A disciplinary sanction, to put it simply, is a punishment that is imposed on a company employee if the latter violates his work (i.e., labor) duties.

This penalty, if proven, can be imposed on any of the company’s employees, regardless of their specialty.

A violation that is not documented or documented in an inaccurate manner has no legal force.

Application of disciplinary action

A penalty is imposed on an employee who violates his or her job duties. This violation will mean failure to perform at all, as well as poor performance by the employee of his duties (labor), but only through the fault of the employee himself.

The company documents and the employment contract concluded with the employee specify the employee’s duties, which he, in fact, must perform.

The employee must be familiarized with the listed documents upon entry to work against signature, and a copy of the employment contract must be kept in the employee’s hands. It is precisely their failure to comply, or poor quality performance, that will be the reason for imposing a disciplinary sanction.

So, review the listed documents more often.

You can list other cases in case of violation of which disciplinary action is applied.

These include the following:

• failure to comply with discipline, namely labor discipline;
• violation of the points listed in the instructions (job description) and other regulatory documents;
• performing actions that are prohibited by company documents.

Types of disciplinary sanctions

Let’s imagine a situation where an employee violated labor discipline. His employer can quite legally apply penalties (disciplinary) to this employee.

There are very few of them. A reprimand, reprimand and dismissal are not only penalties, but also legally justified penalties. The employer should not and cannot apply other penalties.

But even here there are exceptions; if any other penalties are specified in the organization’s existing documents, then the employer has the right to apply them:

• Comment. This penalty represents the lightest possible disciplinary action that an employer can take against an employee.
• . This is a more responsible penalty that an employer can apply to an employee.
• Dismissal– the highest measure of responsibility applied to an employee.

How to properly file a disciplinary sanction?

If there is a fact of a disciplinary violation, then it must be recorded correctly. To do this, you simply need to document this fact.

To do everything without violations and in accordance with the law, you need to draw up in writing several or one document from the following three:

• Act. A document recording the commission of a corresponding disciplinary violation by an employee is called an act. An act may be drawn up in some cases, for example, if an employee is late, or if the employee is absent from work, as well as in case of refusal to undergo a medical examination, etc.
• . The employer can draw up a note (report), for example, if the deadline for submitting any report, document, etc. is missed, the employee fails to fulfill his duties, etc.
• commission decision. Such a document is drawn up when damage is caused to the employer.

So, if, after all, a violation by an employee is recorded, then it is necessary to demand an explanation from the employee about the incident that occurred, but only in writing.

It would be better if the employer recorded in writing his request for explanations.

In the note, the employee should try to justify himself and indicate all the reasons why he committed a certain act. But it also happens that an employee does not want to provide explanations if, for example, there are simply none.

So, if the employee, nevertheless, did not provide the document within two working days, this must be recorded in writing, namely in an act.

Just in case of a controversial situation, the employer's written request for explanations and the corresponding act on the absence of these explanations may become sufficient grounds for imposing a certain disciplinary sanction.

But it is quite possible that the situation will be different if the employee nevertheless presented an explanatory note on time.

Then it is the employer’s responsibility to carefully consider it and make a decision. If the listed reasons set out in the explanation are considered valid, then there may be no reprimand or punishment. In another case, such a note will necessarily serve as the basis for a penalty.

Now you can move on to another stage, where the order is created. The manager must decide what punishment the employee will suffer. This must be determined by considering certain factors, for example, the severity of the action committed and the consequences that occurred.

Three working days are allotted for drawing up and delivering the order to the employee.

The order must set out the following points:

• personal data of the employee, occupation and department in which the employee works;
• the essence of the offense;
• description of the identified offense and determination of the degree of its severity;
• the presence of the employee’s fault;
• the type of disciplinary sanction that is applied and, of course, what grounds there are for the sanction.

It often happens that the employee refuses to review and sign the order. In such a situation, we act very simply; it is necessary to draw up a written act, namely, about the refusal to sign the order.

The disciplinary sanction is entered into the employee’s personal file, but the employer has a choice in such a situation, that is, he has the right not to enter it into the personal file. It will be enough to enter it in the employee’s personal card, but not in the work book.

