Correctional work as a type of criminal punishment

Last updated - January 2022

The criminal law prescribes differentiated punishment depending on the criminal act itself, the circumstances of its commission and the identity of the perpetrator. A wide range of types of punishments, thirteen in total, are intended to assist the court in solving this problem. Correctional labor is in 5th place in terms of severity and is assigned in practice quite often. What they are and how they are implemented is described in Art. 50 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the provisions of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation.

What is correctional work

This type of responsibility consists of the convicted person performing duties at his place of work, being forced to work with the deduction of part of the monthly earnings to the state. Its execution is controlled by the criminal executive inspection (CII) of the district in which the convicted person lives.

Correctional work is prescribed:

1. Employed - at the place of work.
2. Non-working - in places determined by the local self-government body (LSG), that is, the local administration in agreement with the UII. The place of employment must be located in the area where the convicted person lives.

In other words, in the verdict the court does not indicate the specific place where the convicted person will have to work. This will either be the place where he already works, or where the criminal-executive inspection will send him.

Such punishment can last from 2 months to 2 years (for minors - up to 1 year).

Correctional labor is a punishment assigned exclusively as a main punishment. It is prescribed in certain cases:

1. When this is provided for by the sanction of the imputed article.
2. As a milder punishment (Article 64 of the Criminal Code) than provided for by the sanction.
3. When replacing:
   a fine for malicious evaders from paying it;
4. unserved part of imprisonment;
5. more severe punishment in case of amnesty or pardon by the President.

Corrective labor cannot be an additional punishment. This type of punishment can be imposed conditionally with a probationary period, after which, if there are no complaints about the behavior of the conditionally convicted person, he will not actually serve them.

Correctional labor is the same punishment for crimes committed as any other. It is assigned solely based on a court conviction and therefore entails a criminal record with all its consequences. Convictions are expunged one year after serving.

Explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the assignment of correctional labor

Issues of the practice of imposing criminal punishment in the form of correctional labor are explained in paragraphs 14 - 16 of Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2015 N 58 “On the practice of imposing criminal punishment by the courts of the Russian Federation.”

The specifics of assigning correctional labor to minors and replacing this punishment are explained in Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated 01.02.2011 No. 1 “On the judicial practice of applying legislation regulating the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors.”

Possible places of work for convicts

As mentioned above, employed convicts serve correctional labor at the place of their employment. That is, serving for them is reduced to the performance of their daily work duties with exceptions established by law, which will be discussed below (deduction of part of the salary, reduced duration of annual leave, inability to resign without the permission of the Penitentiary Inspectorate, and so on). In this case, employment must be exclusively official.

• If a convicted person works, but his employment is not registered in accordance with the requirements of labor legislation, he is considered unemployed.
• If the person held accountable was employed during the trial before the verdict was passed, he should provide a certificate from the employer about official employment at the court hearing and request that it be included in the case materials. In this case, the place of serving the sentence is determined by the place of work. If this information is not available, even if you have official work, the court will not be able to do this.

Assigning places of correctional work to the unemployed

Non-working persons sentenced to correctional labor are sent by the Criminal Executive Inspectorate to work in any organizations determined by the local government body (LSG), the list of which is agreed upon between them.

If a convicted person gets a job before registering with an organization that is not approved by the local self-government body, the penal inspection approves it as the place where the sentence will be served.

When choosing a place of work, the following are taken into account:

• crime committed;
• health status;
• profession, skills;
• place of residence.

For persons under 18 years of age, individual personality traits (age, psychological) and other conditions are additionally taken into account.

Convicted unemployed citizens are issued an order by the penal inspection to report to their employing organization to serve their sentence. This organization may refuse an employee, but only because of the inadequacy of his professional qualities. Otherwise, the refusal is illegal and the UII will appeal it to the prosecutor's office.

Vera Viktorovna Dolganina

Practicing lawyer with more than 10 years of experience.

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Most often, places for convicts to work are determined in municipal organizations - housing and communal services, improvement, maintenance and operation of transport, etc. These organizations often have a shortage of workers in low-paid positions that do not require qualifications - janitor, laborer, cleaner, etc.

Deductions from wages during correctional labor

A convicted person, while serving correctional labor, receives a salary for his work established by the employer, but part of it, determined in the sentence, is deducted monthly to the state income.

This part can range from 5 to 20%. At the same time, deductions are not made from social, one-time payments. The employer controls the correctness and timeliness of deductions.

The law provides for the possibility of reducing the assigned percentage of deductions from the salary of a convicted person whose financial situation has worsened (all types of his income are taken into account). To do this, a corresponding petition is submitted to the court from the convicted person, the correctional institution or the employer's administration. However, the court has no right to go beyond the minimum possible retention (5%).

Who is not assigned correctional labor?

Correctional labor cannot be assigned to certain people strictly defined in Art. 50 categories of citizens:

• disabled people of the 1st group;
• pregnant women;
• women who have children under 3 years of age;
• conscripted military personnel;
• military personnel serving under contract (privates and sergeants), if they have not served their conscription term.

If, while serving his sentence, the convicted person becomes seriously ill, which does not allow him to serve his sentence (Article 81 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) or becomes a disabled person of the 1st group (Part 5 of Article 50), he may be released from serving his sentence in court.

A woman sentenced to correctional labor, upon becoming pregnant, can petition the court to defer their serving until the child’s 14th birthday (Article 82) from the beginning of maternity leave.

Replacement of the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment

Author: Anatoly Antonov, July 31, 2022 at 05:59 pm According to Part 4 of Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, illegal production, sale or transfer of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues, as well as illegal sale or transfer of plants containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, or their parts containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, committed: a) by an organized group;
b) by a person using his official position; c) by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, in relation to a minor; d) on a large scale - shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of ten to twenty years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years or without it and with a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to five years or without it. According to Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a person serving detention in a disciplinary military unit, forced labor or imprisonment, who has compensated for the damage (in whole or in part) caused by the crime, the court, taking into account his behavior during the entire period of serving the sentence, can replace the remaining unserved part punishment with a more lenient type of punishment, with the exception of cases of replacement of punishment in the form of imprisonment with forced labor in accordance with part two of this article. In this case, the person may be fully or partially released from serving an additional type of punishment. The unserved part of the sentence may be replaced by a more lenient type of punishment after the person sentenced to imprisonment has actually served: a crime of minor or medium gravity - at least one third of the sentence or at least one fourth of the sentence when replacing a sentence of imprisonment with forced labor; serious crime - not less than half the term of punishment or not less than one third of the term of punishment when replacing the punishment of imprisonment with forced labor; especially serious crime - at least two-thirds of the sentence or at least half of the sentence when replacing the sentence of imprisonment with forced labor; crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, as well as crimes provided for in Article 210 of this Code - at least three quarters of the sentence; crimes against the sexual integrity of minors under fourteen years of age - no less than four-fifths of the sentence. The unserved part of the punishment may be replaced by a more lenient type of punishment after the convicted pregnant woman or a woman with a child under three years of age, who is in the children's home of a correctional institution, has actually served at least one quarter of the sentence for committing a minor crime. When replacing the unserved part of the sentence, the court may choose any milder type of punishment in accordance with the types of punishments specified in Article 44 of this Code, within the limits provided for by this Code for each type of punishment, with the exception of cases of replacing a sentence of imprisonment with forced labor in accordance with with part two of this article. When considering a petition from a convicted person or a submission from the administration of an institution or body executing a sentence to replace the unserved part of his sentence with a milder form of punishment, the court takes into account the behavior of the convicted person, his attitude to study and work during the entire period of serving the sentence, the attitude of the convicted person to the committed act, and that the convicted person partially or fully compensated for the damage caused or otherwise made amends for the harm caused as a result of the crime. In relation to a convicted person suffering from a disorder of sexual preference (pedophilia), which does not exclude sanity, and who, at the age of over eighteen years, has committed a crime against the sexual integrity of a minor under fourteen years of age, the court also takes into account the application of compulsory medical measures to the convicted person, his attitude towards treatment and results of forensic psychiatric examination. According to Article 175 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, a convicted person to whom parole may be applied, as well as his lawyer (legal representative) have the right to apply to the court with a petition for parole from serving his sentence. The petition must contain information indicating that for further correction the convicted person does not need to fully serve the sentence imposed by the court, since during the period of serving the sentence he compensated for the harm (in whole or in part) caused by the crime, repented of the committed act, and may also be contained other information indicating the correction of the convicted person. The convicted person submits a petition for conditional early release from serving his sentence through the administration of the institution or body executing the sentence in which the convicted person is serving his sentence in accordance with Article 81 of this Code. The administration of the institution executing the sentence in which the convict is serving his sentence in accordance with Article 81 of this Code, no later than 15 days after the submission of the convict’s petition for conditional early release from serving the sentence, sends the said petition to the court along with the characteristics of the convict. The characterization must contain data on the behavior of the convicted person, his attitude to study and work during the entire period of serving the sentence, the attitude of the convicted person to the committed act, compensation for the harm caused by the crime, as well as the administration’s conclusion on the advisability of parole. The characteristics of a person who is convicted of committing a crime against the sexual integrity of a minor under fourteen years of age over the age of 18, and who is recognized on the basis of a forensic psychiatric examination as suffering from a disorder of sexual preference (pedophilia), which does not preclude sanity, must also contain data about the compulsory medical measures applied to him, about his attitude towards treatment. Simultaneously with the petition of such a convicted person for conditional early release from serving his sentence, the conclusion of his attending physician is sent to the court. If there is a copy of the court ruling or order in the personal file of the convicted person to notify the victim or his legal representative, the administration of the institution executing the punishment shall send it to the court, and also provide information about the place of residence of the victim or his legal representative and other information ensuring their timely notification, If there are any. A convicted person for whom the unserved part of the