Last working day upon voluntary dismissal

Author of the article: Yulia Kaysina Last modified: January 2021 6529

When drawing up a work book and personnel orders, questions often arise as to which day is considered the day of dismissal. In accordance with the law, this date coincides with the last working day (Article 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). However, in practice, situations often arise when this actually happens on different dates. In this case, to determine the day of dismissal, the reasons for which it took place should be taken into account.

Legislation

The main legal act regulating labor relations is the Labor Code.

Back in 2006, an additional article was added to it (84.1), according to which the date of dismissal of an employee is determined.

According to the norm of this article, the termination of the contract is dated to the last day of work at the enterprise. But there is an exception: the date of dismissal may not coincide with the last working day if the employee was actually absent from work, but the absence is paid.

Essentially, dismissal is the termination of the relationship between the director and subordinate. And the date of dismissal is the last day when the employment relationship is still valid, but terminates at the end of the working day.

What date is a resignation letter written?

Dismissal at the initiative of an employee is carried out in the manner prescribed by Art. 80 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. According to this rule, a worker has the right to quit at any time, but must notify the employer in advance.

Thus, the application can be written at any time, on any date, however, the person resigning should take into account that dismissal will occur only after a certain period of time after filing the application, taking into account the need to warn superiors.

Warning periods vary and are:

• 2 weeks as a general rule;
• 3 days while on probation;
• 3 days for a fixed-term contract, which is concluded for a period of up to 2 months;
• 3 days for seasonal workers;
• 1 month for company managers;
• 1 month for athletes and coaches (if the contract with them is concluded for a period of more than 4 months).

Important! The notice period begins to run only the next day after the employer receives the application. Therefore, if it is sent by mail, the time period indicated above must be added from the moment the letter is sent until the moment it is received by management.

How to determine the date of dismissal?

To correctly determine the cutoff date you need to know:

• when the employee works his last working day;
• or when the paid period without working activities ends.

The second point applies to the case when the date of dismissal falls on sick leave or vacation. For example, the date of dismissal has already been determined, but on that day the employee was on regular vacation or sick leave.

Example:

An agreement was reached to dismiss the employee on July 1. But on June 25, the employee fell ill. According to the social insurance law, the entire period of illness is paid, that is, sick leave accruals will include the period indicated on the certificate of incapacity for work. This means that the relationship between the enterprise and the employee cannot end before the closure of the sick leave.

The same rule applies to a woman on maternity leave or an employee who took leave before dismissal. In such cases, the day of dismissal is the date the sick leave ends or the last day of vacation.

What date should I write on my resignation letter when I am on sick leave?

There are no specific features of dismissal on the initiative of a worker on sick leave. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not distinguish between the procedure for filing an application for a working employee and an ill employee. All sick days are included in the period for warning management.

Thus, if an employee is sick, he has the right to write and deliver a statement personally to management, or send it by mail. Calculation of warning periods is carried out in accordance with the general procedure.

Another possible situation is when the application is submitted before sick leave, and during the period necessary to notify management, the employee goes on sick leave. In this case, the warning period is not interrupted and continues to flow.

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Last day at work

The last working day, and therefore the date of dismissal, must be determined taking into account the circumstances.

Dismissal at your own request

Article 80 of the Labor Code establishes that an employee who has submitted a letter of resignation is required to work for two weeks.

In this case, the period begins to run from the day the employer receives the application.

The application may also indicate a later date, for example, a month. As a result, the date of dismissal will be the date indicated in the application (but not earlier than 2 weeks from the date of registration of the application).

If an employee wants to leave earlier, and the director does not mind, then the director’s visa about the date of dismissal is indicated on the application.

Important: if the last day at the company falls on a weekend or holiday, the employee quits on the next working day.

Agreement of the parties

Article 78 of the Labor Code gives the director and subordinate the right to agree on the date of dismissal. At the same time, an agreement is signed. The agreement determines the date of dismissal.

Liquidation of the enterprise

A decision is made on the reorganization or liquidation of a company, which indicates the date of termination of the enterprise's activities. The last day of the company's existence will be the day of dismissal of employees.

It does not matter whether any of the employees were sick that day or were on leave, including maternity leave.

Reduction in headcount or staff

Downsizing measures in an organization are always planned. Two months before the layoff, employees are notified of the upcoming dismissal. In this case, the date of dismissal will be the date indicated in the notice (but not earlier than two months before delivery of the notice).

Absenteeism

If an employee does not appear at work for a long time, the day of dismissal for absenteeism will be the last day of his appearance at work.
But there are other cases. For example, an employee did not show up for work on June 1, but came the next day and worked conscientiously. The employer has 3 days to register absenteeism. If the culprit was not suspended from work, and the last day of work fell on June 5, then the entry in the order will be as follows: “Dismissed for absenteeism on June 1. The dismissal date is June 5.”

Transfer to another organization

Since such a transfer is formalized through termination of the contract with the previous employer and conclusion with a new one, the date of dismissal is the date of actual termination of the contract, indicated in the order.

