Annotation

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of Article 351 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the specifics of labor of creative workers meaning persons professionally engaged in the creation, performance, and exhibition of works in cultural institutions, mass media, cinematography, and related industries. The author examines the framework nature of this provision and its correlation with related labor law institutions: downtime (Article 157 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), procedure for conclusion of fixed-term employment contracts (Article 59 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), general rules of working time recording (Article 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Special attention is paid to legal gaps that generate persistent uncertainty in law enforcement: absence of a legally defined on-call working regime, lack of systemic documentation of actual employment under irregular work schedules, risks of abuse in forming chains of short fixed-term employment contracts. Based on an analysis of judicial practice and doctrinal sources, the authors bring forward proposals to improve current legislation: introduction of a legal definition of the on-call working regime, establishment of an expanded list of creative professions, textual incorporation in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of the position of the Supreme Court on the indefinite nature of chain contracts. It is concluded that an increase in the effectiveness of legal regulation of labor of creative workers requires both subordinate and legislative-level regulation based on a balance of interests of employees and employers in the sphere of culture and creative activity.