The activities of employees working remotely (remotely) are regulated by Section 49.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in which a specialist working remotely may not actually be at the workplace. Irina Gukova, founder of the law firm GAP, told socialbites.ca about this.
According to the expert, the norms and rules specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are valid only in the territory of the Russian Federation, our laws have no legal force in the case of remote work outside the Russian Federation.
“The most dangerous situation during relocation is deprivation of resident status. If a Russian citizen stays abroad for 183 days in 12 months without a valid documented reason, he may lose his resident status. When a resident status is lost, the tax regime for a citizen changes. “Personal income tax for non-residents is 30% (for residents – 13%) – the tax will be more than doubled,” he said.
It is worth highlighting the cases where the relocation of employees abroad was carried out with the help of the employer.
“If the employee’s workplace legally moves abroad (the employer opens a company / transfers the employee to a foreign branch), personal income tax is not payable, since non-residents have to pay this tax only on income earned in the region. Russian Federation, ”the lawyer emphasized.
As Gukova noted, currently the employer has the opportunity to limit the location of an employee within the framework of an employment contract. It is also possible to restrict an employee’s travel abroad by introducing additional rules in the company regarding the requirement to obtain a permit to travel abroad. Under current foreign policy conditions, the responsibility for an employee’s departure abroad lies with the employer.
Previously recognizedMore than a quarter of Russians work remotely or in a hybrid form.