The evolution of communication in labor relations: principles, risks, prospects

About the author:

Kseniya S. Tishkovich, Senior Lecturer, Department of Labor and Social Law, Dostoevsky Omsk State University, Omsk, Russia; tishkovichks@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7515-6438, WoS ResearcherID: HDN-2246-2022, РИНЦ Author ID: 845952

Abstract:

The study examines the transformation of electronic interaction in employment relations under the influence of global digitalization and aims to develop legal principles for regulating digital communication between parties to labor relations. Despite the inclusion of electronic document management norms in labor legislation, the issue of exchanging legally significant messages remains unresolved. The author proposes a classification of communication methods common in modern organizations and provides a risk analysis for each category. Systemic disadvantages inherent in all digital communication, exacerbated by a lack of legislative regulation of the methods discussed, include the vulnerability of personal data, the absence of a “right to disconnect”, and the difficulty of confirming the immutability of evidence. The study substantiates the ineffectiveness of fragmented regulation and proposes a set of technologically neutral principles for electronic interaction. These include: ensuring verifiable identification and adaptive cybersecurity, mandatory logging and archiving of data, transparency of communication channel designation, the legislative consolidation of the “right to disconnect”, and a prohibition on using electronic communication methods when compliance with data protection requirements cannot be technically guaranteed.

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