Can an employee be fired for absenteeism? How to fire an employee for absenteeism: step by step instructions. In what cases can a dismissal be considered illegal?

The labor legislation of the Russian Federation provides the employer with a number of tools for regulating relations with employees. One of them is the application disciplinary action- dismissal - for violation of labor discipline, namely absenteeism. However, the application of this sanction against an employee requires compliance with the procedural order and the legality of the grounds.

We all understand that dismissal "under the article" is not the most humane method.

But if an employee systematically violates the rules of internal work schedule- skips work. And all possible options solutions, such as dismissal or, no longer help.

That leaves only 1 option - the dismissal of the employee for absenteeism. Today we will tell you how to do it correctly and legally.

What is a walk?

Important! It should be borne in mind that:

Each case is unique and individual.
Careful study of the issue does not always guarantee a positive outcome of the case. It depends on many factors.

To get the most detailed advice on your issue, you just need to choose any of the proposed options:

Sometimes the employer or employee interprets the concept of "truancy" in their own way. For some, this is a failure to appear at work without warning, for others being late, and someone believes that absenteeism is a refusal to do extracurricular work. To resolve disputes, you need to study what the law says. The legal definition of absenteeism is given in Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Absenteeism is considered to be absence from the workplace without good reasons during the entire working day (shift), regardless of its (her) duration, as well as absence from the workplace without good reason for more than four hours in a row during the working day (shift).

To qualify for absenteeism, the following conditions must be met:

absence of 4 or more hours;
disrespectful reason;
month of misconduct.

Therefore, before dismissing an employee for absenteeism, it should be established that he was really absent from the workplace, correctly determine the period of his absence and the reason why the employee did not come to work or left workplace until the end of the shift.

What is absence from work?

The procedure for dismissal for absenteeism clearly regulates the condition - absence from the workplace. But what is considered a workplace? An office, company territory or a chair on which an employee sits while working?

In this matter, you should first study the job description and the employment contract with the employee, as well as collective agreement, if available. Additionally, other local acts (orders, instructions, regulations) can be used that determine the “workplace” for a particular employee.

For example, in an instruction or order for a worker, it may be noted that his workplace is a specific number of a machine or workshop. In this case, absenteeism will be considered the time that the employee spent outside the workshop or not at the machine.

If there is a clear concept of what is considered a workplace, in local acts or labor agreement No, you need to be guided by Art. 209 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which determines that the workplace is the territory where the employee needs to arrive to perform the assigned functions. That is, the entire territory of the company.

Time away from work

The law gives the employer the right to dismiss an employee for absenteeism if the employee has been absent for 4 or more hours. It means that, if an absence of exactly 4 hours or less is recorded, then you cannot be fired for absenteeism. Yes, you can apply other disciplinary measures, such as a reprimand, but not dismissal. Having information on how to fire a person for absenteeism, employees sometimes use this four-hour period, which does not allow them to consider absence as absenteeism.

How is time off work calculated?

Further, during the period of absence, time is not included lunch break. Reason - Art. 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, excluding the duration of the break from working time. Therefore, if, for example, an employee came to work at 14:20, but was supposed to be at 10:00, while the break is set from 13:00 to 14:00, then this act will not be considered absenteeism, since the employee was absent only 3 hours 20 minutes.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows you to take into account and summarize all periods when the employee was not on site, but only within one shift or day, depending on the established schedule. That is, you cannot sum up periods of absence over several days or shifts.

1 o'clock in the morning;
1 hour 10 minutes after lunch;
2 hours at the end of the shift.

Total for the whole day will be missed 4 hours 10 minutes. This can be qualified as absenteeism, subject to other procedural requirements.

Good reasons for absenteeism

The legislator for the current year 2020 does not define in any article of the Labor Code what are valid reasons for absenteeism. It is believed that this fact must be established within the framework of the proceedings, that is, separately in each individual case. In practice, a valid basis is one that did not arise at the will of the employee.

