What is discrimination in the workplace and how to fight it

The concept of discrimination in the world of work

Employment discrimination means treating people differently in the world of work because of characteristics that make them different from others that have nothing to do with merit or performance. For example, religion, skin color, race, gender and more.

The Labor Code does not contain a complete list of discriminatory circumstances, but in addition to those listed above, these include origin, property, family, social status, official position, age, place of residence, beliefs, non-membership, membership in social associations, social groups. These are circumstances that are not related to the business qualities of women or men.

The Russian Federation prohibits discrimination in the world of work, but today this problem is unresolved. This means that any motive other than that specified in Article 3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation violates the implementation of equal opportunities in the world of work, provided that this motive does not relate to the professional qualities of the employee.

In the Russian Federation, discrimination against workers' labor rights based on place of residence is daily practice. Failure to register a place of residence cannot become an official reason for refusal to hire; in practice, this often occurs.

The concept of discrimination and its types

Definition of discrimination

Types of discrimination in the labor sphere

There are several types of discrimination in labor law:

Wage discrimination. This problem is familiar to the economy of every country, when workers of equal qualifications and knowledge are differentiated in wages. This often happens in market economies where there is a significant influx of labor migrants, usually men. It is against such an unprotected part of the population that discrimination is carried out. Such discriminated groups of the population include visitors against locals, women against men.
Discrimination in hiring and firing. This type of discrimination concerns, first of all, young people with education but no work experience, disabled people, former prisoners, people of pre-retirement age and other workers.
Discrimination in career advancement. This type applies more to women, immigrants, and national minorities. In this type of discrimination, one can separately distinguish professional segregation - the division of professions of women and men.
Discrimination in education and training. This type of discrimination is based on material and financial differences and is latent (it is difficult to trace, because discrimination occurs unintentionally; people from low-income families are simply less likely to receive a good education).

What is discrimination in labor law and what does it imply?

If we consider this term from a general social perspective, then this process is destructive. It forms social differentiation, the essence of which is the infringement of the rights of a citizen belonging to one of the groups of society. Discrimination involves the manifestation of social inequality in one of its most extreme forms. In other words, this process implies the denial of the rights of a social group.

If we consider the term discrimination from the side of social psychology, then this is an option for maintaining the predominant position of a participant in society. This term implies a form of negative behavior, the essence of which is the prejudice of the lack of certain properties in the discriminated against, thanks to which it is possible to deny rights and opportunities to participants in society.

What is the difference between labor law and related branches of law is detailed in this article.

The video shows discrimination in labor law:

Now it remains to consider discrimination from a legal point of view. This term implies prohibited differentiation, and the grounds according to which it is prohibited are enshrined in law. Discrimination is considered a complex legal process that manifests itself through the violation of rights. However, not every type of violation can be classified as discrimination. For this reason, establishing an evidence base that discrimination exists against any individual is very difficult.

When studying this issue, it is important to know and understand to whom the labor veteran is given.

For the most part, the logic of non-recognition of discrimination can be built on the fact that there are a sufficient number of ways to compare people in the field of work. When making comparisons, it is necessary to be based on actions, results obtained, but does not discriminate in any way based on ideas, myths and warnings.

If this condition is not met, then there will be an increase in unreasonable, and, consequently, unfair social differentiation, conflict situation and social tension.

What are the rights of pregnant women at work under the labor code is detailed in this article.
Everything about the employee and the employer as subjects of labor law is detailed in this article.
What is the regulatory function of labor law is indicated here: https://ruleconsult.ru/tgp/ponyatiya/regulyativnaya-funkciya-prava.html

What is not discrimination

Differences in treatment or remuneration are not discrimination, but only if such differences are based on differences in labor productivity.

This is due to the fact that some professions and specialties have different productivity compared to others. Also, different levels of communication and remuneration can be explained by differences in knowledge, education, qualifications, and abilities of workers. The higher all these levels, the higher the wages. After all, the higher these levels, the higher the productivity.

It is also worth noting that on the basis of the talent, knowledge, abilities, skills of a person, no matter women or men, a professional opinion about him and, therefore, treatment is formed. Different treatment is not discriminatory. After all, this subjective assessment of a face is formed by natural differences between people.

The most important thing is that, despite being treated differently, people are provided with equal opportunities in the labor sphere to realize their professional qualities.

Then the treatment is not considered discriminatory. For example, it is not considered discrimination to treat a disabled employee specially or provide him with special machinery or tools to work. It is also not discrimination against women to refuse to work in hazardous conditions; this also applies to pregnant women. As for men, we are talking, for example, about passing a medical examination as a pilot.

