New in the Labor Code: more powers for employers and trade unions in labor relations

On May 28, 2021, the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 114-Z "On Amendments to Laws on Labor Relations" (hereinafter referred to as the Law) was adopted, which introduced amendments to the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the LC) and the Law of the Republic of Belarus of January 5, 2016 No. 354-Z "On Industrial Safety".

New grounds for dismissal at the initiative of the employer have appeared in the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus.

As reported by Svetlana Zinovyeva, Head of the Department of Social and Labor Relations, Wages and Labor Protection of the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the employer can now terminate the employment contract with an employee:

• for absence from work due to serving an administrative penalty in the form of administrative arrest, which prevents the performance of labor duties;

• for forcing employees to participate in a strike, creating obstacles for other employees in the performance of their labor duties, calling on employees to cease performing their labor duties without valid reasons;

• for an employee's participation in an illegal strike, as well as in other forms of an employee's refusal to perform labor duties (in whole or in part) without valid reasons.

Prior notification of trade unions about dismissal on the above grounds will not be required.

Article 47 of the LC has been supplemented with a new ground for dismissal for an employee's violation of the procedure for collecting, systematizing, storing, changing, using, anonymizing, blocking, distributing, providing, and deleting personal data.

Within the framework of amending Article 49 of the LC, the employer is allowed to immediately suspend an employee from work who calls on other employees to cease performing their labor duties without valid reasons.

A novelty of Article 199 of the LC is that the employer is granted the right to apply disciplinary action to an employee, including in cases where it is impossible to obtain an explanation from the employee regarding the committed disciplinary offense. The impossibility of obtaining

the employee's explanation regarding the disciplinary offense committed by him must be formalized by an act indicating the witnesses present.

The above-mentioned norms of the Law will enter into force on June 30, 2021.