The Labor Code protects the rights of various categories of citizens. There are certain conditions for pregnant women. The Labor Code regulates light work for pregnant women especially carefully.
Shortened working hours and long breaks are only part of the benefits and privileges that the employer is obliged to provide.
The law recognizes, first of all, to protect pregnant women from dangerous and difficult working conditions. By the way, an employer does not have the right to fire a woman if she brings a certificate from a gynecologist confirming her position. Let's talk more about the concept of “light labor.”
What is light labor during pregnancy?
The Labor Code does not contain a clear definition of “light work during pregnancy.” But the employer’s obligation, in the presence of a medical certificate, is legislated to reduce production standards or transfer the woman to easier work that excludes the influence of harmful production factors. At the same time, the average earnings of the worker should be retained.
Light work implies professional activity that requires less physical effort and does not have an adverse effect on the development of the fetus.
A pregnant woman should not perform work related to:
- lifting objects above the shoulders, from the floor;
- lifting weights;
- conveyor production process;
- nervous-emotional stress;
- pathogens (infections, fungi, parasites);
- poisons;
- infrared radiation;
- pressure changes;
- increased radiation, etc.
A woman can exercise her legal right to transfer to light work only after providing the employer with a medical report. Without this certificate, the employer is not obliged to change the working conditions.
Production standards
To begin with, you should pay attention to the fact that pregnant women are people whose health is being undermined. The performance of such an employee will most likely decrease. And overexertion is fraught with negative consequences for the fetus. In Russia, established laws are designed to protect citizens. Especially pregnant women.
Therefore, the first rule, which is provided for in Art. 254 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation means that all employees who have received the status in question must work with changes in production standards. They should be reduced. To what extent? It all depends on the woman’s health condition. Often, medical workers give girls certificates with recommendations on this matter.
Rights and obligations
The main responsibility of the employer is to transfer the pregnant employee to light work if she provides a medical report. If the employer cannot immediately provide a pregnant woman with suitable working conditions, and he needs time to resolve this issue, then she is released from work for this period, and the employer pays for all days the employee is absent from work.
A pregnant woman has the right to full annual paid leave. In this case, it does not matter at all how long the woman worked at the enterprise. Such leave is granted at the request of the employee either before maternity leave or immediately after it.
It is the employer's responsibility to comply with sanitary standards in the pregnant woman's workplace. In addition, the legislation guarantees its preservation for the woman in the position. The employer cannot terminate the employment relationship with her on his own initiative. If the term of the employment contract has come to an end, then, at the request of the employee, the employer is obliged to extend the agreement.
Transfer proposal
Signing a job offer leads to a change in not only the employee’s responsibilities and working conditions, but also the amount of her earnings. According to Article 254 of the Labor Code, its minimum amount should be equal to average earnings. Every month, while the employee is transferred to light work, the accounting department compares wages.
After signing the job offer, a corresponding order is issued. The employee must be familiarized with signature not only with it, but also with the job description and other regulatory documentation. An entry in the work book is not required if the transfer is temporary.
Conditions
The work of a pregnant woman, regardless of what field she works in, must meet the conditions specified by law. So, in industry, if the activity is related to assembly, sorting, packaging, operations must be automated. At the same time, the employer is obliged to take care of sufficient lighting in the room to prevent eye strain. Light work during pregnancy should completely eliminate increased emotional stress.
A pregnant woman should not work in a draft, with wet clothes and shoes, or with sudden changes in pressure. It should not be exposed to harmful chemicals, aerosols, vibration or ultrasound. During pregnancy, a woman is strictly prohibited from engaging in activities related to pathogens.
The employer is obliged to provide such working conditions that will eliminate the need for an employee to constantly remain in the same position during pregnancy (constantly sitting or constantly walking is prohibited). Also, work cannot be performed in a squatting, kneeling, bending position, or focusing on the stomach or chest.
The professional duties of a pregnant employee cannot be associated with lifting objects from the floor, above shoulder level, or straining the abdominal muscles. A pregnant woman can lift weights (no more than 2.5 kg) no more than 2 times per hour. If such frequency cannot be observed due to technological conditions, then the weight is reduced by half. But within an hour the total weight can be no more than 6 kg. In general, the weight of the load during a shift should not exceed 48 kg.
When performing piecework work, the production rate is reduced by 40%. However, pay for light work during pregnancy is not reduced. If a woman works in agriculture, then during pregnancy she is exempt from work related to livestock and crop production. Moreover, this applies from the first day of confirmation of pregnancy.
Working conditions in the office imply the right of a woman not to work with computers. If this is not possible, then work time should be reduced to 3 hours a day. For women, there is a corrugated footrest and a chair that meets special parameters: rotating, with a headrest, armrests and a high back, which must be adjusted in height.
