Scheduled and unscheduled inspections of the labor inspectorate: procedure for appointment, conduct, registration

What is labor inspection?

A labor inspectorate is a specialized system of government bodies whose responsibilities include providing state supervision , as well as monitoring the compliance by employers with all the requirements specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Such supervision is ensured through regular inspections of organizations, regardless of their form of ownership.

In addition, the labor inspectorate has the right to inspect individuals who are in labor relations with other employees.

The main goals of the labor inspectorate include the following:

Verification of compliance with labor law requirements of management;
Control of social payments , as well as provision of state support for unemployed citizens and workers belonging to preferential categories;
Checking the organization’s compliance with all requirements specified in the Labor Safety Code;
Monitoring the procedure for carrying out investigations of various accidents at enterprises;
Monitoring the fulfillment of the duties of guardianship and trusteeship authorities in relation to incapacitated persons ;
Regulation of all kinds of labor disputes in the team of a company that receives government funding;
Providing all necessary information to employers and employees on various issues related to labor legislation;
Performing work condition to identify hazardous as well as dangerous conditions so that workers can receive appropriate compensation.

Reasons for checking by the labor inspectorate may include:

Fairly frequent salary delays;
A statement received from the employees of the enterprise, which contains facts of violation by the employer of the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
Incorrect calculation of the compensation amount paid in case of dismissal;
Receipt of complaints from employees of the organization, citing examples of violation of their labor rights;
The employer does not intend to conclude a corresponding employment contract with the employee;
There is no payment for overtime work, as well as various benefits;
An incorrectly drawn up employment contract, which may lead to a violation of the labor rights of company employees;
The working conditions created do not correspond to those specified in the employment contract;
An employee or team of an organization filed a complaint with a request for an inspection to determine whether the conditions of his workplace comply with the standards of the Labor Safety Code.

You can read more about wage laws here.

Grounds for an unscheduled inspection by the labor inspectorate

The reason for unscheduled inspections of the State Labor Inspectorate may be (Article 360 of the Labor Code):

the end of the period during which the employer had to eliminate the previously identified violation;
employee’s appeal (outlining the facts of violation of his rights by the employer);
a written request from an employee to check the conditions and labor protection at the enterprise where he works;
receipt of information about violations from various sources, for example, from officials of other departments or from the media (in the field of non-payment of wages, evasion of concluding an employment contract, non-compliance with labor protection requirements, etc.);
the presence of an order/instruction from the head of the State Tax Inspectorate (or his deputy) to conduct an inspection against certain employers, in accordance with the instructions of the President, the Government of the Russian Federation, at the request of the prosecutor.

An unscheduled inspection by the labor inspectorate based on an employee’s complaint is carried out more often than on other grounds. In the application, he must accurately indicate his personal data, since the State Tax Inspectorate does not consider anonymous requests. But he has the right to ask to hide them from the employer during the inspection (clause 2 of Article 358 of the Labor Code). Withdrawal of a complaint is not a reason to terminate the inspection or cancel its results.

Employees of the supervisory authority should clearly know when an unscheduled inspection of the labor inspectorate is carried out, and in what cases it is appointed. So, if there were no above-mentioned grounds for conducting an on-site inspection, this is a gross violation on the part of the inspectors (Article of Law No. 294-FZ). The results documented during such on-site activities are considered invalid and subject to cancellation at the request of the inspected employer - they do not serve as evidence of identified violations of labor laws.

The State Labor Inspectorate must notify the employer of the upcoming unscheduled inspection at least 24 hours in advance, except in cases where the basis for sudden on-site activities is an employee’s appeal regarding a violation of his labor rights, statements of violations that entail a threat of harm to the life and health of employees, which led to non-payment the period of wages, other payments due to employees, or the establishment of wages in an amount less than the minimum wage (Article 360 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Reasons

Typically, to conduct an unscheduled inspection, the period between scheduled inspections of organizations . It is important to understand in what cases a company may be subject to inspection.

The most common reasons include:

Statement by employees about a clear violation by employers of their labor rights;
Special order received from the head of the Rostrud body, issued in accordance with the requirements of the state government;
An application submitted by employees of the enterprise to Rostrud, confirming the facts of a threat to harm to the health and life of citizens at their workplaces;
Request from employees to verify the employer’s compliance with all requirements for working conditions and labor protection;
Expiration of the time allotted for the execution of a previously submitted demand to eliminate observed violations.

Scheduled and unscheduled inspections: what's the difference?

A scheduled inspection is carried out on the basis of a plan. It is regular and is carried out regardless of whether there are complaints against the company. This is a comprehensive procedure during which all aspects of the company's activities are checked.

An unscheduled inspection usually has certain grounds: complaints from workers, suspicion of illegal actions. The procedure is carried out regardless of when the previous planned event was carried out.

