On September 30, 2024, a law was published[1] which amends the provisions of the Russian Labor Code (the "Labor Code") as concerns granting additional days of leave for work on weekends or non-working holidays.

Starting March 1, 2025, when an employee is dismissed, the employer will be obliged to pay for the unused days of leave due for work on weekends or non-working holidays. The payment will be made on the basis of the difference between the increased pay for work on a weekend or non-working holiday (instead of which the employee chose to take time off) and the single rate of pay actually received for that day.

In addition, clarifications are made to the Labor Code[2] regarding the period during which an employee can exercise the right to an additional day of rest – according to the new rules, a day of rest at the employee's request may be used within one year from the day of work on a weekend or a non-working holiday or may be added to vacation time granted during the said period.

The need for legal regulation of these issues was noted as early as last December by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation[3] (hereinafter the "Constitutional Court"), pursuant to whose ruling amendments are being made to the Labor Code to ensure protection of employee guarantees. Until the amendments to the Labor Code take effect, employers and courts should be guided by the current norms of the Labor Code, taking into account the position of the Constitutional Court on the need to compensate for unused compensatory leave when dismissing an employee.

We should not that under the current version of the Labor Code, work on weekends or non-working holidays is, as a rule, paid at no less than double the regular rate. All employees shall be paid at an increased rate for the hours actually worked on a weekend or non-working holiday. If part of a work day falls on a weekend or a non-working holiday, the hours actually worked on the weekend or non-working holiday are paid at an increased rate. On request of an employee who worked on a weekend or a non-working holiday, they may be granted another day of rest. In this case, work on a weekend or a non-working holiday shall be paid at a single rate, and the day of rest shall not be a paid one.

We hope you find this information useful.

This review was prepared by Senior Associate Olga Anisimova and Associate of the Corporate Law practice Svetlana Alexeeva.

Additional information

Should any questions arise in connection with the above or if you need any additional materials, please contact the CLS office in St. Petersburg or Moscow.

This information letter keeps clients of CLS and other interested parties abreast of information that may, to some extent, affect their activity or cater to their interests. The opinions and commentaries expressed in this information letter shall not be deemed legal advice and do not cancel the need to obtain legal advice or legal opinion on separate issues.

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