On Monday, a law (amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) clarifying the procedure for establishing part-time work, as well as the procedure for paying for work on weekends and holidays. If the former make approaches to regulating part-time work more flexible, the latter can most likely lead to a reduction in pay for work on weekends and holidays, says Elena Gerasimova, director of the Center for Social and Labor Rights.

Amendments are being made to Articles 93, 152 and 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The current version of the Code assumes that, by agreement between the employee and the employer, either a part-time working day (shift) or a part-time working week is established. Pregnant women, one of the parents (guardian or custodian) of a child under 14 years of age, and in the case of a disabled child - up to 18 years of age, as well as employees caring for a sick family member in accordance with medical reports can use this standard of the Labor Code.

When working part-time, remuneration is made in proportion to the time worked or depending on the amount of work performed. Part-time work does not imply any restrictions on the duration of vacation, calculation of length of service and other labor rights.

The amendments made to the Labor Code, after their official publication and entry into force, will allow the employer to establish both a part-time and a part-time working week for an employee, including dividing the working day into parts for any period agreed upon by the parties. In this way, it will be possible to combine both part-time and part-time work in flexible working modes.

Changes are also being introduced regarding lunch and rest breaks for part-time workers. Thus, the employment contract between the employee and the employer provides for the possibility not to provide the employee with a break for rest and food if the duration of daily work (shift) established for him does not exceed four hours.

Irregular disputes

Also, new amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation introduce the rule that an employee working on a part-time basis can have an irregular working day only if by agreement of the parties employment contract a part-time working week is established, but with a full working day (shift).

"Incomplete work time can be organized in two ways: a person works every working day during the week, but for fewer hours, or full-time, but two or three days a week. And a controversial question arose: can such workers work on irregular working hours? If a person works part-time, then due to irregular working hours he may at any time be asked to stay at work for a couple more hours. What then is the meaning of part-time work?” Gerasimova commented to TASS.

She added that there had been a lot of debate about this. The adopted law does not eliminate all disputes, but it offers a certain compromise: irregular working hours can only be applied to those employees who work full time, but part-time, that is, two or three days a week. “If a person works every day, but not the full number of hours, an irregular working day cannot be established for him. This is a fundamental change,” the expert emphasized.

According to Gerasimova, in Russian legislation, in principle, there are a lot of disputes and disagreements when establishing irregular working hours. The problem is that this norm is used very unreasonably, since the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not establish restrictions for which employees can be subject to irregular working hours. “In our country, this norm is applied very widely. It is important for the employer to comply with formal requirements and simply adopt a local regulatory act that establishes a list of employees for whom irregular working hours are established, and this is enough. In fact, irregular working hours are also established for those people who work the day of which is quite easy to standardize and which should not work irregularly. The adopted law has not yet solved this problem,” the expert emphasized.

Weekends and holidays will become cheaper

Amendments to Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation specify that payment for work on a day off or a non-working holiday, if part of the shift falls on such a day, is made only for the hours falling on that day (from 0 hours to 24 hours).

“If now a person, having worked four to five hours on a day off, receives double pay as for a full working day (8 hours - editor’s note), then now a person will receive double pay for specific hours worked. Thus, in terms of the amount of payment on weekends, the norm is slightly tightened,” Gerasimova explained.

She added that in fact, the employee will now not be compensated for a lost day off, but only for the hours worked. “Of course, this is a more economical option for the employer; employers proposed this rule,” noted the head of the Center for Social and Labor Rights.

Overtime on weekends will be canceled

Amendments to Article 152 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation determine that work on weekends and non-working holidays is not taken into account when calculating overtime hours. Thus, double payment of these hours as both overtime and holidays is excluded.

“Previously, there was also a controversial issue: if an employee worked on a day off not 8 hours (standard working day), but, for example, 10-11 hours, then there would be some overlap. On the one hand, work on a day off should be paid at an increased rate, and on the other hand, work beyond 8 hours should also be paid at an increased rate. It turns out that these two to three extra hours, which were worked on a day off, should be paid at a quadruple rate? This was an uncertain question," Gerasimova said.

She added that the adopted law offers a clear solution to the problem. Now such a day will simply be paid according to the rules for working on weekends and holidays, that is, at double the rate and without taking into account overtime.

Important provisions have been introduced into the Labor Code, reports Komsomolskaya Pravda, regarding work on weekends, as well as on a part-time basis. The corresponding law was signed by President Vladimir Putin.

Payment for work on weekends or holidays is not made per day, but only for the time actually worked. That is, if you worked, say, not a full 8-hour day, but only three hours, then you will receive money only for this time. Double pay is required for going to work on weekends and holidays. If the employee wishes, they can instead receive payment as for a regular day, and as a bonus, take a day off on a weekday. It just needs to be agreed upon with the employer in advance.

Let us clarify that working on weekends and holidays is not considered overtime. So, it will not be possible to receive payment not only for a day off, but also for overtime (that is, in fact, four times).

The innovations also affected the explanations about part-time work. The length of stay in the office is determined by agreement between the employee and management. Pregnant women and parents with children under 14 years of age can set their own working hours that are convenient for them. That is, for example, if a child studies during the first shift and comes home after two o’clock, then it is naturally more convenient for his mother to work in the morning. So, the authorities are obliged to meet her halfway.

By the way, any employee has the right to part-time work. Only, unlike the categories indicated above, he can no longer dictate to his superiors when it is more convenient for him to stand at the machine. And another important addition for those who do not want or cannot work full time. The manager has the right not to provide lunch time to those employees whose shift lasts less than 4 hours. A no-lunch clause must be included in the employment contract.

The law also specifies the rights of those who have irregular working hours - when it is not calculated how many minutes or hours you are late after the end of the working day.

The concept of overtime work does not apply to such employees, said an expert on Radio KP. labor law Olga Eroshenkova. - They get three extra days for vacation, and that's it.

However, these norms can be called new only conditionally. The fact is that they operated before, they were simply spelled out in regulations since Soviet times and were not included in the Labor Code. What created difficulties for ordinary people when obtaining information about their rights was that it was necessary to raise a number of documents.

Now, finding out the norms of the Labor Code is not a problem,” the expert sums up. - The Internet is at everyone's fingertips. But this doesn't solve the problems. Suppose a person knows that his rights have been violated. But if he points this out to his superiors, he may be fired. As a result, many decide to endure it just to stay at work. Although if a person decides to defend his rights, he can count on powerful support. Both from the prosecutor's office and the labor inspectorate.