Legal status of the unemployed. The procedure and conditions for recognizing citizens as unemployed

What is a labor exchange and why join it?

The old-fashioned labor exchange is called Employment Centers (ECCs). You must contact this institution to obtain official unemployed status. And this gives access to some bonuses.

Unemployment benefit

Its size depends on the reasons for dismissal and other factors. Basically, the scheme is as follows: Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 31, 2021 No. 2393 “On the amounts of the minimum and maximum amounts of unemployment benefits for 2021”: in the first three months after registration with the Employment Center, the unemployed are paid 75% of the average earnings for three months in the last place work - but not less than the minimum benefit amount (currently 1,500 rubles) and not more than the maximum (currently 12,130 rubles). From the third to the sixth months - 60%, but not more than 5 thousand and not less than 1.5. Then they will stop giving benefits. You can apply for it again in another six months.

For pre-retirees, that is, those who have less than five years left before their well-deserved rest, the situation is different. For the first three months they are paid 75% of average earnings, for the second - 60%, then 45%. They can receive benefits for up to two years. The maximum is 12,130 rubles for the entire period.

But there are also those who will be given only the minimum wage and only for three months:

• those who have not worked for more than a year or never at all;
• those dismissed “under article” or expelled from the courses to which the Center of Education sent them;
• those who worked less than 26 weeks in the last calendar year;
• those who closed their individual entrepreneurs or left the peasant farm;
• those who received their salary in an envelope and now cannot confirm their income at their previous place of work.

The minimum and maximum in the regions may increase by decision of local authorities. When benefit payments are terminated, the unemployed person is not deregistered from the CZN. He remains registered and enjoys other bonuses.

Help in finding a new job

This option will not be useful to everyone. In general, employers are obliged by the Law of the Russian Federation of April 19, 1991 No. 1032‑1 “On Employment of the Population in the Russian Federation” to inform the Employment Center monthly about vacancies. So there may be very attractive positions on the labor exchange lists. But let's be realistic: if the place is tasty, the chance of getting to it through the central security zone is small.

But this is a good opportunity to find out about vacancies for representatives of blue-collar professions or public sector employees - doctors, teachers, kindergarten teachers, and so on.

Learning a new profession with a scholarship

The applicant can be sent for training free of charge. The courses are different in different areas. They train as boiler room operators and elevator operators, as well as marketers or florists. Depends on who the officials entered into agreements with and what is generally available in the city. In some places you can get a truly promising profession for free. The student will continue to be registered with the Central Education Center and receive benefits if they are assigned one.

Help in opening a sole proprietorship

In bureaucratic language this is called promoting self-employment for unemployed citizens. The point is that you register with the Center for Significance and declare your desire to open a business. Specialists will help you bring your idea to fruition, draw up a business plan, and send you to courses, if necessary. But the main thing is that you can get a subsidy Order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation dated December 24, 2013 No. 773n “On approval of the federal state standard of public services to promote self-employment of unemployed citizens, including provision to citizens recognized as unemployed in the established manner, and citizens recognized in the established manner order of the unemployed, who have undergone vocational training or received additional vocational education in the direction of the employment service, one-time financial assistance for their state registration as a legal entity, individual entrepreneur or peasant (farm) enterprise, as well as one-time financial assistance for the preparation of documents for the corresponding state registration " to open your own business. The amount depends on the region.

Work without qualifications

Speaking about the procedure for recognizing the unemployed and the legal status of the unemployed, it is worth noting that a citizen is automatically deprived of appropriate state support from the moment of official employment. If the job offered by the employment service authorities meets all the above conditions, regardless of whether the job is temporary, seasonal, or permanent, it is considered suitable. The applicant's refusal of two such offers deprives him of his legal status as unemployed. Citizens may be offered other vacancies. The main thing is that they do not contradict the requirements of regulatory legal acts of labor law. This category includes unemployed people who:

• have no work experience;
• did not receive special education (vocational, technical, higher);
• during the year preceding the application for acquiring the legal status of unemployed, they were fired several times;
• previously carried out entrepreneurial activities;
• wish to resume work after a 12-month break;
• received a referral from the employment service to undergo training, but were expelled for committing disciplinary offenses.

In addition, a suitable job cannot be considered one that involves a change of place of residence or involves receiving wages that do not reach the subsistence level, and the working conditions themselves do not meet legal requirements.

At the official level, unemployment is recognized as an inevitable socio-economic phenomenon in a number of modern states. In our country, the legal status of unemployed citizens implies the right of the unemployed population to carry out productive, freely chosen activities. Its implementation is facilitated by the assistance of the state in finding a suitable job, providing financial assistance during periods of unemployment, vocational training in relevant areas, and much more.

