Approaches to the concept of "self-employed" in Russian science and legislation

Subject. The scientific article is devoted to the analysis of doctrinal approaches to understanding the essence and content of the concepts of "self-employment" and "self-employed", as well as legal definitions of the relevant concepts in legislative and by-laws, materials of law enforcement practice in the Russian Federation. The paper also presents statistical data on the number of self-employed people in Russia in dynamics. The article substantiates the importance of improving Russian social and labor legislation in terms of legislative consolidation of the conceptual and categorical apparatus concerning self-employment, forms and types of employment, including atypical manifestations of employment in modern conditions of digital economy development. Goal. The purpose of the article is based on an analysis of the scientific works of legal scholars—comparing the definition of self-employment and self-employed people, identifying problems in the field under consideration and offering recommendations for their resolution. Methodology. The scientific article was prepared on the basis of a system of scientific methods, including not only general scientific, but also private scientific, special legal methods (analysis, synthesis, statistical, comparative legal, formal legal, and others), which made it possible to identify common features and differences in doctrinal and legal formulations of self-employment, as well as uncertainties and conflicts in application legislation in this area. Results/conclusions. Taking into account different branches of legislation, the content of the concept of the self-employed is defined differently, and a similar approach is observed in legal science. The specifics of the legal status of the self-employed as subjects of legal relations participating in the pension insurance system need to be studied in more detail. In order to institutionalize self-employment as a legal phenomenon in the context of the formation of pension rights for the self-employed, this definition should be consolidated at the legislative level for the purposes of uniform understanding and enforcement.