Protection of employees' labor rights during the quarantine

Abstract

In this article, the impact of the global pandemic on the organization of work at enterprises in Ukraine, and the protection of workers’ labor rights during the quarantine was overviewed. The grounds for dismissal of employees in Ukraine, which are provided in the Labor Code of Ukraine, were analyzed. Such forms of termination of the employment contract as dismissal at the employer’s initiative, termination of the employment contract at the employee’s initiative, and by agreement of the parties were explored. When terminating an employment contract at the employee’s initiative and by agreement of the parties, the main condition is the desire of the employee. The employer cannot force him/her to resign voluntarily. It was found that dismissal can be considered legitimate if there are two conditions: there must be one of the grounds for dismissal provided by the Labor Code, and the dismissal procedure must be followed. The dismissal procedure includes the need to acquaint the employee with the dismissal order, compliance with the deadlines for payment upon dismissal, and compliance with the deadlines for the issuance of employment records. The scope of employees’ rights during quarantine and the scope of guarantees provided in the event of dismissal of an employee was determined. If the employee works at an enterprise, institution, organization, the employer must provide appropriate working conditions, for example, provide the employee with personal protective equipment (masks). The law provides a number of guarantees for employees who have been fired (depending on the grounds for dismissal): payment of severance pay, the possibility of transfer to another position, compensation in case of violation of the terms of issuance of the employment record book, etc. The new legal framework, which was created to regulate labor relations during the quarantine, such as Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Aimed at Preventing the Occurrence and Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID ‑ 19)” № 530 ‑ IX of March 17, 2020, and Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts Aimed at Providing Additional Social and Economic Guarantees in Connection with the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID ‑ 19)” № 540 ‑ IX of March 30, 2020, were analyzed. Such forms of organization of work at the enterprise in the conditions of quarantine as a remote mode of work, a temporary mode of downtime, etc. were overviewed. It was found out that vacation leave is an employee’s right, not an obligation, so the employer cannot force the employee to go on leave. In case of illegal dismissal, the employee has the right to file a lawsuit with a request to reinstate, change the formulation of the reasons for dismissal or make the payment of average earnings during the forced absence. It is important to follow the deadlines for applying to the court. For example, in the case of dismissal, this period is one month from the date of delivery of a copy of the dismissal order or from the date of issuance of the employment record.