Business trip
Even individual entrepreneurs send their subordinates on business trips, so let’s not even talk about large companies. This type of performance of official duties has been used for a very long time and is regulated by labor legislation.
The business trip is issued in accordance with established rules and must be paid. The employer's action algorithm is as follows:
- Making an order. For this, a special form of document T-9 is used, but you can also draw up a form developed specifically for a specific company.
- Carrying out all necessary accounting calculations.
The posted person is entitled to a daily allowance for food and accommodation, as well as payment of other expenses.
The funds are provided in advance, and upon return the employee is required to report. To some extent, business travel is the responsibility of the subordinate, even if the employment agreement does not contain information about the need to travel. Any business trip involves long trips, so not all employees can afford to leave their family for a long time. But, having received a referral to a business trip, it is not easy to refuse it. Can an employee refuse a business trip? Yes, there is such an opportunity. And for this it is not necessary to quit, as some employees prefer to do.
Sent on a business trip. Is the employee required to travel?
Sending an employee on a business trip is a fairly common practice in modern companies. In the interests of business, employees of various categories go to carry out official assignments, tasks in company divisions located in other cities, or in other organizations for a certain period of time. But the employee does not always feel the desire to hit the road. Can he refuse?
A client approached our lawyers with a request to clarify his rights:
I have been working as a repairman at a factory for 11 years now. When I got hired, nothing was said about the possibility of business trips, and there were none during all this time. And here: they force me to go to a company branch in another city for 3 months to install a line that was moved there from our plant. I don’t need additional expenses, I already have a loan. I am a simple worker, not a manager, can I refuse the trip?
The Labor Code gives the employer the right, for a certain period of time, to send his employee to perform a certain task, assignment related to his job functions, outside the place of permanent work, that is, to another city where a division (branch) of the company or another organization with which the employer cooperates is located. This does not in any way depend on the conditions expressed to the candidate when hiring, unless, of course, the employment contract directly contains a clause stating that the employee is not sent on business trips.
The company must pay all expenses associated with the trip. Such expenses include: payment for travel to the place of business trip, expenses related to accommodation (payment for hotels, rental housing) and payment of daily expenses. In this case, the company itself either organizes the payment for tickets and accommodation, or pays the employee an advance payment for these services before the employee leaves for a business trip, and also pays daily allowance in advance, that is, the employee does not have to bear his own financial costs for the trip. Since labor legislation provides fairly general descriptions of travel processes, companies most often develop internal documents (regulations, orders) that describe in detail the rules for processing a business trip and the costs associated with it. Often, such documents prescribe additional compensation for expenses that the company is willing to incur (payment for taxis, food, household services).
Content
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1 Who can avoid a business trip?
2 How long should an employee carry out an assignment for a company in another city?
Who can avoid a business trip?
The legislation distinguishes between two types of employees: those who cannot be sent on a business trip at all and those who have the right to refuse the trip. The first are expectant mothers, minors, employees who have entered into an apprenticeship contract, disabled people if this goes against their rehabilitation program, registered candidates, as well as employees registered not under an employment contract, but under a civil law one. The second are employees with small children (up to three years old), parents who are raising a small child (up to five years old) alone, parents with a disabled child, and employees who care for sick relatives. All other employees may be sent by the employer on a business trip, and refusal to travel will be a violation of labor discipline, and the company may bring such an employee to disciplinary action.
How long must an employee carry out assignments for the company in another city?
The duration of the trip is, of course, determined by the employer, based on the complexity of the task ahead, but the duration of this period should be limited to the fact of completing the task, and not be indefinite, so as not to become a transfer to another job, which implies obtaining consent from the employee.
An employee is sent on a trip not by verbal order, but only after completing the appropriate package of documents, which indicates its purpose, dates, city, department or organization to which the traveler is going. The organization prepares a work assignment for the employee, a travel certificate, which will confirm the fact of being in another city, issues a business trip order, which the employee reads under signature. During the trip, the employee retains his average salary and position.
Before our lawyers can fully explain to our client his rights, it will be necessary to analyze a number of documents to check whether he belongs to one of the categories of workers who cannot be sent on business trip or can refuse it. We will also advise him on the package of documents that must be drawn up with him in the company and provided as a result of the trip, so that he does not incur his own financial costs if, after all, he is obliged to go on it.
employee rights
Is it possible to refuse
A business trip is a trip made for work purposes. That is, it is part of the work process and the professional responsibility of the employee. The legislation of the Russian Federation has established a number of rules that an employee should be aware of:
- If an employment agreement has been drawn up, then he is obliged to comply with its terms and orders from his boss. If the employment is unofficial, that is, no documents were drawn up, then the subordinate may not follow the orders of his superiors regarding the business trip. But in practice, such behavior can easily lead to dismissal.
- In most cases, the employer is not required to obtain the employee's consent for business travel.
- The law gives managers the ability to grant employees certain powers to carry out their work activities.
Most often, workers have problems with the duration of the trip, since this issue is not regulated by labor legislation. In fact, the boss can send you to another city even for six months if the successful functioning of his company depends on it. The interests of the employee are not particularly taken into account.
Opt-out options
Unreasonable refusal to travel has unpleasant consequences. Therefore, an employee can exercise his right as follows:
- If we are talking about a woman, then she can take advantage of her marital status. Most often, refusal of a business trip is justified by the presence of small children.
- When the previous option is not possible, you can take advantage of your disability. If the employee does not have dependent family members with disabilities, then he can go on sick leave.
For military personnel and law enforcement officers, there are also rules that do not allow people on sick leave to be sent on business trips, etc.
Travel expenses
The Labor Code provides for an employee who is sent on a business trip certain guarantees - preservation of his place of work (position), average earnings, reimbursement of expenses associated with a business trip (Article 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Currently, for business trips in Russia, the daily allowance standards established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 2, 2002 No. 729 apply. In commercial organizations, the amount of daily allowance must not be lower than that established by this act.
copying conditions
Responsibility
If an employee refuses to go on a business trip, but he has no reason for this, then he faces punishment, including dismissal. It should be understood that refusal is a disciplinary violation. And for this the employer can use:
- comment;
- rebuke;
- dismissal.
The type of punishment applied to a person who refuses a business trip depends on many factors. But first of all, this is the severity of the offense, the reasons for the refusal and the presence of other penalties. You shouldn’t immediately expect dismissal, but you also shouldn’t hope that this fact will go unnoticed.
If the boss insists
When a business trip is extremely undesirable, and there are no serious reasons for refusal, such as family problems, then you need to do the following:
- Talk to the employer, pointing out the obvious inappropriateness of going on a business trip. At the same time, there is no need to get into conflict with the boss, since a demanding tone on the part of a subordinate will be considered at least as disrespect.
- Find and propose another candidate to carry out official tasks. It will be an advantage to assist the employee in preparing for the trip.
- You can also check the assignment given by your superiors. If there are responsibilities that do not match yours, you can refuse the business trip.
A valid reason for refusal is the delay in advance payment for the trip. In general, if you wish, you can find many reasons, but in some cases it is better to make concessions and go on a business trip.
Employees who have serious reasons not to travel can easily refuse. And the employer will not be able to do anything. For the rest, it is better not to spoil relations with the authorities and, if possible, go. It doesn’t matter what the punishment for refusing immediately will be, since such an employee is unlikely to receive a promotion or bonus in the future.
Guarantees for individual employees when sent on business trips
Employees who are prohibited from being sent on business trips:
- Pregnant women (Article 259 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
- Minors under the age of 18, with the exception of creative employees (Article 268 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
Employees who are allowed to be sent on business trips only with their written consent:
- Women with children under 3 years of age, and persons raising such children without a mother (Articles 259, 264 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
- Employees with disabled children or people with disabilities from childhood to 18 years (Articles 259, 264 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
- Employees caring for sick members of their families in accordance with a medical report (Article 259 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation)
Example:
Chief technologist of Alfa CJSC M.I. Dudnikova is about to go on a business trip. The employee has the right to refuse the trip because she is the mother of a young child. The HR inspector sent M.I. Dudnikova such a notice.