Cases of impossibility of continuing work

Article 80 of the Labor Code obliges the dismissal of an employee at his request without work, if he is physically no longer able to work. Such cases include:

• registration of pension;
• admission to the full-time department of a university or vocational school;
• moving to another region;
• registration of disability.

In this case, the date of dismissal will be exactly the date indicated in the resignation letter.

From what date is an employee considered dismissed?

Part 3 of Article 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the day of termination of working legal relations is always the last working day, except for those situations where, for certain reasons, the resigning person did not actually perform his official functions on this date.

The date of termination of the parties' employment relationship is indicated in the dismissal order - it is the last working day of the employee in the company.

Determining this date depends on the grounds on which the employee terminates the relationship with the employer, as well as on the accompanying circumstances (for example, he is on sick leave, on vacation, on a business trip).

The law prohibits the dismissal of employees while they are on sick leave. However, this applies only to cases of termination of legal relations at the initiative of the company’s management. At the same time, it is possible to terminate the working agreement at the initiative of the resigning person or by mutual agreement of the parties, regardless of whether the employee is on sick leave or on vacation or not.

The calculation of deadlines in labor legislation is regulated by Article 14 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, according to which if the last day of the period falls on a weekend or non-working holiday, the period ends on the next working day.

If the date of termination of legal relations coincides with a day that is a non-working day for the enterprise, the resigning person is obliged to return to the workplace on the first working day following this date.

Working relationships are not terminated before the onset of weekends or holidays. This is due to the following reasons:

• weekends or holidays refer to non-working days, during which the employee continues to retain all labor rights, including the right to a workplace, etc.;
• During non-working weekends or holidays, an employee may change his mind about resigning and has the right to withdraw his application containing the corresponding request (if, for example, we are talking about terminating legal relations on his initiative), while dismissal the day before deprives him of the opportunity to exercise this right.

If the last day the employee performs his job duties is a working day, then the employer does not face any difficulties. The resigning person is required to work on this date and at the end of the day receive a financial settlement, work book and work-related documents.

However, if we talk about dismissal from work at their own request, which is preceded by the so-called fourteen-day work period, then when writing an application, employees may not pay attention to which day is considered the date of complete termination of the employment relationship.

In this case, it is also necessary to keep in mind that the countdown of the two-week period begins not from the moment the employee wrote his application , but from the day following the day the employer received the application.

If the date of termination of legal relations falls on a non-working holiday, then the employment agreement should be terminated on the next working day. In this case, the duration of the holidays does not matter.

It’s another matter if the employment relationship is terminated with an employee working in accordance with a shift schedule. In this case, his last working day will be the date on which he works his last shift . However, this day may be a day off for the administrative staff of the enterprise.

Employees of the personnel department should pay attention to such nuances, explaining them to the resigning person immediately after receiving his application for termination of the employment contract with the resolution of the manager.

Termination of an employment agreement during sick leave is quite acceptable if it was initiated by the employee himself. It is also possible to dismiss a person who is on vacation or on a business trip.

However, despite the fact that the legislator does not prohibit such actions, in reality, the termination of legal relations during this period may make it difficult for the employee, for example, to receive a work book in a timely manner, which is undesirable.

Indication of the date of dismissal in documents

In an application for dismissal at the initiative of an employee, the date is determined based on the conditions:

1. at least 2 weeks later, if the dismissal is subject to service (for example, if the application date is June 1, then the dismissal date is no earlier than June 15);
2. a date confirmed by documents, if dismissal without service (for example, indicated in a doctor’s certificate, in an apartment purchase and sale agreement, etc.).

In the order, the date of dismissal will be:

1. last working day;
2. final day of vacation or sick leave;
3. the day specified in the agreement or application.

An order for dismissal at the initiative of an employee must be issued on his last working day, because according to the rule of Article 80 of the Labor Code, the application can be withdrawn, then dismissal is no longer permissible.

Upon dismissal, the following dates are entered in the work book:

• layoffs;
• order.

They may not coincide, because the dismissal order may be issued later than the last working day.

Find out what payments are due after childbirth. Find out how to calculate wages correctly in our article. Did your business trip fall on a weekend? Study this material!

Additional recommendations

Everyone has the right to independently decide which date to choose from which they should be fired.
This determines what date to put on the resignation letter. However, it is worth taking into account those conditions that prompt an employee to terminate his employment relationship with the employer. He is probably already expected in another place, so he can no longer remain in his previous job. Or he has the opportunity to work more and, accordingly, receive the maximum amount of payments. This is of particular importance for those who work even on holidays, because such work is paid double. You should also remember about quarterly and annual bonuses .
Some employers draw up contracts so that bonuses are paid only for the period that the employee worked. Therefore, it is better for the employee to quit after this period. Then we can say that the resignation letter is written two weeks before the required date of departure. Despite all this, the employee himself must decide on the timing of dismissal, but before that it is better to become familiar with certain nuances. Thus, if the date in the document is correct, it helps to avoid misunderstandings and disagreements between the parties. In case of violations provided for by law, disciplinary sanctions may be applied. It is also very important for the employee himself to go to work on the last day specified in the application, because at this time the employer must issue him a work book and final pay, as well as other documents if necessary.

In what days is the working time calculated?