What is discrimination

The provisions of the ILO Convention of 1958 provide that all citizens are endowed with equal rights in the labor sphere. If we talk about legitimate competition that develops in the labor market, it is based on the fact that all citizens have different levels of qualifications and experience.

Discrimination should be understood as the introduction by organizations of requirements relating to the identity of citizens hired for work. Such restrictions may include the color of the applicant’s skin, gender, attitude to religion, age category, marital status, area of residence, etc.

If, during an interview with the management of a company, citizens hear such demands, this indicates the establishment of discriminatory rules in the company. In addition, infringements can also be expressed in the fact that a person is paid a smaller salary compared to other employees with a similar position and experience.

Currently, companies quite often refuse to employ citizens who are HIV carriers. However, the diagnosis cannot affect the level of professional suitability of a particular employee.

Protection of certain categories of citizens

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation has norms. The purpose of which is not to discriminate, but to protect certain categories of citizens. Their purpose is to ensure labor and health protection for persons who need increased legal and social protection. The law takes into account objective differences in physical characteristics, and therefore makes restrictions on the types of work. This often applies to women in professions with difficult working conditions, and pregnant women.

These standards include rules that prohibit employment for certain types of work without a medical certificate. Or regulations that impose additional requirements for occupying a certain position. Most often these are the professions of men - pilot, driver, etc.

The legislator's special attitude is expressed in the quotas for jobs for people with disabilities.

The law of the Russian Federation additionally established that differences, as well as preferences and exceptions and restrictions on the rights of workers, are also determined by the legal status of citizens in the Russian Federation. That is, there will be a different attitude towards people who work under a quota and those who work under a work permit. Specific requirements for hiring employees - foreign citizens. They must know Russian. But this is not discrimination. This just maintains the balance of the normal functioning of the country and is not a problem.

Classification of discrimination in labor relations

Currently, there are several types of discrimination that are observed in the labor market:

When applying for a job, as well as when leaving . Discrimination in this case occurs when a particular group of citizens, under equal conditions, is the last to be hired and at the same time the first to be fired. As an example, consider the following case: an employer publishes an advertisement in which he indicates that young girls of pleasant appearance, aged 23-25 years, are required to work as a secretary. As a result of this, women older than this age are discriminated against; male applicants; women who, in the opinion of the employer, are not beautiful enough.
When accessing specific specialties and positions . In this case, discrimination involves prohibiting or restricting access of certain groups of citizens to various types of activities and professions. Moreover, discrimination occurs even though the workers do an excellent job at the task. This type of discrimination is also called occupational segregation. As an example, it is worth considering the following situation: bosses do not promote a woman just because she is expecting a child. A man is appointed in her place.
During the time of payment for labor . Discrimination occurs when one group of workers receives low wages similar to another. Moreover, both did the work in the same way and completed it in the same amount of time.
While moving up the career ladder . Discrimination occurs when workers in a discriminated group do not have opportunities for upward mobility. This type of process under consideration can be compared to occupational segregation.

Discriminatory restrictions

The problem of separating the concept of discrimination in its pure form and restrictions of a discriminatory nature is clearly visible. If according to Art. 5.62 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, discrimination is a violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person depending on his gender, skin color, nationality, race, language, origin, etc., then restrictions of a discriminatory nature in the labor sphere are restrictions that entail discrimination .

Such restrictions include, for example, advertisements for hiring workers indicating age and gender. At the same time, indicating the quality of education is not considered a discriminatory restriction. It can affect work productivity. But indicating gender or marital status, or the number of children, or affiliation with a particular political party are fully discriminatory. However, this problem has not yet been resolved, despite the fact that administrative responsibility is provided for it.

Most often, discriminatory restrictions in the labor sphere are associated with certain stereotypes in people’s minds. This may be due to prejudice in the inability of people of a certain gender, education, or race to perform their work efficiently and productively, to religious intolerance. This applies to women and men of a certain age and nationality.

Discrimination against national minorities in the world of work

The impact of labor migration on the state

Labor migration is a type of migration, a series of territorial movements of people associated with employment and job search. Yudina T.N. // Migration: dictionary of basic terms: textbook.

Internal migration is the movement of people from one region of the country to another with the purpose or intention of finding a new place of residence.

External migration is the movement of people from one country to another.

Population mobility - Social mobility, which consists in the movement of people from one classification group to another: social, professional, income, educational, etc.

After the collapse of the USSR, population mobility in Russia decreased significantly, and internal migration gave way to external migration. The total number of people who came to Russia between 1992 and 2000 is estimated at 8 million. As of July 2013, more than 3.5 million foreign citizens worked in Russia illegally, and only more than 1.8 million with a valid work permit.

