Where to complain about the employer? Protection of the rights of workers

Probably, every adult at least once in his life was faced with a conflict situation related to work. As a rule, these are arrears in payment, non-payment of sick leave, constant nagging of the bosses on the quality of the work performed, etc.

It is logical to assume that everyone can make a mistake, but there are also situations where the employer is wrong, but, nevertheless, tries to lay all the blame on his employees. But until now, most workers do not know their rights, which are guaranteed to them by the Labor Code and the Constitution, so they prefer to remain silent instead of seeking justice. Given the number of unformed employees, you can only imagine what problems they face every day of their lives.

Some experts note: in connection with a similar policy pursued by employers, some categories of people are generally powerless and, in fact, play the role of modern slaves who can do nothing to protect themselves from encroachments on their interests. Let's try to figure out how and where to complain to the employer, what measures to take in the event of such conflicts.

The boss is not always right!

As a rule, all conflicts that arise in a person in the workplace begin with a banal ignorance of labor legislation.

Now it’s no surprise to anyone that people often prefer not to get formalized, but to get a “gray” salary.

Of course, both the employee and the employer can be understood in a similar situation. The first wants to get a decent pay for his work, and with official employment a significant percentage of earnings will go to pay deductions.

And the second one does not want to pay high taxes for the employee, therefore, he does not want to draw it up in accordance with the law. But be that as it may, this is wrong, because official employment gives the employee much more rights that he can use to resolve problem situations. But unformed employees have no legal justification in order to prove their case, to protect themselves from the bias of management. In such a situation, you can turn to lawyers and human rights defenders, but without any documents in hand, it will be practically impossible to prove anything.

Therefore, if you want to protect yourself in advance from conflicts with superiors, demand that you be issued. If this is not possible, then prepare documents on receiving a salary, any certificates issued to you in your hands, and copies of orders from your superiors indicating your surname, name and patronymic. Only having the confirmation of work in your hands, you can guaranteed to defend your interests, and determine where to complain about the employer.

What is the protection of labor rights?

What is worker rights protection? Consider this concept more extensively. In a narrow sense, it means legal support for following the norms of the law, as well as the prevention of possible violations by the employer. But in the broad sense, this concept is the implementation of the functions of protecting labor law (carried out by state authorities). In any case, labor employee rights guaranteed by the legislative framework.

Having analyzed the concept in all spectra, we can derive a generalized definition. Protection of labor rights is a set of measures for the prevention and elimination of problems in the field of the right to work.This set of actions is implemented by state authorities and trade unions. At the same time, the workers are allowed to defend their interests personally through collective complaints, protests and strikes.

Specifically, to ensure the possibility of protecting rights, the Labor Code has introduced Section XIII, which regulates the main provisions of labor legislation regarding violations by employers. This section is called: “Protection of the labor rights of workers. Consideration and resolution of all disputes related to violations of labor law. "

Ways to protect the right to work

Speaking of such a concept as protecting the rights of workers, we turn to the main document of the country - the Constitution. In Art. 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that rights and human freedom must be considered the highest value. And the protection of these rights is the immediate responsibility of the state. In Art. 45 states that the protection of the interests and rights of every citizen is guaranteed by the state.

Thus, all people have broad rights and freedoms guaranteed by the legislation of the Russian Federation. A special place is occupied by labor rights. According to Art. 2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, each employee has a wide range of rights, in particular the right to protect their personal and labor interests. Moreover, the same article states that the state is obliged to provide each citizen with the protection of his rights and freedoms. It is logical that methods are provided according to which this process occurs:

1. The establishment of working conditions, guarantees of labor rights, which can be improved in agreement with the regional authorities. In particular, all these components should be spelled out in labor and collective agreements.

2. Development of an effective protection system directly at the facilities. At this stage, the creation of trade unions is implied, through which workers themselves can influence the labor policy of the enterprise. In addition, these organizations carefully monitor that the rights and interests of the working class are not oppressed and fully ensured.

3. Active promotion of the observance of labor legislation through regular publications in the press, rotation on television and radio stations. That is, the creation of such conditions under which each person at least figuratively knows the basics of the legislative framework, has an idea about protecting their own labor rights. In fact, this is training in the basics of labor legislation of all segments of the population with the aim of increasing their cultural and legal worldview. In this case, the employee will always know where to complain about the employer.

