The Legal 500

Legal Update No. 338

Goltsblat BLP advises of the publication of Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of 9 February 2012 No. 2-P on a case of checking the constitutionality of a provision of part eight, article 325 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation in connection with a complaint submitted by Ms I.G. Trunova (the Resolution).

It comes as a surprise to many people that non-Russian nationals working in Russia even for a short period of time cannot escape the clutches of Russian employment law rules.

Law firm Goltsblat BLP informs that Order of the Ministry for Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated 27 December 2011 №1653н was adopted (hereinafter the “Order”), which approves the List of professions (specialties, positions) for which an entity can employ foreign nationals in 2012 without mandatory prior quota allocation. The Order comes into force on 19 February 2012.

On day X-60 at the latest (i.e. between 9 and the 22 December), employers must begin the social elections procedure by communicating a range of information. 

As of July 1, 2011 the Department of the Federal Migration Service for the city of Moscow (the "UFMS for Moscow") will only accept HIV-test certificates issued by Russian state medical and prophylactic organizations [1]. According to the UFMS for Moscow, these new rules are based on a resolution of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation [2]. The rules will apply to all foreign nationals who need a medical check to obtain work permits.

Pepeliaev Group advises that a number of laws and regulations have been adopted that amend labour protection rules. In particular, a new procedure for assessing individual workplaces for compliance with labour safety rules has been adopted and a draft law on increasing the criminal and administrative liability for violating the labour protection requirements has been introduced.

Pepeliaev Group advises that the Russian State Duma has passed in its third reading draft law No. 282499-5 On amending the Federal Law 'On personal data'. The legislative body is proposing a fundamentally new, more user-friendly text of the law, which will clarify and simplify many provisions of the current legislation concerning personal data (“PD”).

Federal Law No. 385-FZ “On amending certain laws of the Russian Federation” entered into force on 15 February 2011. The law introduced amendments to the procedure for the registration of foreign citizens for migration purposes. We also noted that the State Duma was considering a draft law that would restore some of the previous procedures of migration registration, albeit modified to some extent.

Employment Disputes and Court Practice    .    Termination Cases - Pitfalls and Preventive Measures    .    New Tool - Mediation

In accordance with the order distributing the 2010 quota of work permits, a fixed number of work permits can be issued in each Russian region to work in different professions. Thus, for example, for Moscow the general quota for all professions is established at 250,000 work permits (which is considerably less than in 2009), and for St. Petersburg – 210,066 work permits.

According to the order of the Russian Ministry of Public Health and Social Development dated March 24, 2009, the quotas do not apply to such professions as: general director of a joint stock company (association, enterprise), director of a plant (factory, enterprise, firm, representative office), data protection engineer, engineer on automatization and mechanization of production, etc.