What is the difference between dismissal due to reduction and by agreement of the parties: which is better and more profitable for the employee?

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Published: 04/29/2016

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Reducing the number of employees in an organization or enterprise is quite an unpleasant fact for employees. In such a situation, people tend to look for “the machinations of ill-wishers” in everything and for this reason they are extremely wary of management’s proposal to conclude a document of agreement between the two parties, which will clarify all the nuances of the upcoming dismissal.

To understand this issue, you should take a closer look at the procedure for terminating an employment contract in both cases , and carefully weigh all the positive and negative aspects for both interested parties (the employer and his employee).

• Downsizing - its pros and cons For employers
• For employees

How are these types different?

Dismissal by agreement of the parties is regulated by Art. 78 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and is similar to the algorithm for terminating the contract at the employee’s own request.

The parties preliminarily agree on the terms of termination of the contract and enter into an agreement based on mutual expression of will. Forcibly dismissing an employee in this case is unacceptable.

Termination of a contract to reduce the number or staff of employees is regulated by Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The procedure is considered quite labor-intensive, is carried out in several stages and requires a significant amount of time - only employees are notified of the impending dismissal at least 2 months in advance - this is the difference with dismissal by agreement of the parties.

The legislation provides for a reduction:

• staff - the organization refuses certain positions in the staffing table;
• employees—the number of employees within individual positions is reduced.

Dismissal is carried out according to the established procedure with strict selection of candidates and execution of a large amount of documentation.

It is unacceptable to terminate a layoff contract with certain categories of citizens.

The law requires that suitable vacancies be offered to employees laid off due to redundancy . Termination of an employment relationship due to layoffs involves significant monetary benefits for employees in the form of compensation that is provided for a long time. Such financial assistance is relevant if it is impossible to quickly find a new job.

Upon dismissal by agreement of the parties, only payment of wages and amounts for vacation not taken are considered mandatory. However, the employer and employee can agree on the rest themselves.

Positive aspects of the first

What is more profitable to resign - by layoff or by agreement of the parties? The first case has its advantages.

Receiving additional payments after dismissal. A severance pay equal to the average salary is given. The amount for the next two months for getting a job is also calculated.

In case of early dismissal, the employee receives payments for time not worked . The employee is also paid an amount for vacation that he did not take.

You are given the opportunity to search for a job for two months. During the period during which he was warned about dismissal, the employee can actively search for work.

If he gets a new job before the end of his notice period, he can apply for early dismissal. In this case, he will not lose any payments.

Possibility of obtaining a vacancy at the same enterprise. When issuing an order to notify the termination of a contract for staff reduction, possible vacancies for the transfer of the redundant employee must be indicated .

You cannot dismiss preferential categories.

According to Article 81 of the Labor Code, the employer does not have the right to dismiss certain categories of citizens: pregnant women, adoptive parents, single mothers if they have a dependent child under 14 years of age, mothers who have children under three years of age. The exception is the complete liquidation of the enterprise.

Prerequisites

A mandatory condition for terminating an employment relationship due to redundancy is compliance with the procedure:

1. Initially, a dismissal order is generated. A list of employees subject to layoffs is carefully compiled. It excludes categories of persons designated by law - women who are pregnant or have children under 3 years of age, single mothers with a child under 14 years of age, highly qualified employees with good labor productivity indicators, etc. The priority right to keep them at work is regulated by Art. 179 TK.
2. The next step is to inform the trade union, the employment service and directly dismissed workers about the procedure. Notification is provided in writing, at least 2 months before the planned termination of the contract.
3. Employees who are laid off are offered alternative jobs within 2 months. If the person agrees, he is transferred to a new position. In this case, conditions may be worse than before.
4. Upon dismissal, the employee is given labor documentation, salary, amount for unpaid vacation, and severance pay are accrued.

Violation of the conditions and procedure for terminating employment relations due to layoffs often ends in the employee going to court. This may lead to the dismissal being declared illegal, the person being reinstated in his position and compensation being paid to him for forced absence. The employer may be subject to penalties.

