Physical education budget: teacher sues over low salary after maternity leave
A physical education teacher has sued a Moscow school, complaining that his salary has become almost half as low after leaving the decree. In the lawsuit, the man draws attention to the fact that the number of study hours has been reduced for him. He demands to restore the previous workload and compensate for the lost salary for at least a year. The school claims that the reduction in workload is due to a decrease in the number of students and the teacher's refusal to take extra hours. The court will consider the claim on January 29. The difficulties that those who have left the decree may face, and how young parents can protect their rights, are described in the Izvestia article.
What happened at the Moscow school
Ivan Olishevets, a physical education teacher at Beskudnikovo School, and his wife had their third child in January 2022. The couple shared the maternity leave period: at first, his mother took over, and in September 2022, her father replaced her. The family decided that it would be more rational — his wife's salary was higher.
Ivan took a ten-month maternity leave and was supposed to go to work in July 2023.
— When I came to write an application for withdrawal from maternity leave, they announced to me that they could take me only from September, because July-August are vacation days, and I am not needed, – Ivan Olishevets explained to Izvestia. — On the same day, the director told me that I could look for another job. I refused.
At the same time, according to the teacher, there were no complaints against him before the decree. But after that, according to him, the situation changed.
— First, my salary became the minimum, and in January 2025 I was paid even less, after which I wrote a letter to the president and appealed to the prosecutor's office and the labor inspectorate. Then the minimum wage was returned to me," said Ivan Olishevets. — And in February 2025, I received three reprimands in one day.
The reason was the situation in a physical education lesson — three children were injured in two different lessons: they suffered a concussion during ball practice. A commission was assembled at the school, where the teacher was given three reprimands.
Ivan Olishevets completed the minimum wage until the end of the school year. In the summer of 2025, according to him, the school management informed him that the teacher was being cut because he did not have enough school hours.
— I answered: "Okay, start the reduction procedure as it should be." This was not done, and I was left with a part-time job this academic year. Since September 2025, I have been paid even less," said Ivan Olishevets.
He has been working at the Beskudnikovo school since 2016. According to the employment contract, his full-time rate is at least 19 academic hours per week, and the payment for such a workload will be at least 80 thousand rubles. Before going on maternity leave, he received 91 thousand at 19 o'clock.
After returning to work, Ivan Olishevets had only 16-17 hours a week, and his salary eventually amounted to about 50 thousand rubles. In a conversation with Izvestia, he noted that there are five other physical education teachers at the school besides him, and they have a full workload.
In November 2025, the physical education teacher went to court to restore his rights: to return the workload of 19 hours per week, the salary he had not received since the new school year, and to recover moral damages in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. On January 29, his claim will be considered by the Timiryazevsky District Court of Moscow.
After going to court, the school sent an official notification to Ivan Olishevets that he would either be fired after three months, or he would accept a part-time job. He did not give such consent.
— I have nothing to lose anymore. I get a salary below the baseboard. Other teachers have salaries of 150 and 200 thousand rubles each, but I get 55 thousand," said Ivan Olishevets.
The teacher's lawyer, Yuri Starodumov, told Izvestia that after filing the lawsuit, the school began paying for the missing hours to Ivan Olishevets as a simple one, but the total salary is still lower than the amount under the contract.
"We disagree with the calculation of compensation and hope that the employer's actions will be recognized as illegal," he said.
At the same time, as Izvestia found out, another lawsuit against the same school will also be considered in the same court on January 29. According to Natalia Vishnevskaya, a history and social studies teacher, in 2022, Stanislav Ganbatyn, the school's principal, suggested that she write a statement of her own volition without explanation. The woman refused and, according to him, the number of her study hours was reduced from 27 to 18. Accordingly, the salary has sharply decreased. Then she appealed to the prosecutor's office, the labor Inspectorate, the Moscow Department of Education and the presidential administration.
Natalia Vishnevskaya is trying to collect payment for participation in the GIA in September 2025 and receive compensation for violation of the deadline for its payment.
What the school says
The Beskudnikovo school has measures in place to support teachers who have come out of maternity leave, according to the school's response to a request from Izvestia. Such measures include "a comfortable schedule for returning to professional activity, a convenient schedule, the attachment of a methodical mentor, advanced training courses, and the provision of a place in kindergarten for a child."
"Additional workload and classroom guidance are assigned exclusively at will," says the response signed by Stanislav Ganbatyn.