That is, they recognize as respectful:

employee illness;
illness (death) of a close relative;
emergencies;
road accidents or incidents;
housing and communal accidents;
other.

Of course, good reasons for absenteeism must be documented or otherwise confirmed, for example, by the testimony of witnesses. Documents must be certified general order. For example, get a medical certificate, a copy of the accident report.

The law also does not consider absence of an employee with the knowledge of the manager to be absenteeism. That is, if the employee "was asked for leave", then this is not absenteeism. But, as with other reasons, the fact of management permission must be proven.

Oral permission alone is not enough, because it will be impossible to prove it. In practice, the employer can take advantage of this "loophole". Therefore, it is important to know what is absenteeism without a good reason, absence from the workplace even with the permission of the manager, if there is no written confirmation of permission.

Step-by-step procedure for dismissal for absenteeism

The step-by-step instruction for dismissal for absenteeism provides for the following procedure for going through all the stages: from committing a misconduct - absenteeism - to the final entry in the work book.

It is important to comply with all procedural formalities in order to avoid litigation. After all, if the procedure for actions and paperwork is violated, then the dismissal can be declared illegal in court, the employee can be reinstated, and the employer is required to pay compensation.

So the procedure for how to properly dismiss an employee for absenteeism:

Document the fact of the commission of absenteeism. This can be done by composing the employee's absences. The act is drawn up in the presence of witnesses (2-3 people). It is also permissible if the immediate supervisor submits a report on the commission of a misconduct by subordinates to higher authorities.
. An explanatory note is drawn up only in writing. Oral explanations are not suitable. Deadline - 2 days.
Based on the results, either an internal investigation is closed, or an act is drawn up. Also, in the absence of explanations from the employee within 2 days, an appropriate one is drawn up (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
A decision is made to apply the penalty. The right to dismiss for absenteeism is not an obligation, that is, the employer may not dismiss the employee, but apply a different type of penalty.
A dismissal order is being prepared.
Familiarize the employee with the order.
Document the dismissal with an entry in the work book.

The nuances of actions during a long absence

Particular attention deserves the situation when a long absence is made. When dismissed for a long absence step-by-step instruction almost the same as with the usual, that is, discrepancies:

Fix the absence: compose , enter data into .
Compose about the need to appear and provide explanations.
Send a notice to an employee at a known postal address.
After receiving notification of delivery, wait 2 days + the period required for the delivery of correspondence.
In case of failure to provide explanations and confirmation of the fact of receipt of the notification, draw up an act.
Take action to find out the reasons for the absence if the notification has not been received. This step is optional, but recommended to avoid problems in a possible lawsuit after. You can make calls to the relatives of the employee, get their testimony.
Write about the activities carried out, recording the information received. Optional.
Design .
Draw up an act on the impossibility of familiarizing the employee with the order.
Enter the information in the work book.
Perform payment settlement.
Send a notice to the employee about the need to obtain a work book.

Due to the fact that the law establishes a period for disciplinary punishment of 1 month, it is necessary to carry out all actions as quickly as possible. Given that letters are returned to the sender after a month of storage, we recommend sending a telegram asking for clarification.

It would also be reasonable to draw up daily acts on the absence of an employee during the entire period of absenteeism, or record this in another way. accessible way, for example, marks in the arrival-departure journal in order to follow the procedure for dismissal for absenteeism without a good reason.

Registration of procedural papers

The first document that needs to be prepared is confirmation of the fact of absence. The most common option is to draw up an act, although a report can also be used, based on the results of which an internal investigation is opened. After requesting an explanatory note, you must wait two business days. Immediately on the day of absenteeism, it is impossible to issue an order to dismiss a sample for absenteeism and terminate the employment contract.