sentence may be replaced with a more lenient punishment, as well as his lawyer (legal representative), have the right to apply to the court with a petition to replace the unserved part of the punishment with a more lenient punishment. The convicted person submits a petition to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a milder type of punishment through the administration of the institution or body executing the sentence in which he is serving the sentence in accordance with Article 81 of this Code. The administration of such an institution or body, no later than 10 days after filing a petition from a convicted person to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment, sends the said petition to the court along with a reference to the convicted person. The characterization must contain data on the behavior of the convicted person, his attitude to study and work during the entire period of serving the sentence, on the attitude of the convicted person to the committed act and that the convicted person partially or fully compensated for the damage caused or otherwise made amends for the harm caused as a result of the crime . The characteristics of a person who, based on the conclusion of a forensic psychiatric examination, is recognized as suffering from a disorder of sexual preference (pedophilia), which does not exclude sanity, and who is convicted of committing, at the age of over 18 years, a crime against the sexual integrity of a minor under fourteen years of age, must also contain data on compulsory medical measures applied to the convicted person, on his attitude towards treatment. Simultaneously with the petition of such a convicted person, the conclusion of his attending physician is sent to the court. If there is a copy of the court ruling or order in the personal file of the convicted person to notify the victim or his legal representative, the administration of the institution executing the punishment shall send it to the court, and also provide information about the place of residence of the victim or his legal representative and other information ensuring their timely notification, If there are any. The administration of the institution executing the sentence in which the convicted person is serving his sentence in accordance with Article 81 of this Code, in accordance with part four of Article 113 of this Code, submits to the court a proposal to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment in relation to a positive convicted person. The proposal to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a milder type of punishment must contain data on the behavior of the convicted person, his attitude to study and work during the entire period of serving the sentence, on the attitude of the convicted person to the committed act and that the convicted person has compensated for the harm (in whole or in part) caused by a crime. In a proposal to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment for a person who was convicted of committing a crime against the sexual integrity of a minor under fourteen years of age over the age of 18, and was recognized on the basis of the conclusion of a forensic psychiatric examination as suffering from a disorder of sexual preference (pedophilia) , which does not exclude sanity, must also contain information about the compulsory medical measures applied to him, about his attitude towards treatment. Simultaneously with the presentation of such a convicted person, a report from his attending physician is sent to the court. If there is a copy of the court ruling or order in the personal file of the convicted person to notify the victim or his legal representative, the administration of the institution executing the punishment shall send it to the court, and also provide information about the place of residence of the victim or his legal representative and other information ensuring their timely notification, If there are any. The procedure for applying the amnesty is determined by the body that issued the amnesty act. A convicted person who has developed a mental disorder that prevents him from serving his sentence, or his legal representative, has the right to petition the court to release the convicted person from further serving his sentence in accordance with Article 81 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A petition for release from further serving a sentence due to the onset of a mental disorder is submitted by the convicted person or his legal representative through the administration of the institution or body executing the sentence. If it is impossible for the convicted person or his legal representative to independently apply to the court, a motion to release the convicted person from further serving the sentence due to the onset of a mental disorder is submitted to the court by the head of the institution or body executing the sentence. Simultaneously with the said petition or presentation, the conclusion of the medical commission and the personal file of the convicted person are sent to the court. A convicted person who has fallen ill with another serious illness that prevents him from serving his sentence has the right to petition the court to release him from further serving his sentence in accordance with Article 81 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A convicted person submits a petition for release from further serving a sentence due to a serious illness through the administration of the institution or body executing the sentence. If it is impossible for a convicted person to independently apply to the court, a motion to release the convicted person from further serving his sentence due to a serious illness is submitted to the court by the head of the institution or body executing the sentence. Simultaneously with the said petition or presentation, the conclusion of the medical commission or medical and social examination institution and the personal file of the convicted person are sent to the court. In cases where a person sentenced to compulsory labor or correctional labor is recognized as a disabled person of the first group, and a person sentenced to forced labor as a disabled person of the first or second group, he has the right to apply to the court with a petition for early release from further serving the sentence. List of diseases that prevent the serving of a sentence, the procedure for sending for a medical examination of convicts applying for release (submitted for release) from serving a sentence due to illness, and the procedure for medical examination of convicts applying for release (submitted for release) from serving a sentence in connection with disease, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. If pregnancy occurs, a woman sentenced to compulsory labor, correctional labor, or forced labor has the right to petition the court to defer her sentence from the date of granting maternity leave. If the court refuses conditional early release from serving a sentence or replaces the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment, the repeated submission of a corresponding petition or presentation to the court may take place no earlier than six months from the date of the court's decision on refusal. If the court refuses to release a person sentenced to life imprisonment on parole, a repeated application may take place no earlier than three years from the date of the court's decision on the refusal. The court's refusal to grant parole from serving the sentence does not prevent the court from submitting a proposal to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment. Those released on parole and sentenced to restriction of freedom or forced labor in order to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a milder type of punishment, if they were sent to correctional institutions, correctional centers in cases provided for by law, may again apply for parole from serving the sentence or be submitted to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a more lenient punishment no earlier than one year from the date of the decision to revoke parole or replace a more lenient punishment with imprisonment. Thus, the replacement of forced labor with a more lenient type of punishment is possible after serving 3/4 of the term of forced labor. Answer

