are set up in a similar way, namely:
- By concluding employment contracts or additional agreements to employment contracts and no qualified electronic digital signatures required; or
- By issuing internal regulations (simplified procedure put in place by employers) in cases threatening life or normal living conditions of the entire or part of the population.
Remote work: what else is new?
- Employees are entitled to use their personal equipment when working remotely. They are also entitled to compensation for expenses associated with the use of such equipment in cases established in collective agreements or internal regulations.
- The procedure for interacting during remote work may require remote workers to respond to their employer’s requests within a certain timeframe. If such obligation is not provided for, then it will not be possible to dismiss employees or impose disciplinary actions on them for not getting in touch. We therefore strongly recommend specifying in detail the procedure for interacting with employees in internal regulations and/or employment contracts.
- It is also worth mentioning the changes to the grounds for terminating employment contracts for remote work. Currently, employers and employees may provide in employment contracts for grounds to terminate employment in addition to those provided in the Labor Code. The bill proposes to exclude the possibility of providing additional grounds in employment contracts for dismissing remote workers. In other words, employees and employers will not be able to establish grounds for termination of employment by employers. This, in our opinion, unnecessarily limits the freedom to regulate the relationship between remote workers and employers. I should be noted that historically the notion of remote work was intended, among other things, to formalize the labor relations with freelancers with whom services contracts were usually concluded. It was precisely the flexibility of regulation, including the termination of contract, that would have motivated employers to conclude employment contracts with freelancers instead of civil law contracts. Providing a closed list of grounds for terminating employment contracts will strip the relationships with remote workers of their inherent flexibility and thereby risk forcing the relationships with freelancers back to civil law contracts.
Several more readings await ahead before this bill is passed, so some provisions may be changed or added before it becomes law.
If you have any questions or require more information, please feel free to call or email us.
Truly yours,
[1] https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/973264-7