Rights of pregnant women
You have no right to refuse employment. Namely, Article 170 of the Labor Code indicates that the employer has no right to refuse to the pregnant woman in reception at work because of her position. But in fact it turns out that this rule remains only a declaration. And in practice it is very difficult to prove what the employer refused to you on this occasion. For example, he can refer to the lack of suitable vacancies, or to the fact that the place was given to a more qualified employee. And although the law even provides for a fine for unreasonable refusal to employ a pregnant woman in the amount of up to 500 times the minimum wage (in 2001, 1 minimum wage was 100 rubles), cases of imposing a fine on employers are extremely rare and are an exception to the rule.
You can not be fired
This article of the Labor Code indicates that a pregnant woman can not be dismissed, even if the employer has good reasons for doing this, such as absenteeism, inadequate employment or staff reduction, etc. The Supreme Court gave explanations on this matter, pointing out that in this case it does not matter whether the administration knew about the employee's pregnancy or not. All this means that a woman can be restored to her former place of work by court. In this case, the only exception is the liquidation of the enterprise, that is, the activity of the organization as a legal entity is terminated. And even in this case, according to the law, the employer must employ a pregnant woman, and pay her an average monthly salary for 3 months before new employment. You can not be attracted to overtime or night work, and also be sent on a business trip. If you are pregnant, you can not be required to perform overtime work or to send on a business trip without your written consent. And even with the consent of the employer can not assign you work at night or on weekends, according to articles 162 and 163 of the Labor Code. You should reduce the rate of production. A pregnant woman should be transferred to an easier job, excluding the presence of harmful factors or reduced production rates that are consistent with the medical conclusion. This circumstance can not be the reason for the decrease in earnings, so it should equal the average earnings of the corresponding position that it occupied earlier. The organization must anticipate in advance the opportunity to transfer a pregnant woman to another position, for example, if a woman worked as a courier, the firm must transfer her to work in the office during pregnancy.
You have the right to set an individual work schedule. The organization must, at the request of a pregnant woman, set an individual (flexible) schedule for it. Article 49 of the Labor Code indicates that it is allowed to establish part-time work during pregnancy, as well as an incomplete working week. A separate order formulates the specific conditions necessary for the work of a pregnant woman. This document specifies such moments as the time of work and rest, as well as the days in which a pregnant woman may not go to work. The remuneration of labor in this case is carried out in proportion to the time worked, while the employer does not have the right to reduce her annual leave, retains her seniority with allowances for benefits and seniority, is obliged to pay the prescribed bonuses, etc.
You have the right to health care
According to article 170 (1) of the Labor Code, confirming the guarantee of pregnant women in the mandatory medical checkup procedure, and stating that in carrying out such a survey in medical institutions, the employer must keep the average earnings for the pregnant woman. This means that a pregnant woman must provide to the place of work documents proving that she was in a women's consultation or other medical institution. According to these documents, the time spent at the doctor should be paid as a working one. The law does not specify the maximum number of doctor visits, and the employer can not obstruct a pregnant woman from going through the necessary dispensary examination.
You have the right to paid maternity leave
According to article 165 of the Labor Code, a woman should be granted additional maternity leave with a duration of 70 calendar days. This period can be increased in the following cases:
1) when the doctor establishes a multiple pregnancy, which must be confirmed by a medical certificate - leave increases to 84 days;
2) if the woman is on the territory contaminated by radiation due to anthropogenic catastrophe (for example, the Chernobyl accident, discharge of waste into the Techa River, etc.) - up to 90 days. If a pregnant woman has been evacuated or relocated from the specified territories, she can also claim to increase the period of additional leave.
3) the possibility of extending the period of leave can also be established by local legislation. But, to tell you the truth, at the moment there is not a single region where a longer period of maternity leave would have been established. Perhaps in the future such an opportunity will be provided to pregnant women living in Moscow.
Article 166 of the Labor Code provides for a pregnant woman to summarize annual leave with maternity leave, this is not affected by the amount of time she has worked in the organization - even if her length of service is less than 11 months necessary for obtaining leave . Leave for pregnancy and childbirth is paid in the amount of full earnings, regardless of the length of service in the organization. It must be remembered that the calculation of the amount of vacation is made on the basis of actually received income for the last three months, before the start of vacation. And this means that if the individual schedule of work with an appropriate salary reduction was set at your request, then the vacation pay will be less than if you worked full-time. If the reason for the dismissal of a pregnant woman was the liquidation of the organization, then she. At the same time, average monthly earnings are saved. If you were dismissed due to liquidation of the organization, then you are entitled to monthly payments in the amount of 1 minimum monthly wage within a year, counting from the moment of dismissal, According to the federal law regulating payments of state benefits to citizens with children. These payments should be made by the social protection bodies of the population.
How to fight for your rights
But sometimes one knowledge of their rights is not enough, in general there is such a situation that a pregnant woman should still have an idea and how to effectively protect her rights from undue infringement. Here are some tips, the implementation of which will avoid arbitrariness on the part of the employer. First of all, in order to receive any of the above benefits, it is necessary to send an official letter to the administration of your enterprise that contains a request for its appointment. The head of the enterprise is sent a statement, drawn up in writing, where it should be stated, the benefits that need to be established. For example, if you need to enter an individual work schedule for a pregnant woman, then you must specify a specific timetable for employment. It is best if the application is made in several copies, one of which should contain a note on its acceptance by the administration of the enterprise - all this is proof that you applied for a benefit. Practice shows that official treatment often influences psychologically on an employer who prefers not to contact the authorities on a possible complaint of a woman if her interests are violated. Often, one written statement for management means much more than a lot of oral requests.
If negotiations with the employer were useless and did not bring the desired result, then it is necessary to appeal with an illegal refusal to special state bodies dealing with regulation of issues related to labor legislation. First of all, it is in the State Labor Protection Inspectorate, where you can file a complaint, this organization is obliged to monitor employers' compliance with labor laws, including also providing pregnant women with the necessary guarantees. It is necessary to write down the essence of their claims in writing, enclosing the relevant documents: a certificate of pregnancy issued by the medical institution. In the same way, you can file a complaint with the prosecutor's office, You also have the right to apply immediately to both authorities. Appeal to the court is an extreme measure, and must be carried out in accordance with the civil procedural law. It should be remembered that the statute of limitations on labor disputes has been reduced to three months from the moment when The employee recorded a violation of his rights by the employer. It should be borne in mind that a pregnant woman can demand the restoration of this period, in accordance with the period of pregnancy. In judicial proceedings, it would be most expedient to use the qualified assistance of a lawyer who can help in a dispute with the employer.