Grounds for dismissal under the Labor Code, payments and compensation

In few businesses, constant staff turnover can be a positive thing. For most employers, the departure of an employee is a stressful situation that negatively affects the entire work process and, accordingly, profit. Moreover, in some cases, the departure of a key employee can completely paralyze the work of the enterprise. And the requirement for a long time to prepare a new employee for the existing process can also complicate the loss. Let's look at the most common reasons why employees leave

Reason for dismissal No. 12 – divergence of principles

It is not so often now that people resign of their own free will due to ideological and fundamental disagreements with the employer. But sometimes situations arise in which dismissal for these reasons is possible. For example, when a company where a committed vegan worked begins to build a cattle farm as a side project. Or when the company expresses support for certain policies that may cause antipathy in the employee.

Such situations make up only a small fraction of the total number of independent dismissals of employees, but for many employers they are the most unpredictable. However, such a layoff can usually cause serious damage to a business only when there are a small number of employees. And in small enterprises, the employer always has the opportunity to prevent such events or at least be aware of the interests and principles of their employees.

In general, the head of the department, HR specialists or the employer himself are practically unable to influence such a situation. And such influence, even if possible, is unlikely to be justified - there is no point in sacrificing the interests of the business for the interests of one individual employee. However, if the company’s policies and actions cause massive dissatisfaction among employees, and such dismissals are not an isolated practice, you should seriously think about the chosen vectors of development.

Dismissal due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties

Here, dismissal is regulated by Art. 83 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This article is rarely used.

The grounds for such dismissal may be:

• conscription for military or alternative service;
• reinstatement of an employee who previously occupied this position based on a court decision or labor inspectorate;
• failure to be elected to office;
• conviction to punishment in accordance with a court decision;
• a person’s inability to work according to a medical report;
• death of an employer (IP) or employee, recognition of one of them as missing;
• emergency circumstances recognized by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, a state authority, a subject of the Russian Federation (war, natural disaster, accident, etc.);
• disqualification or administrative punishment that excludes the possibility of performing duties in accordance with the employment contract;
• expiration, suspension for two or more months, deprivation of an employee’s license, the right to drive a vehicle and other special rights;
• termination of access to state secrets, if necessary;
• excess share of foreign workers;
• changes in labor legislation.

Such dismissal sometimes requires a special procedure to be followed when another position must be offered in the same enterprise in the same area.

When dismissing an employee under this article, there is no preliminary deadline, that is, dismissal can occur on the same day.

But the employee must receive written notice of dismissal, which can be given even two hours before the event.

Reason for dismissal No. 11 – long distance

In general, it is precisely because of the long distance from home to work that employees rarely leave their workplace. After all, when they go to work, they know what they will have to face. It’s another matter when a change in the distance to work arose after the start of the labor relationship. For example, after moving an office or vice versa – changing an employee’s place of residence. Extra time spent traveling to the office, increasing the cost of travel on intercity and city transport - all these factors negatively affect the employee and may even push him to quit.

At the same time, the employer has the opportunity to influence this situation. If an employee is very valuable to the company, but has difficulty getting to work, you can offer him various compensation options. For example, partial payment of the cost of transport or a narrowing of the actual requirements for staying at the workplace, if this is permissible. That is, a valuable employee can be released from work earlier, but expected back later. However, such a practice should be used on an individual basis, as it may negatively affect the rest of the team, who will be dissatisfied with such excessive indulgences.

In general, it should always be taken into account that when such a situation arises due to the fault of the employer, for example, when relocating an enterprise, it is best to determine a number of benefits for all working employees in advance and discuss options for additional benefits or other assistance with the workers themselves. If the increase in travel time to and from work was influenced by third-party factors - changes in public transport routes, closure of highways and roads for repairs - compromises should be sought with employees affected by such a change. If the problem is the relocation of one of the employees, any measures to improve his condition should be taken only if you are completely sure that they will not affect the situation in the team.

