The constitutional principle of respect for the man of work: problems of implementation in Russian legislation and law enforcement practice

Abstract

Respect for the working person is guaranteed by Article 75.1 of the updated Constitution of the Russian Federation. This constitutional guarantee has an external (formal) and an internal (substantive) side of implementation. On the basis of the theory of stability of labour law relations, the basic norms of this twofold system have been identified. 1. On the substantive side, the norms of stability of the employee as a party to the employment contract when the employer changes. The constitutional guarantee of respect for the human being at work is the stability of employment relations, secured mainly by Article 75 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation. The provision of Article 75 of the Russian Labour Code is based on the theory of stability of the employment relationship, conditioned by the personal nature of the employment contract on the part of the employee, the foundations of which were laid at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today it guarantees the preservation of the employment relationship in the event of a change of ownership of the organisation, a change of subordination of the organisation or its reorganisation. Legislating the dependence of the employment contract on the employer's reorganisation measures would destroy the theory of stability and the system of constitutional and sectoral labour law guarantees of respect for the human rights of workers. Therefore, new forms of employment, the emergence of which is initially dictated by the needs of economic development and the state of society, should be consistently involved in the sphere of labour law regulation. The issues of the stability of the employment contract should be resolved exclusively based on the needs of the organization of production and in the interests of the enterprise. 2. From the external perspective, the basic provision in the system of guarantees of respect for the person at work is the form of the employment contract. Article 56 of the Russian Labour Code, defining the concept of an employment contract, as well as regulatory acts adopted in its development and the generally accepted practice of law do not comply with Article 75.1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Article 57 of the Labour Code. The inclusion of information about the employee after information about the employer in the employment contract underlines the unequal position of the employee, even if formally, but clearly demonstrates the lack of respect for the employee not only on the part of the employer concluding the contract but also on the part of state authorities which have permitted the publication of regulations contrary to Article 57 of the LC RF. 57 of the Labour Code and provoking the employer to violate the guarantee of Article 75.1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Considering the ethical nature of Russian legal understanding, Article 56 of the LC RF and the standard forms of employment contracts must be immediately brought into compliance with the requirements of Article 57 of the LC RF and Article 75.1 of the RF Constitution, which would be a formal, but obvious respect for the working person on the part of both the state and, subsequently, the employers. The author declares no conflicts of interests.