Peculiarities of appointment when convicted of several crimes

Cases of conviction for multiple crimes are not uncommon. For them, the law establishes rules for assigning punishments, including correctional labor.

Set of crimes

The convicted person is charged with several criminal acts and one criminal case is considered based on these facts, that is, one sentence is passed. In this case, the court determines only the terms of correctional labor, and the final punishment is imposed by adding them in full or in part, after which the percentage of deduction from earnings is determined.

For example , two crimes were committed, for one six months of correctional labor were assigned, for the second - 8 months, and finally, by partial addition of them, the punishment was determined to be 9 months with the deduction of 10% of earnings in favor of the state.

Aggregate sentences

This is a situation where a person has already been convicted of another crime and commits a new one, for which a new sentence is imposed. Here, the partially or completely unserved part of the correctional labor under the old one is added to the punishment under the new court decision in the case, and the percentage of deduction from earnings remains the same, assigned under the first verdict.

In situations where different types of punishments are applied when determining their final type and duration based on the totality of crimes and sentences, the rules of Art. Art. 69 and 70 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Procedure and conditions of execution

Having received the verdict, the Penitentiary Directorate, no later than 30 days later, sends the convicted person to serve his sentence. A personal file is opened against him, where all documents related to the convict’s serving of correctional labor are collected.

Calculation of the term of correctional labor

The start of serving correctional labor varies depending on whether the convicted person has a permanent place of work:

• if so, the beginning of the period is the day the employer receives the relevant documents from the UII;
• if not, the day he went to work.

The term is calculated in months and years in which the convicted person worked and deductions were made from earnings. Moreover, in each month he must work exactly as many working days as there are in that month.

If the number of these days does not coincide, the punishment is served until they are fully served. Periods when the convicted person did not work are not included in the period of correctional labor served.

On the day the sentence ends, the Penitentiary Directorate sends a notice to the organization where the convicted person works to stop deductions from earnings. If the execution of the punishment is canceled for other reasons (exemption from punishment, replacement with a more severe one) - on the next working day after receipt of the documents on which it was canceled (court decision).

Features of labor relations

Employees sentenced to correctional labor are subject to all requirements of labor legislation with exceptions established by the Criminal Code and Penal Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, a convicted person does not have the right to refuse a job offered to him and must:

• not violate the conditions and procedure for serving the sentence;
• treat your work responsibilities conscientiously;
• attend the Institute on call;
• notify the management office 10 days in advance of a change of job or place of residence.

While serving correctional labor, voluntary dismissal without the written consent of the Penitentiary Inspectorate is prohibited. The dismissal refusal by the Penal Inspectorate can be appealed.

Temporary disability benefits are calculated based on earnings without deducting from it amounts withheld by a court verdict.

Leave for those serving correctional labor

The annual paid leave of a person sentenced to correctional labor is 18 days; it is not equal to the standard duration of such leave under labor law (28 days). It can be used not at any time in accordance with the sequence established by the employer, but at a time agreed with the UII.