When dismissing an employee by agreement of the parties, the law sets forth the following conditions for the procedure:

1. A written agreement must be reached between the employee and the management of the organization to terminate the employment relationship. Signatures indicate the voluntariness of the agreement and mutual approval of its terms.
2. The agreement is drawn up arbitrarily, contains the date of termination of the contract, the amount of compensation if it is assigned.
3. Informing the trade union and employment service about the process is not required. The algorithm for completing the procedure is standard - an order is drawn up, which the employee reads and signs. On the final day of work, he is paid and given working documentation.

Since the conclusion of an agreement implies mutual expression of will, it is extremely difficult for an employee to challenge it in the future in court.

Reduction

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for 2 types of abbreviations:

• staff reduction;
• reduction in the number of employees.

In both cases, layoffs occur! If the staff is reduced, then a certain position is removed from the staffing table, and the employee occupying it is subject to dismissal.

Important

The layoff procedure is quite complicated; the employer needs to prepare a lot of documentation and carry out some mandatory activities. Deviation from the rules may lead to litigation and reinstatement of the previously dismissed person in his workplace.

The reduction procedure is as follows:

• timely written notification of all employees who are subject to layoffs;
• a written offer to them of vacancies that suit their level of education, work experience and health status;
• preparation of relevant personnel documents;
• timely calculation and payment of all necessary funds.

Termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer provides for payment of:

• wages;
• compensation for vacation that an employee did not have time to take off;
• severance pay in the amount of average monthly earnings (its payment is maintained for the period of employment, but no more than 2 months from the date of dismissal, more details).

Any employee can be laid off, with the exception of:

• female workers who have children under 3 years of age;
• employees who are on maternity leave - for pregnancy and childbirth or to care for their child;
• workers who have the official status of single mothers raising children under 14 years of age;
• employees on their annual leave or on sick leave;
• minor workers;
• employees who are members of a trade union and who are able to negotiate and resolve collective disputes;
• pregnant workers.

Dismissal procedure

Dismissal procedure during liquidation

The key point in termination of employment is the dismissal of the employee. During the liquidation of a company, such a moment may occur for the following reasons.

The employee “waited” for the day when, according to the notice, he was to be fired. In this case, the employer is obliged:

• calculate and pay the employee all wages due to him;
• pay compensation in money for all remaining unused vacations;
• pay severance pay in the amount of two weeks' average earnings;
• issue a properly executed work book;
• at the request of the employee, provide a copy of the order on the basis of which the employment relationship with him was terminated;
• if an employee is on the labor exchange and is unable to find a job, compensate the employee’s average earnings, but no more than two months from the date of dismissal (in some cases three months).

The employee independently decided to leave “early.” Here it is necessary to separate early dismissal due to reduction (the employee has the right to write a corresponding statement and not wait for the end of the two-month period) with payment of the benefits due to him or dismissal at his own request or by agreement of the parties.

Often the latter option is initiated by employers themselves in order to reduce waiting time, as well as reduce the level of paperwork during the dismissal process. As an incentive factor, they usually offer one-time payments in the amount of two salaries (average monthly earnings).

Remember, each employee makes his own decision on how to quit based on his current situation. For example, if you find a new job, what's the point of waiting another two months if you can end your employment relationship in one day and still receive a solid level of compensation for it.

Don’t forget, no matter what method of dismissal you choose, the employer must still issue a work book, a dismissal order, and pay the salary due to the employee, pay for unused vacations and other monetary benefits required by law and the collective agreement on the last day of your work. This is done on the last day of work or on the next day of payment of wages.

Requirements for dismissal due to staff reduction

In order to understand the question of what is best for employees in such a situation, it is necessary to analyze the procedure for dismissal due to staff reduction and by agreement of the parties.

