Russian Labour Legislation Research Articles

Корпоративная социальная ответственность — новое направление в развитии социального партнерства?

During the transition to a post-industrial type of society, where high technologies take place, a higher level of social management is assumed, implemented by companies. New conditions place new demands on attracting and retaining qualified workers. The role of companies (employers) is being rethought. In this regard, companies (employers), guided by the principles of corporate social responsibility, are implementing new approaches to employee management. However, all initiatives for the development of social responsibility of companies (employers) cannot be called revolutionary, since they are already regulated in Russian labor legislation. The development of corporate social responsibility should be carried out not at the level of declarations, but by enshrining in social partnership acts the obligations of employers to improve the work, rest and living conditions of employees.

Вопросы реализации концепции повышения качества трудовой жизни в условиях проведения специальной военной операции

The paper considers the issue of taking into account the concept of improving the quality of working life when adjusting the Russian labor legislation in connection with the special military operation. The problems of labor legislation related to ensuring the rights and guarantees of workers taking part in a special military operation, improvement of working conditions of their families are discussed. Both positive and problematic sides of changes in the Russian labor legislation aimed at implementing the concept of improving the quality of working life are analyzed. Proposals for the adjustment of problematic norms in the legislation are contained.

Invalidity of the employment contract and recognition of the employment contract as not valid as a promising way to protect labour rights

The study is devoted to the substantiation and formulation of proposals for the implementation in Russian labour law of a promising way of protecting individual labour rights — invalidity of the employment contract and the recognition of an employment contract as inactive in court, as well as their ratio. Based on the analysis of the labour legislation of the Russian Federation and other states of the EAEU, an analysis is made of the current state of the normative legal regulation of the issues of the invalidity of an employment contract. It is proposed to fix in the Russian labour legislation the concept, specific grounds for the nullity of an employment contract and its consequences. When considering the provisions of civil legislation on the consequences of the invalidity of disputed transactions, as well as special literature, the author expressed the opinion that the method of protection provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 167 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation should be considered precisely as a mechanism for the transformation (termination for the future) of the legal relationship that arose from the voidable transaction. It is concluded that the partial extrapolation of this model to the labour law reality will allow to form an original way of protection for the employee and the employer, eliminating the grounds for discussion about the subsidiary application of civil law norms on the conclusion and execution of an employment contract. The main results of the study are the formation of a number of proposals aimed at improving the effectiveness of primarily Russian labour legislation. In particular, a distinction is proposed between the grounds and consequences of the nullity of an employment contract and the recognition of an employment contract as inactive. It is stated that the rights and responsibilities of the parties to the employment relationship, formed before the recognition of the employment contract as inactive, should be considered properly executed. It is also proposed to some of innovations in the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, including a fine (penalty) in favor of a minor employee in cases of violation by the employer of the prohibitions on concluding an employment contract as a preventive measure and one of the consequences of recognizing it as inactive.

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

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.

О материальной и гражданско-правовой ответственности

Introduction. The relevance of this scientific article is justified by an ambiguous approach to understanding legal responsibility, an assessment of the so-called material responsibility of workers and employees, to the interpretation of civil liability. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the absence of material liability in the legislative context, and criticism of scientists who unreasonably equate civil liability with appropriate protection measures. Methodology. The methodology includes the following methods: general philosophical (dialectical-materialistic); general scientific (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, abstraction, etc.); private scientific (formal legal, interpretation of law, etc.). Results. Noting that, although the legislator and the majority of legal scholars distinguish material liability as a type of legal liability, the author came to the opposite conclusion. In addition, it is reasonable that “material responsibility” and civil law have nothing in common. Conclusion. It is summarized that, despite the fact that material liability is enshrined in Russian labor legislation, in fact it is absent, because the legislator, like many scientists, unreasonably equates legal liability and restorative measures (protection measures). This applies equally to the existing interpretation of civil liability by scientists.