What laws govern the legal relationship between employer and employee?

The relationship between an employee and his employer is regulated by labor law.

Its main source is the Labor Code of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2001, 197-FZ, regulations.

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Sample dismissal order

On their basis, an employment contract is developed between the employer and the employee.

According to Art. 6 of the Labor Code, the procedure for dismissal is established by federal authorities.

The general grounds for dismissal are given in Art. 77 TK.

Also, the document (Articles 278, 288, 307, 312, 336) provides additional grounds on which an employee can be dismissed.

Dismissal occurs:

• at the initiative of an employee or employer;
• by agreement of the parties;
• due to circumstances (not at the will of the employer and employee);
• when does a fixed-term employment contract end?
• if the employee is to be transferred to another employer or to another position (job);
• if the employee does not agree to work due to a change in the owner of the organization;
• if the employee refused to work due to a critical change in the terms of the employment contract;
• when an employee refuses to be transferred when the employer moves to another location;
• when an employee refuses to be transferred to another job due to changes in his health status;
• when the rules for concluding an employment contract are violated, if this makes it impossible to continue working.

The first five types of dismissal are the most common.

Reason for dismissal No. 10 - personal factors

In most cases, people quit precisely because of dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the labor relationship. However, this does not apply to all situations - in some cases, the employer and his company have absolutely nothing to do with the dismissal of the employee. The reason for dismissal may lie in completely third-party, personal factors affecting the employee’s life.

Such situations include various family changes. Divorce or vice versa - a wedding, the birth of a child, a family move - the list of similar situations that can ultimately lead to dismissal is extremely wide. And the employer should not blame himself or look for mistakes in his own personnel policy if the employee quits precisely due to the circumstances in his personal life. The same situations include health problems that arise among workers that are not related to their professional activities. But in this case, the employer’s support and assistance can still be of great importance for the quitter.

At the same time, it is impossible to give recommendations that could definitely keep an employee at work in this case. Of course, the employer can carefully discuss this issue with the employee and offer some kind of compromise solution, but such a compromise may not always be possible. Dismissals for personal reasons do not happen very often, therefore, first of all, they should be treated as a given - after all, human life is unstable, and not every person in it has work in the first place.

How are grounds and causes classified?

To terminate an employment contract there must be at least one of the legal grounds, which can be classified as:

1. basic;
2. additional;
3. due to current circumstances;
4. legally justified.

1. In Art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides a list of general grounds when an employment contract ceases to be valid:

• Based on the agreement and agreement reached between the owner and the hired worker (Article 78 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• Upon expiration of the contract or the scope of work provided for by its terms has been completed (Article 79 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• When an employee no longer wants, or due to current circumstances cannot continue to work in this organization and wants to resign of his own free will (Article 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• The employer does not want to continue to have any joint production relations with the employee in the future due to loss of trust or failure to fully fulfill official duties, violations of labor discipline, and other situations permissible in accordance with Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
• In the event that, under a written guarantee of employment from another employer, a person is transferred to another organization or may be elected to an elective position.
• If the employee is not satisfied with the new owner of the enterprise or changes in jurisdiction that occurred in connection with the reorganization, the transition of a state institution to a municipal type (Article 75 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• If the employee does not agree to accept the changes made by the employer to the terms of the employment contract and refuses to continue working, fulfilling the new requirements (Part 4 of Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• If the employee does not want to transfer to a vacant position offered by the manager, where the working conditions are compatible with his state of health and medical report.

