Russian economic officials draft legislation to double overtime limits amid national labor shortage

Russia’s Economic Development Ministry has drafted legislation to lift certain restrictions on overtime work, double existing limits, and increase pay for such work amid a national labor shortage. 

Current regulations prohibit working more than four overtime hours on two consecutive days (for example, if an employee works four overtime hours on Monday, he or she cannot be required to do so on Tuesday). The annual overtime limit is currently 120 hours. The Economic Development Ministry wants to raise Russia’s daily overtime limit to four hours and the annual limit to 240 hours.

The ministry’s legislation also proposes paying double for overtime work exceeding 120 hours annually. According to existing regulations, workers’ first two overtime hours are compensated at a minimum of 1.5 times their regular wages, with subsequent hours paid at a minimum of double. Additionally, the ministry proposes allowing workers in hazardous industries to be recalled from vacation with their consent and double pay. (Russia’s Labor Code currently prohibits this.)

Nina Kuzmina, the deputy chair of Russia’s Independent Trade Unions Federation, has criticized the draft law, warning that current regulations are informed by occupational health research. She argued that extending working hours will negatively impact workers’ health, adding, “The economic gains to certain employers through the intensification of employees’ labor will lead to a strategic loss for everyone in the long term.”