Соглашения о неконкуренции: проблемы теории и практики

The realization of freedom of labor by the employee through the termination of employment and the subsequent conclusion of an employment contract with a company that competes with the previous employer is detrimental to the interests of the later. The article contains an attempt to substantiate the necessity and possibility of introducing noncompetition agreements in the Russian labor legislation. In the light of the wide spread of such agreements abroad, the experience of various countries is represented, and the main aspects to be taken into consideration while concluding non-competition agreements are analyzed: 1) the reasonableness of conclusion of such agreements; 2) the form of conclusion; 3) the information about the actions to be performed/not performed by the employee; 4) the categories of employees with whom non-competition agreements may be concluded; 5) the term and the territory of the agreement; 6) compensation of the employee. Author reviewed the current positions of state authorities and the scientific community on the raised issue. In addition, the author provides arguments in favor of using this type of agreements, as well as possible options for adapting it to national legal conditions, taking into account the principle of freedom of labor.

ТРУДОВОЙ КОДЕКС: 20 ЛЕТ СПУСТЯ

The aim of the paper is to determine and assess the scope and nature of the main changes to the Labor Code in the period from 2000 to 2022, and the degree of their impact on socio-economic processes in Russia. As methods of scientific research, the author applies empirical and statistical analysis, deduction, content analysis of scientific publications, and the method of logical generalization to formulate conclusions and recommendations. The main stages of the transformation of the legal regulation of the system of remuneration of public sector employees and the impact of the Labor Code on the dynamics of the minimum wage are identified and characterized. Legal trends in the field of improving the employment contract and regulating flexible forms of employment are analyzed. Innovations in the field of regulation of the work of athletes and coaches, the use of the practice of agency and remote work are considered. The unresolved issues of protecting the labor rights of workers are touched upon. The author attempts to determine the degree of influence of the digitalization of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic on the provisions of the Labor Code, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the legal regulation of labor in these conditions. As a result of the study, the main directions for improving the Russian labor legislation were identified, and the strengths and weaknesses of this process. The paper concludes that while maintaining the provisions in the Labor Code that have proven their effectiveness in the field of regulation of labor relations, the Labor Code is a living, regularly updated mechanism. The author suggests possible strategies for reforming labor legislation.

Current problems of employee labor liability for disclosure of trade secrets

The article addresses the problems associated with the disclosure by the employee of information related to trade secrets. It was established that Russian law does not adequately protect rights in the event of disclosure of trade secrets by an employee. It was concluded that it is possible to use the experience of individual foreign countries in reforming Russian labor legislation regarding the issue under study.

MIGRATION PROCESSES IN THE CHUVASH REPUBLIC IN 2000–2020

The article examines the main trends in the demographic situation in the Chuvash Republic in 2000–2020, discusses the migration processes in Chuvashia in this period of time, their causes and direction, analyzes the results of statistical data from 2000 to 2020, considers the measures taken both at federal and regional levels to change the migration situation. Currently, the republic is observed to experience problems related to the natural decline of the population, as well as relocation of young people and the working-age population to the most attractive regions of the country. There is another negative pattern associated with «aging» of the population: demographic problems have an impact on the economic development of the Chuvash Republic. Since 2000, the working-age population has been gradually declining. A systematic decline in the population of the region is primarily due to migration processes. Every year, more people leave Chuvashia than arrive. This dynamic is primarily due to the growth of unemployment, low living standards of the population and undersized wages. In addition, there are issues related to illegal migration from the Central Asia states and the CIS, and the increase in the number of foreign workers in the republic. To prevent this from happening, strict supervision over implementation of the Russian labor legislation is needed. In order to stabilize the situation, state authorities should actively implement measures aimed at improving the migration situation in the republic, developing the socio-economic attractiveness of the region, and resolving problems that hinder the effective migration control.

Положение работников предприятий МСП вследствие пандемии

The article considers the problems associated with the consequences of the pandemic for employees of small and medium enterprises in the Moscow region, namely a reduction in their wages and termination of the employment contract due to a reduction of the wage Fund SMEs, despite government measures. The article presents statistics on dismissals of employees in SMEs, data on the volume of labor violations in the Moscow region at SME enterprises, the volume of citizens ' appeals to the labor inspectorate. Innovations in the Russian labor legislation introduced due to the pandemic, as well as violations of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, are considered. They also discussed current measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises in order to save jobs, as well as measures to support families who are in a difficult situation due to job loss. The article defines the ways for SMEs to get out of the crisis situation with their personnel in order to preserve it, by reducing working hours and emotional support for employees.