This may include cases when the employer does not have suitable workplaces where the employee can continue to work if medical indications do not allow him to perform previous duties (transfer to light work, according to Part 3 and Part 4 of Article 73 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);

• Change by the owner of the legal and actual address of the location of the enterprise and the employee’s refusal to move from his main place of residence in order to be able to continue working in his specialty for the previous owner (Part 1 of Article 72.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• Circumstances that do not depend on the wishes of either party to the contractual relationship (Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• When the contract is concluded in violation of the rules established by labor legislation or other federal laws, which excludes the possibility of continuing to work further (Article 84 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

2. Additional reasons when an employment contract may be terminated are also defined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, these include:

• removal from his position of the head of an enterprise that is in the process of bankruptcy (Article 278 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• termination of contractual relations providing for combination of professions when hiring a person for a combined position for permanent work;
• For teachers involved in the upbringing and education of the younger generation, the following is fraught with dismissal: repeated violation of the charter of an educational institution;
• even a single use of unacceptable methods of education with the use of violence against a student of a physical or psychological nature;
• reaching the age when, according to Art. 332 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, certain positions cannot be filled;

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The employer does not sign the resignation letter: what should the employee do?

Special requirements for compliance with the charter or regulations on discipline for civil servants, accordingly, expand the grounds giving the right to terminate the employment relationship if they are not fulfilled.

3. The legal grounds for termination of an employment contract are listed in Art. 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, when the decision to dismiss does not depend on the will of the parties:

• conscription into the Army to fulfill military duty to the Motherland, or for alternative civilian service in special cases determined by law;
• when by a court decision the dismissal of a previously held position in whose place a new employee is hired is declared illegal and the latter is restored to his rights to work;
• if an employee is found guilty of a crime by a court verdict and sent to places of serving the actual sentence, or is excluded from the possibility of further engaging in certain types of activities;
• due to the deterioration of a person’s health, the conclusion of a medical examination indicating complete disability;
• unexpected death of an employee or employer, equivalent to this situation, a court decision declaring an individual dead or missing;
• recognition by the Government of the country or a government body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation of the onset of emergency situations when it is impossible to continue normal work activity (natural and man-made disasters, accidents, epidemics of viral diseases, the outbreak of hostilities, etc.);
• bringing to administrative responsibility up to and including disqualification of the employee and issuing a decision to remove him from his position for a specified period;
• in case of expiration of a possible two-month period of suspension of special licenses, if it is no longer possible for the employee to perform his job duties (for example, deprivation of a driver’s license, the right to store and carry weapons, etc.);
• in case of a ban on access to state secrets, when fulfillment of the terms of the employment contract is impossible without this permission;
• if a previously adopted court decision on reinstatement at work is canceled upon appeal by the employer;
• in other cases, when circumstances arise that, in accordance with the requirements of labor legislation and federal laws, exclude certain departments and sectors of the national economy from engaging in a certain type of activity.

4. From a legal point of view, termination of an employment contract is regulated by law and must be carried out in compliance with the established rules:

• the validity of the decision to dismiss the employee;
• fulfillment of all procedural requirements;
• documentary evidence of the legal basis for termination of industrial relations.

Reason for dismissal No. 9 – critical situation in the company

In times of economic crises, many employees are looking for new opportunities and prospects, while others strive to get as much as possible right away, without waiting for difficult days. The same thing, only to a much greater extent, applies to crises not on the general market, but on the scale of an individual enterprise. A difficult situation or just an emerging crisis can force workers to quit in advance, without waiting for the business to go bankrupt, after which they will only know that they worked for free for several weeks or months without the opportunity to receive their earnings.

In the event that there is a crisis situation in business, a very important part of the anti-crisis measures should be events dedicated to ordinary employees and key specialists of this business. Difficult moments in business can become both a force that destroys the team and labor efficiency, and vice versa - a situation in which employees can rally and literally pull the business out of difficult times on their shoulders.

Therefore, it is important for the employer to communicate to employees as directly and openly as possible about crises in the business, however, without excessive exaggeration. Debunking rumors and preventing panic, together with providing truthful, albeit not the most rosy information, can do much more than simply hushing up existing problems and risks.