Dismissal due to staff reduction must be carried out according to the following mandatory algorithm (it is spelled out in detail in the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

1. The enterprise must issue an appropriate reasoned order on the necessary measures to reduce staff or certain positions and draw up a list of employees who fall under these measures. Also at this stage, it is necessary to analyze in detail the lists of employees who have the priority right to remain at work (they cannot be reduced). These are pregnant women, single mothers, those who have a child under 3 years of age, employees with extensive work experience and productivity.
2. The second step is warning and coordination of the upcoming dismissal with the trade union organization, as well as notifying the employment service (2 months in advance) about the upcoming dismissal of workers.
3. The third step is an official warning two calendar months before the date of dismissal of everyone who is laid off. This must be done in writing.
4. The fourth step is that for those who are laid off, the employer is obliged to offer vacant jobs for two months, and if the person agrees, he will need to be transferred to this vacant position.
5. Fifth step - upon dismissal under this article, the worker is required to pay appropriate compensation, which includes: wages, severance pay in the amount of one average salary, compensation for unused vacation and other amounts accrued but not paid due to the fault of the employer.

Based on existing legal practice, this method of terminating an employment relationship carries many risks, since failure to comply with one of the mandatory steps may lead to the dismissed employee going to court and reinstating him in his position with the recovery of all compensation and payment for forced absence.

Staff reduction

In some cases, employers have to resort to the process of reducing their workforce. What is it and what is the essence of the procedure?

Happens:

• staff reduction;
• reduction of employees.

What is the difference?

Staff reduction is the employer’s refusal to have one or more positions in the staffing table. In other words, this process involves the elimination of a position or positions that previously existed.

Example No. 1. At MasloTehSbyt LLC there was a position of administrator of the customer reception area. Subsequently, this position was reduced and the duties provided for in the relevant job description were assigned to the secretary.

A reduction in the number of personnel of a legal entity is a reduction in the number of staff units for a specific position.

Example No. 2. In the same “MasloTehSbyt” there were eight workers in the production workshop. Due to a decrease in overall production volume, the need to maintain eight staff positions at once became impractical. The manager decided to reduce the number by three units. Ultimately, five workers began to carry out further labor activities.

The procedure for reducing staff or numbers is almost the same. The process is quite complicated both in personnel and legal terms.

During this time, the employer will have to:

• prepare a large amount of documentation;
• select candidates for dismissal;
• notify employees of the upcoming dismissal at least two months in advance;
• offer them available vacancies;
• pay fairly decent monetary compensation.

Moreover, some categories of citizens cannot be reduced at all.

These include:

• pregnant women;
• women who have young children under 3 years of age;
• single mothers with children under 14 years of age.

Moreover, when laying off workers, the employer must also take into account such a factor as the preferential right to remain at the place of employment (Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

What are the risks and benefits of the downsizing procedure?

Most of the inconveniences for companies when carrying out headcount optimization through reduction are associated with a rather lengthy and complex procedure for its documentation. In addition, quite common mistakes made in practice by companies are:

• Termination of an employment contract with categories of persons whose dismissal is prohibited;
• The deadlines for warning about the planned reduction in numbers are violated;
• Available vacant positions are not offered to employees subject to dismissal.

Dismissal due to staff reduction is associated with additional financial costs for the company, since the employee must pay severance pay in the amount of average earnings for the month following the date of dismissal (see Article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, the average earnings can be saved for the next month if the employee has not found a job and is officially registered with the employment service.

For your information

In exceptional cases, by decision of the employment service, benefits may be paid by the company for the third month after dismissal, if the former employee did not find a job.

Another very important point with this method of optimizing the number will be building communications with staff, preventing mass protests, strikes, and filing complaints with judicial and regulatory authorities.

Among the advantages of downsizing as a method of reducing the number of personnel, one should note the low likelihood of litigation if it is carried out competently and correctly. However, to do this, you must strictly comply with all legal requirements for this procedure.

If we consider the described option of dismissal from the employee’s point of view, then for him it also has a number of advantages, not counting the negative fact of losing his job, although in this case it is inevitable. So the employees who were laid off:

• Have the right to receive the above benefits for a period of up to 3 months after dismissal;
• Receiving unemployment benefits due to layoffs from the employment service (see paragraph 2 of article 3 of Law No. 1032-1).

Although these facts may seem like little consolation when taking into account the deprivation of earnings, it can nevertheless be stated that employees dismissed for other reasons do not have the right to such social guarantees.

