Shadow employment, unemployment and self-employed citizens: the Ministry of Labor is working on a new law

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation is developing a draft law that should regulate several significant aspects of the industry at once.  First of all, we are talking about shadow employment, as well as the legal status of the self-employed and the job search procedure for people receiving benefits from the employment exchange.

The final draft of the law is planned to be submitted for consideration by the lower house of parliament already in the autumn session. The amendments will affect the law ‘On Employment of the Population’, which regulates labor relations.

At the moment, the concept of proposed innovations is presented. It includes several points at once.

First of all, we are talking about solving the problem of shadow employment of the population. The proposal of the Ministry of Labor is to provide it with a legal form: to define it, to indicate the consequences, and also to give the state bodies the powers aimed at ‘whitewashing’ the labor market.

The second important point is the change in the conditions for the unemployed, including the payment of benefits to them. The Ministry proposes to develop an individual program in each specific case to find a new job, as well as to make the fact of receiving unemployment benefits dependent on its implementation.

The third aspect that they intend to change will be the status of the self-employed. We are talking about citizens who work on digital platforms, as well as under civil law contracts. Their activities are planned to be more clearly regulated, fixing the norms on the time of work and rest, wages, as well as various kinds of social guarantees, RBC reports.