Reason for dismissal No. 8 – low employee motivation

Lack of motivation to work can cause dismissal only in the most advanced cases. However, insufficient motivation in itself is an extremely serious problem, and dismissals for this reason are a serious marker of structural shortcomings in the personnel policy of the enterprise. First of all, bonuses should be the main tool for motivating employees.

Current labor legislation allows the use of a wide variety of bonus systems for employees. However, many employers still approach the issue of assigning and paying bonuses only formally - simply writing them out to workers as an additional 13th salary or issuing them regularly. Such bonuses almost completely destroy the very motivational essence of this procedure.

At the same time, promising bonus systems should focus on specific key performance indicators for each individual employee. In this case, when the employee has clearly set goals and the understanding that their achievement will be rewarded by the employer, he is unlikely to quit due to lack of motivation. Moreover, a high-quality motivational system can even outweigh many other factors in the employee’s value system that could push him to quit.

Reason for dismissal No. 7 – lack or insufficiency of social guarantees

Despite the fact that the Russian Federation is a state with a strong social policy and a large volume of obligations of any employer to its employees, simple compliance with the Labor Code standards to a minimum extent may not always be sufficient for workers. Taking into account modern trends, where many enterprises strive to win the loyalty of employees precisely through social guarantees, their small volume can become a serious reason for subsequent dismissal.

First of all, it should be noted that if there are layoffs for such reasons, then this is the main marker of the need to change the social policy of the business. In particular, current legislation largely allows employers to provide additional support to their employees without unnecessary costs and bureaucratic obstacles.

Social guarantees can be expressed in various options, which include:

• Direct financial support for workers in difficult life situations.
• Providing related leisure, recreation and entertainment for both the employees themselves and their families, including the provision of vouchers.
• Possibility of treatment in specialized medical institutions or additional medical insurance.
• Providing free professional courses.

A very effective option for retaining employees with the help of social guarantees can be the obligation to pay permanent pensions or similar contributions to employees who have worked for a certain period of time. In this case, the very fact of the presence of such additional security in the future may force employees to ignore other negative factors and distract them from thoughts of quitting or changing jobs.

Reason for dismissal No. 6 – inadequate assessment of employee efforts

Often, inadequate assessment by the employer and management of the efforts of employees leads to subsequent dismissal. If situations arise at an enterprise when some of the employees may not work at all, and someone has to work for the entire department, it is very likely that the employee working for the entire department, who does not receive any return from such activities, will simply, in the end, decides to change jobs.

Important

It is necessary to distinguish between incorrect assessment of employee efforts and lack of motivation. In this situation, the employee quits precisely because the stable daily performance of direct work duties is not appreciated or is incorrectly assessed, and not additional initiative or other features of the motivational system. Most often, authoritarian managers do not pay due attention to working conditions and the distribution of work responsibilities between employees.

If the head of a department is only interested in meeting the department's overall performance goals, and does not pay attention to the specific participation of individual employees in meeting such indicators, then in the end the most effective employees will definitely think about looking for another job. Such dismissal can be avoided through high-quality daily assessment of work and proper distribution of work responsibilities. In addition, so that an employee does not feel undervalued and does not work for the entire department on his own, it is not at all necessary to directly encourage his activities - a similar satisfaction of his sense of justice, as well as sufficient motivation for ineffective employees, can be achieved by applying certain sanctions to underperforming employees.

Reason for leaving #5 – high stress level

Many work activities can be stressful. Working with people, performing responsible activities, operating in dangerous or harmful conditions - all of this has an additional impact on the employee. Excessive levels of stress and nervous tension during work can cause both chronic fatigue and even depression, psychological problems and subsequent dismissal of the employee.

