The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia believes this measure will protect employees from losing a significant portion of their income through disciplinary actions. However, some business representatives doubt the feasibility of the new rule, noting that bonuses often depend on market conditions and project completion.
Starting September 1st, employers will be prohibited from reducing employee bonuses by more than 20% of their salary. They will also be required to clearly define the types of bonuses and the conditions for their payment.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia explained that many employers currently structure salaries in parts. A smaller portion is the base salary—for example, 20,000 rubles—while the remaining 80,000 rubles are paid as a bonus. In case of disciplinary misconduct, an employer could potentially strip an employee of the entire bonus, leaving them with only 20,000 rubles, noted Yakov Kupreev, head of the trade union federation`s legal department.
According to Kupreev, the new amendments to the Labor Code will help prevent such situations. Georgy Soldatov, CEO of polymer processing holding `Aditim`, offers his perspective:
CEO of polymer processing holding `Aditim`
“That`s unlikely, because there are different labor relations, different agreements, different projects. What does `cannot reduce the bonus` mean? Maybe there was a project – it was paid, then the project ended. Or, for example, there`s a market downturn. How can you pay a bonus if there`s nothing to pay it for or nothing to pay it with? Let the trade unions finance the business then. I understand everything, but when people have nothing to do, they start getting restless. Back in the day, they used to structure it by dividing fixed pay and KPI, but that hasn`t mattered for a long time. If there are labor disputes and a certain sum, including this KPI or pseudo-bonus, was consistently not paid, it would be accepted in court during a labor dispute. So these tricks haven`t worked for a long time. You won`t be able to pay them only the base salary amount via dismissal – they`ll sue and easily prove they consistently received this bonus. So all these structures are from the last century; they don`t matter. People are now fighting for workers, salaries are increasing top to bottom. What are they even talking about? They just woke up. This might have been relevant maybe five years ago.”
The bill, aimed at protecting employees from unjustified bonus reductions, was adopted in late May and will come into effect in the autumn. Employers still retain the right to apply disciplinary measures such as reprimands, warnings, or dismissal. However, these measures are now prohibited from being used as a basis for arbitrary reduction of all payments, including performance bonuses for paid services.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth