Businesses are skeptical: experts assessed the potential risks of introducing a six-day period

The idea of ​​fixing the six-day working week in the Labor Code was proposed by the association of businessmen for the development of business patriotism “Avanti”. The “patriotic businessmen” argue that increasing the working hours of citizens will help, in the face of sanctions, to implement the tasks outlined by the president. The Ministry of Labor did not support the idea, noting that the legislation is already quite flexible and the parties can form the work schedule themselves.

Vitaly Fedin, head of the expert center for labor relations and labor protection Delovaya Rossiya, co-founder of SRG, points out that the introduction of compulsory six-day work would, first of all, contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which establishes the right of every citizen to work and rest. The five-day working week, according to the expert, has already established itself as the most optimal format.

The transition to the six-day work week will cause a deterioration in working conditions, which will imply risks to the health of workers and a decrease in the quality of life of the population as a whole.

It is the trust and involvement of the employees that can guarantee that the values ​​of the employees correspond to the values ​​and ideas of the company, adds the specialist.

Not everyone agrees with this view of the six-day period. Avito Rabota points out that an increase in the working week by one day does not necessarily mean an increase in the burden on employees. According to the general director of the platform, Artem Kumpel, thanks to the six-day deadline, the usual working day can be shortened. The specialist refers to the risks of such changes, the complication of the business due to the discrepancy between the new schedule and the employment of the company’s partners, who can maintain the traditional five-day regime.

who recycles more

According to Avito Rabota, healthcare workers often face overtime. In addition, representatives from the financial and IT sectors often work overtime.

The bank for entrepreneurs and companies “Tochka” said that the employees of the organization manage to complete all or most of the tasks in five days. There is no need to call workers on weekends.

According to Tochka’s HR business partner Elvira Farvazova, to increase business efficiency, one should not increase the load on the team, but rather improve the focus of the work process.

He stressed that work-life balance is necessary to maintain high quality of work. It is critically important that employees have full days off, when they can be completely distracted from work tasks. Tochka currently employs more than 3,500 people, but improved internal processes and increased automation help prevent overburdening everyone on the team.

In general, the company provides the team with a flexible schedule, in which the focus is on the result and not on the number of hours spent in the workplace.

A similar approach is followed at Skyeng online English school. The Head of Employee Relations, Skyeng Anastasia Yurchikhina, notes that the concept of the company’s six-day period is not closed. According to her, the effectiveness of employees depends mainly on their participation in the process. It is the specialists involved who approach their tasks most responsibly.

If team members have less personal time, their motivation will decrease and, conversely, the risk of burnout will increase.

Skyeng’s management can compensate employees for some overtime with additional pay, but the company is trying to control the workload and psychological state of the employees.

How current legislation regulates recycling

According to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov, the additional workload must be established as part of a personal dialogue between the parties and overtime must be paid separately.

The lawyer, a member of the Russian Bar Association, Marina Astaeva, explained what limits exist in this matter.

Under what conditions can an employee be asked to work more than 40 hours a week?

— An employee’s participation in overtime is permitted only with their written consent (except for exceptions related to disaster relief or military/states of emergency). It is important to note that the duration of overtime must not exceed for each employee four hours on two consecutive days and 120 hours per year.

How are overtime paid?

— According to art. 152 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, overtime work is paid for the first two hours at least one and a half times, and for the following hours – at least twice the amount. In accordance with art. 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, work on a day off or holiday is paid at least twice the amount: for piece-rate workers – at least at double rates; employees whose work is paid at daily and hourly rates, in the amount of at least twice the daily or hourly rate. In order for overtime to be paid in accordance with the law, it is necessary to have written confirmation that the employee has worked overtime.

In general, the interviewed experts and market participants agree with the position of the Ministry of Labor: the parties can elaborate a work schedule individually, there is no need to fix the six-day period in the Labor Code.