Attractive and dangerous benefits

Branch of law: Employment and Social Security Law.

12.12.2013 Russian President
Vladimir Putin announced the annual Presidential Address to the Federal
Assembly where he gave relevant authorities clear tasks:

— to improve business climate of the Russian
Federation, particularly on the basis of development of Siberia and Far Eastern
region as “the most large-scaled national priority for whole XXI century”;

— to improve labor market and regulate foreign
labor migration in Russia.

Solving of the first task is
going very well. This is confirmed by an immediate preparation and introduction
of a draft of the Federal Law “About territories of advanced
socio-economic development and other measures of state support of the Far Eastern region”
(hereinafter – the Draft).

According to the
paragraph 1 of Art. 2 of the Draft territories of advanced socio-economic
development are regions of the Far East, where in accordance with the decision
of the Government of the Russian Federation for the purpose of development of
the Far East, applied special legal regimes for business and other activities.

In this case, besides
other things, special legal regime provides unprecedented employment benefits.
Article 20 of the Draft states that:

— permission to
hire and employ foreign workers is not required;

— invitations to
enter the Russian Federation for the purpose of engaging in labor activity and
work permits for foreign citizens on the territory of advanced socio-economic
development can be issued without any quotas;

— execution of invitations
to enter the Russian Federation for the purpose of engaging in labor activity (if
necessary) and execution of work permits for foreign citizens is carried out with
the help of management company or a subsidiary of the management company;

And the most interesting:

— salary
requirements for highly qualified specialists, mentioned in the Federal Law
“About Legal Status of Foreign
Citizens in the Russian Federation” is not applied.

It looks like
new legislation will bring happiness. This legislation provides elimination of
unnecessary at the first glance, regulatory barriers for both an employer and an
employee, especially if labor activity in Russia requires a visa. The Draft helps to solve problems with “very
expensive” highly qualified specialists that
some companies (sole proprietors) cannot afford because of peremptory norms of
paragraph 1 of Art. 13.2 of the Federal Law “About Legal Status of Foreign
Citizens in the Russian Federation”.
And finally the Draft gives opportunity to forget about this unpleasant
and promising a lot of problems word — “quotas”.

But what will
really happen after implementation of such serious exemptions?

Experts from
Inmar legal ltd. tried to answer this question.

Ksenia Rubets,
who participated in the IV St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in 2014,
attended a session “An employee in a multinational company. Hiring foreign
employees in the context of globalization” during which she discussed the
problem of Article 20 of the Draft with State Secretary, first deputy head of
the Federal Migration Service, Egorova E
Y.

According to Ksenia
Rubets, behind mentioned benefits hidden fertile ground for significant
violations of labor and immigration laws, such as lack of FMS (Federal
Migration Service) control of fulfillment
of conditions of employment (civil) contracts with foreign workers and unlimited
flow of foreign citizens to the region. This situation does not really match with
improvement of labor market conditions and regulation of foreign labor
migration in Russia (increasing responsibility of employers for an employment
of foreign workers; hiring on a patent basis; monitoring foreign citizens’ purposes
of entry and so on).

Thus, in spite
of the existing weaknesses of FMS control and regulation of foreign labor force
in the Russian Federation, brining into force provisions of the Draft can make
situation worse. Control obligations are removed from Migration Service and placed
on “ephemeral” management company.

This is very
simple decision: “Any problems with exercising of powers? No powers — no problems!”.

At the same
time, the representative of FMS, Egorova
E.Y. agreed with Ksenia Rubets and said that
“If you do not apply salary requirement for highly qualified
specialist, then the idea of highly qualified specialist itself is damaged.
This is justified in the case of “Skolkovo” because
“Skolkovo” — is a local area with a special legal regime. In my
opinion in the case of Far Eastern region provisions of Article 20 of the Draft
is not quite correct and justified.”

Let’s wait and see.

Let’s hope that bringing
provisions of Article 20 of the Draft into force will provide development of clear
and understandable for both employer and employee instructions, rules and
mechanisms in order to specify and organize such attractive, but at the same
time, dangerous benefits.