Since the standard rule for calculating procedural deadlines indicates the need for calculation in calendar days, a similar condition will fully apply to the working period.
Starting from the day following the moment of delivery of the application to management, 14 days begin before the legal fact of termination of the employment agreement. Article 14 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for another important rule related to the end of the procedural period for working off.

If the last calendar day of a two-week work period falls on a non-working day, the legal fact of termination of the employment relationship will be the first working day following it. Thus, this principle formally implies the possibility of extending the working period by one or more days off.

One more extremely important question remains - are days off counted as working days upon dismissal? Calendar calculation of deadlines implies that the calculation includes absolutely all calendar dates of the week, month or year, including weekends and holidays. When filing an application for termination of employment, it is not necessary to additionally indicate the calculation procedure, however, determining the employee’s last day of work will directly depend on the status of the day on which the moment of dismissal falls.

If out of 14 working days most of the time is taken up by non-working days (this situation is possible during long official holidays), the administration of the enterprise does not have the right to arbitrarily extend the working period by adding such days. This fact must be taken into account when accepting an application from an employee and plan the paperwork accordingly.

This is also important to know:
Forced dismissal: how an employee should behave, what threatens the employer

In practice, this rule looks like this:

Let's say an employee handed in a notice of termination of employment on March 1. The calendar period for working off begins from the next day, i.e. from March 2 and ends on March 15. However, March 15 falls on a Saturday, which is a non-working day. Consequently, the last working day will only be March 17 - Monday, and the period of actual work will be not 14, but 16 days.

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What date should I indicate on my application when on vacation?

An employee can resign on his own initiative at any time, even while on vacation. However, the rule that the employer must be warned about this remains the same in this case.

The deadlines for notice of dismissal established by law (indicated above) are minimal. This means that the application can indicate any date of termination of the contract if it follows after the end of the period for warning management.

If an employee submits an application before a vacation, and at the end of it wants to resign, you can indicate in the document the date of dismissal, which will coincide with the first working day after leaving the vacation. In this case, after returning to work, the employee will receive a paycheck and the necessary documents on the same day and will be considered dismissed.

When the obligation is removed

It is permissible not to fulfill the obligation to notify the employer upon dismissal at one’s own request when the following circumstances are present:

• start date;
• joining the army;
• loss of ability to work;
• retirement;
• moving to another city;
• decree;
• other situations that do not allow you to continue working.

This is also important to know:
How to make calculations when dismissing an employee at his own request

Separately, the legislator identifies other circumstances that allow you to quit without working off. They are associated with violations of norms:

• non-payment or delay in payment of wages;
• denial of legal leave;

Such violations must be documented by authorized authorities:

1. Labour Inspectorate;
2. prosecutor's office;
3. court.

In all of the above cases, the employee is fired on the day indicated by the application, without working off.

How is the salary balance calculated upon dismissal?

There are certain formulas for calculating wages, compensation and other payments due to an employee. Each employee must know these formulas and be able to independently make calculations using them.

To calculate wages, you need to calculate the total number of working days in the month for which the calculation is made. You can do this yourself, or you can use a special production calendar that contains such information.

It might be interesting!

What to do if the employer does not pay upon dismissal?

The signature is the head of everything

An application for voluntary resignation has few required details. And almost all of them have already been discussed above. But don’t forget about the most important detail – the employee’s signature. Obviously, it must be on the application. Without it, this document has no legal force.

To avoid disputes about whether the employee himself signed the application or whether his signature was forged, we recommend making it a rule in all personnel documents to provide employees with the opportunity not only to sign an autograph, but also to independently fully decipher their signature (as is usually done in notarial documents: powers of attorney, contracts and so on.). It is better to file a “dismissal” application in the same way.

In what cases is an employee required to work 14 days after submitting an application?

The very concept of “dismissal” in the Legislation means the termination of an employment agreement between an employee and an employer, and the subsequent termination of their professional relationship.

The severance of this relationship can be made for three reasons:

• by agreement of both parties;
• at the initiative of the employer;
• at the initiative of the employee.

In the latter case, according to the law, the employee is registered with the company for another two weeks from the date of filing the application.

This period is given to the employer in order to replace the employee. If he does not have time to find a new person for the vacant position, he still does not have the right to retain the employee in the company.

Employer's actions on the day of dismissal

Each working day must be paid in accordance with the contract, its annexes and current legislation. Accordingly, the employer is obliged to pay wages and other payments for the day of dismissal, which is considered the last working day.

On the last day, the employer needs to complete a number of actions:

• issue an order to dismiss an employee. The document must contain the details of the parties, the basis for dismissal and the date from which the relationship will be considered terminated;
• familiarize the employee with the dismissal order. If he refuses to sign, this fact must be recorded and the order sent to the last known address;
• issue the employee with a work book if the employer had one;
• make payments to the employee in full.

The work record book is sent to the employee by mail only with his consent. Otherwise, you should send him a notification about the need to receive it and leave it for storage.

You should hire a new employee only the next day. The law does not prohibit hiring for the same position earlier, but such actions will lead to additional difficulties, especially for the accountant and clerk. You will have to create a new position that will duplicate an existing one, and then eliminate the same unit.