The structure of legal protection mechanisms

The protection system, which provides for section XIII of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, has a certain structure:

1. At this stage, measures are taken to prevent violations in the field of labor law.
2. At the second stage, an examination of all the circumstances of the offense by the employer takes place.
3. The third stage involves the renewal of rights that have been violated.

4. But at the last stage, responsibility for violating the foundations of the law is determined. At this stage, a whole system of punishments was formed for employers who oppressed the rights and freedoms of employees.

All these components are combined into a human rights mechanism that aims to regulate the legal relations of workers and employers. This mechanism consists of the following components:

• rules of law that establish rules of conduct in society, taking into account moral and ethical values;
• legal relationship as an element of law that directly takes part in the life of participants in the labor process;
• realization of the rights of all parties to the work process from the point of view of jurisprudence.

Together, all these components form a single base of the national system for protecting the rights of the employer and employee. As you can see, this is a branched structure.

Basic labor rights of an employee

After analyzing the Russian legal framework regarding labor law issues, it is possible to understand what kind of employee rights should be strictly observed by the employer. Among them are the following:

• all people have an inalienable right to official employment at work;
• life and health insurance is guaranteed in case of difficult and dangerous working conditions;
• the employee has a priority right to receive data regarding working conditions, the payment and bonus system, as well as the safety of production activities;
• the right to receive workwear and protective equipment at the expense of the employer in accordance with the basics of labor law;
• You can refuse work that is not provided for in the contract or is harmful to the person;
• overtime compensation;
• the right to a free medical examination at the expense of the employer;
• personal participation of the employee in investigations regarding accidents, including those with which he personally faced.

How to defend your rights yourself?

One of the most effective mechanisms for protecting labor rights is considered a set of measures that employees carry out independently in case of violations. At the same time, no appeals are sent to state bodies and courts. But even here the complex of independent actions is limited by the framework of labor legislation. As you know, any form of protection of rights should not be used to the detriment of the law, that is, all measures taken by employees cannot violate the legislative system, as well as the ethical and moral principles of society.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides methods for the self-defense of rights from the arbitrariness of employers. These include the following:

• refusal of employees to perform a task that is not provided for by the terms of the labor agreement;
• refusal to work in situations where there is a direct or indirect threat to human life;
• refusal to fulfill obligations if the employer has not provided workers with protective equipment, equipment, work clothing, etc .;
• a written refusal to perform work if the employer delays wages for more than 15 days (however, in this case, you must refer to article 142 of the Labor Code, which provides for all possible situations in which such a violation occurs).

In fact, an employee can unilaterally defend his interests by refusing to fulfill the obligations stipulated by the contract. At the same time, the employer does not have the right to prevent employees from implementing self-defense measures, cannot blackmail and threaten with dismissal, fines and loss of bonuses. Otherwise, employees will become actively interested in where to complain about the employer and what is needed for this.

If self-protection measures against the arbitrariness of the authorities have not brought any effect, you should seek the support of trade unions.

What role do unions play?

Trade unions are voluntary associations of enterprise employees that regulate all issues regarding the legal field of relations between superiors and subordinates. At the same time, unions are able to influence the employer. In particular, when introducing internal production rules of conduct and schedule, the employer is obliged to send an official notice of changes in the labor standards of the enterprise to the union. In response, inspectors examine the changes introduced and adjust them to reflect the interests of the working class.

Unions carry out their work in the following areas:

• full control over the activities of the employer;
• conducting independent examinations regarding working conditions and safety;
• taking an active part in investigations of industrial accidents;
• protection of the interests of all trade union members regarding material compensation for harm received as a result of improper organization of the labor process;
• participation in the development of regulatory documents related to labor legislation both within one enterprise and at the state level;
• appeal to government agencies (such as the State Labor Inspectorate) with complaints of violations;
• direct participation in the consideration of all cases related to direct or indirect violation of the foundations of labor law.

How to restore justice?

