Russian Constitutional Court protects contractual severance pay for resigning workers

Russia's Constitutional Court ordered a review of two workers' cases after they were denied payments on resigning. It ruled that lawful employment-contract terms promising severance pay must be honoured.

Andrei Nekrasov and Viktoria Reshetnikova resigned in February 2023 from a company working in nuclear and radiation safety. Their contracts provided for compensation equal to five average monthly salaries, but the employer did not pay it.

Courts considering the dispute cited, among other reasons, the absence of such payments from legislation and the employer's internal rules. The Constitutional Court said the employer determines the terms of its employment contracts and cannot unilaterally abandon an obligation it voluntarily accepted.

In its October 13 ruling, the court upheld the challenged provision of Labour Code Article 178 under that interpretation. Courts cannot refuse to award contractual severance when the relevant clause is lawful. The decision addresses payments promised by contract and does not establish identical severance pay for everyone who resigns.