Irregular working hours: legal regulation and law enforcement practice in law enforcement agencies

Introduction. The article offers a detailed analysis of both the regulatory framework and the practical implementation of the irregular working-hours regime – one form of duty performed beyond the standard length of the service day – as well as the compensatory guarantees linked to it. The authors examine how this special service regimen is applied to officers of the Internal Affairs bodies in conjunction with personnel of other law-enforcement agencies, military servicemembers, and employees working under labour contracts. The topic’s relevance stems from the need to strike a balance between operational demands and the protection of labour rights for staff assigned duties beyond normal service time. Materials and Methods. The research draws upon provisions of labour legislation, laws governing civil and military service, and ministerial regulations issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and other federal executive bodies. The methodological toolkit includes legal analysis, comparative-law, systems-structural and formal-legal approaches, supplemented by a synthesis of law-enforcement practice and scholarly literature on the subject. The Results of the Study. The authors identify the distinctive features of the regulatory treatment of the irregular working day within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tracing the evolution of this service institution, its legal bases, the lists of positions covered, and the procedure for granting additional social guarantees to personnel called upon to serve beyond the standard duty schedule. Particular attention is paid to contentious enforcement issues – namely, defining the episodic nature of overtime, establishing permissible workload volumes, and documenting such work. The study emphasizes the need to avoid substituting irregular hours for ordinary overtime and advocates the development of a unified inter-agency approach to regulating this institution. Findings and Conclusions. The research underscores the importance of preserving a legal balance when applying the irregular working-hours regime. In light of the shortcomings revealed, the authors propose: imposing a statutory annual cap on the total number of hours personnel may be required to work beyond normal service time; drafting a consolidated act that standardises the regime’s application across law-enforcement and military bodies; and introducing more advanced mechanisms for recording and monitoring service time.