Unfortunately, few people still know how to protect themselves from unlawful attacks by the leadership. This is especially true for those workers who are officially employed and pay all taxes. Having accompanying documents on his professional and labor activities, an employee can protect himself from unscrupulous management. The most important thing is to know what measures to take to resolve the current conflict situation. Let's learn some tips from lawyers:

1. First of all, you should find out who to complain about the arbitrariness of the employer. Even if you do not have conflicts with management, such information may well come in handy in the future. For example, a complaint about an employer to the prosecutor’s office will protect your rights as much as possible.
2. Decide on all your claims to the management. Clearly articulate them in writing.
3. Make all claims in the form of a complaint. To compile it, you can use the help of employees of the labor inspectorate.
4. Attach to the complaint all documents that confirm the facts of violation of your labor rights.
5. Send the entire package of documents to the Labor Inspectorate by registered mail or bring the paper in person. At the same time, do not forget to make sure that the complaint is accepted and received a registration number. Also find out the name of the inspector to whom the documents arrived.
6. Wait for a response from an employee who will conduct an official audit of the enterprise for some time. Based on the results of the inspection of the labor inspectorate, an official act will be drawn up with a list of all violations that the specialist will detect at the enterprise.

Remember that you can write a complaint both on your own behalf and on behalf of the team. In the latter case, signatures of all employees of the organization who disagree with the policy of the enterprise management will be required. If you do not want to advertise your name, then you have the right to personally contact the inspector with a request for non-disclosure. In this case, an anonymous complaint against the employer will be established. Do not be afraid that they will be skeptical of her. The Labor Inspectorate also parses such appeals.

Possible solutions to the conflict

Remember that all relations within the enterprise are in the competence of managers, therefore, if you disagree with the current policy, you have the right to report this to the authorities. Do not rush to upholster the thresholds of all possible authorities, begin to act according to the following scheme:

• Employer internal complaint. At the same time, do not forget that it should be framed in duplicate. If you work in a large enterprise and do not have the opportunity to talk with management, leave a complaint in the reception of the head or in the personnel department. At the same time, it must be registered with the initials of the employee who received it, numbers and dates. If you refuse to accept the complaint, you should send it by letter with notification of receipt. In this case, the notice of acceptance or refusal of receipt will be a serious argument in further proceedings.

• If management does not respond, contact the State Labor Inspectorate with a complaint. This authority has the right to resolve labor conflicts between the employee and the employer. In the case of confirmation of violations, the labor inspectorate may hold administrative management liable.

• There is another option for resolving a conflict situation.The complaint against the employer to the prosecutor's office is considered the most effective, since the employees of this organization pay maximum attention to observing the labor relations of the employee and the employer. Recently, special attention has been paid to possible violations by the employer. At the same time, the prosecutor has the right to initiate an investigation into the facts of labor violations and transfer the case to court. Remember that if you contact the prosecutor’s office anonymously, you will not be able to complain about the employer. This process requires specifics.

• Trial. This step is advisable even if you are employed informally and receive salary in an envelope. For the competent conduct of the trial, it is recommended to attract witnesses and collect any documentary base that would prove your participation in the process of the enterprise. As practice shows, in 90% of cases the courts decide in favor of the employee, so do not be afraid to protect your legal rights in this way. But a tax complaint against the employer is unlikely to lead to good consequences. You will also be attracted for violation of the law.

How to make a complaint?

Unfortunately, we are forced to state the fact that most of our fellow citizens are absolutely defenseless against the arbitrariness of the employer. And in this a large proportion of their fault. Everyone should know the basics of legislation and their rights, and in order to protect them, you must write a complaint about the actions of your bosses if your interests are ignored. Consider how to correctly write a complaint about an employer:

• In the upper right corner (document heading), indicate the name of the organization to which you are sending the complaint. This may be the state labor inspectorate, prosecutor's office, etc.

• Enter your details below, including phone number and full name. This is necessary so that the staff of the organization that accepts the complaint can contact you.

• Next, describe the situation. Use business style letters, try to talk about your problems dryly and without emotional coloring. One more tip: write to the point. If you turned to management for recognition of your rights, then indicate this fact and attach the response of the authorities to your requirements. If you have witnesses to the violation, as well as documents, indicate this in the text of the complaint.

• Attach the entire documentary base, including copies of certificates and documents, testimonies of witnesses, etc.

If you do not know how to file a complaint against an employer in accordance with the requirements of the law, then contact the labor inspectorate. Its employees will help you with making claims to the head. It is also recommended to study examples of completed documents in the inspection. If necessary, you will be provided with a sample complaint against the employer so that all the papers are drawn up correctly.