The legislation of the Russian Federation provides pregnant women and women with small children with a number of guarantees and compensations, but often they either do not know about them or do not believe in the possibility of their implementation, which is what unscrupulous employers use. To defend your rights to work, rest and compulsory payments, you need to know and understand the content of the relevant articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
The first thing that future and present mothers must remember is that, at the initiative of the employer, a woman who is pregnant or has a child (children) under the age of 3 cannot be fired. The only exceptions are cases of liquidation of an enterprise and termination of the activity of an individual entrepreneur, and all other grounds are illegal. If the employer insists on dismissal of his own free will or threatens to lay off, you need to apply to the prosecutor's office and the court.
A pregnant woman has the right to lower production and service standards, as well as to transfer to another job with lighter working conditions, excluding possible harmful effects on the body, and with the preservation of wages in the same place. If this cannot be done immediately, she should be released from harmful work until a suitable vacancy is selected at the enterprise with the payment of average earnings for the entire time of the forced absence.
The expectant mother has the right, if necessary, to undergo a medical examination with the preservation of wages for the days that the examination took. In practice, employers in such cases are often forced to take short-term leave at their own expense.
From 30 weeks of pregnancy, a woman is granted maternity leave, to which an annual paid leave can be added, which is due regardless of the length of service at the enterprise and the internal work schedule established in the organization. All payments are calculated based on average earnings and must be made on time.
It is unacceptable to refuse an expectant mother in employment because of her pregnancy. However, in practice, this norm does not actually protect the rights of women, since employers, as a rule, provide completely different arguments justifying their unwillingness to hire a pregnant woman.
There is no probationary period for mothers-to-be when they are hired. At its core, it assumes the possibility of dismissal without special grounds, which is contrary to the law. In addition, it is forbidden to engage pregnant women in overtime work, call at night, on weekends and holidays, and send them on business trips.
Real mothers, that is, women who already have children under the age of 3, are provided with almost the same scope of rights and guarantees as for pregnant women. They cannot be dismissed at the initiative of the employer, refused to hire them due to the presence of young children, sent on business trips without their consent, and involved in overtime work, at night, on weekends and holidays.
A woman with a child can take leave to care for him for up to 3 years, while in the first 1, 5 years she is paid vacation pay in the amount of 40% of the average earnings. If she does not exercise this right and continues to work, then nursing breaks of at least 30 minutes every 3 hours are organized for her, and she is also guaranteed a transfer, if desired, to another job with easier working conditions until the child turns 1, 5 years. Among other things, women with children under the age of 14 can take additional annual leave at their own expense and use it in whole or in parts at their own discretion.