As part of the investigation, it may be decided to carry out dismissal for absenteeism without good cause if the employee refused to provide an explanation why he was absent. Or he did not confirm the documented reason, even if he considers it valid. This should be documented.

date of dismissal

If there is a dismissal for absenteeism, then what day to dismiss? Difficult question. To make a decision, one must be guided by Art. 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. According to its content, the last working day of the employee is the date of his dismissal, if for other reasons there was no place for him. In the case of absenteeism, the last day when the employee worked is the day preceding the day of absenteeism, provided that a good reason has not been confirmed.

Therefore, if the absenteeism was one-time and the employee subsequently appeared and gave explanations that were regarded as a disrespectful reason, the date of dismissal and the dismissal order for absenteeism will correspond to the day the explanatory note was received. if absenteeism is of a long nature, the daily absences of the employee are confirmed by acts and time sheets, and explanations have not been received, then dismissal is allowed on the last working day. However, there will be no violation and dismissal, dated the day the final act was drawn up on the lack of explanations.

Registration of a work book

Entering data into the work book is the final stage of dismissal. If you don’t know or are not sure under which article they are dismissed for absenteeism, then article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regulates dismissal for absenteeism. Information is entered into the employee's work book on the basis of an order. The registration data of the order itself is written in the column "Name and date of the document". Sample entry in the labor on dismissal for absenteeism:

First, the number of the serial record is indicated, the deadline is not missed. Next, the date of entering information is prescribed, which must coincide with the date of dismissal and the issuance of the order. It is further indicated in words in labor record about dismissal for absenteeism (). After that, the signature and the name of the position of the responsible person are affixed. The record is certified by the seal of the company.

Sometimes the employer may terminate the contract and dismiss not for absenteeism, but if the employee is recognized as dead or missing. This requires a court decision (here in detail about), fixing this fact. The employer can initiate the process himself, or the claim will file another interested party e.g. a relative.

The workbook entry will look like this:

Special cases of dismissal for absenteeism

Not every absence from work is regarded as absenteeism, even if it has almost all the signs. For example, it will not be considered absenteeism if the employee does not wish to go to work on a non-working day for himself. However, there are exceptions to this rule, the same as for recall from vacation. It is acceptable to involve employees to work on a day off if this is required for recovery after accidents or emergencies.

Dismissal and sick leave

It is unacceptable to carry out a dismissal if an employee is ill. If the employee was hastily fired for absenteeism, and he brought sick leave in the form of an explanation of the reason, then such an employee must be reinstated, since the dismissal is unlawful. However, if the fact of hiding the disease and the presence of sick leave was established, then during the trial the court may take the side of the employer, believing that the employee is abusing his rights and infringing on the rights of the employer (Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation).

In the lawsuits, citizens explain the situation as follows: “I was fired for absenteeism while I was on sick leave.” As proof, they provide a certificate of incapacity for work. This is not enough, it is necessary to prove that the employer was notified that the employee fell ill. Moreover, a citizen may be denied satisfaction of the claim if he refused to give explanations. Of course, if he could do it for objective reasons.

Can a pregnant woman be fired for absenteeism?

Employers are often willing to fire a woman in position. Especially if she makes mistakes. However, the question is: "How to fire a pregnant woman for absenteeism?" - has a simple answer: "No way."

The Labor Code expressly prohibits any grounds for terminating an agreement with a pregnant woman at the initiative of the employer, except for the complete liquidation of the organization (Article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Can a pregnant woman be fired under the article if she has committed a misdemeanor? Yes, but only on the basis of Art. 336 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the application of sanctions to employees of educational institutions.

Bar lawyer legal protection. Specializes in handling cases related to labor disputes. Defense in court, preparation of claims and other normative documents to regulatory authorities.

Each case of dismissal of an employee for absenteeism without a good reason is individual. There cannot be a universal sample document and a single template, acting on which, you are guaranteed to fire any truant without any problems. Moreover, absence from the workplace is not always a disciplinary offense. There are times when an employee is forced to miss a working day and cannot immediately provide required documents in your own defense. And hasty action in such cases is dangerous - you may be called to court, which you are likely to lose.

That is why we offer not a template solution, but a detailed analysis of terms, documents and rules of conduct, taking into account judicial practice.