Any company employee who has been disciplined has the right to appeal the imposed penalty to the labor inspectorate.

If an employee, from the moment penalties were applied to him, performs his work in good faith, and has not been subject to a new penalty throughout the entire year, then he is automatically exempt from such a disciplinary sanction.

If a situation arises that more than one month has passed since the discovery of the violation, then penalties will not be applied. Of course, this excludes the time the employee is sick, on vacation, etc.

And if six months have already passed, then the employee cannot be held liable. An exception is when conducting an audit, audit, etc., here the period is increased to two years.

For each disciplinary violation committed, only one disciplinary sanction can be applied.

Can a disciplinary sanction be lifted?

It may well be from the employee.

If there are no other penalties within one year, and after this year, the penalty must be lifted from the employee. But at the personal request of the employer, such a penalty can be lifted during this one year, but only at his own request, or at the personal request of the employee, also at the request of a representative body or the employee’s boss.

Also, if an employee, during his punishment, that is, one year, is transferred to some other position, regardless of whether it is an increase or a demotion, this is also grounds for removing the penalty imposed on him.

If the employer has a desire to release the employee early from the penalty, then this desire must be supported and formalized by an order “to remove the penalty,” and the order must be communicated to the employee against signature.

There is simply no specialized form of such an order, so the organization itself must develop it.

But the order must necessarily indicate the personal data of the employee and information about the removal of the penalty, that is, the date and grounds.

Consequences of a penalty for an employee of an organization

1. Firstly, if the employee has any documented penalty, then the employer can reduce or even deprive bonuses altogether, or deprive them of other incentive payments, if this is specified in the organization’s regulatory documents.
2. Secondly, if a second violation suddenly follows, and accordingly, disciplinary action, then the employer has the right to dismiss the employee in accordance with current legislation.

Perform your work duties efficiently and with full responsibility, and then you will not face any disciplinary action!

Represents the employee’s obligation to bear the penalty provided for by the rules for guilty unlawful behavior.

The basis disciplinary action is a disciplinary action.

Disciplinary offense - failure to perform or improper performance by an employee through his fault of the labor duties assigned to him.

Violation of labor discipline involves presence of guilt in the actions of the employee. Otherwise, disciplinary measures cannot be applied to him. For example, if the seller sold a TV with a hidden defect, and the administration punished the seller, then the administration’s actions will be unlawful, since the presence of defects was not the fault of the seller and he could not have known about them.

Another mandatory condition of employee responsibility is failure to perform or improper performance of labor duties, i.e., the duties assigned to him and the internal labor regulations (violated the workday schedule, negligently performed his job duties, showed up at work drunk, etc.). The absence of at least one of these conditions serves as the basis for releasing the employee from disciplinary liability.

• comment;
• rebuke;
• dismissal for appropriate reasons.

List of measures which can be applied to a violator of labor discipline, is comprehensive, i.e. it cannot be supplemented by the rules of internal labor legislation. Only federal laws, charters and regulations on the discipline of certain categories of employees may provide for other disciplinary sanctions.

Before imposing disciplinary action, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee. If the employee refuses to give the specified explanation, a corresponding act is drawn up.

An employee’s refusal to provide an explanation is not an obstacle to applying disciplinary action.

When imposing a disciplinary sanction, the following must be taken into account: the severity of the offense committed, the circumstances in which it was committed, the employee’s previous behavior, and attitude to work before the disciplinary sanction was applied.

Dismissal As a disciplinary sanction, it can be applied for the systematic failure by an employee, without good reason, to fulfill the duties assigned to him by an employment contract or internal labor regulations, if disciplinary or social measures have previously been applied to the employee.

Considering the important role of compliance with labor discipline in the national economy, labor legislation provides for a number of other legal measures that are not considered disciplinary. These are measures of material, social and public impact. Thus, enterprise managers have the right to deprive malicious violators of labor discipline of benefits for receiving vouchers to sanatoriums and rest homes, change the timing of vacations, postpone the queue for receiving living space, etc.