It should be understood that the Labor Code standards do not always adequately assess the burden on workers. At one enterprise, a mandatory break with constant overload on workers will in no way be able to provide proper rest. At other enterprises, proper distribution of the load will make it possible to effectively use staff rest time for work purposes - for example, this is widely practiced in foreign IT companies, which regard staff collective rest time as an excellent option for developing the skills and cooperation between departments needed by programmers and other employees. on a purely voluntary basis.

note

To avoid employee layoffs due to excessive stress, you should first pay attention to the work of HR specialists and the existing working conditions. In case of too high load or simply increased stress-generating factors, their influence should at least be compensated. However, not always even high wages and additional bonuses can be sufficient for an employee to work unquestioningly in too harsh conditions - therefore, the workload should never be excessive, regardless of the established level of payment for such workload.

FAQ

When is the best time to leave work?

It is better to quit your job when a new job has already been found and a certain amount of money has been accumulated to survive in case of failure at the new job.

During the holiday season, it is quite difficult to find a new job, so it is worth waiting out this period.

Is it possible to leave during the period of official review?

Regardless of the circumstances, the employee has the right to quit his job by submitting a corresponding application two weeks in advance without giving reasons.

How to leave if I work unofficially?

Two weeks before dismissal, the employee notifies the Administration of his intentions.

When dismissing an employee who is not officially registered with the employer, disputes often arise due to the refusal to issue remuneration for work.

An unofficial worker has the right to send a corresponding complaint to the Labor Inspectorate and prove the fact of working for the employer.

How to join the labor exchange?

To register with the labor exchange, an unemployed person must confirm his status and submit documents: passport, education document, work book, certificate of income for 3 months at the previous place of work, application.

Registration after submitting all documents takes one day, and the status of unemployed is assigned after eleven days.

Payment for medical examination

The employer pays:

• primary medical examinations;
• routine medical examinations;
• unscheduled diagnostic examinations.

The list of employees entitled to medical examinations at the expense of the employer is contained in Order No. 302-n.

Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated April 12, 2011 N 302n

Reason for dismissal No. 4 – poor relationship with management or team

A conflict-ridden team or a lack of trusting or simply fair relationships with superiors can often lead to the dismissal of employees. Therefore, professional HR specialists and employers pay great attention to both the process of team building - creating an effective team of employees, and the preliminary selection of applicants for vacant positions who are compatible with each other and with the existing team.

If a conflict arises directly with the manager or with the employer himself, one should clearly reconsider the relationship between such management and the employee and make an objective decision, not relying on subjective opinions. Moreover, from an objective point of view, both the employee himself and the employer or manager may be to blame for problematic relationships, and the solution to such a problem will depend on many factors.

In general, problems in the team at large enterprises can be resolved by transferring an employee from one place to another. If one employee experiences a problem with the team, penalties and methods of influencing the team can ultimately lead to the opposite result and only aggravate the existing conflict. However, if the tendency to constant conflicts with the team leads to the dismissal of a large number of employees, or to constant staff turnover, when the established team does not accept new employees or literally bullies them, one should not indulge such behavior. At a certain point, even a complete renewal of such a toxic and aggressive team may become justified.

Reason for dismissal No. 3 – boredom and monotony of the work process

The monotony of the work process and boredom in the workplace may seem like an ordinary factor that cannot affect the dismissal of an employee. However, it is not. Even with a sufficient level of wages, good prospects for career growth, social guarantees and other positive aspects of labor relations, excessive routine in the workplace can ultimately lead the employee to depression or even dismissal of the employee. Likewise, boredom in the workplace, even if it is due to the lack of tasks that are really necessary to complete, has a similar effect on the employee.

note

You can fight boredom and routine using various methods. So, if the work process is monotonous and does not require too precise qualifications with specific knowledge, constant rotation of workers between departments can be effective. Such rotation can be carried out either monthly or annually, or weekly or even several times during one working day. An excellent example of the interchangeability of workers can be fast food restaurants - few of their workers can complain about the monotony of the work process. Moreover, such interchangeability of employees will definitely increase their qualifications and significantly reduce damage to the enterprise if one of the employees is lost, since all other employees will be able to easily perform his duties without additional training.