Absenteeism or not: we understand the terminology

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, absenteeism is a one-time gross violation employee of his job duties ( Article 81, Clause 6, Clause “a” of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). AT Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004, 5 actions of an employee are described that can be qualified as absenteeism:

Absenteeism. This means the absence of an employee from work without good reason throughout the working day, regardless of its duration. For example, if we are talking about a person who, according to an employment contract, works 3 hours a day, absence during these three hours already means absenteeism.
The presence of an employee without good reason outside the workplace for more than 4 hours in a row during the working day. What does it mean? Suppose a person came to work, took a pass, checked himself in, and then left somewhere and did not appear at the workplace for 4 hours. Of course, provided that he was obliged to be there - that is, he did not have a traveling nature of work and he did not have to meet with clients, negotiate with business partners, etc.
Leaving work without warning of termination of the contract and without a good reason, provided that the employment contract is concluded for an indefinite period. Or - a similar misconduct before the expiration of the two-week warning period. An example is a situation where an employee is in a confrontation with superiors, writes a letter of resignation on own will and no longer comes to work, although he has to work for another two weeks.
Leaving work without a good reason, provided that the employment contract is concluded for a certain period, and this period has not yet expired. Similarly, if the notice period has not expired early termination contracts.
Unauthorized use of days off or unauthorized leave. Even if an employee agreed on a vacation orally, but did not receive an order and did not sign it, his departure can be qualified as absenteeism.

Note that we say "may qualify as absenteeism". The fact is that between absence from the workplace and the moment when this act of an employee is recognized as absenteeism, a certain time passes. The task of the personnel officer during this time period is not only to issue an act of absence from the workplace (we will describe how to do this below), but also to ask the employee for an explanation of his absence from work. And if the employee was able to provide a convincing explanation, even an absence from work for 1-2 weeks cannot be qualified as absenteeism.

The word "persuasive" is the key here. Not every explanatory note meets this criterion.

Let's take an example. Let's say you received an explanation like this:

On the one hand, there is no convincing explanation here. If the sister called Ivanov, it means that he still had some kind of phone, as well as the opportunity to warn the authorities about being late - if not even by phone, then by phone. e-mail. In addition, the employee decided to go to lunch and not to the workplace, and this is also important. But on the other hand, if there is no evidence that Ivanov has repeatedly violated discipline before, when dismissed for absenteeism at the initiative of the employer, the court may well take the side of the employee - this is the practice.

What to do in such a situation? Ask for additional written clarifications on the following questions: why, after arriving at work, Ivanov immediately went to lunch and why he did not warn his superiors about his absence. It is desirable to do this in writing, moreover, communication regarding clarifications should also be formalized as an act. Having requested clarification, you can reprimand Ivanov and warn that the next time such an offense will already qualify as absenteeism.

Let's take a quick look at another case: remote employee did not get in touch at the appointed time and explained this by the fact that his Internet was turned off. If the Internet is provided by a company, an explanation must be requested from the IT department. If for technical questions the employee himself answers - evidence is needed that the Internet was turned off through no fault of his (for example, not because he forgot to pay for the service).

Good reasons: when can you be absent from the workplace?

There is no list of valid reasons for absence from the workplace in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. But there is arbitrage practice. Based on it, we can make the following list:

Illness of the employee himself or the child he cares for. Moreover, it is not necessary to provide a sick leave - a certificate from a doctor is enough, especially if the employee missed one day for health reasons.

Technological disaster.
Big traffic jams, road blocking. This fact must be registered - evidence can be obtained from the traffic police.
Shift in the schedule of movement of electric trains.
Road accident, confirmed by a certificate of accident.
Death of a relative or loved one.
Summons to law enforcement agencies and court.
A fire or other emergency that prevented you from coming to work.
Urgent hospitalization of a close relative.
Emergency work at an employee's home that prevented him from leaving.

