SOUT
Special Assessment of Working Conditions
A mandatory procedure for all employers to identify harmful and hazardous workplace factors, assess the level of employee exposure and establish working-condition classes at workplaces under Federal Law No. 426-FZ. SOUT replaced the former workplace certification procedure for working conditions.
Regulatory framework
- Federal Law No. 426-FZ of 28 December 2013 “On Special Assessment of Working Conditions”
- Labour Code of the Russian Federation
- Subordinate regulations of the Ministry of Labour of Russia — SOUT methodology, factor classifier, reporting forms and declaration procedure
- Requirements for submitting information to the Federal State Information System for SOUT (FGIS SOUT)
- Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation — liability for violations of the SOUT procedure
Stages of SOUT
- Defining the list of workplaces, establishing the commission and collecting initial data
- Identification of potentially harmful and hazardous workplace factors
- Studies and measurements of workplace-environment and work-process factors
- Assessment of exposure levels, taking into account the personal and collective protective equipment used
- Assignment of working-condition classes and subclasses to workplaces
- Preparation of the SOUT report and special-assessment cards
- Submission of information to FGIS SOUT
- Preparation of a declaration of conformity of working conditions, where applicable
Working-condition classes
| Class | Description |
|---|
| 1 — Optimal | Harmful factors are absent or do not exceed statutory limits |
| 2 — Acceptable | Exposure remains within acceptable levels and recovery occurs before the next shift |
| 3 — Harmful | Subclasses 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 — different degrees of exceedance of statutory limits |
| 4 — Hazardous | Threat to life and risk of occupational disease |
Where SOUT is not conducted
- Workplaces of home-based workers
- Workplaces of remote employees
- Working conditions of employees of individual employers who are not registered as individual entrepreneurs
SOUT results
- Special assessment of working conditions report
- SOUT cards for workplaces
- List of workplaces with assigned working-condition classes
- Basis for guarantees and compensation to employees working under harmful or hazardous conditions
- Recommendations for improving working conditions
- Documents confirming compliance with labour-law requirements
- Information for submission to state information systems
SOUT results affect the employer's obligations concerning additional leave, reduced working hours, increased remuneration, provision of personal protective equipment and medical examinations. Failure to conduct SOUT on time creates a risk of administrative penalties and employee claims. The applicable liability is determined by the version of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation in force on the date the violation is identified.
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