On the issue of digitalization of labor relations: Theoretical and practical aspects

Abstract

The article analyzes the problem of using digital technologies and the online space within the framework of labor law, based not only existing regulatory legal acts but also legislative drafts in the field of the digitalization of labor relations. Therewithal, the purpose of the study is to generalize current and future Russian legislation, to manifest the contradictions and gaps in the legislation, to evaluate laws and regulations from a practical point of view, and to elaborate proposals for their improvement. For this purpose, the authors take into account the existing experience gained in the course of experiments on the introduction of electronic document management by individual employers. The achievement of the research goals is ensured by the use of the formal legal method. First of all, the article draws attention to the tendency of expanding the differentiation of the labor regulation, caused by many factors, including the informatization of all social relations. It is concluded that the transition to an innovative, socially-oriented economy is impossible without a flexible labor market with new areas of employment, including employment through the use of information technology resources. Analyzing the practical aspects of electronic workflow, the article covers the theoretical aspect of the existence of the so-called “information legal relationship” in the subject of labor law. The analysis of the legislative drafts and the current legislation focuses on controversial wording and emphasizes that their incorrectness creates high risks of labor disputes. The authors insist that when introducing an electronic workflow, the parties should be provided with an alternative to the actions. The authors defend the view that it is necessary to clarify the scope of information transmitted by the employer to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation when maintaining electronic employment record books with regard to the inclusion of information about employee awards in them. They also propose determining the procedures of the formation of human resources services in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. As a final point, it is concluded that all the proposed initiatives are aimed at ensuring the tasks of the state for the introduction of digital technologies in all areas of social life, including in labor relations, and, ultimately, at achieving the optimal balance between the interests of the parties of the labor relations and the interests of the state, which is the main goal of labor legislation.