Contents
Introduction
The Structure of The Labor Code
The Labor Contract
Specific Features of Russian Labor Code
Legal Review of Amendments to Russian Federation Labor Code Provisions
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction
I decided to take up the investigation of the issue of the Labor Code in Russia, because I consider it to be my duty to know all the rules and peculiarities I will be facing as a worker. The new Labor Code was issued on 31 December 2001, and came into practice on 1 February 2002. The new Code replaced an old one, which was operating since 1972.
The Russian Labor Code is the principal statute regulating all aspects of labor relationships in Russia. An employer and an employee may not deviate from the standard procedures established by the Labor Code, unless expressly authorized to do so by a particular article of the Labor Code. Accordingly, any personnel policy intended for use in Russia must be brought in line with the Russian Labor Code, even if that will result in a substantial difference between the Russian and worldwide versions of the personnel policy.
The Labor Code applies within the Russian Federation to all employers, including foreign legal entities, and all employees, including foreign nationals and stateless persons, unless otherwise provided by law or international treaty.

The structure of the Labor Code
The Russian Labor Code consists of six parts, each part subdivided into several sections, all in all- fourteen sections.
The first part of the Code concentrates on the general provisions which regulate foundations of labor. It identifies the purpose of labor, the objectives of labor as well as identifies the parties involved. It also specifies main principles of legal regulation of labor relations and its peculiarities.
The second part considers the social partnership in labor, its regulations and all the special features related to this issue.
The third part is actually a very important part because it specifies the relationship between the employer and the employee, i.e. it describes the labor contract. The role of the contract is stated in this part as well as the terms of its conclusion, its contents, terms and prohibitions. I would like to pay special attention to this part further in my essay.
The fourth part contains the provisions, which regulate special conditions of labor for different categories of employees (women; persons having family duties; employees of the age under eighteen years; chief of an organization and members of collegial executive body; part-time employees). It separately regulates labor relationship with employees in case of conclusion of a short-term labor contract (for a period less than 2 months) and labor of employees engaged in seasonal works; regulates labor of persons working on a rotational basis and the persons working for individual employers. This part also contains other categories of employees whose labor is specially regulated.
The fifth part of the Code is devoted to protection of labor rights of employees, in particular, consideration of labor disputes; it contains the provisions on state supervision and control over compliance with the labor legislation. It specifies the remedies for labor rights - by labor unions, self-protection of labor rights by employees. The issues of consideration of individual and collective labor disputes are settled.
The sixth part contains the final provisions which determine the procedure for entry into force of the provisions of the Code and the list of legislation which have lost its force.
The Labor Contract
The labor contract is an agreement between the employer and the employee in accordance with which the employer shall undertake to provide the job to the employee with the work function agreed upon, to ensure the working conditions as stipulated by this Code, laws and other normative legal acts, the collective contract, agreement, the local normative acts containing the labor law norms, to pay wages to the employee timely and in full, while the employee shall undertake to perform the certain work function determined by such agreement, comply with the internal working regulations in effect in the organization.
According to the provisions of the Code, all labor relationship whether they have arisen before or after this Code coming into force, are subject to regulation within a labor contract. This part of the Code contains also the closed list of grounds for avoidance of a labor contract on the employer's initiative. This part also contains the provisions which determine the working time regime - for example, maximum length of working time is established (40 hours per week); they determine the rest time, off-days and holidays, vacations, their length and conditions of provision, payment and standardization of labor, specify guarantees and compensations for employees.
Labor contract identifies the rights and duties of the employer, description of working conditions, wage and salary, the social insurance, etc. As I have already mentioned, the terms of conclusion and termination of the labor contract are also stated in this part.
Specific features of Russian Labor Code
The Code contains a new article that establishes certain conditions, which need to be incorporated into an employment contract. Certain substantive conditions, for example, place of work (division of the company), date of commencement of work, position of employee, rights and obligations of the employee and employer, working conditions, and conditions of social insurance, must be reflected in the employment contract without fail.
A new public holiday has been introduced: February 23, “Defenders of the Fatherland Day.” Thus, the number of annual public holidays is now 11. The duration of basic annual leave is set at 28 calendar days. Employees acquire the right to this leave in the first year of work, after working six months at the organization, rather than 11 months as under the previous rules.
The list establishing grounds for dismissal of an employee has been expanded. The new Code applies only to legal relations arising after its entry into force. For legal relations arising before its entry into force, the new Code applies to those rights and duties that arose after its introduction .
