No — an employer cannot dismiss a pregnant employee on their own initiative. There is exactly one exception to this rule, and what employers usually call “grounds” for dismissing a pregnant employee — staff redundancy, poor performance, a disciplinary issue — is not that exception. Here’s what the law actually says, the tricks employers commonly use, and what to do if it’s already happened.
The general rule: pregnant employees can’t be dismissed
Article 261 of the Labor Code directly prohibits an employer from terminating an employment contract on their own initiative with a pregnant employee. This covers all the usual grounds: staff redundancy, poor performance, repeated failure to meet job duties — none of them can be applied to a pregnant employee.
This also applies to special grounds. For example, a remote employee can formally be dismissed for failing to respond to the employer for more than two consecutive working days after a request (Art. 312.8(1) of the Labor Code) — but that’s still dismissal on the employer’s initiative, and it doesn’t apply to pregnant employees either.
The only exception is full liquidation of the company, or a sole proprietor ceasing business activity entirely. Note the word “entirely”: if a sole proprietor closes one retail location or division but continues operating as a sole proprietor, this exception doesn’t apply, and a pregnant employee at that location still can’t be dismissed on this ground. In every other case, dismissal on the employer’s initiative is unlawful — even where the stated grounds would otherwise be valid for anyone else.
”The employer didn’t know she was pregnant” isn’t a defense
A common employer argument: she never told us she was pregnant, so the dismissal is valid. That’s not how it works. Russia’s Supreme Court has been explicit: the fact that an employer didn’t know an employee was pregnant, and the fact that the pregnancy may no longer be ongoing by the time the case reaches court, are not grounds for refusing reinstatement (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 1 of January 28, 2014, para. 25). If the employee was pregnant on the date of dismissal, the dismissal is unlawful — regardless of whether the employer knew.
The trap: “termination by mutual agreement”
One of the most common ways employers try to get around the ban is to talk an employee into signing a mutual termination agreement (Art. 78 of the Labor Code). On its face, this isn’t dismissal on the employer’s initiative, so Art. 261’s ban doesn’t formally apply to it.
But the protection here is stronger than it looks. The Supreme Court has taken a clear position (rulings of September 5, 2014, No. 37-КГ14-4, and June 20, 2016, No. 18-КГ16-45): a pregnant employee has the right to withdraw her consent to the agreement up to her very last working day — and this holds even if she already knew she was pregnant when she signed it. If the employer proceeds with the dismissal anyway after she withdraws consent, it’s treated as dismissal on the employer’s initiative and falls under the Art. 261 ban. Courts also protect the situation where an employee learns she’s pregnant only after signing the agreement — there, the agreement can be voided on the grounds that the circumstances she relied on when agreeing to leave have materially changed. The First Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction reached the same conclusion, holding directly that an employee’s statement withdrawing her consent to dismissal, made after discovering she’s pregnant, is on its own grounds for finding the dismissal unlawful.
Special rules for fixed-term contracts
If an employee is on a fixed-term contract and it’s due to expire during her pregnancy, separate rules apply:
- The right to an extension. On the employee’s written request, and on presentation of a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy, the employer must extend the contract until the pregnancy ends — or, if she has already gone on maternity leave, until that leave ends.
- Confirmation, at most once a quarter. After the extension, the employer may request a new medical certificate no more than once every three months — asking for one weekly or monthly is not allowed.
- The exception for a position covering someone else’s absence. If the fixed-term contract was specifically for covering another employee’s absence (say, someone else’s own maternity leave), and that employee returns — the contract can still be ended. But only if the employer has offered every available vacancy in the area that matches her qualifications, as well as lower-level or lower-paid roles she could perform given her health, and none was suitable.
What to do if you’ve already been dismissed
Watch the clock — you have only one month to go to court. Disputes over dismissal carry a shortened deadline: one month from the day you received a copy of the dismissal order or your employment record (Art. 392 of the Labor Code). That’s far shorter than it feels, and it’s the single most common reason strong cases are lost — not because the case was weak, but because the claim was filed too late.
What a court can award you:
- reinstatement to your position;
- average earnings for the entire period of forced absence — that is, from the unlawful dismissal until reinstatement;
- compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
Keep proof of the pregnancy as of the dismissal date — a doctor’s note, your prenatal record, any dated document. This is what proves to the court that the ban was already in effect on the date you were dismissed.
This isn’t only a labor dispute — it can be a criminal matter too. Dismissing a woman specifically because of her pregnancy is a separate offense under Art. 145 of the Criminal Code, punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (or the equivalent of the offender’s income for up to 18 months) or up to 360 hours of mandatory community service. One important nuance: this article requires proving that the reason for the dismissal was specifically the pregnancy — it isn’t an automatic consequence of any procedural violation; the motive itself has to be established separately.
Frequently asked questions
Can a pregnant employee be dismissed for absenteeism or a disciplinary violation? No. Disciplinary grounds — absenteeism included — count as dismissal on the employer’s initiative and fall under the Art. 261 ban just like any other ground. The only exception remains full liquidation of the company.
What if the pregnancy is only discovered after the dismissal order has already been signed? The dismissal date is what matters for checking pregnancy status. If the employee was pregnant on that date, the dismissal is unlawful — even if neither she nor the employer knew it yet.
Can a pregnant employee be dismissed for failing probation? No. Dismissal for failing to pass probation is still dismissal on the employer’s initiative, and the ban applies to it exactly the same way.
What if the employer suggests she resign “of her own accord”? Formally, that’s dismissal on the employee’s own initiative, and the Art. 261 ban doesn’t apply to it — but if the resignation letter was written under pressure or threats, it can be separately challenged by showing there was no genuine, voluntary intent to resign.
Can a pregnant remote employee be dismissed for not responding to the employer? No. Remote employees have a separate dismissal ground under the Labor Code — failing to respond to the employer’s request for more than two consecutive working days (Art. 312.8(1)). But that’s still dismissal on the employer’s initiative, so the Art. 261 ban applies to pregnant employees the same way.
A sole proprietor is closing one location — can they dismiss the pregnant employee working there? Not if the sole proprietor continues operating overall. The exception under Art. 261 is full cessation of the sole proprietor’s business activity — not closing one store, branch, or line of business.
Related reading
- Can You Fire a Pre-Retirement-Age Employee in Russia? — a similar protected-category question, but with a fundamentally different standard of proof
- Resignation Under Pressure: Four Steps to Protect Yourself
- The Employee Trap: When an Employer Provokes a Violation
- 6 Signs Your Employer Is Preparing to Fire You
A one-month deadline is very little time — especially while you’re still working out whether what happened was lawful and how to properly draft a court claim. If you were dismissed while pregnant, write to me as soon as you can. I’ll assess your real chances and what you need to do so you don’t lose the window to act.