If you qualified the absence of an employee at work as absenteeism, the algorithm of actions will be as follows:

If an employee has previously violated labor discipline and it was decided to terminate the employment contract with him, the algorithm for dismissal for absenteeism will be as follows:

How to draw up an absence from work

First, let's understand the terms. The workplace and the place of work are not the same thing. Place of work is the name of the employer specified in the business contract. For example, Alfa LLC, Moscow, 10th Stroiteley Street, 25. And the workplace is the place where the employee should be or where he should come to perform work duties. It is not necessary to name the workplace in the contract, but it can be indicated in another document - for example, in the job description, lease agreement, floor plan, etc. If it is not indicated in any document, when drawing up the act, you must definitely explain what you mean by the phrase "The employee was absent from the workplace."

It is very important to take into account the difference in terms and the need to explain where the employee's workplace is located. The court always carefully checks the acts, so you can be sure: it is enough to write “the employee was absent from the place of work” for the act to be recognized as incorrect and withdrawn from the case.

What else needs to be specified in the act:

Name and position of the employee. Please note: the position must be the same as in the job description.
The date and exact time the employee was absent from the workplace. If possible, indicate when he came and went. If the employee was absent all day, indicate his working hours indicated in the documents.
The exact time of drawing up the act.
Name and position of the employees who signed the act. In their presence, the employee will familiarize himself with the document. It is desirable that there be at least three signatures - then the document will have more weight in court.

We also recommend including additional marks in the act. The first is that the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the act. The second is that the document was read aloud in his presence. If you are asked in court what it means “the employee got acquainted with the act of misconduct”, you can answer: the document was read aloud in the presence of the employee himself and several witnesses. The third mark is about the need to provide an explanation. Of course, you can prepare separate documents - an act of refusal to familiarize, a notice of the need to provide explanations. But their employee may ignore, and you will lose convincing evidence for the court.

We have prepared a sample misdemeanor act for you, but it is not necessary to use it - you can create your own document template.

Important: if an employee missed several working days, draw up an act every time! In this case, upon dismissal for a long absence, you can prove that the employee has repeatedly violated labor discipline.

Familiarization of the employee with the document must take place in the presence of at least three witnesses. It is undesirable that only managers be witnesses - it is better to involve the employee's colleagues and one of the employees personnel service. Each action of the employee in the act - in particular, the signature or refusal to familiarize - the witnesses must certify with their signatures.

What to do if the employee has stopped going to work at all, and it is impossible to acquaint him with the act? In this case, you can send him registered letter and immediately after receiving a notification of non-delivery, proceed to the preparation of a memorandum addressed to the general director and launch the procedure for dismissal for absenteeism. Other options are to call the employee and make an appointment telephone conversation, warning about this, or ask the employee's colleagues to contact him and, based on the results, draw up a memo.

Getting explanations from an employee

After reviewing the act of misconduct, the employee must write and provide an explanatory note within 2 working days. It is written in free form in the name of the immediate supervisor and transferred either to this supervisor, or to the secretariat or personnel department. We have already analyzed an example of an explanatory note above.

If the employee has not prepared an explanatory note in two working days, you need to draw up an act of no explanation - its form will be the same as that of the act of misconduct. At the same time, it is important to understand: the absence of an explanatory note does not prevent the application of a disciplinary sanction.

Then, on the basis of the act and the explanatory note, the head of the department in which the employee works, or the head of the personnel department, writes a memo addressed to the general director. In it, the boss briefly describes the situation and suggests considering the application of a disciplinary sanction for absenteeism in the form of a remark, reprimand or dismissal. If you decide to draw up a notice of the need to provide explanations separately, this document must also be submitted to CEO.

After reviewing all the documents, the CEO puts a resolution in which he requires the preparation of an order for disciplinary action and indicates the punishment he has chosen for the employee - a remark, reprimand or dismissal.

It is necessary to apply a disciplinary sanction within a month from the date of discovery of the misconduct (i.e. from the date of drawing up the act) and within 6 months from the date of the misconduct, not counting the days when the employee was absent from work, was on sick leave or on vacation, and also the time it took to take into account the opinion of the representative body of workers. This means that the sooner an employee personnel department make an act, the better.

The procedure for dismissal for absenteeism: paperwork

Important point: if it is decided to dismiss an employee, only one order for disciplinary action needs to be drawn up. You can't both reprimand and fire - it's illegal.

The need to dismiss an employee must be explained in detail and justified in the order. To do this, indicating the grounds for termination of the employment contract, it is recommended to provide the wording from subparagraph “a” of paragraph 6 of article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. You also need to indicate all the documents with numbers and dates that the CEO considered when making a decision to dismiss. If the employee did not appear at the workplace and did not receive a registered letter in his name, this letter with a return mark should also be included in the list of documents.

A sample order for dismissal for absenteeism is possible.

The employee must read the order and sign it. If the employee refuses to do this, you need to draw up an act of refusal to familiarize yourself with the order. If there is no communication with the employee at all (he stopped going to work, does not pick up the phone), he needs to send a registered letter with a request to appear and familiarize himself with the dismissal order. A simple rule applies here: in court, you must easily prove that the fact of dismissal was brought to the employee very clearly.

It is also necessary to make a record of dismissal for absenteeism in the work book. And then the question arises: what is the date of dismissal to put?

There are two options. The first is to indicate the last day of the employee's work, except for cases when he did not actually work, but the position was retained by him. This option is relevant if the absenteeism is long and it is not possible to contact the employee.

The second option is to indicate in the record of dismissal the date of issuance of the order to apply a disciplinary sanction.

If the absenteeism is long and the employee does not come to work, you need to send him a notification where and when he should appear to pick up the work book. If the employee, even after this notification, did not request a work book, it should be stored in the archive of the organization.

Finally

Here are samples of documents that may be useful to you when processing the dismissal of an employee for absenteeism:

Remember that in the event of dismissal for absenteeism at the initiative of the employer, it is the employer, and not the employee, who has to prove the legality of his actions in court. Therefore, in the process of dismissal, you need to collect a good evidence base and, if possible, enlist the support of colleagues of the employee who can speak in your defense.

According to the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of February 17, 2004 No. 2, absenteeism is recognized:

absence from work (outside the workplace) without good reason for more than 4 hours in a row during the working day;
unauthorized use of rest days;
voluntary leave.

A normal and responsible employee will always warn the employer if something happens to him and he does not go to work. But if he disappeared and phone calls does not answer, he is probably truant. We will analyze the procedure for issuing dismissal for absenteeism.

Step 1. We fix the fact of absence

An act is drawn up in free form in the presence of two witnesses.

Sample act of absence of an employee from the workplace

Sample form of the act of absence of an employee at the workplace

On the first day of such acts, at least two must be done. The first - before lunch, the second - before the end of the working day. In the following days (no more than three), one act is drawn up for each day of absence. If the employee never showed up, the employer continues to draw up one act per week until the person actually appears at work or decides to send him questions about the reasons for the absence by mail. Upon dismissal, this act will serve as one of the supporting documents.

Step 2. We note the absence in the time sheet

Before the employee goes to work and explains the reasons for his absence, it is necessary to put down the codes in: HH code (absence for an unexplained reason). It is impossible to put the PR code (absenteeism) until the moment of providing written explanations (or an act of refusal to provide explanations), the court may subsequently recognize such a position as biased, and dismissal - illegal.

Sample recording absenteeism in the time sheet

Before receiving a written explanation

After receiving a written explanation

Step 3. We inform the management of the company

On the first day of the absence of an employee, his manager must inform the general director about this. This message is issued in the form of a memo, in which:

the situation is briefly described (the employee did not appear at work and does not get in touch);
contains a proposal to obtain written explanations from the employee, followed by a decision to bring him to disciplinary responsibility, including in the form of dismissal.

