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- Clean works: hundreds of companies were included in the register of unscrupulous employers
Clean works: hundreds of companies were included in the register of unscrupulous employers
240 companies have already been included in the register of unscrupulous employers, which Rostrud launched in 2025, Izvestia found out. Those who violate the rights of employees are included in the list, paying salaries below the minimum wage or registering them under a civil contract in order to save on taxes. Most often, companies from the field of transport and services are included in the register. Violators face additional checks, loss of government support and reputational risks. What threatens informally employed employees and what is the scale of shadow employment in Russia — in the material of Izvestia.
Who is included in the register of unscrupulous employers
Since 2025, Rostrud has been maintaining a register of unscrupulous employers. It includes companies and individual entrepreneurs who charge salaries below the minimum wage (22.4 thousand rubles) or register employees under civil law contracts instead of labor contracts in order to save on taxes and fees. By the end of July, the list already contains 240 entries with the names of organizations and entrepreneurs, Izvestia estimated.
Employers who hire employees without official registration are legally responsible, Rostrud told Izvestia. If an employment contract is not concluded on time, it is considered an administrative offense. After the relevant resolution comes into force, such a company or sole proprietor may be included in the register of violators of illegal employment, the service added.
Most often, labor laws are violated in the fields of transport, cleaning, IT, as well as in the field of household services — among manicurists, hairdressers, and sports coaches, Natalia Streshkina, an expert on law in the field of entrepreneurship, a member of the Association of Lawyers of Russia (AYUR), listed.
Most of those included in the registry are sole proprietors, but there are also larger organizations. Among them are the Clean City Group of companies (waste removal), Khanty—Mansiysk Fish Processing Plant, SV-Stroy construction materials supplier, TVK-Engineering (reconstruction and repair of buildings) and the Eurogard security company. Izvestia sent them inquiries.
— The idea of creating a registry is correct and timely. There are many systemic problems in the labor market: gray employment schemes, substitution of employment contracts, and disregard for legislation. The open list of violators is not just a punitive measure, but a tool of public control and a signal to employers that they will no longer be able to hide, lawyer Natalia Streshkina believes.
First of all, the registry is useful to the employees themselves — it helps to understand in advance whether it is worth getting a job in a particular company. The state needs it to restore order in taxes and insurance premiums. And it gives honest entrepreneurs a chance to compete on equal terms, without losing employees due to dumping by "gray" colleagues, the expert added.
Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, believes that the practical benefits of the registry for employees are still questionable. Firstly, it is not easy to find the list on Rostrud's website. Secondly, its presence does not prevent companies from continuing illegal hiring as before. Thirdly, if a business works with migrants, then for many of them it is not the way of registration that is important, but the earnings themselves, the expert estimated.
To make the registry more efficient, information from it should also be posted on popular platforms, for example, on the portal "Work of Russia", says Yulia Dolzhenkova, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
What happens if you get into the register of unscrupulous employers
Getting into the registry is a reputational stigma, especially painful for small businesses and areas with high staff turnover: trade, private education, and services, said Natalia Streshkina from AYUR. According to her, such employers may face difficulties in hiring — candidates will bypass companies found to be in violation.
— Appearing on the list may also provoke additional checks by the tax and prosecutor's office, restrict access to government orders and support measures, and reduce customer confidence, especially in sensitive areas such as medicine, education, or child care. In addition, there may be difficulties when working with banks, for example, when opening an account or obtaining a loan. Thus, the registry becomes an effective reputational sanction that can push employers to legalize employment," the lawyer warned.
However, mistakes cannot be ruled out. Companies may be included in the register based on a complaint from a former employee out of revenge, due to inaccuracies in the inspection by the inspector or a technical malfunction, for example, when submitting reports, Natalia Streshkina admitted.
Therefore, it is important that employers receive an official notification of inclusion in the list, have an understandable and quick appeal mechanism, as well as the opportunity to withdraw from the register within a reasonable time after violations are eliminated, the lawyer believes. Without these guarantees, there is a risk of abuse and loss of trust in the registry itself.
—Lawyers and entrepreneurs should conduct an internal audit right now: check personnel documents, contract forms, payments, and adjust processes if necessary," the expert noted.
However, Rostrud eliminates the possibility of mistakes. It was noted that the register is formed automatically using the departmental information system and provides for a two-level verification of information on prosecution.
The 240 organizations and sole proprietors in the register for July is not much, given the scale of the economy, Natalia Streshkina continued. However, with the active work of the labor inspectorate and further digitalization of processes, the number of records may increase 5-10 times by the end of the year. Individual entrepreneurs who do not register employees, as well as small companies in the service and education sectors, are particularly likely to be included in the list.
It is likely that by December there may be 2-3 thousand entries in the list. If the control is formal and selective, it will be less, if it is systematic and automated, it will be much more, the lawyer expects.
Risks of illegal employment for workers
By agreeing to illegal employment, an employee loses a number of rights and guarantees provided for by labor legislation. These include annual paid leave, sick leave, including maternity leave, child care allowance for up to 1.5 years, payments in case of industrial accidents and compensation for rehabilitation costs, the Rostrud press service said.
In addition, without official employment, it is impossible to receive tax deductions when buying a home, paying for medical treatment or education. Also, a person loses severance pay when the company is reduced or liquidated, loses insurance experience and the right to preferential retirement, and part of future old—age payments is not formed at all - contributions are not paid from unofficial salaries, the service recalled.
As Natalia Streshkina from AYUR noted, there are other consequences.:
— the risk of being left without a salary — without a contract it is difficult to prove something in court;
— refusal of mortgages and other loans — banks require official proof of income;
— ease of dismissal — there is no legal protection without an employment contract.
In fact, by agreeing to informal employment, a person voluntarily renounces the rights provided for by the Constitution and the Labor Code, the lawyer emphasized.
In the long run, this results in not only personal losses — low old-age payments, lack of savings and protection, but also an additional burden on the budget: the state has to spend more on supporting low-income pensioners, added Yulia Dolzhenkova from the Financial University.
However, it also happens that in some localities where there are few employers, people are often forced to agree to a violation of labor rights simply because there are no other jobs nearby, said Lyudmila Ivanova—Shvets, Associate professor at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. There are also reverse cases: employees themselves are looking for illegal or semi—legal employment in order to avoid deductions, for example, for alimony or debts.
Currently, according to various estimates, from 10 to 20 million people in Russia work informally or with partial registration, Natalia Streshkina from AYUR shared. She is sure that the registry can deter violations, but it will not solve the problem by itself. A comprehensive solution is needed: employers need to be motivated to legalize employment, simplify reporting, and reduce the tax burden. In addition, it is necessary to explain to people what they risk by agreeing to informal work, as well as to develop digital accounting tools by combining data from the Federal Tax Service, the Social Fund and Rostrud, the expert concluded.
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