Reduction of staff according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation 2021 - how to properly register

Author of the article: Anastasia Ivanova Last modified: January 2021 145169

Optimizing a company often leads to a reduction in the number of employees. Losing a position is an unpleasant event for a person. Reductions at work are often carried out with violations, and instead of thanking management for years of activity, the employee is left with nothing. To avoid negative consequences, a person must know about his rights and be able to defend them.

Common mistakes

If we talk about typical mistakes when abbreviating, these include:

• absence (non-delivery) of notice of reduction;
• dismissal of an employee before the two-month notice period;
• failure to notify employment authorities and the trade union (if any) within the established time limits;
• failure to offer vacancies when available.

When it comes to reducing the number of employees, a fairly common mistake is failure to conduct or incorrect assessment of the preemptive right (Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For example, employers often have no criteria for assessing labor productivity and qualifications at all, or these criteria are recognized by the courts as subjective.

Reduction of workforce in 2021: important changes

Reduction of employees of pre-retirement age in 2021

The innovation in the field of pension legislation, which sets a higher age threshold for the transition to full state support, has had some impact on labor law standards.

From the beginning of 2021, workers of pre-retirement age will have additional guarantees in case of dismissal.

An employee of pre-retirement age is a person who needs to work for no more than 5 years before receiving an insurance pension (the age limit for receiving state support will gradually increase, which will entail a shift in the pre-retirement qualification).

Before the entry into force of the pension reform, the reduction of staff mainly affected the elderly contingent of the company, since employers often believe that their production indicators are significantly inferior to those of young specialists.

In the new year, legislative amendments indicate that citizens of pre-retirement age can be dismissed only in the presence of compelling circumstances, including:

• staff reduction;
• liquidation of the enterprise;
• reduction in numbers;
• expiration of the fixed-term contract;
• loss of trust, theft, serious violation of labor discipline or safety regulations;
• voluntary desire of the employee.

If there is a need to reduce the number of employees of an enterprise, elderly people can be dismissed by the employer on their own initiative and without consequences, subject to the following conditions:

1. The procedure involves the subsequent liquidation of the position;
2. Compliance with labor standards for layoffs (regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - Articles 82, 179, 180, 373), including the procedure and deadline for notification of upcoming structural changes;
3. The employee does not have an advantage over other colleagues.

In case of non-compliance with regulatory requirements when laying off an elderly employee, the following penalties may be imposed on the manager:

• Compulsory work for a period of up to 360 hours;
• Penalties in the amount of no more than 200 thousand rubles;
• Withholding a portion of income or other remuneration for a period of up to one and a half years.

Reduction of staff due to occupational illness in 2021

Regulatory regulations establish equal labor guarantees for every working citizen, therefore, staff reductions due to occupational illness in 2021 are carried out on a general basis, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

As a general rule, when an employer decides to reduce the number of employees at an enterprise, the likelihood of termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer can equally affect everyone - both a completely healthy employee and one with an occupational disease.

In practice, there are exceptional situations when an employee with an occupational disease becomes the main candidate for dismissal and the reasons for this are as follows:

• the existing illness does not allow you to perform the assigned job function properly and of the required quality;
• A medical report was drawn up for the employee, according to which he should be completely removed from work.

Each of the above grounds must have documentary evidence, in particular:

A medical report indicating the need to temporarily transfer an employee with an occupational disease to another job function (for a period of no more than 4 months) cannot become grounds for dismissal, even if the conditioned employee refuses to change working conditions to easier ones.

In this case, the following rules apply:

• suspension from work for the period specified in the medical report;
• retention of the employee's position;
• no accrual of maintenance (except for cases specified in the legal regulations).

Reduction of staff due to occupational illness in 2021

Regulatory regulations establish equal labor guarantees for every working citizen, therefore, staff reductions due to occupational illness in 2021 are carried out on a general basis, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

As a general rule, when an employer decides to reduce the number of employees at an enterprise, the likelihood of termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer can equally affect everyone - both a completely healthy employee and one with an occupational disease.

In practice, there are exceptional situations when an employee with an occupational disease becomes the main candidate for dismissal and the reasons for this are as follows:

• the existing illness does not allow you to perform the assigned job function properly and of the required quality;
• A medical report was drawn up for the employee, according to which he should be completely removed from work.

Each of the above grounds must have documentary evidence, in particular:

A medical report indicating the need to temporarily transfer an employee with an occupational disease to another job function (for a period of no more than 4 months) cannot become grounds for dismissal, even if the conditioned employee refuses to change working conditions to easier ones.

In this case, the following rules apply:

• suspension from work for the period specified in the medical report;
• retention of the employee's position;
• no accrual of maintenance (except for cases specified in the legal regulations).

Who can't be laid off?

Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes categories of persons who are not subject to reduction. These include:

• pregnant woman;
• a woman with a child under 3 years of age;
• a single mother raising a disabled child under the age of 18;
• a single mother raising a child under 14 years of age;
• another person raising the above children without a mother;
• a parent (other legal representative of the child) who is the sole breadwinner of a disabled child under the age of 18 or the sole breadwinner of a child under 3 years of age in a family raising three or more young children, unless the other parent (other legal representative of the child) is in an employment relationship.

For more information about the categories of persons who cannot be laid off, read the article “6 situations when laying off an employee can result in a lawsuit.”

Who gets fired first?

As a rule, those who are laid off are people who have low qualifications and who are not entitled to additional benefits.

When an employer decides who he is willing to part with, he takes into account several factors:

1. 
   Age of the employee. Not a single legal act establishes that when selecting candidates for dismissal, the employer must proceed from this criterion. Therefore, this approach is not always applied, and employees of retirement age can count on not being fired.

2. Skill level.
   This condition is stipulated by law: according to Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, qualified employees have priority in remaining at work. It also takes into account what experience the employee has and how well he copes with his duties. However, there are no standards according to which management must determine the level of professional skills of citizens, so this remains at the discretion of the employer.
3. If the quality of work performance of employees is the same, then a person who does not have two or more dependent people and who is not the only worker in the family will be laid off.
4. Personal circumstances. An employee can express a desire to have his position reduced and resign of his own free will, without waiting for the end of two months.
5. Subjective decision of the employer. He may decide that, due to falling demand for the products he offers, it is necessary to abandon its production, and therefore close an entire division. Then the workers involved in the production of this particular type of product will be laid off.

Thus, the following employees may be the first to be laid off:

• retired;
• having no family;
• not being the sole breadwinner;
• low-skilled or unable to cope with the job;
• who independently proposed their candidacy;
• working in the department that they basically want to abandon.

Separately, it is worth stipulating which categories of citizens have priority when reducing staff.

Based on Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following people have a preferential right to remain at work:

• family, providing for two or more people;
• who are the only ones working and earning money in the family;
• disabled people of the Second World War;
• injured or injured while performing work duties;
• those undergoing advanced training at the direction of the employer at the time of the reduction events.

Reference! Additional categories of persons having priority may be specified in the collective agreement.

Abbreviations are not allowed:

• persons who independently take part in raising a child under 15 years of age (under 18 if the child is disabled);
• pregnant workers;
• employees with a small child (up to 3 years old);
• parents of a large family who are the only income earners in the family, and if one of the children has not reached the age of three.

How and why to prove the fact of reduction

The burden of proving the fact of layoff lies with the employer. The launch of the reduction procedure begins with a decision by the authorized person of the company to carry out the reduction.

Such a decision must be made in writing. This could be, for example, an order from the general director or a protocol of the board of directors. Based on this decision, an order is issued to change the staffing table and the staffing table is directly changed. It is these documents that will serve as proof of the reduction.

In addition, since labor disputes most often arise after dismissal due to a reduction in the number or staff of employees, the court also examines whether a new employee was hired for the same position after the dismissal. In this case, the reduction may be considered illegal (“imaginary”). From this we can conclude that the fact of a reduction can be proven by the absence of a position in the staffing table in effect at the time of consideration of the dispute.

When an employer has to resort to staff reduction procedures

Reduction of staff according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regulates the presence of significant circumstances, among which the following should be highlighted:

1. The enterprise will be reorganized;
2. There are prerequisites for liquidation;
3. It is planned to change the technological working conditions.

In fact, the reduction is due to the need to optimize costs through structural changes and reducing the bloated workforce, enlarging the work function of each employee and redistributing responsibilities.

When dismissal due to staff reduction, the following procedure must be followed:

• Reduction is permissible only if there is a compelling reason;
• The procedure must be agreed upon with the trade union organization;
• The employer, if possible, is obliged to offer an alternative position or job function within the scope of the employee’s qualifications;
• Exclude from the number of employees persons who have the prerogative to remain on staff in accordance with the law;
• Notice deadlines must be clearly provided;
• All orders issued as part of the procedure for abolishing the staffing table and terminating labor relations must be registered in the journal of orders (orders).

Why is a redundancy commission needed?

Legislatively, the employer has no obligation to create a redundancy commission, but from a practical point of view, its necessity is beyond doubt.

First of all, it is needed to determine the categories of employees who are not subject to layoffs. In addition, the work of this commission is useful in assessing the preemptive right. The staff reduction commission reviews the information provided for each candidate for dismissal. The decision made regarding employees who are not subject to layoffs and have a preferential right to remain at work is documented in writing - a protocol, a decision, etc.

The commission is created by order of an authorized person. The commission, as a rule, includes personnel specialists, one or two employees who are members of a trade union (if the company has one), and lawyers.

○ How to behave correctly when making redundancies?

For an employee who is on the redundancy list, you need to remember your rights:

1. The first step is to check whether you are on the list of persons who cannot be dismissed due to staff reduction and whether you are taking advantage of being retained at work. If yes, then you must inform your employer in writing. The best way would be to draw up a letter in two copies, give one to the head of the enterprise, and on the second ask for a mark on receipt of the first copy. If the employer does not listen to your opinion, this will be excellent evidence for the Federal Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or the court.
2. Demand that you be offered another job at the company. It is up to the employee to agree or not, but the refusal must also be recorded in writing. Otherwise, you can always refer to a violation of the law, in which case the employer will be fined and the order to dismiss you will be cancelled.
3. After dismissal, you must register with the employment service within two weeks. In this case, you will be able to receive the average salary for your previous job for another two months if the service is unable to employ you during this time.
4. If we are talking about staff reductions, in no case should you write a letter of resignation of your own free will or agree to dismissal by agreement of the parties. In this case, you lose the right to all benefits and payments provided by law.

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Seasonal workers and conscripts

The legislation provides for specifics in the procedure for laying off seasonal workers and workers who have entered into a fixed-term employment contract of up to 2 months. Please note that for other employees with whom a fixed-term employment contract has been concluded for other reasons, the reduction procedure is similar to that provided for employees with whom an employment contract has been concluded for an indefinite period.

The specifics of laying off seasonal workers and workers with whom a fixed-term employment contract of up to 2 months has been concluded relate to the timing of delivery of notice and payment of benefits.

Thus, an employee engaged in seasonal work must be notified of his upcoming dismissal due to a reduction in the number or staff of the organization’s employees at least 7 calendar days in advance.

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To learn more

For employees who have entered into an employment contract for a period of up to 2 months, the period is even shorter - they must be notified of the upcoming layoff at least 3 calendar days in advance.

As for the payment of severance pay to these categories of employees upon dismissal under clause 2, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, then for seasonal workers the amount of benefits is equal to the amount of two-week average earnings. And employees who have entered into an employment contract for a period of up to two months are not paid severance pay upon dismissal as a general rule, unless otherwise established by federal laws, a collective agreement or an employment contract.

Step-by-step procedure for dismissal due to staff reduction

The decision to reduce the total number of employees at an enterprise or reduce individual structural divisions is too important to be made individually. This way out of the crisis is discussed with the co-founders or shareholders of the company. Signing the minutes of the meeting of co-owners gives rise to all subsequent actions:

1. The head of the company issues a layoff order.
2. A list of employees by name is generated. This must be done taking into account Articles 179, 261 and 373 of the Labor Code.
3. Sending a message to the employment authorities.
4. Delivery of notices of future termination of employment relations on the basis of clause 2 of Art. 81 Labor Code with a simultaneous listing of options for transfer to other positions.
5. Arranging translations for those who agreed to take the offered vacancies. Carrying out early dismissal if the parties have reached an agreement on this issue, Art. 180 TK.
6. Upon expiration of the notice period, a dismissal order is issued, and settlement and compensation payments for layoffs are issued.
7. On the last day of work, the personnel service is obliged to issue a work book, as well as all certificates and extracts requested by former employees.

The terms and set of measures to support workers are agreed upon with the trade union if the number of people being laid off falls under the concept of mass layoffs.

Reduction order

Based on the decision of the founders, the director at his disposal specifies the list of positions and the number of specialists to be laid off, as well as the planned date of termination of contracts. An updated staffing table is being preliminarily developed, on the basis of which options for transferring employees will be offered.

Notification of employment authorities

The notice period depends on the number of staff positions being cut. If 200 or more people are planned to be laid off within 60 days, then employment assistance services should know about this at least 90 days in advance.

No later than 2 months before the date of dismissal, the employment center must be informed about the professional composition of the released team members. Entrepreneurs can send information 14 days before the planned date.

and messages about mass layoffs and the professional composition of those being laid off:

• Appendix No. 1
• Appendix No. 2

Notification to employees

The most unpleasant and crucial moment in the entire reduction procedure is notifying candidates. Here you must strictly adhere to the basic rules:

• The notice must be written, named and detailed;
• The document must bear the employee’s personal signature and the date of actual delivery;
• It is better to carry out the familiarization in front of witnesses; if you refuse to sign, they will confirm this fact and sign the document.

The document itself also requires precise wording and should be as informative as possible for the employee:

• Each notice must be personal (indicate full name, position and department);
• There must be a link to how and when the decision to cut staff was made;
• It is necessary to clarify that it is his position that is being reduced, and on what date the calculation is scheduled;
• It is imperative to report the presence/absence of vacancies of equal or lower qualifications;
• Usually, in the same notice, the employer indicates the possibility of early dismissal in accordance with Art. 180 TK;
• The date of preparation of the document and the signature of the responsible person are recorded;
• The notice is printed in 2 copies; the employer’s copy must bear the employee’s signature and the calendar date of delivery must be noted.

It is advisable to leave space on the form for the employee’s comments. In this field, he has the right to provide new data that allows him to receive immunity from reduction (for example, to announce pregnancy).

The template for the official message about the upcoming reduction was not approved by law, so each company is free to supplement or change the order in which the information is presented.

What vacancies can be offered?

The law requires the employer to do everything possible to facilitate the employment of laid-off employees. This obligation will be considered fulfilled if:

• The candidate for dismissal was offered all available vacancies (from management positions to cleaners), the main condition being that the new position must be suitable for qualifications and medical conditions;
• The proposed position is fundamentally different from the previous one both in terms of responsibilities and salary, but is suitable for the employee based on additional education data (for example, if the specialist has two diplomas in different specialties);
• The list of vacancies is included in the notice or presented as a separate document against signature, but the employee responded with a written refusal or ignored it altogether.

An employee who agrees to the transfer loses the right to severance pay.

The transfer of a specialist who has agreed to fill the proposed vacancy can be made without waiting for the expiration of the deadline for notification of forced termination of employment.

How to issue an order and fill out work books for employees?

It makes no sense to issue a dismissal order in advance, since circumstances can change dramatically. It makes more sense to sign the document on the day of settlement or the day before.

Most often, the T-8 form is used, but since 2013 this has ceased to be mandatory (State Statistics Committee Resolution No. 1 of 2004 is now only advisory). It is more important to comply with the requirements for the content of the order; it must indicate:

• Full details of the enterprise;
• Date and place of drawing up the document;
• Full name and position of the employee;
• Reason for dismissal and reference to the standard (in case of reduction of paragraph 1) or 2) of Art. 81 TK);
• Grounds (data about the layoff order, notification, refusal of proposed transfers, etc.);
• Signature of management or HR representative;
• A note made by the employee personally indicating familiarization or signatures of witnesses recording the fact of refusal.

Based on the signed order, the HR employee can make an entry in the work book and fill out the personal card of a former colleague. It is not recommended to show personal initiative in this case; Government Decree No. 225 of 2003 suggests the following procedure:

1. In column 1 you need to enter the record number according to the continuous numbering.
2. In column 2, note the date of actual calculation.
3. The verbatim wording from the order to terminate the employment contract is transferred to column 3.
4. In the 4th column enter the data of the basis order (name, number, date).

The entry is sealed with two signatures at once (those responsible for personnel records management and the owner of the record book), as well as the seal of the enterprise, clause 35 of the Rules for maintaining records.

Sample of a labor record in case of staff reduction

Dismissal of an employee upon change of ownership

First of all, it is worth noting that a change of owner does not automatically terminate the employment contract with existing employees.

The categories of employees with whom the employment contract can be terminated and the periods during which dismissal can be effected are limited. To employees with whom employment relations can be terminated on the basis provided for in clause 4, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (change of owner of the organization’s property), includes the head of the organization, his deputies and the chief accountant.

The period during which the new owner has the right to terminate the employment contract with the above-mentioned persons in connection with a change in the owner of the organization’s property must be no later than 3 months from the date his ownership rights arise.

A change in the owner of the organization’s property is not grounds for terminating employment contracts with other employees of the organization.

If the new owner decides to carry out a reduction, then starting this procedure is allowed only after state registration of the transfer of ownership.

Payments

The amount of benefits upon dismissal due to staff reduction is calculated in the manner established by Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. As an additional compensation for dismissal due to reduction, there may be a payment that is due to the employee if he or she has written consent to terminate the employment contract before the expiration of the warning period about the upcoming dismissal.

Example of calculating monetary compensation

To calculate the amount of compensation for dismissal due to staff reduction, all types of cash payments provided for in the remuneration system and used in the organization are taken into account.

On the day of dismissal (regardless of the reason for dismissal), the employer is obliged to transfer to the employee all funds due to him, including compensation for unused days of annual paid leave.

The size of the amount in a particular case does not matter; let’s call it X.

The amount of payment X is included in the calculation of the employee’s average monthly earnings, on the basis of which the employee will receive compensation in connection with the reduction, let’s call it Y.

On the last day of his work, the employee receives a cash payment equal to X + Y.

Next month, the employee will receive another payment equal to Y if he does not find a new job (the employer requires the original work book to be presented before making the accrual).

Further, if a person is registered with the employment agency within two weeks from the date of dismissal, but is still not employed, the employment agency has the right to decide on the need to accrue a third compensation. In this case, the former employee will receive another payment in the amount of Y.

If the employment relationship is terminated before the expiration of the two-month warning period about the upcoming dismissal at the initiative of the organization and the person is dismissed with his written consent, the employer compensates him for unworked time with a cash payment in the amount of average earnings (calculation is carried out according to Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In fact, this makes it possible to start looking for a new job as early as possible without losing financially.

Schematic step-by-step instructions for laying off employees in 2020 look like this:

Guarantees and compensation

When an employment contract is terminated due to a reduction in the number or staff of the organization's employees, the dismissed employee is paid a severance pay in the amount of average monthly earnings. He also retains his average monthly salary for the period of employment, but not more than 2 months from the date of dismissal (including severance pay).

In exceptional cases, the average monthly salary will be retained by the employee for the third month from the date of dismissal by decision of the employment service body, provided that within two weeks after dismissal the employee applied to this body and was not employed by it.

It is worth noting that Art. 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes minimum guarantees. Thus, an employment contract or collective agreement may establish an increased amount of severance pay, with the exception of cases expressly provided for by law.

One cannot fail to say something about the “northern” workers. They retain their average monthly earnings for the period of employment, but not more than 3 months from the date of dismissal, including severance pay.

In exceptional cases, the average monthly salary is retained for the specified employees during the 4th, 5th and 6th months from the date of dismissal by decision of the employment service body, provided that within a month after dismissal the employee applied to this body and was not they are employed.

The procedure for calculating average earnings is established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 24, 2007 No. 922.

Judicial practice on dismissal issues when reducing the number of employees (staff)

Is it possible to lay off an employee if the father of her young child does not pay child support?

In the Appeal ruling dated November 20, 2019 in case No. 33-52672/2019, the Moscow City Court declared the dismissal of an employee illegal under the following circumstances. Before her dismissal, the employee warned the head of the organization that she was divorced, raising a child under 14 years old without the help of her father, and presented the following documents:

– child’s birth certificate;

– certificate of divorce;

– a copy of the court order for the collection of alimony;

– a certificate of arrears in payment of alimony.

Having studied the case materials, the court concluded: although the child has a father, the employee is subject to a ban on dismissal at the initiative of the employer as a single mother.

For your information

Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 1 clarifies that a woman is considered a single mother if she is raising a young child alone (in a situation where the child’s father has died, is deprived of parental rights, is declared missing, or evades parenting).

Do I need to pay for the third month for an unemployed employee after layoff if he is a co-founder of another organization?

The employer went to court to recover unjust enrichment in the following situation. After paying the employee the average salary for the third month after the layoff, the organization learned that the former employee is one of the founders of another company with a 10% share in the authorized capital. According to the employer, he should not have paid him as an unemployed person.

The first instance supported the organization. The co-founder of the company cannot be considered unemployed and is not entitled to payments.

However, the appeal court did not agree with this decision. The employee submitted all the documents necessary to receive benefits:

– the decision of the employment center to make payments for the third month after dismissal, which was not challenged and cancelled;

– a work book in which there is no record of employment during the disputed period.

If these documents are available, the employer is obliged to make payments.

Is it possible to lay off an employee on a day off?

In the Appeal ruling dated November 7, 2019 in case No. 33-18662/2019, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court supported the employer in the following situation. The employee was notified of the upcoming layoff. On his last day of work, he was on sick leave, and the date of dismissal was postponed. On Friday, the employee closed his sick leave, and on Saturday he was fired. This day was a day off for the employee, so he considered the organization’s actions illegal.

The arbitrators indicated that the law does not prohibit terminating an employment contract on a day off, since the employee retains his place of work for this period.

For your information

In Letter No. 14-2/B-121 dated February 28, 2018, the Ministry of Labor explained: dismissal is possible on any day, including weekends. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not contain any specific articles defining the procedure for dismissal on non-working days. If the day of dismissal falls on a day off for the employee, the employer should:

– send the employee a notice of the need to appear for a work book or give consent to have it sent by mail (Part 6 of Article 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). From the date of sending this notification, the employer is released from liability for the delay in issuing the work book;

– make a settlement with the employee no later than the day following the day the latter presented the corresponding demand (Article 140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

It should be noted that judicial practice on this issue is ambiguous.

The conclusion that termination of an employment contract on a day off is possible was made in the appeal rulings of the Moscow City Court dated January 24, 2019 No. 33-2468/2019, and the Ryazan Regional Court dated July 12, 2017 No. 33-1507/2017.

The arbitrators came to the opposite conclusion in the Appeal ruling of the Chelyabinsk Regional Court dated June 27, 2017 in case No. 11-8544/2017. The judges recalled that the period of time with which the Labor Code of the Russian Federation connects the termination of labor rights and obligations begins the next day after the calendar date that determines the end of the labor relationship. Terms calculated in years, months, weeks expire on the corresponding date of the last year, month or week of the term. The period calculated in calendar weeks or days also includes non-working days. If the last day of the period falls on a non-working day, the end of the period is considered to be the next working day following it.

Source:

Ayudar Info

Heading:

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Advantages and disadvantages

Of course, layoffs are not a pleasant thing for an employee, especially during a crisis in the labor market. But still, a reduction, in contrast to voluntary dismissal, has a plus - it is severance pay, paid in the amount of average monthly earnings and retained by the employee for at least two months.

For the employer, the advantages are obvious - his initiative, that is, the employee cannot refuse, further optimization of expenses and reduction of the fund for wages. However, such a procedure will only further reduce the fund, since the reduction procedure itself is expensive.

Employer's order

Previously, we looked at how far in advance an employee must be notified of a layoff, but the execution of this notification is no less important.

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for a special, officially developed form of the document.

The notice is drawn up randomly.

But the notification must indicate:

1. Employee rights.
2. Reason for dismissal.
3. Guarantees provided to the employee.
4. A list of positions offered to the employee to replace the lost one.

Important! The two-month period begins to count only from the next day after the employee receives the order. The new staffing schedule also comes into force after this time.

Having answered the question about how much notice is given when an employee is laid off, we gave only general terms. However, it should also be remembered that the enterprise management can send a warning about the layoff of an employee later (5-6 months in advance). In this case, the employee may not receive repeated (2-3 months) notice. This does not contradict the law - the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes only a minimum period of notice of dismissal due to reduction, but does not provide for a maximum.

Why is the notice period for dismissal during a layoff exactly 2 months? During this time, the employee can find another job and resign early without waiting for the end of the notice period.

Mass layoff

In order for an employer to understand whether he has a mass layoff, he should refer to industry and (or) territorial agreements. Part 1 of Art. speaks about this. 82 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

So, for example, in Moscow, according to the Moscow tripartite agreement for 2016-2018 between the Moscow Government, Moscow trade union associations and Moscow employers' associations, the criteria for mass dismissal are considered to be the indicators of the number of dismissed employees of organizations registered in the city of Moscow, with a workforce of 15 or more people for a certain period of time:

1. dismissal within 30 calendar days of more than 25% of the total number of employees;
2. dismissal of employees in connection with the liquidation of an organization of any organizational and legal form;
3. reduction in the number or staff of the organization's employees in the amount of:

• 0 or more people within 30 calendar days;
• 200 or more people within 60 calendar days;
• 500 or more people within 90 calendar days.

What to do if the employer violates the deadlines?

An employee should not sign anything retroactively, says labor law expert Olga Eroshenkova. “The mere delivery of a notice that specifies a shorter period before the day of dismissal is not a violation. The paper may contain an error. In this case, the employee must indicate to the manager that the notification violated the deadline rule and ask for it to be redone. The violation of the Labor Code is associated with the very fact of dismissal in violation of deadlines,” the expert explained to AiF.ru.

In the event of an unlawful dismissal, an employee can contact the labor inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or the court and demand that he be reinstated in his previous position, says Eroshenkova.

For violating the terms of notification of layoffs, the employer faces a fine: from 30 to 50 thousand rubles will be paid by the organization and from 1 to 5 thousand by the general director. If the issue is resolved through court, the dismissed employee may also receive compensation for moral damages.

Reduction of employees according to the Labor Code

Staff reduction is a procedure that requires the Labor Code to comply with a number of conditions. Failure by the employer to comply with one of them may result in the employee being reinstated in the workplace, with payment of earnings for the entire period of forced absence, which will be considered the period from the date of dismissal to the date of reinstatement. Labor disputes are often resolved in court and the court, as a rule, sides with the employee.

Both employers and employees should know the rules for dismissal in accordance with Labor Law.

Dismissal due to staff reduction falls under Article 71 and must be carried out in two cases:

1. Upon liquidation of the position as a whole.
2. When reducing staffing levels for a given position.

In any enterprise, large or small, there are positions that are occupied by only one employee, for example, the head of the hot laying department. If such a position is reduced, then the employee who occupies it is dismissed.

In large enterprises, there are positions that are occupied by several (sometimes several dozen) people, for example, a commuter bus driver. Here, not all positions can be cut, but only the number of employees can be limited, for example, “reduce the number of employees from 25 to 15.” Then only a part of the persons occupying this position will be laid off; a number of other provisions of the Labor Code will come into force here.

Dismissal of workers is also carried out in case of reorganization of production. For example, when installing new equipment that eliminates jobs.

But in any case, staff reductions are carried out in accordance with Art. 178. And it is necessarily preceded by the approval of a new staffing table, which becomes the basis for the reduction and termination of an employment contract with a specific person.

When an enterprise or individual entrepreneur is liquidated, employees are also dismissed (Part 2 of Article 140). But in this case, all employees are fired, including those categories that are not subject to layoffs, for example, pregnant women caring for a baby, etc.

Procedure and rules for laying off an employee at an enterprise

Reduction of staff concerns a specific person only when he has been informed under his signature that he will be dismissed due to staff reduction. The employee must be notified at least 2 months before the expected date of dismissal. If for any reason he refuses to sign the order for familiarization, then an act is drawn up, which indicates his notification.

After notification of a job reduction, management, if there are vacancies at the enterprise, must offer them to the dismissed person. In addition, if there are vacancies in another area, they may also be offered.

If during the period of these two months a person manages to find another job, he can notify management using a written application and will receive a payment earlier. In this case, he will be paid compensation in the amount of average monthly earnings.

On the day of dismissal, the employee is given a work book with all the entries made in it, as well as a certificate of income for the last 2 years, and all other certificates required by the dismissed person.

A full calculation is required. In some cases, a dispute arises over payments. If this happens, then only the undisputed amount is paid on the day of dismissal.

Important! The period of 2 months for notification of layoffs is established by law for permanent employees. Temporary employees must be notified at least 2 weeks in advance. For those hired for a period of up to 2 months, this time is 3 days.

In what cases will dismissal be unlawful?

From all of the above, it should be concluded that a number of people of several categories cannot be dismissed due to staff reduction; they must be offered another job, they can be dismissed only then by agreement of the parties or at their own request. Here, dismissal due to staff reduction would be unlawful.

Another important point is the decision of some managers to offer dismissal by employees not due to staff reduction, but at their own request. This is usually dictated by the desire to save on payments due to the category subject to reduction. But not entitled to persons resigning of their own free will. If you dismiss at your own request, you will not be able to appeal against illegality.

It will be unlawful to dismiss a person who is on sick leave or on vacation. The procedure for dismissing employees due to staff reduction has a clearly defined mechanism that provides for a number of actions.

If at least one of them is violated, dismissal may be considered unlawful. This:

1. Drawing up and approval of a new staffing table.
2. Notifying employees about staff reductions (posting an order) 3–2 months before the expected date of staff reductions.
3. Notification individually to each employee (in writing) at least 2 months before the proposed dismissal.
4. Issuance of a dismissal order.
5. Full payment to the employee on the day of dismissal.

Here, for example, dismissal without written notice to each individual may lead to the unlawful dismissal of a particular employee (he was not properly notified).

In practice, the absence of one of the listed management steps may be considered illegal dismissal.