OREANDA-NEWS The draft law on criminal liability for dismissal of citizens of pre-retirement age was adopted by the state Duma in the first reading. The initiative came from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Business have criticized this initiative. 

The bill on criminal liability for dismissal and refusal to hire Russians of pre-retirement age (that is, five years before retirement) was submitted to the state Duma by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is one of the initiatives under the pension reform, according to which the retirement age for women will increase to 60 years and for men - to 65.

Speaking at the end of August with a television appeal to mitigate the parameters of the reform, Putin, among other things, proposed to introduce a number of benefits for citizens of pre-retirement age.

In addition to the punishment for employers for dismissal and refusal of employment, he proposed to approve for citizens of pre-retirement age a program to improve their skills and to increase the maximum amount of unemployment benefits for them more than twice.

According to the bill, which was supported by the deputies, fines of up to 200,000 rubles or in the amount of salary or other income of the convicted person for the period up to 18 months, as well as mandatory work are introduced for unjustified refusal to hire or dismissal of people who must retire in five years.

The bill does not provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment. The government and the Supreme Сourt of Russia have already supported the initiative.

Business, on the contrary, criticized this idea. President of The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin told that this will only lead to the fact that employers will dismiss employees before the "pre-retirement" age.

At the same time, there was offered to temporarily reduce the rate of contributions to the Pension Fund of Russia for workers of pre-retirement age.

The employer after the entry into force of the law can in another way dismiss the future pensioner, for example, having achieved from him the statement "at own will", This information told the head of the chamber of Commerce and industry of Russia Sergey Katyrin.

In his address to the people, Putin spoke not only about the punishment for business, but also about possible benefits that would interest the employer in not firing the employee before retirement. He then instructed the government to"offer real incentives for business."