Legal positions of the Supreme Court in cases on division of labor and civil relations

Abstract

Problem setting. Of the large volume of cases before national courts, cases involving the distinction between labor and civil relations are of particular interest. Superficial familiarization with the practice of consideration of this type of labor disputes reveals the existence of conflicting enforcement approaches, sometimes contradictory to each other, which determines the need for a deeper understanding of the issues of disputes caused by such phenomena as concealment or replacement of labor relations.

The purpose of the research is to reveal the problematic issues of the distinction between labor and civil relations, both from the point of view of the existing doctrine of labor law, and through the prism of the existing rulemaking practice, aimed at improving national legislation on labor.

Analysis of resent researches and publications. The issues of the distinction between labor and civil relations have become the subject of scientific analysis in the writings of such scientists as O.V. Zabrodina, L.O. Zolotukhina, M.I. Inshin, R.A. Maidanik, S.M. Prilipko, Ya.V. Svichkaryova, D.I. Sirokha, N.V. Fedorchenko, O.M. Yaroshenko and others. At the same time, these issues require further research in order to develop comprehensive recommendations aimed at improving labor law.

Article’s main body. Among the specific number of court cases that are subject to the applicable rules of labor law are the two most common categories of cases through which the Supreme Court formulates legal positions on the distinction between labor and civil relations. The subject of the first category of cases are the demands of individuals on the recognition of relationships, formulated in the form of a civil contract labor. The subject of the second category of cases is disputes between employers and the State Service of Ukraine on labor issues on the recognition of illegal and the cancellation of prescriptions and resolutions of the state body. The analysis of the legal positions of the Supreme Court, formulated as a result of consideration of the above categories of cases, leads to the conclusion that the basic concept of the distinction between labor and civil relations, which is applied in the practice of the Supreme Court, is fully consistent with the doctrinal approach and is to determine the employment relationship, what relation, subject advocates the process of organization of work, not its result, with a further combination of the specified trait with other traits in each specific situation (duration of relationships, systematic the promptness of payment, the presence of signs of subordination, and others)..

Conclusion. In the case of disputes related to the concealment of labor relations or their replacement through the conclusion of civil contracts with employees, the case-law proceeds from the need for a systematic assessment of the content of contracts concluded between the parties for the purpose of revealing in their terms direct or indirect signs of employment relations. The approaches taken by the Supreme Court to distinguish between labor and civil relations certainly enrich the law-enforcement practice and, given the binding status of its rulings, help to formulate uniform approaches to the interpretation and application of the provisions of current law.