The employee in almost all legal relations arising in the framework of the performance of labor functions, acts as a weaker side. And all because the employee for many reasons depends on his immediate employer. He must submit to his authority and strive with all his might to observe the safety of the property entrusted to him for work. The employer himself must take all possible measures to prevent damage to property.
The concept
Each employee has the right to obtain fair conditions for the performance of labor that meet all established safety and hygiene requirements. The main responsibility of both parties is the need to carefully treat both of their property. If, as a result of the performance of his functions, one of the parties to the concluded labor contract inflicts substantial material damage on the other side, it shall be compensated.
As the basis for the occurrence of such responsibility, it is customary to consider that one party to the contract causes significant damage to the other side, unless otherwise provided by legislative acts.
The employer's liability to the employee is that the direct manager of the organization must compensate the employee for damage.
It is allowed to specify the material liability of the employer to the employee. But the general rule must be observed that the established responsibility of the immediate supervisor cannot be lower, and the responsibility of his employee is higher than that prescribed by law.
Types of employer liability
When considering the question posed about what constitutes the employer's material liability to the employee, the concept and types of such responsibility are of great importance. In contrast to the responsibility of an employee of an organization, the responsibility of his immediate supervisor has a huge number of reasons for his appearance.
Types of liability can be divided immediately into several general categories and considered separately.
Responsibility for harm caused to the employee by injuries and occupational diseases
The employer's liability to the employee and its types are quite diverse. However, most often the line manager has to bear responsibility precisely for the harm caused to the employee of his organization caused by injuries. The basis here is the harm done to the employee. If the employee died from the injuries, the employer is responsible to his relatives.
Labor injury means injury, occupational disease, as well as any injury that occurred in the transport of the employer or during the performance of his job functions.
In addition, minor injuries and injuries resulting in the employee being given a temporary disability certificate are also personal injuries.It is envisaged that the immediate supervisor needs to provide his employee with safe conditions for fulfilling the labor functions assigned to him, including taking measures aimed at preventing the occurrence of occupational diseases.
If an employee was harmed from a source of increased danger during the performance of his functions, his immediate supervisor will have to compensate him for all the harm done. However, this rule does not apply to the situation when the employer manages to prove that the damage was caused due to force majeure or as a result of the direct intent of the employee.
The employer's liability to the employee can be mixed when not only the immediate supervisor, but also an employee of his organization, who grossly violated existing labor protection rules, is to blame. In this case, the employer is imposed the need to reimburse only part of the liability, which most often is 70%.
At the legislative level, such types of compensation are provided:
- compensation for earnings;
- reimbursement of expenses incurred;
- payment of benefits;
- indemnification.
Responsibility for the illegal deprivation of the employee the right to work
The obligation to indemnify may be expressed in the following ways:
- Compensation of material damage by the employer with guilty plea and without contacting the employee to the competent authority for the resolution of labor disputes.
- Refusal of the employer to plead guilty, appeal by the employee to the competent authority for the consideration of labor disputes. As a result, if the employer is really guilty of causing this kind of harm, he will be obliged to pay material damage.
Dismissal is considered unlawful if the immediate superior did not comply with the established procedure for conducting such a procedure, for example, if there are no necessary grounds for dismissal or if the employee is not among those who are subject to dismissal. Transfer to another organization without the written consent of the employee himself is also considered an illegal dismissal.
Responsibility for damage to personal property of an employee
Damage to property in the performance by an employee of his duties may occur if he performed all his actions on the instructions of his immediate employer or under his control over the work. When determining the exact amount of damage, the retail market prices applicable in the region should be applied. The employee must report this violation to his supervisor on his own. For this, a written application is sent to the employer, which he must consider within the full 10 calendar days and give his decision. If an employee receives a refusal from his immediate supervisor to refund such an amount, or he does not answer at all, the employee of the organization has the opportunity to apply to the local world court to protect his rights.
Responsibility for delayed payroll
According to the legislation on labor regulation in force in the country, the manager is obliged to pay the employee certain percentages for each day of delay in the payment of salaries due to him. The specific amount of such interest should be determined by a collective agreement.
In addition, the liability of the organization or individual entrepreneur for non-payment of earnings in a period of more than two months, committed for personal gain, is established.
Compensation for property damage
The employer's liability to the employee implies indemnification. Damage to an organization employee due to improper actions or inaction of its immediate supervisor must be compensated in the amounts stipulated by the agreement concluded between them. If the parties for some reason could not come to a general decision on the amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage, it must be determined by the court.
The employer's liability, in particular, all losses caused, may be reimbursed by him voluntarily. Otherwise, all compensation decisions will be made by the competent authority authorized to consider labor disputes.
The material damage incurred must be paid to the employee in the amount of his average daily wage. This amount must be paid for each day. forced absenteeism employee, and if he performed a lower-paid job.
The amount of damage caused must be determined according to market prices in force in the region at the time of the need for compensation.
If the employee does not speak out, the damage caused to him can be compensated in kind. In such a situation, they must provide him with equivalent or similar property, while the damaged thing can be corrected.
To receive damages, the employee must write a written statement addressed to the employer. The employer's liability to the employee comes immediately.
Procedure for reimbursing reimbursable compensation for delayed pay
The employer's liability to the employee, the grounds and procedure for damages in case of a delay in the payment of monetary funds for labor remuneration are somewhat different from ordinary compensation. The manager will have to charge compensation for all days of such a delay.
Such material damage must be compensated in cash. Exact rates must be specified in the contract concluded between the parties.
Compensation for non-pecuniary damage
The employer's liability to the employee (the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for this) obliges the former to compensate the latter for moral harm. The agreement of the parties on the amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage should be made in two copies, with the signatures of each of the parties. Based on the agreement, the employer issues an order to pay compensation.
Separately, it is worth noting that if the employee thinks that the amount of compensation is disproportionate to the harm done, he can appeal to the local world court to increase the amount.
The employer's liability to the employee and compensation for non-pecuniary damage occurs immediately after the violation, but the victim has the legal right to appeal to the local world court to protect his rights within three months. If an employee has been dismissed by illegal actions of his immediate employer, he must apply to the magistrate court within one month from the date of delivery of the order on his dismissal to him.
If for some reason the employee misses the deadlines, the court can restore them, but only if the reasons for the omission are recognized as valid.
Arbitrage practice
The employer's liability to the employee is briefly presented in many regulatory acts. But in order to fully understand this issue, it is best to turn your attention to judicial practice.
In fact, the courts have a huge number of cases, the essence of which is the employer's liability to the employee. Judicial practice in this matter is quite large.
As an example, we can consider a situation where, for example, an insurance company goes to court with a request to prosecute an organization that refuses to act within the framework of labor legislation in case of an industrial accident.Suppose the reason for applying to the court is that the employer did not transfer interest to the Social Insurance Fund for the delay in paying compensation for each day of delay in payment to the employee.
Having examined the Labor legislation, in particular, article 236 of the Labor Code, the court may come to the conclusion that this amount is not taxable, therefore, no transfers to the Social Insurance Fund should be made.
Conclusion
Based on the study of judicial practice and the information provided in regulatory legal acts, it can be concluded that such responsibility of the immediate supervisor to his employee is a fairly common situation. Therefore, if an employee encounters it during his work, there is no need to fear any consequences. According to the law, the employee must independently prove the fact that he was harmed. But after he fulfills his burden of proof, the worker can be sure that the truth will be on his side. To prove his case, it will be enough for him to just provide the evidence he collected to his local world court and wait for the court to make a decision in his favor.
Compensation can be received both in kind, that is, by returning the damaged thing, and by providing cash.