How to file a complaint to the prosecutor's office against an employer

When to file a complaint

First you need to find out what situations are sufficient grounds for filing a letter of complaint. In particular, what violations of the labor rights of subordinates are punishable according to the Labor and Civil Codes of Russia. For example, the following violations are common:

• transfer of responsibilities that are not within the direct competence of the employee (according to the employment contract) and punishment for failure to fulfill them;
• assignment of a disproportionately large amount of work and transfer to another position without consent;
• failure to fulfill obligations to pay wages (they do not pay at all, they pay less or are greatly delayed, they are underpaid for overtime);
• violation of labor standards and unfair reprimands;
• refuse to provide leave on statutory holidays;
• groundless dismissal, refusal to provide mandatory payments and work records;
• refusal to register an employee and provide him with social guarantees.

As a rule, violations are related to monetary issues and ensuring comfortable working conditions. If you have become a victim of such violations, you cannot tolerate it, but you should immediately complain to the authorized bodies.

How not to get unsubscribed

I do not exclude the possibility that your first letters to the prosecutor will end in receiving a formal response. This occurs due to a lack of understanding of the jurisdiction in considering those issues that are sent to this structure. Over time, you will become clearer in which cases a direct appeal to the prosecutor is more effective, and in which cases preliminary correspondence with third-party organizations is required. That is why here I have tried to outline in detail how to correctly file an appeal to the prosecutor’s office, a sample of which is given above.

I wish you good luck and perseverance in defending your interests!

Where should I complain about violations committed by my employer?

There are several authorities in Russia that are authorized to resolve such conflict situations. But before asking for their help, it might be more rational to try to resolve the situation without bringing the conflict to the masses. More precisely, talk to your superiors.

If this doesn't work, it's time to take drastic measures. For example, you can write a complaint and send it to the following authorities:

• Labour Inspectorate;
• prosecutor's office;
• court.

Each of the authorities under consideration has its own operating features, which should be discussed in more detail before deciding where exactly to write.

How to complain to the labor inspectorate

The first place that comes to mind as soon as the fact of unfair treatment of an employee by management is recorded is the labor inspectorate. But given the narrow competence of the body in question, it should be taken into account which issues it can consider and which it cannot. Thus, you should complain here in the following cases:

• if they do not want to formalize the employee for the position;
• the person does not receive a salary or it is not paid in full;
• are denied leave;
• irregular schedule that does not include rest;
• workplace standards were violated.

After receiving a complaint, an unscheduled inspection of the company will follow. If the described facts are confirmed, the management will receive a fine and a reprimand, and will also be obliged to get rid of the identified shortcomings.

Review period

The maximum period allowed by law for the consideration of civil complaints is 1 month. During this time, specialists will verify the facts presented by the victims and make a decision. If no verification is required, a response will be received within 2 weeks. In addition, within 7 days the complaint can be returned to the authors for revision if its content is considered incomplete.

If illegal actions were committed simultaneously against several persons, they should write a collective complaint to the prosecutor. Such an appeal will be considered as a priority and the problem will be resolved as quickly as possible. Employees of the prosecutor's office have sufficient powers to suppress criminal activities and protect the violated rights of citizens of the Russian Federation. If the issue cannot be resolved within the competence of the department, then in the response to the complaint you will be indicated by the structures to which the application was submitted.

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Contacting the prosecutor's office

Law enforcement agencies can also help significantly, but you can contact them in the following situations:

• an unfair fine was imposed on the employee;
• labor is not paid (including overtime), or is paid with so-called “gray” wages;
• the salary received by employees is below the subsistence level;
• management exerts psychological or even physical violence against employees;
• the employee was fired without valid reasons or forced to resign.

The prosecutor's office will further investigate the case. At the same time, they are guided by the norms of labor legislation.

How to properly file a complaint

Success in solving a problem situation is possible only if the document is drawn up correctly. The following structure must be followed in a complaint against an employer:

1. A cap. The details of the authority to which the document is sent are indicated (address and name of the department).
2. Applicant details. Full name, address, contacts (telephone).
3. Main part. The reason for filing the complaint, demands, etc. is indicated.
4. Additional materials. List of evidence confirming the fact of violation.
5. Date and signature of the applicant.

You can write a complaint by hand on A4 sheet or type it on a computer, only signing it by hand.

How to write a collective statement?

A request to the prosecutor's office, signed by two or more persons, has a lot of features when drafting it. Differences exist not only in the “header”, but also in the text section. Features of a standard collective statement:

1. "A cap" . The name of the prosecutor's office, full name and full name are displayed here. leader. Then the list is listed (full name and addresses of the group of applicants). This point is difficult due to the possibly large number of applicants, therefore, sometimes a group of applicants appoints a representative of the team. You can write, “... From the team of the organization...”, however, in this example, in an additional document you need to display a list of persons filing a claim.
2. Information section. There are some difficulties here. In one appeal it is required to display all the unlawful actions from which the complainants suffered. This is not easy to do, since it is necessary to simultaneously describe the interests of each person and combine these interests to satisfy the entire team. Therefore, as a rule, collective claims are quite voluminous.
3. Final part. This section is also quite solid. It must display all the evidence supported by documents, certificates, certificates, and other materials that many citizens have applied to. After compiling a list of materials, it is necessary to establish the date of writing and signatures of all participants. All applicants must sign, otherwise the claim will be invalid.

Collective complaints

A complaint can be made by one person or by a whole team. The rights of the collective are also violated, since usually the negligence of management affects almost all or most workers. But to file a collective complaint, you need to follow the rules and adhere to the norms.

If you need to draw up a document on behalf of a team, the following features follow:

• the preparation of the document is carried out jointly;
• the complaint must be signed by all applicants or their representative;
• the names and contacts of all applicants are indicated;
• Only those people who really suffered from the actions of their superiors should write a complaint.

Not all of its members, but only a representative, should represent the interests of the team. It is this person who will cooperate with the authorities where the complaint or claim was filed (in case of litigation). It is important that the representative has a power of attorney certified by a notary.

Advantages

This type of complaint to the prosecutor’s office has a lot of positive features that set it apart from other complaints. An application to the prosecutor's office submitted by several citizens has the following advantages :

1. More carefully considered. Since checking for violations of rights concerns a large number of victims at once, employees will have to check several violations at once , which already have something in common. Overall, this connection makes the employees' work much easier;
2. Rarely ignored. While individual cases of filing an application can still be ignored, a collective complaint cannot simply be lost or rejected. In practice, cases of citizens returning such a complaint to the prosecutor's office are rare and occur only when there are any errors in the documents;
3. Much more often they give a positive result. This is mainly due to the fact that it is much more difficult to defend against a group of applicants, since they have pre-prepared evidence and defense.

Info

As you can see, it will be easy to defend your rights with a collective complaint. However, the biggest problems you will encounter are at the stage of its registration. An incorrectly drafted complaint will not only stall the proceedings, but may even lead to the application being rejected.

How to send a complaint: choose the most convenient method

We figured out where to send the document, now we need to figure out how to make sure that the complaint gets to the right place. You can use the following methods:

• Come to government agencies in person. To do this, you need to take documents (passport) with you.
• Using the services of representatives. The form for writing a complaint is standard, but the representative must have a power of attorney.
• By mail (including courier). Sending is done by registered mail with a list of attachments. In return, you should receive a notification of receipt with the signature of the person who accepted the document.
• In electronic format. On the website of the authority you need, you need to fill out a special form.

You should contact your local business registration office. The complaint must be considered within 30 days from the date of receipt. The deadline may also be extended. If evidence is attached to the complaint, consideration of the problem will begin within two weeks after filing.

The procedure for considering complaints by the prosecutor's office

After receiving the application, employees of the prosecutor's office determine the jurisdiction of the body to which the applicant applied. If the appeal is subject to consideration by another prosecutorial body, the application is forwarded to such body, and the applicant is required to be notified of this.

