ON THE ISSUE OF DISTINGUISHING MORAL DAMAGE FROM OTHER FORMS OF DAMAGE IN LABOUR LAW

Abstract

Damage compensation in Ukrainian labor law is a complex activity in its nature and content. At the same time, some issues of compensation for moral damage remain problematic, as they are not sufficiently regulated in labor legislation. One of these issues is the problem of distinguishing moral damage from other types of damage in this area, because the Labor Code of Ukraine also deals with the concepts of material liability for damage caused by an employee to an employer, which, in turn, is divided into full, limited and collective, and material liability for the damage caused by an employer to the employee. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to define the differences between moral and material damage from other types of harm in labor law. It is determined that material responsibility in labor law can rest on both the employee and the employer; the subject of compensation for moral damage is always the employer. It is established that the basis for placing material responsibility on the employer, as well as the employee, is a labor property offense, i.e. a culpable violation of the employment contract by one of the party, resulting in property damage to the other party. The basis for bringing the employer to justice in the form of compensation for moral damage is the violation of the legal rights of the employee enshrined in the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. The issue of imposing material responsibility on the employee (employer) is resolved in the presence of certain conditions, which are: 1) the fact of causing direct real damage; 2) illegality of acts or omission; 3) causal link between the illegal behavior and the damage caused; 4) fault. The conditions for compensation for non-pecuniary damage are the same; however, a necessary condition for material responsibility is the presence of direct real damage, and a necessary condition for liability for moral damage is the presence of such harm, which is understood as moral suffering, loss of normal life ties, the need for additional efforts to organize one’s life. It is substantiated that the mechanism for calculating the amount of compensation for material damage is prescribed in the relevant rules of the Labor Code of Ukraine. The amount of moral damage compensation is determined by the court depending on the nature of suffering by the plaintiff, the nature of non-property losses and taking into account other circumstances of the case.