In Russia it will be prohibited to fire single mothers: what will this lead to?

Children receive basic education. This means that they still need help from their parents.

Photo: Svetlana MAKOVEEVA

The State Duma approved in its first reading a bill that would prohibit employers from firing single mothers (or fathers). In the event that they are raising children under 16 years of age. As the promoters of the amendments explain, most children do not work, but they receive basic education before that age. This means that they still need help from their parents.

– In such a situation, the dismissal of a mother raising a child alone can leave the family without a livelihood. We must protect single-parent families and entrepreneurs must understand their responsibility,” says Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma.

Now the law prohibits this only until children turn 14 years old. The deputies want to expand this qualification. But experts believe that this is unlikely to fundamentally change the situation.

– De jure companies are finding a way out of this situation. They offer the woman to write a resignation letter by agreement of the parties. And if she doesn’t want to, then they start explaining it to her informally. Yes, we cannot formally fire you, but we will transfer you to a work area that will be geographically inconvenient for you, or add other job functions, etc. In general, they give arguments that force the employee to resign, explains Alexander Safonov, professor at the Financial University of the Government of the Russian Federation.

According to him, the problem of discrimination against women in the labor market remains relevant in Russia. It is related to your family responsibilities.

– It manifests itself in restrictions when hiring. Small and medium-sized businesses try not to get involved with those who may be out of the work process for too long. Women go on maternity leave and take sick leave when their children are sick. And this cannot be denied to them,” explains Alexander Safonov.

Thus, on the one hand, the new law will help better protect the rights of single working mothers. On the other hand, it can make life difficult for women trying to find work. They may face reluctance from employers to hire such an employee, who will then be difficult to fire. It is true that labor market experts believe that these workers, on the contrary, are much more responsible.

– Single mothers have a much greater motivation to keep their jobs. It is further intensified by the fact that many parents evade paying child support. And for these women, wages are often the only source of income,” says Alexander Safonov.