Boredom is a sign of improper distribution of work time or work responsibilities. Of course, some positions may directly require employees to have free time. For example, when working as a watchman, repairman or system administrator, their free time is precisely an indicator of their effective work. To relieve workers from boredom, you can use a different approach. If the presence of an employee at the workplace or in its immediate vicinity is not necessary all the time, the working day can be shortened or employees can be released early. If they need to always be present at the workplace, since their work may be required at any moment, they should be provided with at least minimal tools for leisure activities. These could be simple access to the Internet, a special sports corner or a separate recreation area, the presence of board games or other entertainment, or a mini-library.

Why you can fire an employee under the Labor Code

The grounds for dismissal of an employee under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, initiated by the employer, are listed in Art. 81 of this normative act. At the same time, the list given in it is not exhaustive (special norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation or special laws may provide for other grounds).

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How dismissal is carried out under an article for failure to fulfill official duties: detailed instructions

Unlike the right of an employee, who can quit without giving any reason, the right of an employer to dismiss an employee is limited by law. The restriction is aimed at protecting the employee as the more vulnerable person in the relationship in question.

The grounds listed in this article, in turn, are also classified into 2 types:

1. Grounds arising as a result of the employee committing illegal actions or other guilty behavior.
2. Grounds that have an objective reason, in the absence of a relationship with the employee’s guilty behavior.

The grounds related to the first type are listed by the legislator in paragraphs. 5–11 st. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, among them:

• failure to fulfill duties in the absence of valid reasons, committed more than once;
• gross failure to comply with duties committed once;
• actions of the employee that caused a loss of confidence in him;
• committing an immoral act (for certain categories of workers);
• actions that caused damage to the employer (in relation to managers, their deputies and chief accountants);
• submission of false documents during the registration of labor relations.

All other grounds on which you can dismiss an employee, named in this article, belong to the second type.

Reason for dismissal No. 2 – lack of prospects

Some workers quit simply because there are no real prospects in their workplace. Working for a long time with the same salary and in the same position without visible progress will definitely force an employee to think about looking for a more promising job. Even a small salary with ample opportunities for career growth in the future may not become a hindrance in this case for tired workers to remain at the same level.

At the same time, it is logical that not every employee is truly worthy of an effective promotion or promotion up the career ladder - in any case, there are not enough vacant management positions for everyone. However, it should be remembered that at any enterprise it is possible for employees to occupy additional positions. Thus, an employee who does not demonstrate leadership talent, but conscientiously performs his duties, can be increased in salary and offered the role of an instructor for novice applicants, or simply provided with additional income by giving him the position of someone responsible for fire safety or other labor standards.

In some professions there is also a certain ceiling for career growth, above which the employee simply cannot rise. In this case, the employee is unlikely to quit for this reason, but may begin to think about changing his specialty. If the employer values ​​such an employee in this capacity, a good option may be to offer him a part-time job with another position that provides for his own, separate career growth, if possible. Even the very fact of even minimal prospects for the future, when reaching the “ceiling” in a busy specialty, can easily convince an employee to quit.

Features of dismissal during liquidation of an enterprise

Dismissal upon liquidation of an enterprise is carried out in accordance with clause 1, part 1, art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

In this case, the employee is warned about the upcoming dismissal at least two months in advance.

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In addition to salary and monetary compensation for unused vacation, the employer pays him severance pay - average monthly earnings, and also retains his average monthly earnings for the period until he finds a job, but this period should not exceed 2 months.

The specified period can be increased to three months, but provided that such a person contacted the employment service within two weeks after dismissal and during this time he was unable to find a job.

Such dismissal is carried out in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Upon dismissal due to liquidation, no additional guarantees are paid to union members and those on vacation or sick leave.

Quite often, management, not wanting to burden themselves with financial obligations, is cunning and persuades employees to leave of their own free will.

In this case, the dismissed person will not receive any compensation other than the basic calculation or the amount specified in such an agreement.