Labor Issues in Pharmaceutical and Medical Companies

Legal support of labor relations of healthcare professionals

Labor legislation, in a broad sense, forms the conditions for interaction between the employee and the employer, defines the rights and obligations of the parties, regulates guarantees and compensations, and also reflects the specifics of labor relations for different categories of workers, for example, for medical or pharmaceutical.

Taking into account the specifics of the work of medical workers, the legislator has established additional conditions for such categories of workers that must be met when labor relations arise with such specialists.

Legal contracts with healthcare professionals

Labor relations between an employee and an employer are fixed in an employment contract, which is an agreement between the employer and the employee, according to which the employer undertakes to provide the employee with work according to the agreed labor function, to ensure working conditions stipulated by labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts containing labor law standards, a collective agreement, agreements, local regulatory acts and this agreement, to pay the employee wages in a timely manner and in full, and the employee undertakes to personally perform the labor function specified in this agreement in the interests, under the management and control of the employer, to comply with the internal labor regulations in force at this employer. In addition to the general rules that are established for all categories of employees, additional special working conditions are established for some categories, for example, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation stipulates that for medical workers, reduced working hours are established of no more than 39 hours per week. At the same time, the duration of part-time work for medical workers of healthcare organizations living and working in rural areas and urban-type settlements may be increased by a decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, taken taking into account the opinion of the relevant all-Russian trade union and the all-Russian association of employers. Also, in order to implement the program of state guarantees for the free provision of medical care to citizens in an emergency or urgent form, home duty may be established for medical workers of healthcare organizations with their consent, which includes the stay of a medical worker of a healthcare organization at home while waiting to be called to work (to provide medical care in an emergency or urgent form). It is important to note that when taking into account the time actually worked by a medical worker of a healthcare organization, the time on duty at home is taken into account in the amount of one half of an hour of working time for each hour of duty at home. The total duration of working hours of a medical worker of a healthcare organization, taking into account the time on duty at home, must not exceed the standard working hours of a medical worker of a healthcare organization for the relevant period.

In addition, certain categories of healthcare workers may be granted annual additional paid leave, the duration of which is established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Given the shortage of medical workers throughout the country, the legislator has also defined the specifics of regulating part-time work for certain categories of workers (medical and pharmaceutical) in addition to the specifics established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. For example, the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated June 30, 2003 No. 41 “On the specifics of part-time work for teaching, medical, pharmaceutical and cultural workers” establishes the following specifics of part-time work for medical and pharmaceutical workers:

1. the specified categories of workers have the right to work part-time - perform other regular paid work under an employment contract in their free time from their main job at the place of their main job or in other organizations, including in a similar position, specialty, profession, and in cases where reduced working hours are established (with the exception of work for which sanitary and hygienic restrictions are established by regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation);
2. the duration of part-time work for the specified categories of employees during a month is established by agreement between the employee and the employer, and for each employment contract it may not exceed:

– for medical and pharmaceutical workers - half of the monthly standard working hours, calculated from the established duration of the work week;

– for medical and pharmaceutical workers for whom half of the monthly standard working hours in their main job is less than 16 hours per week – 16 hours of work per week;

– for doctors and mid-level medical personnel of cities, districts and other municipalities where there is a shortage of them - the monthly standard working hours, calculated from the established duration of the work week. In this case, the duration of part-time work for specific positions in institutions and other organizations of federal subordination is established in the manner determined by federal executive bodies, and in institutions and other organizations under the jurisdiction of constituent entities of the Russian Federation or local governments - in the manner determined by state authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation or local governments;

– for junior medical and pharmaceutical personnel – the monthly standard of working hours calculated from the established duration of the working week.

At the same time, it is important to note that in accordance with the Federal Law of 21.11.2011 No. 323-FZ “On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens in the Russian Federation”, medical workers and pharmaceutical workers have the right to the basic guarantees provided for by labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, including:

1. creation by the head of the medical organization of appropriate conditions for the employee to perform his work duties, including provision of the necessary equipment, in the manner determined by Russian legislation;
2. professional training, retraining and advanced training at the expense of the employer in accordance with the labor legislation of Russia;
3. professional retraining at the expense of the employer or other funds provided for these purposes by the legislation of Russia, in the event of the impossibility of performing work duties due to health reasons and in the event of dismissal of employees due to a reduction in the number or staff, in connection with the liquidation of the organization;
4. passing certification to obtain a qualification category in the manner and within the timeframes determined by the authorized federal executive body, as well as differentiation of wages based on the results of certification;
5. incentives for labor in accordance with the level of qualification, the specificity and complexity of the work, the volume and quality of labor, as well as specific performance results;
6. creation of professional non-profit organizations;
7. insurance of the risk of their professional liability.

Failure to comply with the specifics of labor relations with medical and pharmaceutical workers may lead to incorrect calculation of wages, mandatory fees and payments, incorrect provision of leave, etc. In this regard, it is important, when formalizing labor relations, to take into account the established features of labor legislation for such categories of workers.

Consultation on dismissal of pharmaceutical and medical workers

Dismissal of an employee is often a complex and multifaceted issue. The presence in labor legislation of grounds for termination of an employment contract allows to terminate labor relations for various reasons, for example:

1. agreement of the parties;
2. expiration of the employment contract;
3. termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employee;
4. termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer;
5. transfer of the employee at his request or with his consent to work for another employer or transfer to an elective job (position);
6. refusal of the employee to continue work in connection with a change in the owner of the organization's property, with a change in the jurisdiction (subordination) of the organization or its reorganization, with a change in the type of state or municipal institution;
7. refusal of the employee to continue work in connection with a change in the terms of the employment contract determined by the parties, etc.

Considering that pharmaceutical and medical workers are singled out as a category of workers for whom certain features of labor relations have been established, it is important to take such features into account and comply with them as additional labor law regulations when terminating an employment contract.

The presence of specific features of labor relations for pharmaceutical and medical workers imposes certain obligations on the employer to comply with them. It is important, when maintaining personnel records in pharmaceutical and medical organizations, to strictly comply not only with the general labor law regulations, but also with additional obligations for this category of workers. Failure to comply with additional labor law regulations in relation to pharmaceutical and medical workers may lead to unfavorable consequences for the employer in the form of not only being held liable, but also in court cases with employees with the payment of additionally established guarantees.

Legal services

1. Consulting on employment and dismissal of healthcare professionals
2. Preparation of documents for employment or dismissal of healthcare professionals
3. Support for personnel records in pharmaceutical and medical companies
4. Development of local documents regulating labor issues in pharmaceutical and medical companies