According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, every citizen has the right to safe working conditions. These rules imply the existence of conditions in which the employee can work calmly without experiencing the effects of substances that adversely affect the human body. It is not always possible to comply with these conditions, and a situation arises when the situation around the employee does not meet the standards and is harmful.
In such cases, the employee has the full right to compensation payments for harmful work. This type of allowances may not only have a material form of expression. Each case is considered separately and a type of compensation is assigned, which may be intangible.
Harmful conditions
In general, there are four main types of work environment:
- Optimal.
- Valid.
- Harmful.
- Dangerous.
The conditions can be attributed to one of these classes on the basis of the norms established in the Federal Law "On the special assessment of working conditions." Let's see what is included in the concept of harmful working conditions. This is primarily those jobs where exposure to employee harmful substances is higher than acceptable indicators. These substances are divided into biological, chemical and physiological. Thus, harmful conditions include:
- High temperature when working in a hot shop, for example, or low temperature when working in the Far North.
- Dim lighting that adversely affects visual acuity. For mining workers, this is very important.
- Abnormal effects of ultrasound and other types of noise.
- Excessive dust.
- Work with microorganisms.
- Abnormal load on employees.
- Work with harmful chemicals.
- Vibration exposure for a long period.
- An abnormal load on human organs that are vital.
This list is far from complete and does not reflect all the difficult working conditions. You must be aware that the negative impact must be higher than prescribed by law in order to receive additional payments.
Definition of working conditions
In order to recognize working conditions as harmful, it is necessary that a special certification commission confirm this fact. The commission checks the jobs and identifies the possibility of a negative impact on the health of the employee. Then the degree of danger is determined and the obtained data are verified with the accepted standards. For any questions, you can refer to the Federal Law "On a special assessment of working conditions."
Then the commission considers the workplace in question to a specific hazard class. Each employer has the right to determine the time and date of certification. However, it should be carried out at least once every five years or when a new place of work appears.
Another way to determine the degree of danger is by using a special list of hazardous work. But even if the profession is on this list, certification is not canceled. Therefore, the conclusion suggests itself that only an attestation commission can give the status of “harmful” to the workplace.
Benefits and Compensation
As a rule, in most cases, an additional payment for harm is provided by a wage supplement. The interest for harm is calculated from the base rate and added to the monthly fee.The employer may, at his own request, also appoint additional surcharges for the harmfulness of the workplace. This option should be reflected in the internal organization documents. An employee who works in harmful conditions is also entitled to:
- Extra vacation days. As a rule, these are an additional seven days, which are paid personally by the employer. To obtain such benefits, you must have some work experience.
- Free provision of products and services. Most often, an employee is provided with milk free of charge, as it is able to remove harmful toxins from the body.
- Early retirement. An employee carrying out his work in harmful conditions may go on vacation several years earlier.
Features
There are some nuances to which special attention should be paid. For example, the employer must exercise caution when appointing employees to jobs with harmful effects. Not every employee is suitable for such an appointment, even if the payment is increased.
If the organization has vacancies associated with hazardous working conditions, then when hiring, it is necessary to be interested in potential employees about their health status. It should be noted that job seekers sometimes hide the circumstances of their health, as they really want to get a job. For this reason, you need to send new employees to a mandatory medical examination for examination.
An additional payment for the harmfulness of labor is assigned only to those workers who do not have serious deviations in their state of health, and work under these conditions legally. Some citizens can be accepted for these jobs only with their written consent. This applies to pregnant women, parents of young children and minor citizens.
The list of harmful work has a significant amount.
Volume of premiums
It was mentioned above that the main compensation for harmful working conditions is an increase in the monthly monetary remuneration of an employee. In our country, a fixed value for this indicator has been established, it is 4%. By law, this is the minimum value for employees working in hazardous conditions. The employer, at its discretion, may increase this indicator. His duties include determining the limit value of the additional payment for the harmfulness of the profession.
Union role
In the process of determining the size of the allowance, a trade union committee may take part. This allows us not to doubt further that the interests of employees were taken into account and a fair decision was made regarding the size of the allowances. In the future, the amount of compensation is included in the regulatory internal documents of the company.
Practice shows that the highest percentage of premiums accrues in budgetary institutions. Such a policy is explained by the fact that in all such organizations there is a mandatory union, which achieves improved performance. Commercial structures are not concerned with such issues and prefer to set minimum values for compensation payments for harmfulness.
Premium calculation
Compensation for work in hazardous production is carried out in the manner prescribed by a particular organization.
In order to correctly calculate the size of the premium, you need to know the salary of the employee. Thus, the amount of compensation depends on wages and tariff rates.
For example, an employee works in a hot shop, which refers to harmful working conditions. The salary of an employee is 30 thousand rubles, that is, the minimum allowance will be 1,200 rubles. If the employer decides to double the tariff, then the surcharge will be in the amount of 2400 rubles, respectively. One of the features is that taxes are deducted from the previous amount and do not apply to premiums.Thus, the monthly salary of a workshop employee will be 32,400 rubles.
Body check
A medical examination is strictly mandatory not only when applying for a job, but also as a regular procedure for existing employees. This is necessary in order to assess the professional suitability of the employee for further work in harmful conditions. In addition, such measures will help to identify and prevent the development of pathologies associated with professional activities. The nuclear industry comes first.
Contraindications for working with harmful substances are determined at the legislative level. Some employees, in addition to regular examinations, should undergo a psychiatric examination. There are also restrictions on working with harmful substances in this area. This check is voluntary. But you need to consider that without a certificate from a psychiatrist, the employer does not have the right to allow the employee to certain types of activities. The organization must bear all the expenses that are necessary for passing the medical commission and examination by a psychiatrist.
Personal Protective Equipment and Nutrition
In addition to compensation for harm, workers in adverse working conditions must be equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment. They must be issued by the employer. Their storage, repair and cleaning are also carried out at the expense of the employer. However, there is a restriction on the provision of such funds. At the request of the employer can increase the amount of protective equipment. In some cases, protective equipment is acquired by the employee, however, all expenses must be reimbursed from the cash desk of the company. Such acquisitions will be included in the expense of the material plan.
In addition, some products should be given to employees free of charge. Most often it is milk or dairy products. An employee may refuse to receive food products in writing. In this case, he will receive an additional cash allowance. However, this clause must be spelled out in the contract.
There is also a list of harmful production factors, in the presence of which it is necessary to consume milk and dairy products. For the employer, the option of monetary compensation is beneficial, since a separate room is required for drinking milk. This is provided for by hygiene requirements. The positions and professions to which special nutrition is prescribed are prescribed by law.
Additional vacation days
It was said above that workers who are in harmful working conditions are provided with additional days of vacation. As a rule, they are seven days paid by the employer. In areas belonging to the Far North, this value is 24 additional days. At the same time, the previous seven days are also added. Thus, it turns out that leave from workers in the Far North who have harmful working conditions amounts to a total of 59 days, together with annual 28 days. This number of days is reflected in the staffing of the company.
Conclusion
So, people working in unhealthy conditions, for example, in the nuclear industry, have certain advantages over ordinary employees. They are entitled to quite a few benefits and compensations, and not only monetary ones. In addition to the minimum allowance, the employee may receive additional compensation at the discretion of the employer.
However, to qualify a position as harmful, special certification is necessary. For employment in such a position, it is necessary to undergo a special medical examination to confirm good health conditions for mining workers, for example. However, employers are interested in such employees, therefore, they offer not only inflated pay coefficients, but also other benefits.In any case, the concept and aspects of additional payments for harm in the Labor Code can be found in more detail.