Sample memorandum on employee absenteeism

Step 4. Ask questions

If the employee does not appear for a long time, does not answer phone calls, the employer has the opportunity to send him questions about the reasons for his absence by mail. In this case, an official letter is drawn up on the letterhead of the organization with the requirement to explain the reasons for the absence. This letter must be signed by the CEO. The letter is sent with a description of the attachment (for subsequent presentation to the court with a receipt for payment of the postage).

The letter must indicate the deadline by which the employee must provide his explanations. This period must be reasonable, for example, 15 calendar days, and include time:

postal forwarding to the addressee;
the actual writing of the explanation;
return postage.

As noted managing partner law firm Varshavsky & Partners Vladislav Varshavsky, the employee must be required to explain the reasons for absence from work, since the employee's right to provide explanations is provided for by law. Otherwise, the decision of the employer to dismiss the subordinate for absenteeism may be recognized by the court as unreasonable. As an example, the lawyer cited Ruling of the Moscow City Court dated July 30, 2018 No. 4g/7-8964/18, from which the following conclusion can be drawn: the employer did not provide the employee with the opportunity to explain the reasons for absence from the workplace, which means that he significantly violated the procedure for dismissal due to own initiative. On this basis, the dismissal was declared illegal, and the employer had to reinstate the employee in his position, pay him average earnings for the period of forced absenteeism and compensate for moral damage.

If after a reasonable time there is no answer or the letter is returned due to the expiration of its storage period, it is necessary to draw up an act of refusal to provide explanations. It may be necessary to justify subsequent dismissal in a court.

Sample act of refusal to provide written explanations

Sample letter with questions about the reasons for absenteeism

If the employee appeared at work and did not provide supporting documents, on the same day he must be given questions about the reasons for his absence. He has two working days to write his explanation. If after this time no explanations are provided, on the third day an act of refusal to provide written explanations is drawn up. If substantive explanations are provided, proceed to the next step.

Step 5. Assess the validity of the reason for the absence

(if there is an act of refusal, this step can be skipped)

If the management decided to dismiss the perpetrator, the order is issued according to unified form T-8. Registration of dismissal for absenteeism is carried out according to article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Sample letter of dismissal for absenteeism

Step 8. We introduce the employee to the order

The employee must be familiarized with or applied to him a disciplinary sanction (no matter what it will be - a reprimand or dismissal) within three working days from the date of its publication (not counting the time the employee was absent from work). If he refuses to familiarize himself with the order, an act is drawn up in an arbitrary form in the presence of two witnesses.

Step 9. Fill out a work book

Sample entry in the work book upon dismissal for absenteeism

Step 10. Issue a work book

On the last working day, the employee must be paid all the cash payments due to him, as well as. For its receipt, the recipient signs in.

If he refuses, we draw up an act in any form in the presence of two witnesses.

If a person is actually absent on the day of his dismissal (the last day of his work), the employee of the personnel department on this day is obliged to send a notification about the need to appear for his work book or agree to be sent by mail.

If a person did not come and did not provide consent, the employer is obliged to keep such a work book for 75 years.

The procedure for dismissing an employee for absenteeism is a responsible and multi-step procedure. An error at any of the stages can result in the restoration of the offender in the same place. How to fire an employee for absenteeism correctly? The article contains step-by-step instructions for dismissing an employee.

Dismissal for absenteeism: step by step instructions 2020

A fairly common personnel service procedure is dismissal for absenteeism: step by step procedure(diagram) looks like this:

Fixation of the fact of absence.
Getting an explanation.
Misdemeanor qualification.
Preparation of documents for dismissal.
Familiarize the employee with the documents and hand them over upon dismissal.

Let's analyze each step of the step-by-step instructions in more detail.

We draw your attention to the fact that each stage must be carefully documented, so further we will answer the question in detail: the dismissal of an employee for absenteeism - how to arrange it correctly?

Step 1. We fix absenteeism

If the employee did not come to work and did not warn about his absence, this does not mean that he went on absenteeism.