For employers

Pros for employers:

• the initiative comes from the management team and as a result the employee cannot refuse to leave (for example, there is no vacancy or the employee is not satisfied with it);
• any compensation in this case automatically reduces the tax base (you will be able to pay less from the profit of an organization or enterprise).

Disadvantages for employers:

• the procedure takes a lot of time and requires precision at any of its stages;
• compensation payments create an additional burden on the enterprise’s budget;
• there is a possibility of challenge from the employee.

For employees

Benefits for employees:

• receiving additional accruals (severance pay, compensation);
• the opportunity to find a new place of work within two months after receiving the notice, without ceasing to work in the same place;
• there is a high probability of obtaining a vacant position at the same enterprise;
• preferential categories cannot be fired (pregnant employees, single mothers, minor workers).

Disadvantages for employees:

• it is impossible to avoid termination of the employment contract if a vacant position is not found;
• you will have to wait two months for the final payment and delivery of the work book.

What does dismissal by agreement of the parties mean and how does it happen?

Termination of an employment contract by agreement between its participants is perhaps the most poorly regulated method of dismissal at the legislative level. If we turn to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, it contains only one short article. 78, regulating this procedure.

It only states that at any time, if an agreement is reached between the parties to the employment contract, it can be terminated. There are no other indications, descriptions, or instructions for carrying out such dismissal in the legislation.

The initiator of termination of employment relations on this basis can be either the employee or his employer. The most important thing is that as a result of negotiations between them, agreements are reached that suit both of them, which are subsequently recorded in the agreement. These are, first of all, the terms and conditions of dismissal.

Important

There is no official form for a written agreement to terminate an employment contract.

In practice, it is compiled in 2 copies, one of which remains with the company, and the second with the employee. In this case, the very fact of dismissal, as in other cases, is formalized by an order, which indicates the basis for its implementation.

Requirements for dismissal by agreement of the parties

Dismissal by agreement of the parties is also provided for by the norms of the current Labor Code.

The law and established legal practice put forward the following requirements for this dismissal.

• A written agreement must be reached between the employer and employee that the employment relationship will be terminated by agreement of both parties. That is, this is a mutual agreement between the employee and the employer.
• There is no need to warn the employment service and the trade union committee about such dismissal.
• The termination agreement may contain an agreement on the payment of certain monetary compensation upon dismissal, as well as the period for termination of the employment relationship.

Sample agreement to terminate an employment contract

The law does not provide any further requirements for termination of employment for this type of dismissal.

It should be taken into account that legal practice in disputes regarding dismissal by agreement of the parties is almost always on the employer’s side if a former employee begins to challenge the dismissal in court. This is due to the fact that the application and agreement upon dismissal is written in the employee’s own handwriting, where he indicates that he wants to resign on his own.

Differences

What is the difference between dismissal by agreement of the parties and layoff?

When laying off, the employee must be notified of the termination of the contract.

By agreement, no warnings are given.

During layoffs, the Labor Code specifies certain categories that cannot be dismissed.

By agreement, all employees can be dismissed without exception.

In case of reduction, justification is required; in case of agreement this is not required..

Also, when being laid off, an employee can file a complaint in court if he disagrees with the terms of termination of the employment contract. This cannot be done if the parties agree.

Compensation upon dismissal by agreement of the parties

In ch. 27 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides the types of compensation payments that an employer must issue to a resigning employee, and the grounds for such issues.

If dismissal occurs by agreement of the parties, then only one type of compensation must be paid - for unused vacation. The right to other types of compensation is determined by the provisions of Art. 178 Labor Code of the Russian Federation . Such payments can be listed in detail separately in a collective or employment agreement.

It should be borne in mind that as soon as compensation obligations are included in the termination agreement, the employer may be held liable for indiscipline. This means that the defaulting employer will have to pay interest to the dismissed employee for the delay in the amounts due under the agreement.

