Heavy care: delayed payments for injury at work will result in interest
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has allowed the collection of interest for delayed payments in industrial injury cases. The Constitutional Court issued such a decision on December 15, indicating that the norm of the Labor Code on the employer's liability for late payment, for example, compensation for moral damage, may be applied in this case. Previously, employees were denied interest payments. An injured miner from the Kemerovo Region appealed to the court, to whom 250 thousand rubles of compensation had not been transferred for two months. Having failed to find protection in the courts of general jurisdiction, the man appealed to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. How to act in case of injury at work and how to collect compensation and interest is described in the Izvestia article.
What the COP considered
Alexey Polezhaev, an explosives expert at the Tashtagolskaya mine, suffered an industrial injury in June 2018. The Novokuznetsk city court of the Kemerovo region recovered compensation for moral damage in the amount of 250 thousand rubles from his employer. But the decision came into force on March 23, 2023, and the funds were paid two months later.
Then the plaintiff appealed to the court with a demand to collect interest from the employer for the delay in the compensation due to him. In the lawsuit, he referred to the article of the Labor Code on the financial responsibility of the employer for the delay in payment of wages "and other payments" (art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
The court of first instance granted the claim, however, partially agreeing with the need to pay interest. But in addition to the interest for late payment of compensation, the victim claimed new moral damage — precisely because of non-payment. He estimated it at 75 thousand rubles, and the court estimated it at 5 thousand rubles.
Subsequent courts overturned the decision to pay interest. Their decisions stated that the article does not provide for the collection of interest for delay or non-payment of compensation.
Alexey Polezhaev appealed to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, asking to check the constitutionality of Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And the Constitutional Court pointed out that Article 236 can be used to collect interest if the employer did not comply with the deadlines for the decision to collect compensation for an occupational injury.
"The constitutional goals of justice cannot be achieved, and judicial protection itself cannot be recognized as effective if a judicial act is not executed in a timely manner," the decision says. "An unlawful delay in the execution of a court decision should be considered as a violation of the right to fair justice within a reasonable time."
The Constitutional Court noted that an employee who was unlawfully deprived of the funds owed to him has the right to apply the compensation mechanism provided for in Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
"Otherwise, it would create prerequisites for violating the employee's right to compensation for moral damage in connection with an industrial accident by avoiding the employer — without any negative consequences for him — from timely execution of the court decision," the decision says.
Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation was recognized as corresponding to the Constitution. The Constitutional Court recalled that interest should be accrued starting from the day following the day of entry into force of the said court decision, up to and including the day of the actual calculation. Therefore, Alexey Polezhaev's case should be reviewed.
The norms of art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation have repeatedly been the subject of proceedings by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on other payments from employers. So, in 2023, the Constitutional Court indicated that it was possible to collect interest on unpaid wages. And then it was precisely the provisions of part of the article that were found to be unconstitutional: the wording of Part 1 of Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation made it possible to circumvent the provisions if the payment was not accrued on time. As a result, amendments were made to the Labor Code in January 2024.
How people get injured at work
The number of accidents at work decreased by 21% in 2024 compared to 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said in September 2025. She noted that a preventive and preventive model of workers' health and savings is developing in Russia.
"If we assess the situation in the long term, we see a decrease in occupational injuries and the proportion of workers employed in jobs with harmful working conditions," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
She also noted that in order to economically motivate employers to improve working conditions and preserve the health of employees, the costs of preventive measures are increasing annually.
"In 2025, it is planned to allocate 33% more funds for these purposes than in 2024," Tatyana Golikova said.
Alexey Lipatov, head of the Newstaff Occupational Safety and Health Service, noted that compensation for injuries at work is divided into insurance payments and sick leave. They are paid through the Social Fund, where the documents are submitted by the employer.
— If the organization is dragging its feet or refuses to investigate, write a statement to the labor inspectorate, — the expert advised.
To recover moral damage for an industrial injury, it is necessary to contact the employer — first write a claim, and then, if ignored, go to court.
— An employee can negotiate with an employer out of court. To do this, he must draw up all the documents for the accident," added Makka Saligova, a lawyer at the Moscow Region Bar Association. — If the parties agree, they will settle the issue by signing a subsequent agreement. If the requirements are not satisfied, the employee has the right to go to court.
According to Ekaterina Boyko, a lawyer at the Grits and Partners law firm, the employee must attach a contract with the employer to such a claim, as well as documents confirming the fact of an industrial accident. The statement of claim must indicate the injury received, the extent of physical and moral suffering.
"Today's ruling of the Constitutional Court definitively closes the issue that has been controversial in the courts: is it possible to apply art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation to moral harm," Ekaterina Boyko noted. — Previously, the courts made different decisions on such issues, but now there will be a unified position.
She recalled that the percentage for the delay in compensation for moral damage is calculated according to a special formula. So, in the case of Alexey Polezhaev, this is an additional 29 thousand rubles, while the amount of compensation for moral damage is 250 thousand rubles.
— Previously, there was a paradox: the court awarded compensation to an employee for an injury, but the employer could simply not pay it on time, and he had nothing for it, — Ekaterina Boyko noted. — Judicial practice will change after this ruling, and the courts will have a logical reference and explanation for collecting interest.
In addition, according to the expert, there is a possibility of an influx of lawsuits to the courts for the review of old cases from employees who have not received interest.
The decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is progressive and protective, said Vadim Egulemov, lawyer and managing partner of Key Consulting Group.
"Previously, courts often refused to collect interest, interpreting Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation narrowly as responsibility only for the delay of wages and payments accrued by the employer himself, and not awarded by the court," he said.
The lawyer noted that there is no exact data on applying to the courts for moral damages, but such disputes occur regularly. Interest claims for delayed payments were previously often rejected by the courts, which was the reason for the appeal to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
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