Many employers use regular fixed-term employment contracts for a certain amount of time. After the expiration of their validity, it is possible to terminate the agreement formally. If this is not done, then automatically such a contract is considered perpetual. Most often, an urgent agreement is drawn up with specialists who are required to perform certain work, after which there will be no need for their services. But at the same time, employers often face difficulties, for example, pregnancy and a fixed-term employment contract. If the employee is pregnant, then there are difficulties with the termination of such a contract.
Features of a fixed-term contract
All the nuances and restrictions on the duration of such a contract are prescribed in Art. 59 shopping mall. If a woman working under a fixed-term contract informs the employer about her pregnancy, then the actions performed by the management:
- extension of a fixed-term employment contract is required until the end of pregnancy or maternity leave;
- this process is carried out exclusively if there is confirmation of the woman’s pregnancy, for which she must take a special certificate from the antenatal clinic;
- in addition, the employee must formally draw up a special statement, which indicates the need to extend the agreement;
- Help from the LCD must be provided every 3 months;
- a woman has the right to demand from the employer that he take maternity leave for her, and the company's management cannot refuse this under Art. 261 TC;
- day of dismissal will be considered the day when maternity leave ends.
Employees of the labor inspectorate are especially careful in observing the requirements of the law for pregnant women. Therefore, pregnancy and a fixed-term contract must be combined correctly.
When extending such a contract, an additional agreement is necessarily formed between the two parties. It indicates the reasons for the extension of the agreement, as well as the end date of the employment relationship.
Is pregnancy confirmation necessary?
For the employer to fulfill his obligations to the pregnant employee, he needs proof that the woman is really expecting a baby. Only if there are grounds for a fixed-term employment contract during pregnancy is properly executed at the enterprise.
The employee’s allegations are not accepted, so she must receive an official document. Even if a woman really has external signs that she is expecting a baby, this is not a reason to extend the contract. Therefore, if she fails to bring official confirmation, then the agreement is terminated with her in the standard manner.
What data is contained in the certificate?
To extend the fixed-term employment contract during pregnancy, the employee must take the appropriate certificate from the antenatal clinic, where she is registered. This document indicates that the woman is really expecting a baby, and even the gestational age is prescribed. There are no requirements for this document, therefore it is compiled by medical personnel in any form. It is necessary to take it immediately after the doctor confirms that the woman is expecting a baby.
You need to bring such a certificate throughout the entire waiting period of the baby. Therefore, it is required to request a document once every three months.
Application Rules
The employee independently decides whether it will terminate the agreement or extend it. If pregnancy occurs and the fixed-term contract is still valid, then she has the right to extend the contract. To do this, she performs certain actions:
- most often the contract expires at a time when the woman is still expecting a baby, so she must complete all the steps in advance that will ensure the future for herself and the baby;
- initially she draws up a statement on the basis of which she asks to renew the contract;
- in this document it is necessary to refer to the presence of a certificate from a medical institution, which confirms that the employee is expecting a child;
- at the end of the application, it is indicated that it is necessary to extend the validity of the agreement until the end of the pregnancy or maternity leave;
- on the basis of such a document, the head of the company is obliged to provide the woman with the opportunity to work out the required time before the start of maternity leave, as stipulated in art. 261 shopping mall.
The prepared statement is transmitted to the head of the company. Based on the information from it, an additional agreement to the main contract is formed. Only with the correct observance of the requirements of the law, an urgent labor contract is drawn up during the pregnancy of an employee.
How long is the contract extended?
Renewals are allowed only for a limited amount of time. If a woman independently forms a statement, then she indicates when it is advisable to terminate the contract. The option is chosen between the end of pregnancy or maternity leave. If pregnancy is detected during the period of the fixed-term employment contract, then some aspects of the contract extension are taken into account:
- if a woman wants the current employer to pay her maternity leave, she indicates in a statement that the agreement can be terminated only after the end of maternity leave;
- if there is a single pregnancy, then the standard vacation period is 140 days;
- if an employee expects several children, then she is given 194 days of vacation;
- the period may increase for women who work in an area where technological disasters previously occurred;
- the term is extended with complicated births;
- if an employee has a miscarriage, the agreement does not extend.
