Is it possible to fire someone on a day off?
The procedure for dismissal is regulated. And there is no direct prohibition on terminating an employment contract (hereinafter referred to as TD) on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. The main thing is that the employer has the opportunity to pay the quitter and give him all the documents: this is done on the last day of work.
When submitting a resignation letter, the employee indicates the date. If the employer assigns two weeks of work, its countdown begins on the day following the day the application is submitted. If the 14th day falls on a weekend, you cannot fire a person on the weekday preceding it; this would violate his right to withdraw his application. Therefore, the date of dismissal will be considered the day following the day of completion of work. This is explicitly stated in.
Judicial practice on this issue is quite controversial. Some courts believe that it is possible to terminate a TD on the next weekday following a weekend. Others argue that this is illegal, and at this time the employee could already work elsewhere. It is better to play it safe and shorten the working period so that the last day of work is a weekday, asking the person to rewrite the application.
If the employer has the opportunity to pay the employee and give him all the documents on Saturday or Sunday, and the employee himself asks for this, there is no need to worry: dismissal on these days is considered legal. The main thing is that the director fulfills his obligations to the resigning person on time.
Rules
The dismissal process is not considered too complicated, but company leaders must ensure that employee rights are not violated.
Therefore, if a citizen’s last day of work falls on a weekend, then the following rules are taken into account:
- it is prohibited to dismiss him in advance without prior and written agreement with the employee, since the opportunity for the citizen to withdraw his application is prevented;
- termination of the contract with the choice of a later date can also be considered a violation of labor rights, since from this day the citizen can already officially work in another company, and delays lead to material costs and difficulties with employment;
- When considering such a specific issue, the provisions of Art. 14 of the Labor Code, therefore it is necessary to terminate the contract in the next 24 hours, which are officially considered working days;
- Judicial practice shows that judges consider it lawful to dismiss a specialist on the next working day, even if the citizen has already found a new job.
If the dismissal date falls on a Saturday, then the head of the company can terminate the contract on Monday without any negative consequences.
If the employer doubts that his actions are legal, then he can ask the employee to rewrite the application, indicating the working day in the text, which shortens the working period by a short period. This is usually perceived positively by people who have made a firm decision to change jobs. The head of the enterprise only needs to make sure that he has the capabilities to fulfill the duties relating to the issuance of documentation and calculations.
Dismissal on a day off with a five-day work week
With a 5-day work week, termination of a contract on a weekend is permitted. The date must be the day indicated in the application.
Example. The person decided to resign from the organization by submitting an application to the manager on May 4. The countdown of the working period begins on the 6th and ends on May 20, a day off. It is on this day that the employer must pay the employee and issue all documents. The quitter himself is not obliged to come to work; he can do this on Monday or any other day.
Note: if the dismissal occurs on a weekend, and an accountant and a personnel officer are involved in the procedure, their labor is paid at double the rate ().
Application for resignation on Friday, which is the last day of work
Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 27. Forms of social partnership Social partnership is carried out in the forms:
- collective negotiations on the preparation of draft collective agreements, agreements and the conclusion of collective agreements, agreements;
- mutual consultations (negotiations) on the regulation of labor relations and other relations directly related to them, ensuring guarantees of the labor rights of workers and improving labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts containing labor law norms;
- participation of employees and their representatives in the management of the organization;
- participation of representatives of workers and employers in resolving labor disputes.
This dismissal occurs upon the written application of the employee and with the consent of the employer.
Even if the last day of vacation falls on a weekend, the vacation is not extended. And the end date does not change (part 2 of article 127 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause
2
Determinations of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated January 25, 2007 N 131-О-О). The exception is holidays established by Art. 112 of the Labor Code (Part.
1 tbsp. 120
Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The day of dismissal is a working day for an employee, but a day off for the administration. An employee’s day off is not an obstacle to his dismissal. But, if this day falls on the accountant’s (HR) day off, this greatly complicates the situation.
After all, as a general rule, work on weekends and holidays is prohibited (Part 1 of Article 113 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Dismissal on a day off during a shift work schedule
Termination of a contract during a shift work schedule also raises many questions. For example, if the person leaving works in shifts, and the accounting and personnel departments work on a five-day work week. A clear answer to this is given in:
“An employee working on a shift schedule must be fired on the last working day, even if it falls on Sunday or Saturday. If necessary, the employer can involve an accountant and a personnel department employee. The same rule applies to those who quit on a holiday.”