Legal Review of Amendments to Russian Federation Labor Code
On 30 June 2006, the Russian President approved the long-awaited amendments to the Russian Federation’s Labor Code (“Restated LC”). The Restated LC was put into effect on 6 October 2006, 90 days after its publication. The amendments are the result of a three-year-long effort by the Working Group of the State Duma Committee for Labor and Social Policies. The amendments deal mostly with legal technicalities and generally aim to eliminate previously existing inconsistencies and explain various provisions of the Russian Labor Code. However, there are some substantive changes and we would recommend that all employers operating in Russia (including those employing expatriates) pay special attention to these.
New Provisions
Many amendments are technical in nature, aimed at eliminating deficiencies and contradictions, but a number of the corrections make substantial changes to the content of effective norms. The procedure for concluding a term employment contract has been changed. Definitions have been given of the types of work and categories of persons with whom an employer may conclude a term contract on its own initiative.
A separate item lists the cases where an employment contract may be concluded for a specified period by agreement of the parties. These cases include the conclusion of term employment contracts with those whose employer is a small business; with pensioners starting their employment; and with executive directors, their deputies and chief accountants.
The procedure for calculating average salary has also changed: it now takes into account not only a salary but also various incentive payments.
The average daily earnings for the payment of leave are now calculated for the past 12 months, rather than three months. The coefficient for calculating average daily earnings has changed (from 29.6 to 29.4) due to the increase in the number of non-working holidays.
The law establishes that the minimum compensation when a chief executive is dismissed by decision of the authorized body of the organization or the owner of the organization's assets, in the absence of culpable actions by the executive, may not be less than three months' salary.
In accordance with the Law, if payment of salary is delayed, the employer is obligated to pay the corresponding monetary compensation, regardless of whether the employer is at fault.
Separate regulations are given for the makeup and procedure for compensation of expenses associated with business trips by employees whose jobs inherently involve travel.
In accordance with the Law, an employee who does not receive his/her salary has the right to suspend work until the full payment of the entire amount of salary arrears. In so doing, the employee may remain at home and return to work only when the employer notifies him/her of the payment.
Additional grounds have appeared for terminating an employment contract under circumstances beyond the control of the parties. Such grounds include: disqualification or other administrative punishment that makes it impossible for the employee to discharge duties under the employment contract; expiration of the effective term, suspension for more than two months, or loss of the employee's special right (license, driver's license, other special right), if this prevents the employee from continuing to discharge duties under the employment contract.
However, the termination of the employment contract on these grounds is permitted only if the employer cannot transfer the employee (with his/her written consent) to other work with the employer.
The term “organization” has been replaced with the term “employer” and the description of the status of a private individual operating as an employer has been considerably expanded. This will make it possible to apply the provisions of the Labor Code on a broader scale to employers who are not legal entities, in particular to individual entrepreneurs. The legal status of an individual entrepreneur operating as an employer has been brought as close as possible to that of a corporate employer. For example, this concerns the administration of employees’ work books and conclusion of collective bargaining agreements.
The provisions regarding work safety have been set out in more detail. In particular, substantial details have been added to the procedure for investigating industrial accidents. In order to meet the applicable work safety requirements, each employer employing more than 50 employees shall establish a work safety division and create the position of a work safety specialist. Previously, such requirement would only apply to employers employing over 100 employees.
Conclusion
To conclude I would like to say that one should know all the rights and obligations he has, no matter whether he is an employee or an employer. The new Labor Code is the document one should turn to in order to specify the mentioned rights and obligations. The Labor Code regulates all labor issues such as labor conditions, contracts, safety, collective bargaining, and the relations between employer and employees. The new law intends to give wider authority and tools to the labor inspection bodies whenever corrective actions are necessary as a result of labor regulation violations. The step-by-step strategy of reforming the labor legislation makes it possible to introduce all the necessary corrections in the legislation as soon as new unforeseen circumstances emerge.

Bibliography
• Federal Law No.90-FZ of 30 June 2006 On the Introduction of Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the Revocation on the Territory of the Russian Federation of Certain Regulatory Legal Acts of the USSR and the Invalidation of Certain Legislative Acts (Provisions of Legislative Acts) of the Russian Federation
• http://www.bakernet.com
• http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps3997/9801code.htm
• http://www.glin.gov/
• http://www.ilo.org/