On March 25, president Putin issued Decree No. 206 on additional non-working days from March 30 to April 3, 2020, with employees maintaining their wages. This measure is intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus by encouraging people to stay at home.
This Decree does not apply to employees of the following vital categories:
(a) Continuously operating organizations;
(b) Medical and pharmacy organizations;
(c) Organizations providing the population with foodstuffs and other basic necessities;
d) Organizations performing urgent work under extraordinary circumstances;
e) Organizations carrying out urgent repair and handling operations.
If a company falls into one of the categories on the list, employees are not entitled to the additional days-off. From March 30 to April 3, 2020, they shall work as usual. Employers will not be required to issue any special work order for work on the weekend nor to obtain consent of the employee.
We believe that the President’s Decree must be implemented, since it is binding on the territory of the Russian Federation under the Constitution. Having employees work during the specified period can, given the extraordinary nature of the current situation, result in liability. Liability could be:
– Administrative: fine up to 30,000 rubles or suspension of activities for up to 90 days;
– Criminal: deprivation of liberty for one up to five years.
In his speech on March 25, Vladimir Putin also announced the implementation of economic measures such as:
- A reduction of social payments for small and medium-sized businesses from 30% to 15%;
- Sick leave payments in the amount of one minimum wage until the end of the year;
- A deferral of taxes (except VAT) for small and medium-sized businesses;
- A six-month moratorium on filing bankruptcy applications;
- A 13% tax on interests received by citizens having total deposits in excess of 1 million rubles;
- An increased dividend tax of 15% instead of 2%.
Please let us know if you have questions about non-working days, applicable salaries or other measures.