What is considered absenteeism is indicated in Decree of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of March 17, 2004 No. 2. Common features for all cases of absenteeism are unauthorized and without good reason absence from work for more than four hours in a row during a working day or shift.

But since on initial stage it is not known why the employee did not arrive, just in case, you need to make sure and fix the fact of his absence - this is the essence of the first stage of the step-by-step instruction.

An event is recorded by an act or other document adopted in the workflow of a particular organization.

The act states:

time and place of compilation;
personal data and job titles of the compiler and persons present;
the very fact of the absence of a particular employee.

On the first day of an employee's absence from work, as a rule, three acts are drawn up:

the first - at the time of discovery;
the second - after four hours of absence;
the third - at the end of the working day or shift.

Subsequently, they draw up one act per day at the end of the working day.

On the day when the employee appears at work, an act is drawn up stating that the person went to work and received a request for written explanations.

Let's move on to the next step of the step-by-step instructions.

Step 2. Asking for an explanation

According to article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must obtain a written explanation from the employee.

This is done so that the employee has the opportunity to explain why he was absent. If an explanation is not received, the procedure will be declared illegal. So we advise you not to skip this milestone suggested step by step instructions.

The law does not say how it is necessary to request explanations, but it is better to do this in writing, so that in the future, if there is a trial, the employer would have something to present to the court.

The employee has two working days to write his explanation, in which he can state the reasons for his absence.

If after two days the employee has not provided an explanation, an act is drawn up.

Until the reasons and conditions for which the person was absent are clarified, the HH code (absence for unexplained reasons) is put in the time sheet.

After that, the employer will deal with the reasons, changes are made to the time sheet and either the PR code is affixed (if the employer considered that the employee was absent) or another code, depending on the reasons for the absence.

Step 3. Find out the reasons

At step 3 of the step-by-step instruction, the employer assesses the validity of the reasons, specified by the employee, on one's own. There are no criteria for respectfulness in the law, therefore, when assessing the circumstances of absence, the employer should proceed from the principles of reasonableness, including those specified in Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of October 17, 2006 No. 381-O.

The legal assessment of the explanations is set out in separate document, as a rule, in the form of a report or memo, which indicates that:

or a person, in violation of the requirements of the law, committed a disciplinary offense, which was expressed in the absence without good reason at his workplace for a certain period;
or the employee did not make absenteeism, that is, was absent for good reasons.

If the employee is guilty, the report indicates proposals for the application of disciplinary measures to the guilty person, which may vary from remarks to dismissal.

The completed memorandum is submitted for approval to the general director of the company or a person authorized to make a decision on this issue (application of disciplinary measures, conclusion and termination employment contracts).

The management, at its discretion, independently makes a decision regarding the guilty employee:

may agree with the proposals set out in the memorandum (depending on what is written there);
can make its own decision, strengthen (up to dismissal) or mitigate the employee's responsibility for absenteeism.

Step 4. Preparing the order

If the management has decided that dismissal for absenteeism is inevitable, the relevant department, usually personnel, prepares an order to terminate the employment contract. Form T-8 is used. Instructions for filling out the T-8 form and sample orders can be found on our website.

The employee must be familiar with this order against signature. If he refuses to get acquainted, an act is drawn up.

Step 5. We calculate and issue documents

The final stage of the step-by-step instructions is the final settlement with the employee.

It is made on the basis of a note-calculation, which is prepared jointly by personnel and accounting departments.

The calculation includes wage for the period worked, bonuses (if any), compensation for unused vacation.

Payments must be made on the last business day.

On the same day, all documents required for issuance are issued:

labor and medical (if any) books;
copies of orders (at the request of the employee);
and other documents.

conclusions

The procedure for dismissal for absenteeism according to the law is a rather complicated event, and compliance with the norms of each of the steps of the step-by-step instructions described above is mandatory. The result of neglecting the rules for terminating employment contracts in this case with one hundred percent probability will be the restoration of the dismissed violator in the same place.