Labor protection is a set of safety rules in an enterprise. Labor protection is an essential element of labor activity in any organization. Russian law regulates liability for violation of labor protection. Punishment is divided into four types: disciplinary, administrative, material and criminal. Types of responsibility for violation of labor protection, as well as their characteristics will be provided below.
Discipline of labor and types of penalties
Before you start the story about exactly what types of liability for violation of labor protection requirements are in the law, it is worth paying attention to the concept of "labor discipline". According to the Russian Labor Code, labor discipline is the compulsory submission of workers to the established rules of conduct in a particular enterprise. The rules of conduct are enshrined in the Labor Code, the collective agreement, as well as in any regulatory acts of a local type.
The concept of "labor discipline" includes the work schedule, features of admission and dismissal at the enterprise, working hours, rest and many other rules. If the employee violates the established norms, employers have the right to impose disciplinary sanctions - in other words, punishments. The punishment must be legal, consistent with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. So, the legislation provides for the following main types of punishments:
- single remark;
- reprimand to the employee;
- dismissal from the place of work.
All three types of punishments presented are disciplined for violation of labor protection. A little more detail is worth telling about the dismissal.
Dismissal as a disciplinary action
Article 81 of the Russian Labor Code establishes the procedure for terminating the contract of the employer with the employee on the initiative of the head of the organization. In particular, the article indicates the main reasons that entail the dismissal. Here it is necessary to highlight:
- repeated violation of labor discipline by an employee;
- failure by the employee to fulfill his professional duties;
- lateness and absenteeism;
- a citizen came to work in a state of intoxication - alcoholic, toxic or narcotic;
- disclosure of state or commercial secrets;
- committing theft at work;
- committing an immoral act;
- a gross violation of working safety rules, but only if this entailed serious consequences - accidents, disasters, etc.
The conclusion can be drawn as follows: non-compliance with safety rules is a pretty serious reason for dismissal of an employee. However, there must be good reason; So, if an employee has violated the rules, but this did not entail serious consequences, then the authorities have no right to dismiss the employee. All that remains to be done by the employer is to make the employee responsible for violation of labor protection in the form of a reprimand or a comment.
It is worth noting that in the case of violations of safety rules, disciplinary sanctions are not applied so often. Much more common are material or administrative punishments. Nevertheless, it is still worth noting some more details related to disciplinary action.
The imposition and removal of penalties of a disciplinary type
Article 193 of the Russian Labor Code states that the employer is required to demand a written explanation from the employee.So, an employee can write a letter to his supervisor stating the reasons for the problem situation, tell about his guilt or innocence, ask him not to apply a penalty, etc. Moreover, the employee is not obliged to make such a statement. However, this will most likely entail negative consequences. The employee will be held responsible for violation of labor protection without any investigation.
Disciplinary action shall be applied no later than one month after the commission of the offense. The employer issues an order with information that a worker is liable for violation of labor protection requirements.
Is there any way to somehow challenge the decision of the authorities in order to remove the penalty imposed? There are several ways to do this. The first is the usual appeal of the employer's decision to the state labor inspectorate. The second method is spelled out in article 194 of the Russian Labor Code, which states that one year of work in the organization without the use of penalties automatically removes the previously assigned responsibility, after which the employee’s story remains “clear”. The third method is the most banal, but at the same time the most effective. You just need to ask the employer to withdraw liability for violation of labor protection requirements. To do this, you can ask for a petition from the representative body, immediate supervisor, etc.
What is material type liability?
Liability for violation of labor protection rules - what is it? The Russian Labor Code, in particular 232 and 233 of its articles, states that causing damage to the organization due to ignoring safety requirements entails the imposition of material punishment on the guilty person. In this case, the dismissal of the employee, if any, will not release the person from the obligation to pay for the damage caused.
It is possible to bring a worker to liability only if the following circumstances are present:
- adult worker (with some exceptions);
- the employer suffered obvious damage;
- the employee acted illegally or showed inaction, and his guilt of harm was proven.
At the same time, minor employees can still be liable for violation of labor protection legislation - but only if they caused damage while intoxicated.
What is meant by actual property damage? This is always a real deterioration of working property, reduction of the enterprise budget, etc. Liability for violation of labor protection rules can be excluded only in case of force majeure, natural disasters or accidents, economic risks or simply absolutely necessary.
The employee always bears financial punishment within the limits of his own monthly earnings. Requiring written explanations from an employee is mandatory here. Material recovery can also be carried out in court - but only if the working person does not agree to voluntary compensation for damage.
On the full liability of the worker
Articles 242 and 243 of the Russian Labor Code state the obligation of an employee to reimburse the material damage inflicted in full. So, the law fixes certain types of cases when an employee of an organization is obliged to bear full responsibility for the deed. In particular, it is worth highlighting the following points:
- in accordance with the Russian labor code, the full responsibility of the employee for violation of labor protection requirements occurs in cases when the employer has suffered significant damage in the performance of labor duties;
- there is a fact of theft of some material assets assigned to the employee under a special contract;
- Damage caused while intoxicated of any type;
- material damage was caused during criminal acts, or during an administrative offense;
- there is a fact of disclosure of state or commercial secrets;
- damage caused by inaction.