In this case, the convicted person is not deprived of the right to vacation days unused during correctional labor (that’s 10 days a year) and can claim them upon completion of serving his sentence.

Other leaves according to the law (additional, for example, for employees with an irregular schedule, for hazardous working conditions, etc.) can be used on a general basis.

Employer Responsibilities

The employer of a person sentenced to correctional labor is obliged to:

1. Make deductions from his earnings correctly and on time.
2. Control his behavior.
3. Help the UII in educational work.
4. Comply with the conditions of serving the sentence.
5. Report to UII:
   on the encouragement of a convicted employee, penalties imposed on him, evasion from serving a sentence;
6. about the upcoming transfer or dismissal of the convicted person.

Responsibility for improper serving of correctional labor

The criminal executive legislation prescribes measures for violators of the order of serving all types of sentences, the execution of which is controlled or ensured by divisions of the penitentiary service, including correctional labor. They differ in the degree of danger and are divided into simple violations and malicious evasion of service.

Violation of the order and conditions of serving

The Penal Code defines violations of the procedure and conditions for serving correctional labor as:

• failure to appear for work within five days from the date of receipt of the order from the Penal Inspectorate, unless there are good reasons for this;
• failure to appear without sufficient reasons at the police station;
• absenteeism (according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - absence from the workplace during a working day (shift), as well as for 4 hours in a row, without good reason);
• appearing at work (at the workplace, the territory of the employing organization or the facility where the employee must work) in a state of intoxication resulting from the use of alcohol, drugs or other toxic substances.

For such facts, the Penal Inspectorate has the right to apply the following measures to the employee:

• in writing, no later than three working days from the date of the violation, against signature, warn the convicted person about the possibility of replacing correctional labor with a more severe punishment;
• oblige him to visit the inspection every month (up to 2 times) for the purpose of registration, for which a decision is made.

Malicious evasion of serving

Malicious evasion is determined by the criminal-executive inspection:

1. In the event of a repeated violation, after a written warning, of absolutely any of the above.
2. If the convict has fled from his place of residence and his whereabouts are unknown. He is put on the wanted list, he can be detained for two days, this period can be extended by the court to 30 days.

Consequences of violations

The most negative consequence of improperly serving correctional labor is its replacement with a more severe punishment - forced labor or imprisonment.

Such a decision is authorized to be made exclusively by the court based on the results of consideration of the relevant justified request of the criminal investigation department, supported by information from the personal file of the violator, characterizing him and confirming the fact of evasion.

The petition is prepared and submitted to the court:

• within 3 days from a repeated violation (weekends and holidays are not taken into account);
• in relation to an absconding person - after the initial search activities.

Replacement occurs at the rate of 1 day of new punishment for every 3 days of unserved correctional labor.

Who controls the convicted person?

The behavior of the convicts is strictly controlled by the employees of the correctional institute, who determined this punishment. They do the following:

• conduct general control;
• monitor compliance with the period established by law for serving the sentence;
• check daily attendance and absence of absenteeism on the part of persons under record (2-3 times a week) through telephone calls or personal visits to the place of detention;
• take action in case of violations;
• send requests to various organizations (hospitals, pre-trial detention centers, Federal Migration Service, etc.) as part of the work to find the whereabouts of the convicted person, if he does not appear at the inspection and does not get in touch.

In addition to inspection, the following are connected to control:

• Prosecutor's Office: checks quarterly all the personal files of convicted persons and the conditions of serving correctional labor.
• Police: called upon to assist UII inspectors.
• Administration of the enterprise where the convicted person is serving his sentence. She is entrusted by law with direct control over the convicted person in the workplace. Here a report card is drawn up, in which attendance and the number of hours worked are noted, labor protection is ensured, and absenteeism and violations on the part of the employed are brought to the attention of the inspectors of the correctional institution.

Once the sentence begins, the convicted person has the obligation to work constantly, with breaks only for good reasons. The relationship between the employer and the convicted person is regulated by the labor legislation of the Russian Federation.

The main goal of correctional labor is to direct the convicted person on the path of correction by providing him with the opportunity to work and serve his sentence not in prison, but at his place of residence.

Some differences from similar punishments

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Substitution of punishment

It is important that the malicious evasion of a guilty person from correctional labor entails replacement with a more severe punishment - imprisonment. The calculation is made according to the scheme - 1 day of imprisonment for 3 days of work.

Other reasons for replacement:

• violation of the conditions of correctional labor,
• failure to comply with deadlines for appearing at the correctional institute,
• change of place of residence without agreement with the inspector,
• absenteeism from work without good reason.

For how long correctional labor is established - see the video below: