Your Guide to Hiring Employees and Contractors in Russia
Capital city
Moscow
Currency
Russian Ruble (RUB)
Language(s)
Russian
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Payroll frequency
Monthly
Employer taxes
30.02% to 38.50%
Payroll
Payroll Cycle
According to Russian legislation, salary shall be paid at least every half month on a day specified by the work regulations, by a collective agreement, or by an employment agreement.
Companies are now required to pay salary no later than 15 calendar days after the last day of the payroll period.
Minimum Wage Requirements
The minimum wage is RUB 12,792 per month. There are region-specific minimum wages:
Moscow – RUB 20,589
St. Petersburg – RUB 19,000
Individual Income Tax
The individual income tax ranges from 13% to 15%. Income tax is calculated using simple progressive rates based on income.
Up to RUB 5 million annually
Tax rate: 13%
Above RUB 5 million annually
Tax rate: 15%
Employer Cost:
The employer cost is generally estimated at 30% of the employee salary.
Pension Insurance: 22.0%
Medical Insurance: 5.1%
Social Insurance: 2.9%
Accident Insurance: 0.02%
Working Hours
Work Week
Monday to Friday.
Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours
Standard working hours are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week.
Overtime payment is mandatory. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. Employees can work a maximum of 4 hours of overtime over 2 consecutive days and can work a maximum of 120 hours of overtime per year. For additional hours, employees are paid:
- 150% of the hourly rate for the first 2 hours
- 200% of the hourly rate for the following hours
Employment Termination
The termination process varies according to the employment agreement and collective agreement in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
Notice period
Notice periods in Russia are generally set at 14 days and three days if the employee is still in the probation period/expiry of a fixed-term contract.
Probation periods
Probation or Trial periods are generally set within the collective agreements; however, common practice in Russia is three months, extending to 6 months for directors, senior managers, etc.