The provisions on bonuses and the provisions on bonuses based on annual work results in force at enterprises provide for the reduction or complete deprivation of bonuses or remunerations based on the results of annual work for violation of labor discipline.

Time limits for applying disciplinary action

Disciplinary action is taken no later than one month from the date of discovery of the misconduct, not counting the time of illness of the employee, his stay in prison, as well as the time necessary to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees.

Disciplinary action cannot be used later than six months from the date of the commission of the offense, but but the results, inspection or - later than two years from the date of its commission (the specified time frame does not include the time of criminal proceedings).

For each disciplinary offense only one disciplinary action.

The employer's order (instruction) to apply a disciplinary sanction is announced to the employee against signature within three working days from the date of its publication. If the employee refuses to sign the specified order (instruction), a corresponding act is drawn up.

Disciplinary action may be appealed employee to the state labor inspectorate and (or) bodies for consideration of individual labor disputes (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If within one year from the date of application of the disciplinary sanction the employee is not subject to a new disciplinary sanction, then he is considered to have no disciplinary sanction.

The employer, before the expiration of a year from the date of application of a disciplinary sanction, has the right to remove it from an employee on his own initiative, at the request of the employee himself, at the request of his immediate supervisor or at the discretion of the employees' body (Article 194 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Content

After the commission of misconduct by employees of an enterprise or due to their improper performance of work duties, the employer has the right to apply to them the penalties provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. An employee can only be subject to one of the types of disciplinary sanctions described in the Labor Code. Such strict measures are necessary to ensure that the team maintains discipline and performs its duties properly.

What is disciplinary action

The employee’s obligation to bear punishment for violating the rules of the organization in which he works, the terms of the job description or the employment contract is disciplinary liability. According to the articles of the Labor Code, the basis for disciplinary action will be the commission of an offense by an employee, which proves the latter’s neglect of his official powers. Any punishment applied on illegal grounds can be appealed by the employee in court.

Kinds

It is prohibited to apply disciplinary sanctions not provided for by federal laws, regulations or statutes on discipline. For failure or improper performance by an employee of his job duties, the employer has the right to apply one of the following types of punishment:

• rebuke;
• comment;
• dismissal.

Disciplinary sanctions under the Labor Code

The main disciplinary measures are described in Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The grounds for holding an employee accountable are:

• failure or dishonest performance by an employee of his work (job responsibilities are described in the employment contract);
• performing an action not permitted by the official regulatory documents of the institution;
• violation of job description;
• failure to comply with labor discipline (repeated lateness, absence from work).

Comment

The most common type of liability for disciplinary offenses is reprimand. It is issued for minor violations, that is, when the damage caused or violation of discipline does not have serious consequences. Such disciplinary punishment is imposed if the employee improperly fulfilled his job duties for the first time. To apply the remark, the employee must be familiar with his/her due instructions when applying for a job. In this case, the document is certified by the signature of the employee.

Before drawing up an order for disciplinary action, the employer must request written explanations from the offender. The employee provides an explanatory note within 2 working days from the receipt of such a request (a special act is drawn up on which the employee signs for receipt). In the explanatory note, he can provide the employer with evidence of his own innocence or indicate good reasons for which the offense was committed.

Since the Labor Code does not list which reasons are considered valid, this is decided by the employer himself. However, judicial and personnel practice shows that valid reasons may include:

• lack of materials for work;
• disease;
• violation of labor conditions by the employer.

If the employer considers the reason for the misconduct to be valid, he should not reprimand the employee. In the absence of a valid reason, the management of the institution issues an order to impose disciplinary liability in the form of a remark. The employee puts his signature on the document, which indicates that he is familiar with the order. If the offender refuses to sign the paper, the employer draws up a report. The reprimand is valid for 1 year from the date the offense was committed, but it can be lifted early:

• at the initiative of the employer;
• at the written request of the employee;
• at the request of the trade union body;
• at the request of the head of the structural unit.