Example. The employee submitted her resignation on April 1. She works every other day or three. The employer told her to work for two weeks. The end of her work is on Saturday, April 15, she must start her shift. But you will have to work not a day, but until midnight, because from Sunday the work period is considered over.
Read: Dismissal due to redundancy: what employees need to know
How to correctly formalize the dismissal of an employee on a weekend or holiday?
Dismissal on a weekend or holiday occurs for various reasons. Let's look at how an employer should act using specific situations as examples.
At your own request
According to Article 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, when leaving at his own request, an employee must notify the employer 14 days in advance. The end of the working period may fall on a weekend or holiday.
To avoid conflict situations, it is recommended to agree with the employee so that he draws up a new application indicating the date of departure on a working day.
If he does not agree to postpone the moment of termination of the agreement, the order is issued the next day after the rest. There may be a problem when an employee has to go to a new place on Monday, so a compromise will need to be sought.
It happens that an employee’s dismissal occurs during holidays that last for several days in a row. If you act according to the rules of Article 14 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, this will delay the preparation of documents. It is possible to issue an order in advance with a dismissal date on holidays.
Example 1. 04/28/2018 I.N. Lyutikova submitted her resignation of her own free will, without entering the date of termination of the contract. The end of the two-week working period was on Saturday – 05/12/2018. She refused to reschedule her departure date. Since she needed to go to a new place from May 14, 2018, in agreement with the management, she was fired on May 11, 2018. The order indicated 05/12/2018 as the date of termination of the agreement.
However, the employee retains the right to withdraw the application within a 2-week period. In this case, the order will need to be canceled and adjustments made to the work book, since the employee retains the right to a workplace.
You should know! If the dismissal is formalized in advance, the employee must be fully paid off before the weekend. Otherwise, the employer will be held liable for the delay in issuing wages and work books.
At the initiative of the employer
The reasons for dismissal at the initiative of the employer are listed in Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is important that the contract termination procedure is followed and supporting documents are prepared (for example, an internal investigation report, a notice of warning to employees about staff reduction).
In case of staff reduction or liquidation
If you plan to dismiss an employee due to staff reduction or liquidation of the company, you need to warn him about this two months or earlier. In the case where the two-month period expires on a weekend, with a 5-day work week, the order is signed on Friday. The document will include a later date for the employee’s dismissal, falling on Saturday or Sunday.
Example 2. 07/31/2018 I.E. Ustinova received notice of dismissal due to staff reduction. The two-month warning period expired on Saturday 30.09.2018. The order was prepared on Friday - September 28, 2018, and September 30, 2018 was indicated as the date of termination of the contract.
For a disciplinary offense
For such grounds as dismissal for disciplinary misconduct, the obligation to notify the employee is not established. Therefore, the employer has the right to choose the next working day. If he took care of evidence of misconduct, the dismissal of the employee from his position will be lawful.
Example 3. E.A. Petrov systematically violated labor discipline. The immediate manager submitted three reports on absenteeism to the director of the LLC company in the period from 09.10.2018 to 09.12.2018 with an attached report drawn up by a commission of three people. On September 13, 2018, the employee was given a written notice with a request to provide an explanation for the facts of absenteeism within two days. On Friday, September 14, 2018, by the end of the working day, E.A. Petrov provided written explanations. He did not come to work because he was intoxicated. On Tuesday, September 18, 2018, the employer terminated the contract with him on the basis of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Due to the expiration of the employment contract
If a fixed-term employment contract has been signed with an employee, then the date of its termination may fall on vacation. In practice, two options for dismissal on this basis are used.
You can place an order on the next working date before your vacation. In this case, the employee should be notified about the expiration of the contract three days before dismissal. The order is signed on Friday; Saturday or Sunday is indicated as the date of release from office.
Most experts are of the opinion that an employee should be fired on the first day after rest.
Example 4. N.N. On June 29, 2018, Stepanova entered into a temporary employment contract with the LLC company for three months. It was supposed to expire on Saturday, September 29, 2018. The employer warned him about the expiration of the contract on September 25, 2018. Since the end date fell on a weekend, the order was signed on October 1, 2018.
On vacation and sick leave
If a citizen is on vacation or undergoing treatment, this situation applies to cases when he does not work, but his position is retained. Therefore, it is allowed to set a day off as the date of dismissal.
Important! The contract can be terminated without his presence only if he has written a letter of resignation of his own free will. In a situation where the dismissal is initiated by the employer, you will need to wait until the employee returns to work.
