Judicial protection of employee rights, appeal to a lawyer

Among the bodies to which a foreigner can turn for protection of his rights, the court occupies a special place.

The right to judicial protection in the Republic of Belarus is the individual's opportunity to seek protection of his rights and freedoms in a competent, independent and impartial court within the time limits established by law.

The provisions of the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus apply to labor relations involving foreigners.

Courts consider individual labor disputes based on applications from an employee, employer or trade union protecting the employee's interests when they disagree with the decision of the labor dispute committee or when the employee goes to court bypassing the labor dispute committee, as well as based on the application of the prosecutor if the decision of the labor dispute committee does not comply with labor legislation and other acts containing labor law norms.

The court considers labor disputes based on an application:

1. on the invalidity of the employment contract in cases provided for by the Labor Code (Article 22);
2. of the employee or employer if they disagree with the decision of the labor dispute committee;
3. of the employee if the labor dispute committee has not considered his application within the prescribed ten-day period;
4. of the prosecutor if the decision of the labor dispute committee contradicts the legislation.

Labor disputes based on applications are considered directly in court:

1. employees working for employers where labor dispute committees have not been established;
2. employees who are not trade union members if they have not applied to the labor dispute committee;
3. employees on reinstatement regardless of the grounds for termination of the employment contract, on changing the date and wording of the reason for dismissal, on payment for the time of forced absence or performing lower-paid work, except for disputes of employees for whom a different procedure for their consideration is provided;
4. employers for compensation for material damage caused by employees;
5. employees on the application of labor legislation, which in accordance with the legislation was resolved by the employer and the trade union within the powers granted to them;
6. employees on the employer's refusal to draw up an act on an accident or disagreement with its content.

Disputes on refusal to conclude an employment contract with are also considered directly in court:

1. persons invited to work by way of transfer from another employer;
2. graduates to whom a place of work is provided by way of distribution, assignment to work, arriving to work for a specific employer;
3. other persons with whom the employer is obliged to conclude an employment contract in accordance with the legislation;
4. persons for discriminatory reasons.

Unlike appeals to the prosecutor's office and the Department, an employee must comply with certain deadlines to go to court.

Employees can go to court within three months from the day they learned or should have learned about the violation of their rights, and in cases of dismissal - within one month from the day of receiving a copy of the dismissal order or from the day of issuing the work book with a record of the basis for termination of the employment contract, or from the day of refusal to issue or receive these documents.

For an employer to go to court on issues of recovering material damage caused by an employee, the deadline is one year from the date of detection of the damage.

These deadlines apply when the prosecutor goes to court.

If these deadlines are missed for valid reasons, they can be restored by the court.

Complaints filed after three years from the date of entry into force of the court decision on refusal to reinstate at work are not subject to consideration.

In accordance with the civil procedural legislation of the Republic of Belarus, all disputes arising from labor relations are considered in the district court. An employee should apply to the court at the place of residence of the employer - the address of state registration of the employer (legal address).

Employees are exempt from paying the state fee for filing a statement of claim with the court to protect their violated rights.

In court, a foreign employee has the right, if he does not speak (or does not speak well enough) the language of the proceedings, to familiarize himself with the case materials and participate in judicial actions through an interpreter, as well as the right to speak in court in the language he usually uses.

For labor disputes in court, a shortened period for consideration and resolution of cases is provided (for claims arising from labor legal relations, the period of consideration is one month from the date of acceptance of the application, while the general period for consideration of a civil case in the district court is two months).

In case of illegal dismissal, the employee can count on being reinstated in his previous job and the recovery of average earnings for the period of forced absence.

In cases of termination of the employment contract without a legal basis, as well as illegal transfer, movement, change of essential terms of employment or suspension from work, the body considering the labor dispute restores the employee to his previous job, previous workplace, and previous essential terms of employment.

If the court considers it impossible or inappropriate to reinstate the employee for reasons not related to the commission of guilty actions by the employee, it has the right to propose and, with the consent of the employee, impose on the employer the obligation to pay the employee compensation in the amount of ten times the average monthly earnings.

In cases of reinstatement of an employee in their previous job, as well as changing the wording of the reason for dismissal that prevented the employee from getting a new job, they are paid average earnings for the period of forced absence from work. In case of illegal transfer, movement, change of essential terms of employment, or suspension from work, the employee is paid average earnings for the period of forced absence from work or the difference in earnings for the period of performing lower-paid work.

In cases of dismissal without a legal basis or with a violation of the established dismissal procedure, or illegal transfer to another job, the court has the right, at the request of the employee, to make a decision on compensation for moral damage caused to him by these actions. The amount of moral damage is determined by the court.

A decision or ruling on reinstatement at work, in the previous workplace, or restoration of previous essential terms of employment, are subject to immediate execution.

If the employer delays the execution of such a decision or ruling, then the employee is paid average earnings or the difference in earnings for the period of delay from the date of the decision or ruling until the date of its execution.

In accordance with the civil procedural legislation, a court decision on the payment of wages to an employee is also subject to immediate execution, but not more than for one month.

Recovery from an employee of the amounts paid to him by court decision in a labor dispute, if the decision is revoked by supervision, is allowed only in cases where the revoked decision was based on false information provided by the employee or forged documents submitted by him.

The specifics of regulating the labor of migrant workers and immigrant workers are established by legislation and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

Labor and related relations of foreign workers of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states accredited in the Republic of Belarus are regulated by the legislation of the respective foreign state.

A court decision that has not entered into legal force may be appealed in cassation to the cassation instance within ten days from the date of the decision or the delivery of the decision to the cassator upon his request with a reasoned part.

The prosecutor or deputy prosecutor brings a protest against the court decision regardless of whether he participated in the case.

Contact information for courts in the Republic of Belarus

More detailed information with addresses and phone numbers of the courts of the Republic of Belarus is available at the link: http://www.court.by/court_apply/rai/.

More detailed information on applying to the courts is available at the link: http://www.court.by/.

APPEAL TO A LAWYER

A foreign worker can seek legal assistance from a lawyer at the Bar Association.

Lawyers provide clients with the following types of legal assistance:

• provide advice and explanations on legal issues;
• draw up statements, complaints and other legal documents;
• represent clients' interests in courts, including at the stage of enforcement of court decisions, as well as in state bodies, other organizations, including their governing bodies, and before individuals;
• participate in pre-trial proceedings and court in criminal cases as a defender, as well as a representative of victims, civil plaintiffs, civil defendants;
• participate in the administrative process as a defender, representative of the victim, other individuals or legal entities who are participants in the administrative process;
• conduct a legal assessment of documents and activities;
• carry out legal work to ensure economic and other activities;
• carry out legal work on attracting investments to the Republic of Belarus;
• perform legally significant actions on behalf of and in the interests of clients within the powers granted to them by the client and the legislation;
• provide other types of legal assistance.

Thus, a foreign worker can turn to a lawyer to protect his labor rights for the following assistance:

• advice and explanations on labor legislation;
• drawing up a statement of claim to the court, complaint, inquiries and other legal documents in labor matters;
• representation of their interests in the courts in a labor case, as well as in state bodies and other organizations;
• other necessary legal assistance.

Legal assistance is provided by lawyers on the basis of an agreement for the provision of legal assistance on a fee-paying basis.

Lawyers in the Republic of Belarus provide free legal assistance in the courts of first instance in the conduct of cases related to labor legal relations (representation of the employee's interests in court), including foreign citizens and stateless persons.

In order for a lawyer to represent the interests of a foreign worker in the court of first instance free of charge, it is necessary to apply to the head of the legal advisory office of the respective district.

Contact information for the Bar Associations of the Republic of Belarus

More detailed information on contacting a lawyer with addresses and phone numbers of bar associations is available at: http://www.rka.by/.