Russian Tech Giants Oppose Labor Ministry Limits on Simple E-Signatures

Major Russian technology companies have come out against a Labor Ministry bill that would restrict certain types of electronic signatures in employment paperwork. The Big Data Association (ABD) set out its objections in a letter to the Ministry of Economic Development.

The bill, which has been in development since the start of the year, amends the Labor Code. It would allow the Max messenger to be used when signing documents between employers and employees. The Labor Ministry has said Max would become an additional channel of communication, while documents would be viewed and signed on Gosuslugi using Goskey.

Costs for employers

ABD argues that if the bill passes, companies will have to integrate their information systems with state infrastructure or switch to other kinds of electronic signature. According to the association, the first route would cost each company about 32 million rubles to connect to the Gosuslugi infrastructure. The second would add up to 100 million rubles a year in costs for delivering authorization codes by SMS or through Max.

The association says employees can currently sign routine documents inside company systems with a login and password. Under the draft as written, they would have to pass two-factor authentication in ESIA for every electronic document. ABD says the bill excludes a simple e-signature issued in the employer's own system, even for everyday papers such as vacation requests, which would force HR processes to be rebuilt.

ABD also warns that the amendment could be read as obliging employers to give staff access to documents in Max. Max has told the press that Goskey signing messages are free for businesses.

Dependence on state systems

Aleksey Borshchov of KORUS Consulting's Avandoc ecosystem said that connecting to ESIA is technically possible but is a full infrastructure project for a commercial company. It requires registering the organization and its system, installing certified cryptographic tools, setting up a secure channel and passing an information security compliance check. He agreed with the 32 million ruble estimate.

Borshchov sees the main risk as HR processes becoming dependent on someone else's infrastructure: if Gosuslugi is unavailable, a company could neither approve an employee's vacation nor have them acknowledge an order.

The Ministry of Economic Development confirmed it received the letter and said the document will be handled under the established procedure. The Labor Ministry said the bill has passed public consultation and is being refined based on employers' proposals.