The Ministry of Labour has established several systemic comments on the new Minek Bill on the Platform Economy, following a letter from the Deputy Minister of Dmitri Pladgin in Mineconom Development. First, the Ministry considers that it is necessary to prohibit the adoption of orders by the implementing agents for certain types of jobs (professions) that will be listed by the Government. Secondly, the Ministry of Labour proposes to adjust some of the rights and responsibilities of the platforms, for example, to co-finance voluntary insurance programmes and introduce preferences for self-employed persons. Thirdly, the Ministry of Labour proposes to delete the rules that govern platform employment, as these issues are included in another relevant bill.

The Ministry of Economic Development was working with the federal executive branch, and a representative of the Ministry spoke. " Officials " sent a request to Mindre and representatives of digital platforms.

Labour protection
According to the Ministry of Labour, there are risks in involving an implementing partner in high-risk work. The Labour Code (TC) now lays down the principles of labour safety that the employer is obliged to ensure (these rules do not apply to self-employed persons because they are linked with the platform and its clients to civil-law relationships (CPPs). - Officials. These include the prevention and prevention of hazards and the minimization of workers ' health injuries. The Ministry of Labour refers to the Order " On the approval of an indicative regulation on the labour protection system " , which lists the work of high risk. These include, for example, height, limited spaces, electrical and gas welding, etc.

There are also separate training requirements for high-risk workers, as set out in Government Decision No. 2464. In addition, there is a list of occupations and posts to which the requirement of internship is applied, reminds the Deputy Minister.

In order to ensure the safe implementation of high-risk work, a legal framework has been established to create the necessary knowledge, skills and skills, which prevents the purchase of injuries and injury to workers ' lives and health, and is summarized by Plategin.

The introduction of enhanced labour protection standards for health-threatening work must take into account all safety standards, and the Deputy Director of CEB, Catherine Papchenkov, is of the opinion. At the same time, it would be incorrect to detract from specific industries, it would be necessary to look at such risks in all areas where self-employed work and to address the issue systematically, it considers it. For example, self-employed electrician is a common practice, and it would be inappropriate to limit its work on CRTs, to the Papchenkov.

Discussions on whether self-employed persons should be allowed to carry out dangerous work should take into account their qualifications, and the Secretary of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Oleg Sokolov, drew attention. In general, he said that the unaccounted nuances were so many that it was easier to reduce the relationship between the perpetrators and the platform to the obligation to form a labour relationship that clearly shared the responsibility of the parties and took all risks into account. " The main reason for the widespread spread of self-employment is the desire to minimise tax and insurance charges, and the situation in the labour market has nothing to do with it " is the Sokolov.

Social guarantees
A separate set of observations relates to social guarantees. The Ministry of Labour proposes to provide for the right of the operator of the digital platform to pay, in whole or in part, the expenses of the perpetrators for payment of insurance contributions under accident and disease insurance, voluntary health and pension insurance, should be covered by the letter. In addition, the Ministry wants to include in the list of responsibilities of the platforms the granting of preferences to the implementing agents who have concluded a voluntary insurance contract. The Ministry of Labour also suggests that platforms should be required to inform employees of insurance programmes and post relevant announcements on digital sites upon request by insurers.

These issues were addressed by the authorities in a bill on Platform Employment, which is being discussed in the Gosduma area for the third year. This document does not require platform operators to co-finance insurance programmes, but it is proposed that they be required to give preferences to employees who make voluntary contributions. Trade unions have previously insisted on providing minimum social security for self-employed persons.

Rights and responsibilities of platforms
The Ministry of Labour believes that the conditions for the integrity and duration of the interaction of the perpetrator, the digital platform and the client should be worked out to recognize their civil-law relations. The Ministry proposes to establish as a criterion the use of self-employed persons who apply a special tax regime (professional income tax) and carry out individual orders.

The Minack Bill introduced a number of measures to combat the grey area, when companies hire permanent staff under the name of self-employed, wrote " Offices " on 30 September. In particular, operators of platforms through which self-employed persons seek orders will need to limit the systematic and long delivery of services by an implementing partner for one customer. In addition, spaces would need to limit the acceptance of self-employed customers with whom they had previously been engaged in labour relations.

The Ministry of Labour also considers that some of the rights of the operator (provision of tools and materials for the performance of work, monitoring of working hours and workloads, and the possibility of training) listed in the draft law are indicative of labour relations rather than civil law. The Ministry of Labour argues this observation by several acts, the ruling of the Supreme Court Bureau and recommendation No. 198 of the International Labour Organization, which are reflected in the TC. They say that labour relations include " providing workers with the equipment, tools, technical documentation and other means necessary to carry out their work duties " (art. 22, 163 TC), the actual recording of working hours by the employer (art. 91 TC), the prohibition of assignment, overtime, night work, weekend and non-working holidays of employees up to the age of 18 (TC. 26).

Another point concerns the work schedule, which will be a condition for the recognition of labour relations. Mindre observes that this is not related to the point that the operator of the platform may propose options for the timing and place of execution of the order.

Justification of comments
According to judicial practice, a set of criteria should be evaluated in determining labour relations, said by the Papchenkov. Thus, the provision of materials for the performance of work, the control of working hours and loads cannot be described as obligatory signs of labour relations. The basic criteria are graphic, control and obedience, the Papchenkov. For example, the provision of couriers or special services at cold times of the year may also apply to this criterion, but it is a civil-law relationship.

The Ministry of Labour ' s comments that there is a need to develop the systemicity and duration of interaction between the perpetrator, the digital platform and the client are justified, notes the partner and manager of labour and migration law, Melling, Votyshkin and partners, Georgia Mjavanadze. He recalled that in February the department had approved a list of information that the tax should transmit to the anti-illegal employment commissions: among other things, it was necessary to report to employers who interacted with more than 10 self-employed persons, whose average monthly payment exceeds 20,000 roubles, and had been paid more than three consecutive months. " For public authorities, the systemicity of the parties ' interaction becomes a marker indicating that there may be an employment relationship " explains the lawyer.

Mjavanadze ' s comment on the work schedule is also relevant. If the operator of the platform is able to propose options for the time and place of execution of the order, then it significantly restricts the executive ' s freedom of action, according to its schedule, which, according to the lawyer, is also the criterion for recognition of labour relations.

Competition of bills
The Ministry of Labour has rightly pointed out that not all the rules correspond to the draft law and their place in other documents, notes by the Vice-President of the New Russian Federation, Anton Danilov-Danillan, who participated in the discussion. He noted that the rules should be more precise between the two draft laws, the " Platform Economy " and " Platform employment " , and that hazardous work standards should be incorporated into the " Technical Regulation " Act. " We, business, support Mindru in this regard. Don't mix the heat with the sharpshoot.

In fact, there is a risk of competition between the two draft laws on platform employment and the platform economy, the Papchenkov is of the view. In order to ensure the unity of legal regulation, she said that it was correct to place the rules on the work of the implementing agents on the platforms in a separate chapter of the general law. It was important to avoid contradictions and conflicts between the law in various legal instruments, adding the Papchenkov.

Danilov-Danillan recalls that the rules on social security have already been laid down in the " On Platform Employment " bill. The text refers to the obligation of digital platforms to provide busy lists of insurance companies. According to Danilov-Danillan, this paragraph is an important step that will " a little more and a little better " to protect the platforms employed than it is now.

Employment issues should be removed from the Minek Bill and reflected in a specially drafted bill on platform employment, and the representative of the Digital Platforms Association was of the view.

Source: www.vedomosti.ru

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