Who can get unemployed status

In principle, this is not necessary. No one will come to punish the unemployed for not being on the labor exchange, at least not yet. But not everyone will be registered at the employment center. Several conditions must be met:

• Don't have a job or income. And the second one is especially important. If you are an entrepreneur, even with zero income, a member of a farm, the founder of a commercial organization, or doing something to order, the state is not ready to consider you unemployed and pay benefits. Even if a person earns money unofficially, this may come to light later. And then he risks becoming a defendant in a criminal case of fraud of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 159.2. Fraud in receiving payments. The benefits already received, of course, will also have to be returned.
• Do not receive an old-age pension for long service.
• Be over 16 years old.
• Don't study in person.
• Do not undergo military or equivalent service.
• Be able to work, that is, have no contraindications to work and not receive a disability pension. Disabled people of working age can register with the Center for Labor Protection.
• Not be sentenced to imprisonment or correctional labor.

In general, in order to apply to the CZN, you need to be truly unemployed and not receive money.

Work ability is an important criterion

The meaning of individual points from the above should be briefly explained. So that you can better understand the concepts of ability to work and the legal status of the unemployed, first characterize them from a medical and legal point of view. Thus, there can be no prerequisites for recognition of a citizen who does not have official employment until he reaches his 16th birthday. At the same time, nothing prevents you from engaging in entrepreneurship or hired labor. Today, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows the employment of persons over 15 years of age, and in some cases, subject to additional conditions, 14-year-old teenagers.

The restriction also applies to the upper limits of working age: for women it is 55 years, for men – 60 years. Upon reaching these age limits, citizens acquire the right to state pension provision. At the same time, this rule also has its exceptions (reducing the retirement age on preferential terms, based on length of service, etc.). A disabled person of the first or second group will not be able to acquire the legal status of an unemployed person in the absence of a corresponding recommendation from the specialized commission of the VTEK, as well as a citizen sentenced to perform correctional labor or serving a sentence in prison.

What documents are needed to register at the labor exchange?

• Application - filled out on the spot if you submit it directly at the Employment Center, or online - if remotely. You can see approximately what it will look like by following the link.
• Identity card - a passport or a document that temporarily replaces it.
• Work record - if you have previously worked. However, after switching to electronic labor, you may not have it. Data is requested in your personal account on the Pension Fund website when ordering a certificate of employment. Although CZN employees may well obtain this information on their own. Therefore, check whether you need to bother with this.
• Documents on professional education - diplomas, certificates and all that.
• A certificate of average income for the last three months is needed for those who have just quit or have been laid off. It is given in the accounting department of the previous place of work. Also find out about the need to provide it, because data on this is available in the Pension Fund.

It’s better to call the central office before submitting documents and ask what they want to see, taking into account your personal characteristics. For example, able-bodied people with disabilities may need an individualized rehabilitation plan.

Can an unemployed person do an internship while receiving unemployment benefits?

There are widespread cases when a citizen needs to undergo an internship in order to decide on employment in a particular organization. The internship can be paid or unpaid. If everything is clear with the definition of a paid internship, then let us explain what an unpaid internship is.

Unpaid internship is work performed free of charge for the benefit of others in order to gain experience or work skills. Thus, an unemployed person works without pay, in the interests of others. And in this case, the question again arises about the presence or absence of fraud when receiving payments.

On the one hand, we observe that unpaid internship is a type of work activity. On the other hand, we observe the absence of any payments in favor of an unemployed citizen. And there are fears that employers will massively introduce any terms of unpaid short-term or long-term internships, including instead of apprenticeship contracts. This risk is especially relevant in the context of a total ban on almost all types of activities due to coronavirus and self-isolation (the constitutionality of which is extremely doubtful, since it directly violates Part 3 of Article 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

However, we believe that internships in such cases are acceptable.

How to join the labor exchange

First you need to decide which employment center you should contact. And here you should answer yourself why you are doing this. To obtain unemployed status, benefits and all the possibilities of the exchange, you must contact the institution at the place of registration.

You can find the required cost center on the “Work of Russia” website. To avoid going there again, it’s better to call in advance and find out whether you really should go there, and at the same time, what to bring with you.

Now it is possible to submit documents online. It appeared in 2021 due to the pandemic as temporary, with a certain validity period. But it has already been extended several times. For now, it is possible to contact the Central Control Center remotely until the end of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 30, 2021 No. 1278 “On amending paragraph 3 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 8, 2020 No. 460” 2021. But this may not be the final solution.

You can fill out documents online through the special website “Work in Russia”. For authorization, you will need a login and password from Gosuslug.

Click on the “Submit Application” icon. You will be redirected to a brief instruction that clarifies the main points of obtaining unemployed status. And also to the “Apply for benefits” button.