However, in practice there are many lawsuits, as a result of which employees were denied severance pay, even when they were specified in the employment contract. For example, if a company goes bankrupt, judges recognize such terms of an employment contract as invalid. You should not provide an excessively high amount of compensation upon dismissal. This type of compensation does not create additional motivation for work; therefore, the court may refuse to pay an employee if there are negative financial consequences for the enterprise proven by the employer.

Let's consider what features of calculating taxes and insurance premiums exist for compensation payments upon dismissal by mutual consent.

Dismissal at your own request

Today, this formulation of dismissal is the most popular. This basis is enshrined in Article 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. An employee’s decision to resign on his own initiative can be preceded by a lot of life circumstances - moving, moving to work for another employer, family responsibilities, retirement, entering universities, etc.

Important

The main positive aspect of terminating an employment contract on this basis for a worker is that the employer has no right to refuse him this desire.

Sometimes management, in its desire to retain a valuable employee, simply refuses to accept his application, but this problem is easily solved - you need to send the document by registered mail with an attached inventory, and then the employer will have no choice but to pay the employee.

The dismissal procedure under Art. 80 Labor Code of the Russian Federation standard:

1. the employee draws up a written application addressed to the head of the organization with a demand to terminate the employment contract with him. The application is submitted to the personnel service, or, if there is a suspicion that it will not be accepted in this form, you can send it by registered mail with an enclosed inventory;
2. The duty of an employee who resigns voluntarily is to work for the employer for two weeks. This period is provided to the company to find a new employee to replace the departing one;
3. the actual dismissal itself is the signing of a dismissal order, receipt of a work book, unpaid wages and compensation for unused vacations.

It is worth noting that two-week work is not always a mandatory stage in this case. If both parties do not mind, the contract can be terminated earlier. In addition, there is a category of persons from among the working personnel whom the head of the organization does not have the right to refuse to terminate the contract on the date they want:

• pensioners;
• students admitted to educational institutions as full-time students;
• wives of military personnel serving with their husband to his new duty station, etc.

Agreement - its pros and cons

Such termination of employment contracts is considered the easiest for both parties, because signing the document automatically removes mutual claims.

At the end of the agreement, a note must be made that both parties do not have any

claims against each other. After which the signature of the employee and the head of the enterprise or organization is affixed.

There is no reversal for this document. Neither party will be able to revoke it at will (mutual agreement on this issue is required).

The document is drawn up by management, as the administratively responsible party. It doesn’t matter who initiated the drafting of the document - it will be handled, among other things, by the company’s lawyers, which will allow the employer to protect its interests.

If the employee himself initiated the procedure, he will not be able to change his mind. He will not be able to revoke the notification from the moment the document under the agreement is signed.

For the employer

Pros for employers:

• simplicity and speed of termination of an employment contract;
• it is almost impossible to challenge a well-drafted document;
• compensation payments are minimal;
• it is possible to resolve a conflict situation by avoiding litigation.

Disadvantages for employers:

• all compensation accruals will have to be paid at the expense of the profit of the organization or enterprise;
• It is impossible to draw up an agreement document without the approval of the dismissed employee.

For employee

Benefits for employees:

• speed of paperwork and receipt of payment, which makes it possible to find a job in a new place;
• it is impossible to terminate an employment contract without obtaining the employee’s consent;
• there is an opportunity to amicably resolve a conflict situation with management.

Disadvantages for employees:

• compensation payments will be minimal;
• there is no possibility to revoke the notification (if we are talking about leaving of one’s own free will);
• if you sign the document carelessly, you may miss the pitfalls regarding the size and timing of payments (for example, funds accrued upon dismissal may be paid within six months).

Required documents and conditions

In order to make a reduction by agreement of the parties, the following papers will be needed.

A document containing a proposal for dismissal by agreement - its form depends on who is the initiator of this procedure:

• If this is an employee, then a statement is written to the head of the organization containing a request to cancel the employment contract under clause 1 of Art. 77 Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
• If the employer, then a corresponding service letter is sent to the specific employee.

A written agreement - a single sample - has not been approved at the legislative level. Typically, this document contains the following information:

• Details of the employment contract;
• A record of mutual agreement between the employee and management;
• Date of dismissal and grounds according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
• The amount of additional compensation that will be paid to the personnel (if this has been discussed);
• The period during which the full payment will be made (last business day);
• A note indicating that there are no claims between the parties to the agreement.