Results
Finding an employer who would be delighted with the “interesting position” of his employees has always been difficult, especially if we are talking about a “private owner”. However, there is a Labor Code. According to this legal document, every expectant mother deserves easy labor during pregnancy. And although employers are not always eager and ready to provide comfortable working conditions, they are obliged to do this or must pay for the days of forced time off to the employee. The basis for transfer is the doctor's opinion.
Peculiarities of work of pregnant women
Features of the work of a pregnant woman include:
- The right to switch to light work with a medical certificate.
- The right to refuse to work at a computer.
- Possibility of switching to part-time work. Payment is made in proportion to the time worked; the duration of vacation is not affected by the work schedule.
- The right to receive payment for days of forced absence if the employer cannot immediately provide her with the required working conditions.
- Receiving full leave regardless of length of service at the enterprise.
- The right to refuse business trips, not to work night shifts, not to work overtime, on weekends and holidays.
A pregnant woman cannot be fired at the initiative of the employer, even if the woman did not inform him of her situation when she was hired. If an employee was hired for a certain period, but the employment contract has ended, she only needs to write an application to extend the agreement and attach a medical certificate confirming pregnancy. And only after the end of pregnancy, the employer, within a week, can dismiss the employee with whom the employment contract has expired.
But the dismissal of a pregnant woman can be legal in the only case: if the employment contract with her was concluded for the period of performance of the duties of an employee who is temporarily absent from work. The employer is obliged to offer the woman all available vacancies suitable for her. And only in the absence of such can she be fired.
Terms of payment
As soon as a woman presents a medical report indicating that she needs to perform lighter work, the employer is obliged to eliminate conditions that could adversely affect her health and the development of the fetus. When transferring to another job, the salary may differ and not always in a favorable direction for the employee. Light work during pregnancy has specific payment requirements.
The employer must do the following:
- if the salary established by the staffing schedule for a new job is lower than the previous one, then the difference is set as an allowance and the full salary is paid;
- if the salary at the new job is higher, then a new salary is paid;
- if the employee remains at her previous job, but the workload is reduced, then earnings are paid in an amount not lower than the average for the previous period.
Also, a pregnant woman may express a desire to work part-time or a week. This right is reserved to her by law. In this case, the employer is obliged to pay her for her work in proportion to the time worked. All losses of the employer associated with the payment of pregnant women are borne by the employer himself. In this case, the FSS does not reimburse any expenses.
Useful tips for switching to light work
If the working conditions of a pregnant woman include restrictions on working posture, drafts, wet clothes and shoes, changes in atmospheric pressure, low light, high temperature in the workplace (more than 35 degrees), or the need to walk more than 2 km per shift, she has the right to transfer to easier work.
The first step of a pregnant woman in this direction should be to contact her antenatal clinic with her attending physician, who, at her request, is obliged to issue her a medical certificate on the need to transfer to light work. After this, the employee provides the employer with a conclusion and a statement requesting the transfer.
It should be understood that there is no need to negotiate with the employer. Transferring a pregnant woman to light work in the presence of a medical certificate is not a gesture of goodwill, but the responsibility of the employer.
If the employer claims that light work is impossible at this workplace and invites the employee to resign of her own free will, his actions are illegal. According to the code, if an employer cannot provide a pregnant employee with adequate working conditions, she has the right to be absent from the workplace. In this case, the employer pays for all the time missed by the woman for this reason based on average earnings.
If the employer refuses to provide easier working conditions and does not want to pay for the absence of a pregnant woman from work, the employee can defend her rights in court. A woman has the right to refuse to perform work if it threatens her health, and she must notify the employer in writing. After this, you should go to court.
The reality is that an employer is unlikely to be delighted with an employee’s pregnancy, much less with the obligation to provide her with more comfortable working conditions. It will be even more difficult for him to get used to the idea that if he refuses to transfer a pregnant worker to light work, she has the right not to go to work, and the employer will have to pay her the average wage. The main thing in this situation is to know your rights. A medical report and the labor code will help a woman defend them. The court will always take her side, since preserving the health of the expectant mother and baby is a national task.
Author: Veronika Ivanova, especially for Mama66.ru
Dispensary examination
Sometimes employed girls have to undergo medical examinations in medical institutions. This process is also included in the Labor Code. For pregnant women who undergo a medical examination, the average salary for their position is maintained.
In other words, during a medical examination, no one has the right to fire a pregnant woman, nor to “cut” her salary. This feature must be taken into account without fail. True, we are only talking about mandatory medical examination. Not the most common occurrence, but it does happen.