EFFICIENCY OF LEGAL WAYS TO FIGHT AGEISM ON THE LABOR MARKET IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The relevance of the research is due to the fact that in Russia, same as elsewhere in the world, the ratio of older persons increases, so increases the proportion of employed older persons. This study is aimed at describing the position of older people in the labor market for both those who have the status of a retired and those who do not have this status. The paper studies the impact of the retirement age increase on employment in the labor market, assesses the adequacy and efficiency of additional legal guarantees introduced due to the increase in the retirement age (criminal liability for the denial of employment, release from work due to annual physical, etc.). The study tries to find out how Russian labor legislation is adapted to solve problems that arise from age, and whether it is able to counteract ageism in the labor market. The research was conducted by analyzing international and Russian legislation that determines the retirement age, and the impact of the retirement age on labor market rights and employee status. The existing special legal norms regulating the labor of retired and pre-retired employees, as well as norms aimed at overcoming ageism, are considered comprehensively. In particular, the paper concludes that the current norms for regulating the labor of employed pensioners and pre-retirees are insufficient; the norms on fixed-term employment contracts with elderly pensioners are discriminatory; the criminal liability for the denial of employment of pre-retirees is inefficient, and so on. The materials of the paper may be helpful in improving the current labor and social legislation aimed at supporting older age groups in the labor market.

Лица с семейными обязанностями по Трудовому кодексу Российской Федерации: понятие и государственные гарантии

Within the limits of present clause the analysis of key problems of legal settlement of work of persons with family duties is spent. Prospects and available blanks in considered sphere are consecrated. On the basis of the lead analysis of normative legal certificates and materials of judiciary practice some problems in investigated sphere are presented, necessity of improvement of the operating Russian labour legislation is designated.

The Influence of Atypical Employment on Socioeconomic Development

The Subject of the Study. The article deals with an issue of impact of atypical employment on the socioeconomic development on micro- and macro levels. The Purpose of the Study is to discover the links between the introduction of atypical forms of employment and socioeconomic development. The Main Theoretical and Empirical Aspects of Study: as the implementation of various forms of atypical employment is one of the aspects of flexibility in employment relations’ regulation, the author starts with a general analysis of impact of general flexibility of employment on the economy. This section of the article contains the conclusion that a thesis about positive effect of labour law flexibility on the economic effectiveness remains unproven; – the second part of the article contains an analysis of the relations between the specific forms of atypical employment and the state of economy. The conclusion has been made that ill-considered implementation of such forms into the labour legislation leads to such negative consequences to the economy as the labour market segmentation and volatility, rising incomes gap and lowering the purchasing power. – the thesis is made that Russian labour legislation modification in the field of atypical employment development is only acceptable with a view to make the already existing atypical employment come out of informal sector, and in a way that takes into account the interests of both parties of the employment relationship.

Socio-Economic Analysis of the Proposal to Switch to a Four-Day Working Week in Russia

The presented study analyzes the proposal of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev to switch to a four-day working week. In the context of the topic, the experience of dealing with this issue is examined, including international practices. A similar proposal was discussed by I.V. Stalin as far back as Soviet times, although in the context of switching to five- or six-hour working days, but only in 2019 did this issue become the subject of debate. In light of the pension reform, which has led to an increase in the retirement age in Russia, a number of experts believe that such proposals may entail potential changes that could have a negative effect on the situation of workers. This study examines the mechanisms of public administration in coordination with enterprises relating to changes in the working hours.Aim. The authors aim to analyze potential directions for the improvement of public administration in the field of labor legislation, which has a significant impact on the development of the economy, business, and the situation of workers.Tasks. This study determines the historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week; examines the legal mechanisms and specific features of labor legislation in Russia in the context of the planned switch to a four-day working week; explores international practices in the field of regulation of working hours; analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of switching to a four-day working week in Russia; develops proposals associated with Russia’s switch to a four-day working week.Methods. The methodological basis for the consideration of the problems includes general scientific methods, systems, structural, functional, and institutional analysis.Results. The ongoing processes in the field of improvement of labor legislation and its impact on the economy, business, and the situation of workers are comprehensively analyzed. The historical background of Russia’s switch to a four-day working week is determined; fundamentals of Russian labor legislation are examined; benefits and drawbacks of the potential innovations in the field of regulation of working hours are identified with allowance for international practices. The authors formulate proposals, the implementation of which will bring Russia closer to the switch to a four-day working week.Conclusions. The proposals of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation to switch to a four-day working week has raised a lot of questions. For instance, it is unclear whether the current wages will be maintained. It is also questionable whether it is a step towards artificially reducing unemployment, in which fields this idea is likely to manifest itself first, and so on. These questions need to be thoroughly discussed by the representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, trade unions, and the scientific community. It is necessary to conduct a sociological survey to determine and prevent concerns among citizens about the upcoming changes. That said, the authors believe that the idea itself is conceptually correct, but it still valid to doubt whether it can be successfully implemented at the time of capitalism, when entrepreneurs focus on profit and are not interested in reducing the working time of their employees. According to the authors, the plans of I.V. Stalin to reduce working time could faster come into fruition with the socialist economic model, which facilitated innovations in the machine tool industry that would boost GDP growth and significantly reduce production costs. Assessing the prospects of development of this idea at the present stage is difficult.