Special occasions include leave with aftercare. According to Article 127 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the final day of rest will be recognized as the date of departure, even if it falls on rest. The final payment is made to the employee before the vacation. At the same moment he is given a work book. After going on vacation, it will not be possible to withdraw the application, since the employee’s job is not retained.
Example 5. 04/28/2018 A.N. Kazantsev wrote a letter of resignation of her own free will, without indicating the date of termination of the contract. The end of the 2-week work period was on Saturday – 05/12/2018. On 05/07/2018 he went on sick leave until 05/18/2018. The employee did not withdraw the application. The order was prepared on May 11, 2018. The contract termination date was 05/12/2018. After completing the treatment, the employee brought the sick leave certificate to the employer. They made a calculation for him, gave him a work book, paid sick leave.
Dismissal of employees working on schedule
For some professions, a shift schedule is established. There may be situations when a day off coincides with a working day, and for the employer it is a day off.
Rostrud, in Letter No. 863-6-1 dated June 18, 2012, explained that the final working day is recognized as the date of termination of the contract, regardless of whether it coincides with rest. The dates for signing the order and dismissal will be identical.
To fill out the documents, it is recommended to involve a personnel employee to work on days off with his written consent.
Example 6. S.T. Barashkova works in a medical institution on a shift schedule. On April 28, 2018, she wrote a letter of resignation of her own free will. The two-week work period ended on Saturday, May 12, 2018, which is a working day according to the shift schedule. She refused to postpone the moment of leaving. The employer hired a human resources specialist and a financial accountant to work on Saturday with their written consent. S.T. Barashkov was paid off and given a work book. The order was signed on May 12, 2018.
Is it possible to be fired on the day the application is submitted?
The parties can agree to terminate the TD on the day the employee submits the application, and the presence or absence of valid reasons does not matter. The main thing is mutual agreement.
But in some cases, the manager is obliged to dismiss the subordinate on the day specified in the application ():
- When enrolled in an educational institution as a full-time student.
- Upon retirement.
- When conscripted into the army.
No work is assigned here. If the date specified in the application falls on a weekend, full payment and issuance of documents are made on that day.
Example. The woman submitted her resignation on September 5 and asked to terminate the contract on the 9th. Reason: enrollment in a university; relevant certificates have been submitted. September 9th fell on a Sunday, but by law the manager is obliged to fire him on that day. The quitter came on Monday to get the documents; she was given a work book and accounting certificates, as well as a copy of the dismissal order.
The resignation letter was written on Friday, which is the last day of work.
Introductory information. The employee works a standard five-day workday; the employer’s representatives are not at work on weekends. The employee writes and submits to the employer a letter of resignation under the s.z. on Friday, the date of dismissal is + 14 days from the date of writing, i.e. dismissal date is Saturday. The question is, how and when should an employer fire such an employee? How should a dismissed employee behave? My thoughts: According to Art.
84.1 The day of termination of the employment contract in all cases is the last day of work of the employee, with the exception of cases where the employee did not actually work, but in accordance with this Code or other federal law, he retained his place of work (position). It follows that it is impossible to fire an employee on a day off. Therefore, there are 2 options left: to fire an employee on Friday or Monday. according to Art.
When to pay and what should the employer do?
Now let's look at when to pay the settlement. This is always done on the last day of work, regardless of whether the employee worked on that date or not. Most often, money is transferred to a bank card, and there should be no problems with payment timing.
If the dismissal occurs on a weekend, but the quitter is absent from work, the employer needs to:
- Make an entry in the work book. The order can be issued in advance and given to the person leaving for review and signature.
- Send the employee a written notification that he needs to come independently to pick up the documents or agree to have them sent by Russian Post. From this moment on, the employer is released from liability for violating the deadline for issuing a work book and certificates.
If the resigning person agrees to send documents by registered mail, they are sent. The calculation is made no later than the day following the date of presentation of the corresponding demand by the dismissed person ().
Read: Notice of dismissal of an employee: procedure for drawing up, form and timing of sending to the dismissed person for review
Features of the procedure
Before resigning, an employee must work for the company for 2 weeks. Then the employer needs to write a dismissal order. However, management must understand that there are loopholes in the Labor Code, so the employee may not work this period legally. It is in such cases that situations usually occur when the dismissal date falls on a weekend. How to fire in this case must be decided by the employer himself. A specialist does not need to work an additional 2 weeks if he:
- is on vacation (including at his own expense) at the time of termination of the employment agreement;
- is on official sick leave.
