Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not allow the dismissal of a pregnant woman at the initiative of her supervisor. The exception here is only those cases when an enterprise is liquidated or a citizen who has his own business ceases to operate. If a pregnant woman performed duties under a fixed-term contract, then at her written request, the head of the organization must extend her employment relationship until her child is born. In the event that the latter was granted maternity leave, then at the end of this period the manager has the right to dismiss her. More details about all this will be written in this article.
Highlights
Not all employers want to have a woman in an interesting position on the staff of their enterprise. This is due primarily to the fact that the fair sex will soon go on maternity leave, respectively, she will not work, but she will still have to pay. Therefore, many private campaigns are interested in getting rid of such employees.
However, the law protects expectant mothers and prohibits plant managers from firing pregnant women on their own initiative. This is exactly what art tells us. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Of course, if the organization is liquidated, then the woman in position will still have to be fired. Otherwise, in this situation it is impossible to act.
For a certain period
In Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation recorded options for the actions of the head of the enterprise if a pregnant subordinate turned out to be on the staff of the company with whom a contract was signed for a certain period of time. So, if the representative of the fair sex wrote a statement to her boss about extending the term of the labor contract until childbirth, then the employer must accept it and extend the period of validity of this document. In this case, a pregnant subordinate must provide a certificate from the clinic, which would confirm her situation. This rule is spelled out in Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
If a woman went on vacation in connection with an approaching birth, then after its completion the head of the enterprise can dismiss her due to the fact that the validity of the signed labor contract has expired.
the confirmation
The pregnant woman, with whom the fixed-term contract was extended, must, upon the request of the boss, provide him with a document that would testify to her interesting situation. This is indicated by Part 2 of Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
In the event that a woman has already given birth to a child, but continues to carry out official activities at the enterprise, the boss may terminate labor relations with her within seven days due to the expiration of the term contract.
When allowed
Quite often, pregnant women who are left for some reason without work are arranged in the organization during the absence of a permanent employee. The latter can be on vacation or on sick leave. In this case, the law allows the dismissal of a woman in position after the permanent employee resumes his duties.
But there is one caveat. A pregnant woman can be dismissed from temporary work if the boss does not have the opportunity to transfer her (but only with the written consent of the employee herself) to another job or position that she would be able to perform taking into account her state of health. This norm is fixed in part 3 of article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Interesting moment
The dismissal of a pregnant employee in connection with the release of another, permanent employee, whose duties she temporarily performed, can be compared with the measures that are being taken during the reduction of staff. After all, given h. 3 Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the head of the organization should offer the latter all available vacancies in the area that would meet the relevant requirements. The pregnant woman has only light work, so the head of the enterprise is not entitled to offer her heavy physical work.
Prohibited
In addition to pregnant employees, there are other unprotected categories of workers, the dismissal of which is unacceptable under the current law. The list of these persons is given in Part 4 of Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. These include:
- the fair sex, who have children under 3 years old;
- single mothers engaged in raising a child with disabilities under 18 years of age or having a baby under the age of fourteen;
- citizens who raise a minor child with a disability or a minor (under 14 years old);
- the only breadwinners of families where three or more children live, one of which has inferior health (under 18 years) or has not reached the age of three years, and if the second spouse is not employed anywhere.
Existing Exceptions
But even with persons with certain family responsibilities, the list of which is enshrined in part 4 of article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the head of the organization may terminate the concluded labor contract in the following cases:
- if the organization is liquidated and the entrepreneur ends his activity (accordingly, people will simply have nowhere to work);
- repeated failure to perform official duties (without any valid justification) in the presence of disciplinary action;
- in the case of an immoral act (if the work is related to raising children), in which further continuation of activity is not allowed;
- transfer of false documents;
- if the head of the organization or his deputy once rudely violated his official duties.
Notification
Part 1, Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that it is possible to terminate a previously signed employment contract with pregnant employees if the organization is liquidated or the entrepreneur ceases to carry out activities. This is practically the only case when a woman in an interesting position can be fired from work without any unpleasant consequences for her boss. But the latter must strictly comply with labor law. Accordingly, that the organization will be liquidated, it is obliged to inform all employees in writing at least a couple of months before such events. On this basis, a pregnant employee has the right to receive all payments, including severance pay.
general characteristics
As mentioned earlier, labor legislation protects the interests of pregnant women, as well as other persons who have minor children. First of all, here the state takes care of the kids. After all, if the employer gets the opportunity to dismiss without any reason a pregnant employee or a woman who alone brings up and provides for a young child, then there simply will be nothing for them to live on. Thus, labor standards more protect the interests of children.
On practice
It’s not a secret that the majority of heads of institutions of our state do not always comply with the norms of the law. This is primarily due to the fact that employees working in enterprises and organizations do not possess the relevant legal knowledge, therefore they do not notice violations on the part of the head. Thus, many employers for no particular reason dismiss pregnant subordinates, as well as women whose young children are often sick, and the latter are simply forced to sit at home with them.
In connection with the violation of the law, citizens began to file complaints with the court and the prosecutor's office, as well as with the labor inspectorate. Very often, women in position are not transferred to light work and the latter are forced to work in a normal rhythm along with other employees. Cases in which heads of organizations dismiss men who are dependent on several small children under three years of age and whose wife is not employed anywhere are not considered a rarity. And this despite the fact that the latter is considered the sole breadwinner of the family.
Irrelevant
Often there are situations such that the heads of organizations dismiss pregnant women on their own initiative when they are not aware of an interesting situation. So, if the fair sex appeals to the judicial authority, then by law she will be reinstated in her post. Therefore, ignorance of the boss that a pregnant employee worked for him in the company will in this case not be of any decisive importance. Dismissal of a woman in an interesting position will be declared illegal, she will be restored, and she will continue her work further. In this case, the law will be on her side.