Are there currently 20 million migrants entering Russia? The Federation receives more than 20 million migrants annually. In addition, according to experts, from 10 to 15 million foreign citizens are already working in our country. According to the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the number of illegal labor migrants in 2007 amounted to 3.5-3.8 million people. In 2010, due to the global financial crisis, their number is estimated at 14-19 million.

In different countries of the world, the issue of social rights of migrant workers is increasingly being addressed. Migration has become a significant factor in the life of host societies and has a multifaceted impact on the economy, social sphere, internal political life, as well as international relations. The article examines the features of migration processes and population exchange between Russia, on the one hand, and Ukraine, Belarus, the states of Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Baltic states, on the other.

A negative manifestation of illegal migration is its transformation into an organized criminal business, which leads to an increase in “related” crimes: Corruption, trading in residence permits, production of counterfeit documents. Illegal actions in the field of migration, common to all countries, are as follows: Violation of the procedure for entering the country; violation of the rules of stay on its territory; disruption of transit through the country; violation of the procedure for using foreign labor; illegal employment; transportation of people across the state border; use of fake documents.

For the importing country (destination country), migration provides several advantages: increasing the competitiveness of goods in the destination country by reducing production costs due to the use of cheaper foreign labor; foreign labor brings additional demand for goods and services in the country - this stimulates production and employment growth; importing skilled foreign labor saves the host country the cost of education and training of qualified workers; foreign labor is employed in the tourism industry, creating a favorable situation.

When restrictions of a discriminatory nature arise

Restrictions of a discriminatory nature can arise both in relation to a specific person and in relation to an unknown group of persons. Thus, if an employer issued an advertisement for a vacant position in which, among the requirements for the candidate, he indicated points that constitute a restriction of a discriminatory nature, then such restrictions are not directed against a specific person.

If an employer does not promote employees up the career ladder or slows down such advancement of employees due to restrictions of a discriminatory nature, then, as a rule, such a restriction is directed against a specific person.

Of course, from the point of view of consequences and motives, discrimination against an existing employee is worse. After all, primary discrimination is possible due to the fact that the employer needs to rely on some information when hiring an employee, so he hires women or men, this is his right.

But if the employer already knows about the employee’s abilities and skills, but neglects them due to prejudice and relies on discriminatory restrictions, then such actions are more dangerous and should be punished accordingly by the legislator. Moreover, the Russian Federation prohibits discrimination in the world of work. However, at the moment this is the problem.

Types of discrimination

Incapacity

The development of civil society requires the widest possible participation of all people in the socio-cultural life of society, but the potential of the majority of disabled people today remains untapped.

Currently, employers read the guidelines for working with people with disabilities very carefully and do not want to burden themselves with the additional effort of creating a special workplace for a specific person with a disability.

Age discrimination

It is even more difficult for people over 40-45 to find work. According to various surveys, about a third of respondents in Russia suffer from age discrimination.

In America, for example, an employer simply does not have the right to ask an applicant about his age during an interview. Not long ago, one American company decided to test which group is more effective at work. For this purpose, two groups were formed - young employees and employees over 40 years old. Within three months, the second group showed the highest results.”

Gender discrimination

Gender discrimination in the labor market manifests itself in the following forms: Discrimination in hiring, unequal pay, barriers to career advancement, lack of women in leadership positions and their excess in leadership positions at lower and middle levels, the existence of “male” and “female” professions.

As you know, it is prohibited to refuse to hire women for reasons related to pregnancy and children (Part 3 of Article 64 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The main factor of discrimination is the violation of human rights due to differences, preferences and restrictions in something. Discrimination will also manifest itself as a direct and indirect violation of human rights, thereby forming various types of labor discrimination, but according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, every person is equal in labor opportunities, has the right to fair working conditions and has the right to state protection of labor rights and freedoms.

Protection of rights in court

The rights of citizens affected by discrimination in the world of work are protected in court. Previously, a claim for discrimination could be filed with the labor inspection system of the Russian Federation. However, Article 3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which is in force, currently does not provide for such a right. These bodies do not today have the jurisdiction that is inherent only in the judiciary. Legal liability for discrimination can only arise in the event of a court decision.

In judicial practice today, there are often cases where work is not paid in accordance with the qualifications of the employee and his professional skills. This is a real problem that entails responsibility for your actions.

After considering the application, the court comes to the conclusion that discrimination was committed against such employees in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

After this, the court orders the recovery of the shortfall in payment by the employee, based on the average salary of such an employee in the same field in the same region for a similar position. This may result in liability in court.

Also, when collecting such an amount, the court may also award compensation for moral damages that arose as a result of discrimination caused to the employee. When determining the degree of discrimination, many factors are taken into account, from the level of qualifications of employees, their level of education, to circumstances relating to the guilt of the person who committed the discrimination and other circumstances important in the case.