LEGAL LIABILITY OF THE EMPLOYER FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of legal responsibility of the employer for discrimination against the employee. It is established that effective legal mechanisms are extremely important in the labor sphere, as evidenced by a number of circumstances: a) the obsolescence of the Labor Code, despite numerous changes and additions; b) widespread labor migration of part of the population of Ukraine, in particular, for work in the European Union; c) the dependence of economic stability on the level of working capacity of the population; d) the dynamic nature of labor legislation, the development of which is aimed at more effective protection of human rights. It is emphasized that despite the fact that the Law of Ukraine “On Principles of Prevention and Counteraction of Discrimination in Ukraine” establishes liability for violation of legislation on prevention and counteraction of discrimination as a separate ground for employer liability, it is not isolated, which cannot be considered acceptable. Among the most characteristic manifestations of discrimination against an employee by employer are the following: a) on the grounds of sex (gender); b) by age (ageism); c) on the grounds of disability; d) mobbing; e) on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Emphasis is placed on the fact that in the modern labor sphere there is a large number of discriminatory manifestations. At the same time, national legislation contains rather abstract definitions of the nature of discrimination. This complicates and sometimes makes it impossible to bring the perpetrators to justice, in particular, in cases where the employer has committed illegal acts against the employee. It is concluded that the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses should be supplemented by a number of provisions that should take into account all the most common forms of discrimination. It was emphasized that the specification of illegal actions should improve the effectiveness of law enforcement in the labor sphere, which in combination with an adequate amount of penalties will create an effective human rights mechanism.