Effective 1 September 2025, amendments to Article 135 of the Russian Labour Code shall introduce specific restrictions on employers’ ability to withhold a bonus as a punishment for violation of discipline. While the underlying principles are not new – the Russian Constitutional Court articulated related positions as early as June 2023 – the codification of these rules is expected to result in heightened enforcement control by regulatory authorities.
The amendments are about the following:
1. These provisions exclusively regulate the reduction of bonus payments as a punishment for violation of discipline. They do not impair the employer's substantive right to impose disciplinary measures or the established procedures for their application.
2. The law now expressly stipulates that determination of bonus eligibility shall account for quality, efficiency, and duration of work performed, existence or absence of disciplinary sanctions against an employee, and other relevant performance indicators.
3. The employers should expressly define their bonus framework within internal regulations, specifying bonus categories and respective amounts, accrual periods, grounds and conditions for payment.
4. Where an employer resolves to reduce an employee’s bonus because of an imposed disciplinary sanction, it shall be obligatory to verify the period for which the bonus is accrued and the date of disciplinary sanction’s application. Reduction shall be permissible solely for the bonus accrued for the period during which the disciplinary sanction was applied to the employee. For example, it shall be impermissible to withhold a bonus for work performance in March 2026 on grounds of a disciplinary offence committed in June 2025. Although the statute expressly provides this rule for reduction of a bonus, it is reasonable to construe that it applies equally to cases of non-payment of the bonus at all.
5. Any bonus reduction must not cause the employee’s total monthly income decrease by more than 20%.
Employers should incorporate these provisions when drafting or revising bonus-related internal regulations and conduct audits of existing policies to ensure compliance. Otherwise, the employee shall be entitled to challenge non-payment or reduction of a bonus in court; moreover, the employer shall be exposed to liability not only for violation of the employee’s rights but also for internal documents contravening statutory requirements.
NB: if you have a trade union, ensure to coordinate internal regulations governing remuneration matters (including bonuses) with it.
The amendments are about the following:
1. These provisions exclusively regulate the reduction of bonus payments as a punishment for violation of discipline. They do not impair the employer's substantive right to impose disciplinary measures or the established procedures for their application.
2. The law now expressly stipulates that determination of bonus eligibility shall account for quality, efficiency, and duration of work performed, existence or absence of disciplinary sanctions against an employee, and other relevant performance indicators.
3. The employers should expressly define their bonus framework within internal regulations, specifying bonus categories and respective amounts, accrual periods, grounds and conditions for payment.
4. Where an employer resolves to reduce an employee’s bonus because of an imposed disciplinary sanction, it shall be obligatory to verify the period for which the bonus is accrued and the date of disciplinary sanction’s application. Reduction shall be permissible solely for the bonus accrued for the period during which the disciplinary sanction was applied to the employee. For example, it shall be impermissible to withhold a bonus for work performance in March 2026 on grounds of a disciplinary offence committed in June 2025. Although the statute expressly provides this rule for reduction of a bonus, it is reasonable to construe that it applies equally to cases of non-payment of the bonus at all.
5. Any bonus reduction must not cause the employee’s total monthly income decrease by more than 20%.
Employers should incorporate these provisions when drafting or revising bonus-related internal regulations and conduct audits of existing policies to ensure compliance. Otherwise, the employee shall be entitled to challenge non-payment or reduction of a bonus in court; moreover, the employer shall be exposed to liability not only for violation of the employee’s rights but also for internal documents contravening statutory requirements.
NB: if you have a trade union, ensure to coordinate internal regulations governing remuneration matters (including bonuses) with it.