Precarious employment in the Russian Federation: the state and directions of reduction

The article analyzes the results of implementation of the project “Precarity of employment in the Russian Federation: the state and directions of reduction”. The development of foreign and Russian studies of precarious employment has been systematized, and the contribution of the Russian scientists who have been at the forefront of studying this problem is shown. The specifics of the manifestation and spread of employment precarity in Russia is disclosed. There is analyzed the contribution of the Project to the development of research and practical measures for reduction of instable employment. The article considers the organizational, technical and socio-economic characteristics of precarious employment, its forced character for employees, contradicting interests of the employed, the capital and the bourgeois state in identifying and regulating precarious employment. The relationship between the instability of modern societies and the instability of employment is shown. It is substantiated that a special theory of precarious employment is being formed in Russia, due to the specifics of the emergence and development of the Russian capitalism. There are presented the practical results of the Project consisting in development of new indicators for its identification, segmentation of the Russian labor market depending on the prevalence of signs of employment precarity. A quantitative estimation of the extent of precarious employment in Russia has been carried out. There have been studied its characteristics on Internet platforms and the skills of workers demanded by employers under the conditions of precarious employment. The author proposes amendments to the Russian labor legislation aimed at legal regulation of new non-standard forms of employment and bringing them out of the “shadow”. There are proposed directions for a further research on precarious employment in Russia: development of a national program for reducing instability and increasing efficiency of employment, classification of its forms, and a roadmap for government actions to reduce precarious employment.

DISCIPLINARY RESPONSIBILITY OF MARITIME TRANSPORT EMPLOYEES

For the English full text of the article please see the attached PDF-File (English version follows Russian version).ABSTRACT The article, on the basis of the analysis of the norms of Russian labor legislation, considers topical issues of disciplinary responsibility of maritime transport employees. Some outdated norms and approaches are shown, as well as theoretical and practical features of the draft law on the discipline of maritime employees and safety of navigation are thoroughly investigated. The author concludes, in particular, that the proposal of the draft law to provide the employer with the authority to «discharge from work duties» employees for up to one year, similar to the powers of an inquirer, an investigator, a prosecutor and court for suspension from work (position) due to commission of a crime, is incompatible with the legal status, what an employer has. Keywords: disciplinary responsibility, maritime transport employees, article 189 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Charter on Discipline, judicial practice.

Theory and practice of legal regulation labor incapable employees

The study of the legal personality of citizens recognized as legally incompetent by the court is timely and relevant in the light of the recent changes in the civil legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as the emerging trends in the development of judicial practice. In the doctrine of labor law, the legal personality of individuals is observed as an independent category of labor law, differing in this capacity from other related legal categories, in particular from civil legal capacity and legal capacity. At the same time, the labor legislation of the Russian Federation has made an unsuccessful attempt to receive the norms of civil legislation in relation to the employer — an individual who is recognized incapable by the court. At the moment, the Russian legislator with regard to the possibility of concluding an employment contract on the part of an employee recognized as legally incompetent took the position of “qualified silence”, which today can hardly be called successful for a number of reasons indicated in the proposed study. The study of the legal personality of citizens recognized as incapable makes it possible to assess the level of compliance of Russian legislation with international social and labor standards, determine the vectors for its further development and improvement in terms of optimal protection of human rights and citizenship. The main methods of the research were system and complex analysis of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation and a number of other countries and international organizations; Comparative method, which made it possible to compare the international regulation of the participation of incompetent citizens in the work activity with Russian labor legislation, as well as the labor legislation of certain countries of the near and far abroad; Method of expert assessment, based on the analysis of court decisions and scientific publications on the participation of incapacitated persons in labor relations. The results of the study are both theoretical and practical, and suggest some directions for improving the labor legislation of the Russian Federation on the participation in labor relations of citizens recognized by the court as legally incompetent.

