Employers Can Withhold Pay for Long Smoke Breaks

Russian employers have the right not to pay for time that an employee spent on long smoke breaks instead of working. This was stated by Tatiana Golubeva, a senior lecturer at the Department of Business, Labor and Corporate Law of the Presidential Academy.

“If an employee, due to lateness, smoke breaks, tea breaks, and other interruptions, did not work the required working time, then the employer should not pay for this unworked time. At the same time, the employer must keep track of the actual time worked,” Golubeva was quoted as saying by TASS.

She also clarified that the Labor Code establishes special types of breaks. Their duration can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. The exact time must be specified in the internal regulations or in the employment contract. The employee may use such breaks as they wish.

However, the employer is not obliged to pay for smoke breaks. Moreover, he may impose a ban on smoking or introduce special rules for it.

Golubeva emphasizes that complying with internal rules is the duty of employees. Regular and long smoke breaks (outside of the lunch break) may reasonably be regarded as a violation of these rules.