According to the director, Ivan Olishevets returned from maternity leave in 2023. But over the past three years, the number of students at the school has decreased, so the workload of teachers has decreased.
"With a load of 17 hours and taking into account the stimulating part, the teacher earns about 64 thousand rubles per month. The employee refuses to make substitutions, conduct additional education classes, classroom guidance, and other types of paid work that would allow them to earn more. The teaching experience continues to go on," the response to the request says.
The situation with reducing the workload after the decree was not commented on at the school. But this was noticed by the independent trade union "Teacher", which protects the interests of Ivan Olishevets. After leaving the decree, his workload has steadily decreased from 27 to 17 academic hours, Olga Miryasova, the trade union's organizational secretary, confirmed.
"For the first two years, he put up with the reduction, but when in August 2025 he had 17 hours, less than the rate, he decided to go to court," she explained. — Incidents with children in physical education classes happen to all teachers, but it was against Ivan Vasilyevich that official investigations were initiated.
School principals are obliged to create optimal working conditions for parents with many children, including for receiving decent salaries, Olga Miryasova said.
"We have no reason to believe that this was done in the case of Ivan Vasilyevich,— she said.
Izvestia also sent a request to the Moscow Department of Education.
What is the difficulty of working after maternity leave
At the same time, there are no mass complaints about employers' actions from those who have withdrawn from maternity leave, Larisa Sanatovskaya, executive director of the National Parent Association, told Izvestia.
— When the country follows in the wake of the issue of social protection for families raising children, there are fewer such cases. When an employer understands that for such acts he may be asked questions, and serious ones, of course, he will think very carefully at the beginning," the expert noted.
Usually, young parents have difficulty getting their children into kindergartens and nurseries, Sergei Rybalchenko, chairman of the Public Chamber's commission on demography, family protection, children and traditional family values, told Izvestia. But, according to him, only a few organizations have implemented rooms in their offices where they can look after employees' children.
— Preschool children often get sick, not all employers like it, - the expert noted. — But the policy of recent years has increasingly focused the employer on creating friendly conditions for families with children. The corporate demographic standard assumes the introduction of flexible schedules, remote employment and other measures for employees with family responsibilities.
A parent who is facing pressure can contact the Civic Chamber, the Labor Inspectorate, a trade union, or public organizations, he said.
— In the case of parents' appeals, we always ask employers to pay attention to the problem and warn that if no compromise is found, this may be the basis for a public inspection. So far, we have not had to do such checks, we are finding a compromise , " the expert added.
At the same time, Alexandra Artyushina, legal adviser at Sberbank, noted that, having become parents, employees often face the unwillingness of the employer to take into account the new social role of their employee.
"Employers refuse to take on additional costs and violate labor rights, allowing themselves unreasonable refusals to provide additional guarantees for young parents," she said. — Despite numerous reservations in the law on the prohibition of discrimination in the field of work, young parents are forced to contact the prosecutor's office and the labor inspectorate to resolve the problem in a pre—trial manner, and if this fails, to court.
Alexandra Artyushina said that an employer does not have the right, at its discretion, to arbitrarily make decisions about reducing the workload of an individual employee.
"Such actions by the employer are illegal and discriminatory," she said. — The academic workload is necessarily stipulated in the employment contract. Reducing the workload is allowed without changing the salary.
The fact that there are cases of discrimination against young parents was confirmed to Izvestia by Yulia Paushkina, partner and head of the labor practice at the KIAP Law Office.
— This is due not so much to specific circumstances — getting out after maternity leave or having small children — as to the presence of disagreements with a specific supervisor. One boss sees motivation for effective work in an employee with a small child, while the other sees endless sick days and absences," the lawyer explained.
According to her, usually discriminatory actions are aimed at ensuring that the employee voluntarily quit. But you can always go to court to restore your rights, and the courts often take the side of employees, Yulia Paushkina noted.
The legislation provides for changing the employment contract unilaterally, but not the employee's labor function, Elena Shilina, a lawyer at Yalanzhi and Partners law firm, told Izvestia.
— Also, the new provisions should not worsen his situation. In addition, the employee must be notified of the change at least two months in advance," she said. — Changing the working conditions of a physical education teacher is illegal.
The employer cannot unilaterally reduce the workload if this leads to a deterioration in the employee's situation, including a decrease in his income and loss of benefits, the experts emphasized.
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