LEGAL REGULATION OF WORKING TIME OF MEDICAL WORKERS: ANALYSIS OF COURT PRACTICE

The legal regulation of working hours generally reflects the specifics of medical activity: the need for continuous provision of medical care, the irreversible consequences of a medical error, the importance to show empathy for patients. At the same time, the lack of detailed regulation of certain issues in practice causes misunderstanding between medical workers and medical organizations, which leads to legal disputes. This article presents a selection of judicial practice in the context of establishing the duration of working hours, recording working hours by the employer and the possibility of the employer changing the working hours unilaterally. It has been revealed that the establishment of reduced working hours for medical workers in a number of cases is impossible if the medical worker performs a general labor function in accordance with the professional standard: for example, conducts outpatient visits and participates in medical examination of the population, which reveals a conflict between by-laws. It was determined that until recently the establishment of reduced working hours could depend on the results of a special assessment of working conditions and on the formal name of the position. It is concluded that courts do not always make decisions in favor of medical workers due to the literal interpretation of labor legislation.