If you are not yet authorized on the portal, enter the data from State Services. And then click the “Submit Application” button again.

Then fill out the document. Personal data is pulled from State Services. But you will need to attach a resume, tell about your last place of work, and provide contact information.

Then all that remains is to submit the application and wait for the result.

Refund of unemployment benefits. In what cases is it performed?

Refund of unemployment benefits is provided in case of illegal receipt (fraudulently), namely:

• provision of knowingly false or unreliable information, which gives rise to employment centers to thoroughly check each person applying for the status of unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits regarding the accuracy of the information provided by him about the lack of work, length of service in the work book, wages at the last place of work, etc. ;
• the presence of a paid place of work during the period of receiving unemployment benefits, which gives rise to the obligation for employment centers to completely check each unemployed person to see if he has a paid place of work during the period of receiving unemployment benefits and whether he has unemployed status;
• cases of receiving unemployment benefits as a result of a technical or arithmetic error.

The return of unemployment benefits can be made both out of court and in court. Considering that unemployment benefits are mere pennies, this area of ​​legal relations may also contain risks of various abuses by officials of employment authorities.

How long will it take to register at the labor exchange?

The employment center has no more than 11 RF Law of April 19, 1991 No. 1032‑1 “On Employment in the Russian Federation” days. During this period, the CZN employee must offer you two suitable vacancies, but only if they are available. If you refuse both, you will not be registered. A similar outcome awaits if you don’t get in touch with the labor exchange and don’t even consider their options.

Suitable jobs are those that match education and health. The place of work must be located so that it can be reached by public transport. And the salary is not lower than the subsistence level, or at least the income in the previous place, if it was less than this level.

True, there are categories of people for whom any position will be considered suitable Law of the Russian Federation of April 19, 1991 No. 1032-1 “On employment in the Russian Federation”. This applies to those who:

• has never worked before and has no qualifications or is employed after a break of more than a year;
• contacted the central labor repair center after seasonal work;
• closed the individual entrepreneur or left the farm;
• refused to study, improve their qualifications or was expelled from courses;
• within a year he was fired “under article”.

If there are no vacancies or the employer chose another candidate after the interview, on the eleventh day or earlier (but not later) you should receive unemployed status or a refusal with an explanation of why. If the answer is positive, the benefit, if any, is assigned from the day of application, and not from the eleventh day.

Why can they be rejected at the labor exchange?

Legally you are not unemployed

For example, you haven’t closed your individual entrepreneur, although you don’t continue to operate. Or you have entered into a civil law agreement with someone, but its term has not expired or it is indefinite. You haven’t collaborated for a long time and haven’t received any money from this company. But you can do it at any time, because there is an agreement - that’s how the TsZN will judge. Therefore, it is necessary to settle the formalities with the papers.

You are not considered able to work

A child under 16 years old will not be able to join the labor exchange, even if he wants to. They will also refuse a mother with a child under 1.5 years old.

You broke the rules

For example, they refused to go for an interview for the position that the inspector offered you.

What to do when you register with the employment center

It is better to check with the employee with whom you interact. Typically, contact needs to be made once every two months or less. From time to time, the inspector will offer you vacancies, and you will have to go for an interview within three days. As a result, you will either receive a job offer or a refusal. Moreover, the latter must be issued in the form of a certificate, which must be brought to the central control center. It is better to follow the rules, otherwise you may lose benefits or registration on the exchange, but more on that later.

Why can they be deregistered at the Employment Center?

There are several reasons for this, Law of the Russian Federation of April 19, 1991 No. 1032‑1 “On employment in the Russian Federation”. A person will be deregistered from the labor exchange if he:

• is no longer considered unemployed, that is, he began to receive income or a pension, was drafted into the army, sentenced to a real prison term, and so on;
• does not come to the inspector for re-registration for a long time without good reason;
• was registered with the Center for Significance by deception, although he had no right to do so;
• moved - in this case you will need to register in a new place;
• he himself renounced his unemployed status;
• died.

In addition, benefits may be suspended for a month. This happens if you violate the rules of interaction with the central control center. For example, coming to the inspector drunk or skipping classes at vocational training courses that the exchange sent you to.

Who is considered unemployed in our country?

To classify a citizen into the appropriate category, several requirements established by law are required. At first glance, it may seem that they are all simple, and therefore everyone who fulfills the minimum conditions will be able to acquire the legal status of an unemployed person. The procedure for recognizing citizens as unemployed is an effective legal mechanism that makes it possible to distinguish between people who truly need government assistance and those who do not intend to work, but only plan to profit from “easy” budget funds.

A citizen who:

• is an able-bodied person;
• has no sources of funds;
• ready to start work that suits his qualifications and professional skills;
• registered as a person seeking the relevant occupation.