Separately, it is worth noting the existence of the so-called collective or team responsibility of a material type - when it is not one person who is obliged to pay the damage, but the whole team. Responsibility of this kind is fixed at some enterprises in accordance with local regulations.
Administrative penalties
What is an administrative penalty? This is any offense or unlawful act recorded in the Code of Administrative Offenses. Administrative liability for violation of labor protection is prescribed in article 5.27.1 of the presented law. We are talking about violations of labor protection requirements enshrined in the laws of the Russian Federation. The following cases of violations are worth noting here:
- violation of the law on labor protection - a fine from 2 to 90 thousand rubles;
- the implementation of an incorrect or poor-quality assessment of working conditions - a fine of 5 to 80 thousand rubles;
- acceptance of a citizen to the workplace without special training, without checking knowledge of labor protection, without instruction or medical examination - a fine of 15 to 130 thousand rubles;
- the lack of personal protective equipment for employees - a fine of up to 150 thousand rubles, etc.
From the foregoing, it can be concluded that administrative penalties are much more likely to affect employers rather than workers. Decisions on imposing fines are taken by special inspectors or employees of state oversight bodies. If an administrative offense was committed by a simple worker, then the employer will be the initiator of the administrative offense case.
Administrative Offense Protocol
When an administrative offense is committed, a protocol is drawn up against the guilty person. This is a special document that indicates the place and date of compilation of the protocol, information about the violator, address of his place of residence, violated article of the Code of Administrative Offenses and other data. Individuals have the full right to familiarize themselves with the protocol and to comments on its contents. A guilty citizen may refuse to sign a document.
The form and content of the administrative protocol will also depend on the application of administrative punishment against the offender. So, it should highlight the types of liability for non-compliance with safety rules according to the Code of Administrative Offenses:
- warning (official censure of a legal or natural person, is made in writing);
- seizure of the subject of the offense;
- administrative fine (commensurate with the minimum wage);
- deprivation of a special right of an individual;
- disqualification (deprivation of the opportunity to occupy senior positions);
- administrative arrest;
- administrative suspension of work.
Consequently, the administrative responsibility of the employee for violation of labor protection includes a fairly large number of punishments.
Criminal liability
For non-compliance with labor protection rules, an employee may be subject to disciplinary or material, and sometimes administrative responsibility; but very rarely, an employee does something that falls under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To do this, you really need to "try." What is the criminal liability for violation of labor protection at the enterprise? What types of punishments are worth highlighting here? About it further.
According to article 44 of the Russian Criminal Code, the following types of punishments are distinguished:
- obligatory work;
- citizen's freedom is limited;
- a citizen is deprived of freedom;
- a citizen is deprived of the right to carry out professional activities.
Criminal liability for violation of labor protection requirements threatens the employee in the following cases:
- someone is seriously injured;
- Someone was injured incompatible with life.
For the death of one person through negligence, the law provides for the following types of punishments:
- forced labor lasting up to 4 years;
- up to 4 years of imprisonment of a citizen.
For the death of two or more people through negligence:
- forced labor up to 5 years;
- imprisonment of up to 5 years and deprivation of the opportunity to engage in professional activities up to 3 years.
Thus, if a violation of safety rules resulted in serious injuries to employees, or even someone died, a criminal case will be immediately brought against the guilty citizen.
Violations at construction and mining sites
One of the most common places where labor protection requirements are most often violated is construction and mining sites. Art. 216 of the Criminal Code just regulates such situations. What liability for violation of labor protection in construction and mountainous areas is established by Russian legislation? The Criminal Code provides guidance on the following situations:
- Failure to comply with safety rules during the construction of mining or any other work; if the violations entailed causing serious harm to a person, then the guilty persons will be fined 80 thousand rubles or six wages, or imprisonment of a citizen up to three years.
- Failure to comply with safety rules if this entailed the death of a person through negligence; the punishment here is the restriction of freedom of a citizen lasting up to five years and the ban on holding certain professional positions for three years.
- An action or inaction resulting in death due to the negligence of two or more people; the punishment here is even more severe - up to seven years in prison, as well as a ban on holding professional posts for up to three years.
Separately, it is worth pointing out the concept of "major damage." According to the current legislation, damage is called large only if its amount exceeds half a million rubles.
Thus, violations of safety rules at construction and mining facilities are regulated separately. The same applies to explosive and fire hazardous enterprises. What can be distinguished here?
Violation of safety at fire hazardous facilities
The responsibility of officials for violation of labor protection at explosive and fire hazardous facilities is regulated by articles 217 and 219 of the Russian Criminal Code. In accordance with the law, the following types of situations are distinguished here:
- Failure to comply with safety rules in hazardous workshops; if the violation entailed major damage or serious injury to a person, then the penalty will be a fine of 80 thousand rubles, restriction of liberty up to three years, a ban on professional activities for up to three years.
- The same act, but which already had the consequence of the death of a person through negligence; the punishment here is the restriction of civil liberty for up to five years.
- Violation of the rules for safe work, resulting in the death of two or more people, is punishable by detention for up to seven years.
Articles 218 and 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establish a punishment of up to three years of restriction of freedom for violation of storage, transportation, use and accounting of explosive and fire hazardous substances. Illegal acquisition, transportation or marketing of such substances entails the deprivation of liberty of a citizen for up to four years. If we are talking about the theft of explosive or flammable substances, then the punishment will be up to eight years in prison.