Employee’s participation in the employer’s affairs: Organizational forms and legal regulation (economic and legal aspects)

Abstract

Social partnership in the sphere of labour is one of the most important principles underlying the modern mechanism of legal regulation of social and labour relations. The significance of this principle lies in the fact that thanks to its implementation in practice, social peace in the sphere of social work is ensured and, accordingly, social stability in society as a whole. The current Russian labour legislation not only formulates social partnership as a principle of legal regulation of social labour, but also defines the main forms (directions) of implementation of this principle. Currently, the direction of social partnership is most thoroughly regulated in legislation and tested in practice, which can be conditionally defined as representative, when representatives of the main social groups in the field of labour — employees and employers, as well as the state, as the personification of general social interests, enter into a dialogue on issues of public importance and conclude this dialogue with an appropriate agreement. Another area of social partnership, which is usually defined as the participation of employees in the affairs of the employer, is rather poorly regulated in legislation, is very little widespread in practice and is practically ignored in domestic legal science. Meanwhile, as world experience shows, the system of employee participation in the affairs of the employer is a very effective means of ensuring the solution of both social and economic problems. The article analyzes the main aspects of participation. It is based on the employee’s right to participate as a subjective labour right. Its implementation is provided mainly by means of two branches of law — labour and civil (corporate). Accordingly, there are two forms of participation, although related to each other, but having an independent character — economic and organizational. The first is implemented through various options for the participation of employees in the profits and property of the employer, the second — through the participation of employees in management, including self-management of labour collectives of various levels in the structure of the employer’s enterprise.