PATRIARCHATE
ADVISES
RECTORS TO PLACE PARISH WORKERS ON LEAVE OR IN CATEGORY OF
VOLUNTEERS DUE TO
FINANCIAL SHORTAGE
In the
context of
restrictions connected with the epidemic, which has led to a
sharp decrease in
the income of churches, the Moscow patriarchate has suggested
alternatives to
paying wages of parish workers.
"Option
No. 1. Arrange
a leave without pay for workers," the legal department of the
patriarchate
explains, whose responses were published on Tuesday on the
website of the RPTs.
Option
No. 2 proposes
transferring parish workers to part-time work.
If other
possibilities have been exhausted, then here, in the opinion of
the
patriarchate, a third option will be appropriate: termination of
labor
contracts on the basis of agreement of the parties or on the
basis of part 7 of
article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which
states that a labor
contract may be terminated because of, among other reasons, an
emergency
situation like an epidemic.
"After
termination of a labor contract with an employee, it is possible
to conclude an
agreement with him for free will (voluntary) activity on a
nonreimbursement
basis or with granting of commendation," the patriarchate's
legal
department notes.
At the
same time it
is stated that the management of religious organizations "must
exert
maximum efforts to maintain the established staff of employees."
(tr. by
PDS, posted 5 May 2020)
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