What is the traveling nature of work?
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not contain a special article describing the traveling nature of work; what this means can be understood from some departmental regulations and clarifications of Rostrud. In particular, it is necessary to differentiate such activities from:
- business trips;
- work performed on the way;
- work that is mobile in nature.
The concept of traveling nature of work in Russian labor legislation is disclosed rather poorly. However, in practice, employers quite often have to enter into employment contracts with such a condition. At the same time, constant movement around facilities in order to perform work, located at a considerable distance from the location of the company, should leave the employee the opportunity to return to his place of residence every day.
What distinguishes these working conditions from the first point are regular business trips only within the service territory (areas) with the possibility of returning home every day. Rostrud reminded that business trips of employees whose work has been established as traveling cannot be recognized as business trips by virtue of Art. 66 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In letter dated December 12, 2013 N 4209-TZV, officials indicated that business trips are temporary and limited to a certain period, but travel-related activities must be permanent.
As for the mobile nature of work, the Regulations on the payment of bonuses associated with the mobile and traveling nature of construction (approved by the Resolution of the State Committee for Labor of the USSR and the Secretariat of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions dated 01.06.1989 N 169/10-87), it is said that if workers perform work on objects located at a considerable distance from the permanent location of their enterprise, and actually live near these objects until the end of work processes at them, and then move to another object, then this is a mobile or rotational method. These could be geologists, builders, installers, pipe layers, and so on.
It is also important to properly differentiate work along the way. It is carried out by workers involved in the movement of the vehicle. In particular, these are:
- flight attendants;
- conductors;
- conductors in public transport;
- public transport drivers;
- sailors;
- etc.
Main features of traveling work
The traveling nature of work in the Labor Code is mentioned only in two articles and, apparently, there are no plans to make any changes or additions to them.
So, in Art. 57 establishes that one of the mandatory conditions to be included in an employment contract is a condition that determines the nature of the work (mobile, traveling, on the road, etc.), and in Art. 168.1 contains an open list of expenses that the employer reimburses to employees with a traveling nature of work (as well as employees whose permanent work is carried out on the road, working in the field or participating in work of an expeditionary nature). Such trips, like business trips, are called business trips.
A business trip is a trip by an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to carry out an official assignment outside the place of permanent work. At the same time, business trips of persons whose permanent work is carried out on the road or has a traveling nature are not recognized as business trips (Article 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
As well as business travelers, persons whose permanent work is traveling in nature, the employer reimburses expenses for travel, rental of living quarters, etc. However, when an employee is sent on a business trip, his average earnings are retained, and if the work is traveling, the salary is simply paid.