In such cases, the employer does not have the right to force a person to work. This action is illegal.
Sequencing
The dismissal procedure follows a standard procedure. The following sequence must be followed:
- The employee writes a letter of resignation and submits it to the employer.
- Before resigning, the employee works the required 2 weeks (unless he is on sick leave or on vacation).
- The manager draws up a dismissal order and hands it over to the employee for review. If a specialist refuses to read the document and put a personal signature, you need to make a note about this in the appropriate act.
- The employee must be given a work book and other required papers. He must sign that all documents were handed over to him. If the dismissed person refuses to sign, the personnel employee must make a note about this in a special act.
- A full payment is made to the employee (if the salary has always been paid to the employee’s bank card, the amount can be transferred non-cash).
It is worth understanding that terminating an employment relationship on a non-working day may have its own nuances. Most often they are related to settlement issues and (or) transfer of documentation.
Nuances and pitfalls
If the dismissal date falls on a non-working date, you can do nothing and just leave everything as it is. The Labor Code does not say that it is wrong to fire employees on weekends. However, it is necessary to remember two nuances:
- When an employee leaves, assistance from HR specialists may be required. The employer cannot force them to go to work on an officially non-working day.
- The expiration date of the contract cannot be moved to the first working day. This will lead to an extra day after two weeks of work.
All employers need to take these features into account. You can move the date of termination of the contract to the next working day, but then the specialist has the right to write a complaint and declare the dismissal unlawful. Quite often, fixed-term employment contracts are concluded with employees. In this case, the dismissal date will often fall on a non-working day. In this case, the employer can do three things:
- Register the employee's departure on the actual last working day.
- Terminate the agreement after a weekend or holiday.
- Dismiss the specialist on the exact day specified in the contract, and involve all the required employees for this, even if they are on the weekend.
Lawyers advise to act in the second way. To make the right decision, you should not only focus on the legislation, but also discuss the situation with the employee. It is best to negotiate with him and choose a working period for terminating the employment contract.
Underwater rocks
Nevertheless, the given algorithm of actions will protect you from various pitfalls. Why? This is all due to the labor legislation that is currently in force in Russia.
If the day of dismissal falls on a weekend, and the boss decides to use the previously proposed method of issuing an order and documentation on an earlier date, the subordinate has every right to file a complaint with the labor inspectorate. The thing is that, according to the law, during the work period the employee can change his mind and withdraw the application for termination of the employment relationship.
It follows that when a corresponding order is issued a day earlier, a person’s legal right is violated. If a new employee has already been selected for a vacant position, it is necessary to conclude an employment contract with him in advance.
Dismissal on a holiday (fixed-term employment contract)
If the day of dismissal falls on a holiday, and the employee needs to be fired due to the expiration of a fixed-term employment contract, then the order can be issued either directly on a non-working day or holiday, or on the last working day preceding the holiday.
Please note that if you dismiss on a day off, you must make a full settlement with the employee at the same time. If the contract was terminated, for example, on Saturday, and the employee receives wages for days worked and other required payments only on Tuesday, then the employer must pay for the delay in wages. Based on Art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, compensation for each day of delay, starting from the next, is 1/150 of the Central Bank key rate on the unpaid amount.
At the request of the employee
The Labor Code indicates the possibility of terminating an agreement at the employee’s will, and the type of employment agreement does not matter. When the agreement was concluded for the purpose of performing seasonal work or the validity period is less than two months, the employee must notify the company of his desire to resign.
Notification is sent in writing. The deadline is set by the legislator - three days before the termination of the relationship occurs. The grounds for termination of employment may be the lack of opportunity to continue working. For example, this happens when enrolling in university, retirement, etc. In the listed situations, the contract is terminated within the period reflected by the person in the application.
Read on topic: Early termination of a fixed-term employment contract
Procedure
The process of terminating employment relations is being implemented in a simplified format. This provides that the management of the enterprise issues an act regarding the termination of the agreement. Some difficulties may also arise. They are associated with the fact that the initiative to terminate the contract is taken by the employee, employers, or there is an agreement between the parties.
On the day the contract expires, an order is issued indicating the end of the person’s labor activity. Each party has the right to express its desire to terminate the agreement earlier than the deadline. The employer also has the authority to send notice of the expiration of the document. The dismissal procedure is carried out in accordance with labor legislation.