Досліджено сутність та зміст законного інтересу, визначено специфіку його прояву у сфері трудового права. Розкрито співвідношення та взаємозв’язок законного інтересу з термінами «охоронюваний законом інтерес» і «суб’єктивне право». Проаналізовано чинне трудове законодавство у сфері захисту суб’єктивних трудових прав та законних трудових інтересів.
In the article the essence and meaning of legal interest are explored from the standpoint of labour law. The specific character of the category of ‘legitimate interest’ is emphasized. Being the phenomenon of labour law, legitimate interest has a complex socio-legal nature and different forms of manifestation in modern society. Legitimate interest is also associated with the legal entities comprehending the necessity of meeting their own needs in a manner which is acceptable, but not directly guaranteed by the current legislation. The correlation and interrelationship of the term ‘legitimate interest’ and the concepts of ‘interest protected by law’ and ‘subjective right’ are studied in this article. It is emphasized that
until recently ‘interest protected by law’ was mostly used in domestic legal science, whereas ‘legitimate interest’ was most common in foreign one. At the moment the term ‘legitimate interest’ is becoming widespread both at the level of doctrine and Ukraine’s legislation. Today, neither legislators nor most researchers differentiate these two concepts and use them interchangeably. The common feature of subjective right and legitimate interest in the field of employment law is the fact that they are considered as permissions. Legal interests and rights of the subjects of labour relations are to be differentiated in essence, content and structure. The existing labour legislation in the field of protecting subjective labour rights and legitimate labour interests is analyzed. Domestic law recognizes not only the interests of workers, but also the interests of the workforce, trade unions, employers, employers’ organizations, manufacturing and others. It is found that the right to exercise the interest exists both in individual and collective subjective aspects. Its provision should be made by the legislator on the principle of balancing the interests of the parties of labour relations. It is concluded that the implementation of legitimate interest is concentrated in extrajudicial proceedings and involves third parties (mediators), which helps to avoid legal disputes with maximum satisfaction to both sides.
