SuperJob lawyer: how the procedure for employment of taxi and public transport drivers has changed

From March 1, 2023, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation has new rules regarding the work of taxi drivers, buses, trams, trolleybuses and off-street transport drivers (for example, metro). The new requirements are defined by Article 328.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Head of Legal Practice SuperJob Alexander Yuzhalin explains in his new article how to recruit drivers now.

Who is not allowed to work

The main change came into force on March 1, 2023: as of today, persons who have an unexpunged or outstanding conviction for committing certain crimes or who are subject to prosecution for such crimes.

What crimes are we talking about?

Work ban	Perfect Crime
taxi management	— murder; — intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm; — kidnapping; — robbery; — robbery; — crimes against sexual inviolability and sexual freedom of the individual; — crimes against public security, the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state, against the peace and security of mankind, which, in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, are classified as crimes of medium gravity, grave and especially grave crimes; — crimes provided for by the legislation of another state (a member of the Eurasian Economic Union), corresponding to the crimes indicated above.
Management of buses, trams, trolleybuses and rolling stock of off-street transport	— crimes against public security, the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state, against the peace and security of mankind, which, in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, are classified as grave and especially grave crimes; — crimes provided for by the legislation of another state (a member of the Eurasian Economic Union), corresponding to the crimes indicated above.

What has changed with the innovation

1. A new document for employment. Now, along with the «standard» documents for employment (passport, SNILS, work book, education document, driver’s license), the employee will have to provide a certificate of the presence (absence) of a criminal record and (or) the fact of criminal prosecution. Such a document will be required if a citizen applies for work related to the management of passenger taxis, buses, trams, trolleybuses and rolling stock of off-street transport.

The form of the certificate will depend on the nationality of the employee. If the employee is a citizen of the Russian Federation, then the certificate is provided in the form approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 27, 2019 No. 660. If we are talking about an employee who is not a citizen of the Russian Federation and has the citizenship of another member state of the Eurasian Economic Union, you will need to provide 2 documents :

1) a certificate in the form approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 27, 2019 No. 660;
2) a document issued by the relevant competent authority of a foreign state, translated into Russian and notarized.

2. New grounds for suspension from work. The employer will be obliged to suspend from work (not allow to work) an employee whose work activity is directly related to the management of passenger taxis, buses, trams, trolleybuses and off-street transport, upon receipt from law enforcement agencies of information that this employee is subject to criminal prosecution for these crimes.

3. New requirements for existing drivers. By September 1, 2023, an employee driver of these modes of transport must submit to the employer a certificate of the presence (absence) of a criminal record and (or) the fact of criminal prosecution or the termination of criminal prosecution on rehabilitating grounds. An employee — a citizen of the Russian Federation provides such a certificate in the form specified in the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 27, 2019 No. 660; foreign citizen — in two forms:

• in the form specified in the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated September 27, 2019 No. 660;
• in the form issued by the competent authority of a foreign state, with a certified translation into Russian.

4. New grounds for dismissal. If the employee does not provide a certificate before September 1, 2023, the employer will have to terminate the employment contract on the grounds provided for in paragraph 13 of part 1 of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (the occurrence of restrictions on employment established by the Code, other federal law and excluding the possibility of the employee fulfilling obligations under the employment contract certain types of work).