It is drawn up in 2 copies, one of which remains with the employer, and the second is issued to the employee.

Additionally, it is worth noting that drawing up an agreement is not a prerequisite. As judicial practice shows, to carry out such a procedure, an application from the employee and a corresponding order from the employer are sufficient.

What payments are due?

If the employment relationship is terminated by agreement of the parties, the employer is obliged to pay the employee:

• salary for hours worked;
• compensation for missed vacation;
• other amounts specified in the employment contract and local regulations of the company.

Payment of severance pay is carried out by agreement between the parties and is not mandatory unless it is provided for by the company’s local regulations.

If an employee is laid off, he is entitled to payments:

• salary for the period worked;
• amount for vacation not taken;
• severance pay in the amount of average monthly earnings;
• average earnings for the period of searching for a new job - up to 2 months from the date of leaving the organization (severance pay is counted for the first month).

If a person registers with the employment service within 2 weeks after termination of the contract with the employer, he will be paid for the third month of the employment period.

Remember two points!

When resigning by agreement of the parties, it is important to remember the following.

1. Since the agreement to terminate the employment contract under clause 1 of part 1 of Article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation was reached on the basis of a voluntary agreement of the parties, it is practically impossible to cancel it, including in court. Unilateral refusal of both the employee and the employer from a previously reached agreement on dismissal is excluded.
2. does not provide for any payments (benefits) upon dismissal by agreement of the parties . Such payment (amount and term) can only be provided for in a written agreement. Most often, in order to obtain the employee’s consent to dismissal by agreement of the parties, the employer offers him a benefit, the amount of which he himself determines. As a rule, this is the average salary for 1–2 months, sometimes for three, but at a time immediately upon dismissal, which is what captivates the employee. The average salary for 5 months is almost never offered, while the salary for two of them is the employer’s savings on paying wages for 2 months after warning the employee about the layoff. When dismissing by agreement, the employer is not obliged to warn the employee about the dismissal. By determining any date of dismissal, the employer saves on costs.

Moreover, since the specified payment upon dismissal by agreement, as already mentioned, is not provided for by current legislation, it does not apply to the income of individuals regulated in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (paragraph 8 of paragraph 3 of Article 217), which is subject to tax exemption. are not subject to personal income tax .

Which dismissal option is preferable?

In most cases, it is preferable for an employee to terminate an employment contract through layoffs. This is due to the high level of social guarantees for people who have lost their jobs due to this procedure. The employee is guaranteed benefits both from the employer for a limited period of time and from the employment service. In addition, he has a two-month notice period to find a job, with a high chance of finding another job.

For your information

He should stop at dismissal by agreement of the parties if it is an alternative to dismissal under the article, or if the employer promises him very large one-time financial payments. In other cases, dismissal by agreement is deprived of any advantages for him compared to other grounds for termination of an employment contract.

For an employer, dismissal by agreement of the parties is the most acceptable from a legal point of view, as it minimizes the risks of litigation to a value close to zero. At the same time, terminating a contract with an employee who conscientiously performs his duties, but is obstinate, legally competent and disloyal, can sometimes become a real headache for the personnel department. And in this case, agreement between the parties is the only possible solution to the problem.

At the same time, if the costs associated with additional payments exceed everything, including administrative costs for dismissal due to reduction, it is better to refuse the agreement of the parties. In addition, if the company has no other way, other than a global reduction in headcount, to “stay afloat”, it is better to stop at reduction, since in terms of financial costs, it will be more profitable.

What to do if you are fired by mutual consent instead of downsizing?

Often, organizations, pursuing their own benefit, offer employees to terminate the contract by mutual consent instead of retrenchment. This is due to the desire to simplify the registration procedure, pay severance pay in a minimum amount or completely refuse to accrue it.

This option is also used to dismiss preferential categories of persons, for example, pregnant women, who by law can only be fired upon liquidation of the company.

