The Government of the Russian Federation has supported new grounds for the dismissal of foreigners

The Government of the Russian Federation has supported new grounds for the dismissal of foreigners. The document is aimed at eliminating legal uncertainty regarding the dismissal of foreign workers in cases where regional restrictions on their employment are introduced.

The authors of the initiative propose amending the Labor Code of the Russian Federation to officially grant employers the right to terminate employment contracts with foreign nationals if Russian regions, within their authority, impose limits on the number of foreign workers. Currently, such restrictions may be implemented, for example, due to changes in migration policy or the economic situation, but existing labor legislation does not explicitly allow these measures to serve as grounds for dismissal.

Since 2014, Russian regions have been able to regulate the level of foreign labor recruitment, especially for those entering under a visa regime. Employers are required to comply with these regulations, and violations can result in severe penalties, ranging from multimillion-ruble fines to suspension of operations. However, the legal framework still lacks a clear provision allowing for the termination of contracts with foreign workers due to such restrictions, creating legal conflicts.

The draft law is intended to fill this gap by officially adding regional restrictions to the list of acceptable grounds for terminating an employment contract with a foreign citizen. The Government of the Russian Federation believes that the initiative requires further refinement but generally supports it as a step toward clearer regulation of the rights and obligations of parties in the field of migration control and labor relations.