Vol. 10, No 2, 2012 pp. 151 - 167
UDC 796.071.2
Original empirical article
THE NATURE OF THE WORK ENGAGEMENT OF ATHLETES
Zoran Radulović1, Bojan Urdarević2, Zoran Jovanović2
1School of Business, Economy and Entrepreneurship, Belgrade, Serbia
2Faculty of Law, University of Kragujevac, Serbia
E-mail: burdarevic@jura.kg.ac.rs
Abstract. The main goal of this article is to determine whether professional athletes can be viewed as employees in the sense of employment regulation. Whilst professional athletes shared common experiences as a result of their sporting careers, there are also some important differences both within and between these groups. The usual concept of a worker is defined by factors such as: the level and regularity of earnings; the prospects of security; work conditions; relations with the social strata above and below him; general conditions of living and the prospects for future advancement. The labor class was and always is characterized by a strong tradition of industrial organization, and as a result enjoyed relative economic advantages. A professional athlete, on the other hand, display some of the characteristics which define workers in general, but there are still significant differences between them and general workers. For example, many successful athletes enjoyed favorable living standards in comparison to general workers, but the continuation of this situation could not be guaranteed after retirement from their sporting careers. Furthermore, many professional athletes were excluded from employment protection provisions for many years. Because of this and many other reasons stated in this article, the authors are proposing that labor relations of professions athlete should be viewed as sui generis with full acknowledgement of its specific features.
Key words: professions athlete, voluntarism, labor relationship, flexible work.
PRAVNA PRIRODA RADNOG ODNOSA SPORTISTA
Radni odnos u klasičnom smislu i radno angažovanje profesionalnih sportista razlikuju se kako u pogledu sadržine bitnih karakteristika, tako i po nekim "sekundarnim" obeležjima kao što su: isključenje javnosti pri zaključivanju ugovora i beznačajnost radnog vremena kao segmenta izvršavanja radnih obaveza. Zarada, dobrovoljnost i lična radnopravna funkcionalna veza su bitni elementi radnog odnosa koji se u slučaju radnog angažovanja sportista suštinski razlikuju od istih obeležja radnog odnosa. Radno angažovanje sportista predstavlja specifičan, sui generis, oblik radnog odnosa koji je uvek vremenski oročen bez postojanja bilo kakvih zakonskih ograničenja (uslova) za poslodavca u tom pogledu. To je, inače, jedna od suštinskih razlika u odnosu na obavljanje rada preko radnog odnosa na određeno vreme. Mogućnost da se sportisti radno angažuju na određeno vreme bez zakonom predviđenih ograničenja u pogledu trajanja takvog radnog odnosa opravdava se činjenicom da je radno angažovanje sportista po prirodi stvari ograničenog karaktera u dvodimenzionalnom smislu. Prvo, zbog biološko-fizičkih limita svakog čoveka nemoguće je ostvariti pun radni vek profesionalnim bavljenjem sportom. Drugo, i poslodavcu i sportisti pogoduje zaključivanje ugovora o radu na određeno vreme. Sportisti, jer može nakon angažovanja u nekom klubu ostvariti dobre sportske rezultate i unaprediti svoje sportske potencijale te tako ostvariti pretpostavke za uvećanje "svoje vrednosti". Nasuprot tome, poslodavcu odgovara oročavanje njegovih obaveza zbog mogućnosti da sportista vremenom izgubi deo svojih sportskih kvaliteta čime bi sportska organizacija došla u situaciju da plaća sportistu čije radno angažovanje joj nije potrebno.
Ključne reči: profesionalni sportista, dobrovoljnost, radni odnos, fleksibilni rad