The Causes of Emergence of Russian Labor Legislation

In the article, an attempt was made to overcome the gap in the research on the causes of the emergence of laws on hired industrial labor in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a tool, sociological and anthropological methods are proposed that address non-positivistic aspects of law. The primacy of the factor of the labor movement, traditional for the domestic science of the twentieth century, is disputed. The decisive role of changes in the public consciousness and consciousness of the political elite is substantiated. As optional causes, the increase in number of workers, the economic importance of the proletariat as a producer of material goods, the rationalization of consciousness, the affimation of constructive consumerism in the value system of workers, the reception of foreign experience, the development f industrial and commercial law are qouted. The reasons that caused the birth and development of norms on wage labor in Russia are divided according to the essential criterion into fie categories: psychological, economic, social, technical, legal, ideological. The fidings allow us to develop theoretical knowledge about the way in which branches of law emerge.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS: SPECIFICS OF IMPLEMENTATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Currently at the forefront in the development of labour legislation beyond the introduction of professional standards, namely directly regulatory, information provision and decision of issues of legal regulation, improvement of the existing system of qualification requirements to the employees about what will be discussed in this scientific article. Due to the fact that Russian labour legislation does not contain many of the concepts, terms, procedural provisions and the order of introduction of qualification requirements for employees upon hiring, determining work func tions and stuff that is hampering the implementation of main goals and tasks of labour legislation. From July 2016 in Russia, the time has come for professional standards, entered into force article 195.1-195.3 of the Labor code governing the professional standards of the Ministry of labor of Russia (Federal law No. 122-FZ of 2.05.2015). From that time the workers have to regularly confirm their professional satisfaction. In the existing handbooks and the literature requirements for workers is often inaccurate and infrequently updated, and it directly is an important gap to resolve which applied to professional standards, detail of which will be discussed in this scientific article.

Liability under Russian Labour Law: New Concept of the Institute

В науке трудового права недостаточно разработана доктрина ответственности. Кроме того, от-сутствует концептуальная модель института ответственности по трудовому праву и по Трудовомукодексу Российской Федерации (далее - ТК РФ). Автором предпринята попытка восполнить этотпробел. Методологической основой статьи являются учение о праве как фундаментальном регуля-торе общественных отношений и доктринальная концепция института ответственности в трудовомправе России. Впервые в науке трудового права дана критическая оценка подходов, сужающих ка-тегорию ответственности по трудовому праву до дисциплинарной и материальной и исключающихтакие виды ответственности, как возмещение вреда, причиненного жизни и здоровью работникав связи с исполнением им трудовых обязанностей; возмещение морального вреда. Характернымдля современного трудового законодательства является разброс норм об ответственности по раз-личным разделам и главам ТК РФ. Его структура не отличается последовательностью и обосно-ванностью. В целях систематизации трудового законодательства и повышения эффективности егоприменения целесообразно все нормы ТК РФ, регулирующие ответственность, свести в раздел:«Ответственность по трудовому законодательству», что придало бы целостность, определенностьи последовательность структуре ТК РФ и всей системе российского трудового законодательства.В раздел целесообразно включить главы и нормы о дисциплинарной ответственности работни-ков; материальной ответственности сторон трудового договора; возмещении вреда, причиненно-го жизни и здоровью работника в связи с исполнением им трудовых обязанностей; возмещенииморального вреда. В связи с этим законодателю следовало бы решить вопрос о закреплении вст. 1-2 ТК РФ о целях, задачах и принципах трудового законодательства норм об «Ответственностипо трудовому законодательству» (вместо норм о материальной ответственности работодателей иработников в сфере труда; возмещении вреда, причиненного жизни и здоровью работника в связис исполнением трудовых обязанностей). Как следствие, все правовые доктрины (советские и рос-сийские) об ответственности по российскому трудовому праву, очевидно, придется пересмотреть.