Legal support for labor relations with professional athletes: features and prospects for development at the international level

Abstract

Problem setting. The work of professional athletes is a global phenomenon that affects all countries of the civilized world. Their professional sports activities occupy a special place in the socio-economic and cultural life of any developed state, as they are a special sphere that combines the features of labor, entrepreneurship, creativity and public representation of the state. Labor relations with athletes are characterized by specific working conditions and have a fairly extensive system of legal regulation, so difficulties arise in resolving them. This necessitates the need for special legal regulation, which will clearly define the nature of such relations. Analyses of recent researches and publications. Certain aspects of the legal regulation of labor relations with professional athletes have been reflected in the works of such scholars as: P. Bushchenko, N. Vapnyarchuk, N. Getmantsev, V. Zhernakov, M. Inshin, K. Melnyk, S. Prylypko, O. Protsevsky, G. Chanysheva, O. Yaroshenko, etc. At the same time, the features of concluding an employment contract with an employee-athlete within the framework of international cooperation have not been fully studied, especially taking into account today’s realities. Article’s main body. Revealing the features of legal support for labor relations with professional athletes, both at the national and international levels. And conducting an analysis of international legal standards to determine the prospects for the development of national legislation of Ukraine to ensure decent working conditions for employee athletes. Conclusions and prospects for the development. In this article, the author assesses the importance of studying the legal regulation of labor relations in the field of professional sports both at the state level and at the level of international cooperation. Since in the modern world, sport has become not only a popular social phenomenon, but also a powerful economic phenomenon that covers a significant number of workers athletes, coaches, judges and others. The rapid growth of the sports industry, the process of commercialization of competitions and the global mobility of athletes necessitate a scientific understanding of the issue of legal regulation of labor relations in this area. Although sports activities in Ukraine are extremely widespread, from the point of view of labor law, the legal regulation of sports activities requires refinement in accordance with the needs of modern society and its adaptation to high world standards. The work draws attention to the fact that despite the significant contribution of professional athletes to the economy of the state and the development of society, their work remains the least regulated and unprotected form of employment. The author analyzes the directions of development of legal support of sports-labor relations and emphasizes that an important role in regulating the labor activity of athletes is played by individual contractual regulation, which reflects the real needs in labor relations between an employee-athlete and an employer-sports organization (for example, a professional labor contract of players with sports clubs). In the process of studying this issue, the author considered international legislation, European Union law, and European practice of resolving disputes in professional sports. Having studied the directions and prospects of legal support of sports-labor relations in the field of professional sports, his proposals were expressed within the framework of the concept of international norms on labor in professional sports in order to improve national legislation. It is concluded that the study of labor relations with professional athletes at the international level has high scientific, practical and social significance. It is a prerequisite for creating an effective system of legal regulation in the field of sports, which will ensure a balance of interests of athletes, clubs, federations and states, as well as increase the level of legal protection of sports industry workers around the world.