Grounds for scheduled and unscheduled inspections

The grounds for conducting an inspection are set out in Article 360 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. An unscheduled event is carried out under the following circumstances:

The deadline for executing the order to eliminate the offense issued earlier has expired.
The labor inspectorate received complaints against the employer from employees.
There is information that the employer is violating the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
The labor inspectorate received a request from a worker to check working conditions in the company.
A corresponding order was issued from the head of the inspection, issued on the basis of requests from the prosecutor and instructions from the Government.

Scheduled inspections are carried out every 3 years. The basis for its holding is the expiration of 36 months from the date:

implementation of the last planned event;
registration of individual entrepreneur or legal entity;
Submitting an individual entrepreneur or legal entity notification of the start of work.

ATTENTION! The schedule of scheduled inspections is posted in advance on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Stages and timing

There are several steps for checking labor commission inspectors:

Notifying the company management about the upcoming unscheduled inspection;
Studying the papers of interest, as well as conducting an on-site inspection of working conditions;
Drawing up an act in two copies;
If there are violations, an order to eliminate them.

According to current laws, the verification cannot last longer than twenty working days . However, if enterprises have branches, then the time is determined individually for each individual division.

The total period should take a maximum of sixty working days. Sometimes an extension of this period is allowed, but not more than twenty working days.

For micro-enterprises as well as small enterprises, the additional time should not exceed fifteen hours.

Inspection Notice

In order to conduct an unscheduled inspection in an organization (both on-site and documentary), the head of the territorial department of the labor inspectorate (his deputy) must issue the appropriate order (order) (Part 1 of Article 14 of the Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ). Its form was approved by order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated April 30, 2009 No. 141.

The labor inspectorate must notify the organization in advance of an unscheduled on-site inspection. She must do this in any available way no less than 24 hours before the start of the inspection (Part 16, Article 10 of the Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ). However, prior notice is not required if:

it is known that as a result of the employer’s activities, harm has been caused or is being caused to the life or health of citizens (Part 17 of Article 10 of the Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ);

The basis for an unscheduled inspection was an employee’s statement about a violation of his labor rights or other information indicating serious violations of labor legislation by the employer (Part 9 of Article 360 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Verified documents

During an unscheduled inspection, inspectors may legally require management to provide documents:

Constituent documents and documentation that establishes the specifics of the enterprise (memorandum of association, charter, various permits and licenses);
Regulatory documentation of local significance (staff and internal work schedules, vacation schedules, documents indicating the monthly salary payment system);
Regulatory documentation (shift schedules, documents establishing labor standards, procedures for certification of enterprises, etc.);
Various contractual documents (labor and collective contracts and agreements);
Administrative documentation (to describe the main activities and formation of personnel);
Information and reference documents (memos and statements of employees, acts with protocols, etc.);
Primary accounting documentation for recording the company's personnel, working hours, as well as salary payments (personal cards of employees, calculations for vacation or dismissal, time sheets);
Work records;
Registration form.

Unscheduled inspection of the labor inspectorate: documentary and on-site

An unscheduled inspection organized by the state labor inspectorate (abbreviated as GIT) comes in two types:

documentary:
away

Documentary verification is carried out on the territory of the GIT. Inspectors request from the organization or individual entrepreneur the necessary documents relating to labor relations. In particular, these may be:

agreements with employees, collective agreements;
pay slips, payslips;
vacation schedule;
Internal regulations of the company;
Regulations on employee bonuses and wages;
time sheets, etc.

The requested documentation is checked for compliance with labor legislation, correctness of execution, absence of errors and false information.

An unscheduled on-site inspection of the labor inspectorate is carried out on the employer’s premises. It is necessary when it is impossible to assess from documents whether the person being inspected fulfills the requirements established by labor legislation. For example, when leaving, the number of actually working employees, how the workplaces are equipped, and other information are clarified. An on-site inspection is also required if there is reason to doubt the accuracy and completeness of the documentation submitted to the inspectors.

Powers of inspectors

According to Government Decree No. 875, inspectors have a number of powers:

An unscheduled inspection of an enterprise can be carried out at any time of the day if there is an appropriate order and an inspection certificate;
They may require papers for examination not only from employers, but also from the authorities;
Take samples of various substances when drawing up relevant acts;
Conduct investigations of various accidents;
Issue instructions to the management of organizations to further eliminate identified violations;
Submit a claim to the court for temporary or complete cessation of the enterprise’s operation;
Attend court hearings as an expert.

Watch a video about the powers of labor inspectors:

results

After the inspection is fully completed, inspectors fill out the appropriate form in duplicate . One of them is provided to the company’s management, which has the right to reflect in this document its own agreement or disagreement with such results of the company’s audit.

If the head of the enterprise does not agree with the decision, then he can appeal it within the next fifteen working days .

If inspectors find any violations, the head of the enterprise is given an order to eliminate them . In addition, he may be subject to administrative liability. To appeal, you can contact the head of the inspection, the court, or a higher institution.