Once received by the subordinate body of the prosecutor's office, the deadline for responding to your appeal may be:

• 15 days – if your application does not require additional verification;
• 30 days – in case an employee of the prosecutor’s office has to investigate additional circumstances of your application;
• More than 30 days, if the prosecutor needs to request documents from other government bodies.

After consideration of the appeal, you will be sent a response, which will indicate whether a violation of the law has been identified or the absence of such a fact. Regardless of the answer, you have the right to appeal the results of the prosecutor's audit.

Is anonymous submission possible?

Because employees are often reluctant to complain about violations of their rights for fear that their work may be negatively affected, anonymity is of interest to many complainants. For example, a manager, having learned that a certain employee is complaining about him, can create unbearable working conditions in the future. You still have to quit. To avoid this, the possibility of anonymous appeal is provided.

The law does not prohibit anonymous appeal, but it is not possible in all cases. Especially if you need individual compensation for moral damage, return of wages, etc. Therefore, you will have to indicate your personal data in the document. Otherwise, the authorities simply will not be able to contact the applicant. To prevent management from finding out who the applicant is, anonymity can be indicated in the document itself. Thus, personal data will not be disclosed.

General requirements for drawing up an appeal

The official website of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation sets out the criteria that citizens' appeals must meet. It is indicated that complaints that:

• contain offensive language, obscene language;
• written in capslock, not divided into logical parts and sentences;
• contain an incorrect address of the originator;
• include incomprehensible abbreviations and lack logic;
• are not addressed to the prosecutorial supervisory authority.

If you decide to write to the supervisory authority via the Internet, study the sample complaint to the Prosecutor General's Office. This way you will understand the logic of drawing up the document and the style of presenting the facts, so as not to disrupt the order of circulation.

As a general rule, when applying online, it is necessary to indicate the applicant’s contact information. There is a special form for them that must be filled out. If a citizen does not provide his full name, the complaint will be considered anonymous and will not be considered.

The appeal is written in business language, devoid of emotion, regardless of the details of what happened. The text should be concise, but filled with facts. Refuse to provide false information: if a lie is revealed, you may be held accountable.

A complaint to the General Prosecutor's Office, brought in person or sent via the Internet (https://ipriem.genproc.gov.ru/contacts/ipriem/send/), is an official letter. It is registered with the regulatory authority, and after the investigation, the applicant receives a response. This can be an email or a regular letter with the results of the check.

In what situations is it useless to complain: a receipt of no complaints and why it is needed

If unpleasant situations arise at work, during which the rights of employees are violated, the logical solution is to write a complaint to management. Anyone can complain, especially if the entire employment relationship has been terminated. But such appeals are not always justified.

Employers can protect themselves by asking the employee to write a no-claims note upon dismissal. This measure is often used, even while the employee is still performing his job duties. As a rule, such a document is drawn up in the following situations:

• the employer will pay the resulting debt to employees;
• the parties have no claims against each other, the employee has been given all the documents and the due money has been given;
• all contractual obligations have been fulfilled, etc.

That is, if an employee is not satisfied with the working conditions, such a receipt cannot be signed. If the employer conscientiously fulfilled all the requirements stipulated by law, the receipt is his guarantee.

So, if human rights are violated at work by superiors, you can stop this by complaining to the relevant authorities. But employers must also protect themselves. This is what no-claims receipts are used for. If the employee signed them voluntarily, further complaints will likely be futile.

Response to a complaint from a superior prosecutor

If you contact the district prosecutor's office and receive a response from the deputy district prosecutor, you must contact this prosecutor's office again to appeal this response. And only the response of the prosecutor directly is already challenged by the higher prosecutor’s office, i.e. to the city prosecutor's office (if available) or the regional prosecutor's office.

In the offices of the prosecutor's offices at the Regional level, this scheme will look approximately as follows: head of department - deputy prosecutor - prosecutor. Thus, it is impossible to get an appointment with the subject’s prosecutor or receive an answer signed by him, bypassing his deputy, the head of the relevant department, as well as the territorial prosecutor’s office.

Additionally, it is worth noting that if you repeatedly contact the prosecutor’s office with the same arguments, correspondence with you may be terminated, but keep in mind that you have the right to go to court.