Thus, all the above parameters should be taken into account by the entrepreneur, so that he does not violate the rights of a pregnant woman. If the conditions are violated, she may contact the labor inspectorate to hold management accountable. Therefore, if there is a fixed-term employment contract, dismissal during pregnancy is impossible without the consent of the employee herself.
Decree Rules
Maternity leave should be granted even if there is only an interim agreement drawn up between the manager and the specialist. For its design, the rules are taken into account:
- in the application, the woman must indicate that she is counting on the execution of the decree;
- It starts from the 30th week of pregnancy;
- in the document it is desirable to refer to the provisions of Art. 261 shopping mall.
Under such conditions, the employer cannot refuse the employee's request. If he insists on not taking a vacation and not renewing the contract, then it is advisable to file a complaint with the labor inspectorate.
Pregnancy and a fixed-term employment contract: payments
Any woman’s maternity leave requires the receipt of an appropriate amount of money. It is calculated on a common basis. Funds are paid until the end of the extended agreement.
If an employee has a fixed-term employment contract and pregnancy, benefits are received that are standard:
- payment for the woman in the consultation registered at an early date;
- a lump sum granted immediately after the birth of the baby;
- maternity allowance.
These payments are transferred to the woman’s bank account. They come to this account throughout the maternity period.
Can a contract with a pregnant woman be terminated?
There are certain grounds for terminating an urgent agreement with a worker carrying a child. All of them are listed in Art. 84.1 TC. Work under a fixed-term contract and the pregnancy of a female employee are private events in companies, so it is important to know the conditions under which a woman can be fired. These include:
- the employee herself does not want to continue to work in the company;
- an agreement is formed between the parties, so the employee receives certain payments from the employer;
- company closure;
- the woman did not file a timely application for an extension of the contract;
- termination of pregnancy, which may be artificial or natural, and if the contract was previously extended, the employee will still be dismissed in a general manner;
- the employee was accepted for the vacant position as a replacement, and at the same time, the permanent employee is ready to begin her job duties, but under such conditions the employer must offer the woman another vacancy suitable for her position, and only if she refuses, then she can be fired.
An extension of an urgent agreement is carried out only in a declarative manner, therefore, if a woman forgot or did not know about it, after the agreement expires she will be dismissed. Moreover, this applies even to situations where she verbally informed the employer that she is carrying a child, therefore, she would like to count on maternity payments and extension of the contract.
Judicial Practices
In judicial practice, there are situations when the head of the company fired a pregnant woman who in no way informed the director of her situation. The woman went to court, and the judge declared the dismissal unlawful.
The trial in court led to the fact that the employee was reinstated.
What happens if the manager illegally dismisses an employee?
Some business owners regularly violate labor laws. Often, management refuses a woman to renew a contract during pregnancy with a fixed-term employment contract. The consequences of such a decision are unpleasant for any company. These include:
- the employee can write a complaint to the labor inspectorate, on the basis of which the company will be held administratively liable, so a fine will have to be paid;
- in addition, she can sue in order to defend her rights, and the court always takes the side of the pregnant woman, therefore, she not only restores her forcibly to work, but also charges a forfeit from the offender.
In most cases, women win cases in court, even if they themselves did not notify the head that they were expecting a child, nor did they pass him a certificate from the antenatal clinic. Therefore, it is rather difficult to violate the rights of a pregnant woman.
What problems can you face?
Often, two problems and disagreements arise between two participants in an employment relationship. Pregnancy during a fixed-term contract is not uncommon, so it is important to know what common mistakes employers should not make:
- in the agreement attached to the employment contract, the date of termination of the contract must be precisely indicated, since otherwise it will be considered unlimited;
- the rules of the dismissal procedure itself are often violated after the end of maternity leave;
- it is not provided to the employee with an order of dismissal for review in a timely manner, therefore, a decision on dismissal can be challenged by her;
- if the head of the company repeatedly draws up fixed-term contracts with one person, then in court such an agreement may be recognized as unlimited.
Only with a thorough study of the articles of the Labor Code does one not have to worry about a possible violation of the rights of workers.
Conclusion
Thus, often managers are faced with the fact that the employee, performing duties on the basis of a fixed-term contract, notifies about her pregnancy. It is important to understand how the contract is extended, what conditions must be met for this, what payments are due to women, and how to prevent violations of the law.
If the wrong actions are performed, the woman can go to court or the labor inspectorate to hold the company management accountable.