Therefore, when the management of the enterprise proposes to resign by agreement of the parties, the employee is recommended to carefully read the indicated conditions, as well as think through and put forward his own.

If you disagree with the points of the document, the employee has the right to refuse to sign it . In this case, the employee will either be left at work or dismissed due to reduction if he is not included in the preferential category of persons.

If an employee considers the termination of the contract to be illegal, he has the right to file a complaint with the labor inspectorate, the prosecutor's office, or the court.

The dismissal of an employee at the initiative of the company management can be carried out on the basis of staff reduction or by mutual agreement of the parties. When choosing the appropriate option, each participant in the labor relationship evaluates his own benefit. It is advisable to decide which method of dismissal is best based on the characteristics of a particular situation.

We take into account some features

Reduction by agreement of the parties has a number of distinctive characteristics, which are as follows:

• A staff member can be dismissed at any time (for example, while on vacation, on sick leave, etc.);
• Absolutely any category of workers can be laid off, even those who are protected by the Labor Code (for example, a pregnant woman);
• The contract can be canceled only with the mutual consent of the employee and the employer;
• Management does not need to take into account the opinion of the trade union.

You may find the following information interesting: who cannot be laid off when reducing staff?

Features of reduction

Retrenchment of employees may be resorted to in several cases. As a rule, this is due to the deterioration of the economic situation and a drop in the level of production at the enterprise. As a result, incomes decrease, and it is no longer possible to support so many people. Sometimes the opposite happens, when new equipment is purchased, the maintenance of which requires fewer people. Be that as it may, reduction is a forced event.

This is a difficult situation for the employer, as some people may be strongly against such a decision. Moreover, the use of reductions is prohibited for certain employees. So, this applies to mothers raising a child on their own, pregnant women and other categories of citizens. To fire them, it is necessary to negotiate separately or leave them in the workplace, offering them another position. In any case, this is associated with certain difficulties.

Among other things, the company is obliged to strictly follow the procedure when reducing staff. If any violation is committed, the employee has the right to challenge the decision and receive compensation. For example, if notice was not sent on time or layoffs could be avoided by reassigning the person to another position.

If we talk about the advantages, then for the enterprise they lie in the fact that most of the employees can be dismissed without their consent, if there is a clear reason for this. Moreover, the compensation paid will lead to a decrease in the tax base, which means that less money can be transferred to the budget.

As for the shortcomings, they also exist. Firstly, this is the complexity and duration of the procedure. Secondly, the reduction requires the mandatory accrual of benefits. Thirdly, some employees may try to appeal the decision if there are even the slightest violations.

Recommendations for the employee

The question of what is better and more profitable for an employee - reduction or dismissal by agreement of the parties - cannot be answered unequivocally. It all depends on the specific situation.

If the employer is honest enough and simply wants to simplify the process, with a fairly complex procedure for dismissal due to redundancy, and at the same time, the terms of the agreement reached suit both parties, you can safely quit at mutual request.

Often, organizations resorting to this method pursue not entirely honest goals and objectives. For example, to reduce or not pay severance pay at all if the employee does not object.

In any case, it is recommended to choose the most optimal option based on the situation.

If an employer needs to reduce the number of staff for a particular position, or completely eliminate it from the staffing table, he can resort to a standard procedure or offer the employee to resign upon reaching mutual agreement.

If an employee does not agree to the conditions put forward by the employer, he can safely refuse them. In this case, the reduction procedure will be carried out according to the law - in accordance with Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Pros of the second concept

What is better - reduction or dismissal by agreement of the parties for an employee?

The advantages of the agreement are quick paperwork, there is no need to go through lengthy redundancy processing.

The employee's consent is required.

This type of dismissal is based on the consent of both parties. No dismissal will occur without the employee's signature .

Possibility to negotiate an increase in payment amounts and choose the period of dismissal. The amounts paid by the employer under the agreement should not be less than the amounts that the employee could receive if staff were reduced.

Otherwise, the employee may not agree to dismissal . Also, there is no strict time limit, as with layoffs. A specific date of dismissal is determined there. That's all why dismissal by agreement of the parties is better than layoffs.