The lawyer spoke about the right to sue a colleague due to illness

Employees can file a lawsuit against a colleague for infection in the workplace if there is evidence of harm, illegality of actions and causation. Miroslava Brizitskaya, a lawyer at the Sokolov, Trusov and Partners Law Office in Moscow, told Izvestia about this on March 17.

"In order for the court to satisfy the claim, it is necessary to prove four mandatory elements: the fact of harm, illegality of behavior, causality and guilt. At the same time, there is a presumption of guilt in civil law — the defendant must prove that he is not guilty," the expert explained.

According to the lawyer, the fact of the disease must be confirmed by medical documents, including a sick leave, test results and discharge. Illegal behavior can be expressed in the employee coming to work with symptoms of illness, which violates the norms of sanitary legislation, internal rules of the company and occupational safety requirements. The most difficult element remains the establishment of a causal relationship - it is necessary to prove that the infection occurred from a specific colleague and specifically at the workplace.

To confirm the position in court, the employee should collect evidence, which is divided into two categories: documents about the disease and materials indicating the source of infection. The former include medical certificates, drug receipts, and earnings information. The second includes correspondence where a colleague reports feeling unwell, as well as witness statements from employees. At the same time, it is recommended that screenshots of correspondence be notarized, otherwise the court may not accept them as evidence.

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"Some of the information can only be held by the employer. In this case, a request for evidence is filed, and the court may request, for example, data from the security pass system, work schedules, video surveillance recordings, or the results of an internal investigation. These materials help to confirm contact with the sick employee and the circumstances of the infection," Brizitskaya said.

The expert also advises to send an official statement about the situation to the employer before going to court. The document should indicate cases of illness in the team and the employee who came to work with symptoms. Such a step may become additional evidence in court or lead to an internal investigation, the results of which will be used in the case.

If the claim is satisfied, the victim has the right to demand compensation for lost earnings, medical expenses and moral damage. At the same time, as the lawyer clarified, as a general rule, the employer is responsible for the harm caused by the employee. However, in case of gross negligence on the part of an employee, the court may order him to pay damages directly.

It is emphasized separately that if the employer knew about the employee's illness and did not suspend him from work, this may entail administrative liability. In this case, the company faces a fine for violating sanitary standards and health protection requirements for employees.

On the same day, Alexander Khaminsky, head of the Law Enforcement Center in Moscow and the Moscow Region, told Izvestia that lack of communication during work could result in disciplinary action, including dismissal, but in some cases an employee could avoid responsibility. Special standards are provided for remote employees. In particular, termination of the contract is possible if an employee does not contact the company for more than two consecutive working days without valid reasons.

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