Household members: problems of legal status

Abstract

The article carries out a comprehensive study of the legal status of household members as a subject in labor relations regarding the use of domestic work in accordance with the ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, the state of its implementation in Ukraine, proposals for improving national legislation in order to effectively implement the rights of domestic workers .
 The topicality of the topic is due to the fact that Ukraine has come close to completing the ratification process of the ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Currently, a corresponding draft law has been developed, which aims to supplement the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine with provisions aimed at regulating the relations of domestic workers under an employment contract with an individual. Therefore, domestic workers will be included in the scope of labor law, and members of the household will acquire the powers of the employer within the scope of the employment contract. At the same time, one of the members of the household will become a party to the employment contract - the employer.
 An attempt was made to define the concepts and characteristics of household members based on the analysis of the ILO Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, the current legislation of Ukraine and the results of the legislative work. In particular, in Ukraine it is proposed to use domestic work on the basis of an employment contract only for individuals who are primarily united by such important features as living together in the same residential premises (residential building) or part of it, running a joint household, fully or partially combining their funds and their expenses. It has been proven the need to refer to household members as well as persons who, although they do not fall under the characteristics of household members, but are family members within the meaning of Art. 3 of the Family Code of Ukraine.
 It is argued that the Convention uses the term "household" to refer to the employer, which in translation from English means both a group of people who live together and applies to a house, an apartment and the people who live there. It is reasonable to believe that the Convention does not prohibit the use of domestic work by legal entities, but allows the establishment of restrictions by national legislation.