Rebuke

Labor legislation does not provide an exhaustive list of reasons for which reprimands are issued. However, in practice, disciplinary action is imposed on an employee due to the discovery of an offense of moderate gravity or for systematic minor violations. List of disciplinary offenses for which a penalty is imposed on the employee:

1. Ignoring the norms of the Code. Penalties are announced for absenteeism, violations of the regulations or safety regulations, failure to fulfill official duties, etc.
2. Actions for which there is no legal liability, but which are mandatory elements of industrial relations. For example, penalties are applied if an employee refuses to undergo a medical examination, training, etc.
3. Creating a situation that subsequently caused damage to the institution’s property. An example is damage to material assets or their shortage. The procedure for imposing penalties is carried out by issuing appropriate orders from the manager. Punishment can be applied for six months from the date of discovery of the offense. After this period, penalties imposed are illegal.

As a rule, a reprimand follows as a second disciplinary action after a reprimand. According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, it is prohibited to apply two sanctions at once for one violation. During the legal process, if one is carried out, the issue of applying a more lenient punishment to the employee is first clarified. If the manager represented by the defendant cannot provide evidence that the reprimand followed the remark, then the penalties will be lifted.

Before a reprimand can be ordered, certain procedures must be followed. A severe reprimand is issued after written documentation of the violation. For this purpose, the employee’s immediate supervisor must submit a memo or report to the organization’s management, which will describe the facts of non-compliance with the requirements. The document must contain:

• date of the event;
• the circumstances of the violation;
• names of those involved.

After this, the violator is asked to give a written explanation of his actions, but it is impossible to demand explanations from the employee (this is his right, not his obligation, according to Articles 192 and 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). A request to provide a written explanation within 2 weeks is stated in the notification, after which the document is delivered to the violator for signature. The fact of a reprimand is entered into the employee’s personal file: this information is not displayed anywhere else, however, disciplinary action may result in deprivation of bonuses and other incentives.

Even after sanctions are imposed, the employee is able to correct the situation: if he does not violate the rules for a year, the punishment is automatically lifted. In addition, a reprimand can be lifted early, requiring a written petition from both the employee and the manager. This situation is possible only if the violator has a loyal attitude to the internal investigation and in the absence of refusals on his part to give explanations or sign acts.

Dismissal

This punishment is determined by the high severity of the offense. Its imposition is a right, and not an obligation, of the manager, so there is a possibility that the offender will be forgiven, and the penalty will be more lenient. If the employer is determined, then in order to dismiss he should record:

• several cases of groundless violations of labor regulations (lateness, non-compliance with orders/instructions, failure to fulfill duties under TD, evasion of training/examination, etc.);
• single gross misconduct (absence from work for more than 4 hours without legal grounds, appearing drunk, disclosing confidential information, appropriating someone else’s property at work, etc.).

The procedure for bringing to disciplinary action is documented, and it is important that the fact of violation is supported by written explanations of eyewitnesses of the event, an act of theft, etc. The violator is asked to provide an explanatory statement regarding the offense committed (2 days are allotted for its preparation). The imposition of a penalty must be issued in the form of an order, a copy of which is given to the employee for review. Based on this document, a dismissal order is created.

The dismissed employee is given a settlement (salary and compensation for unused vacation). A corresponding entry is made in the work book (the types of disciplinary sanctions must be indicated). Rules that an employer must follow when dismissing an employee:

• after discovering the grounds for dismissal, the manager must impose a penalty within a month or from the date of entry of the court decision based on the results of consideration of the violation;
• it is prohibited to fire a person during vacation or during a period of incapacity;
• Before applying punishment, an explanation must be requested from the offender.

Disciplinary action

In order for an organization to function normally and produce the expected results, it must maintain discipline. If an employee does not comply with it and remains unpunished, a chain reaction occurs (others also begin to violate order). The initial punishment may be a warning or an educational conversation. If such a measure does not bring the desired result, more serious punishments can be applied that encourage the employee to stay within the limits of what is permitted. For this purpose, different types of disciplinary punishments are applied under Art. 192 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Per employee

The grounds for punishment are violations committed by him, for example, improper performance of labor functions or failure to perform them, non-compliance with the work schedule (no-show, tardiness), violations of discipline, ignoring requirements for training or undergoing a medical examination, property crimes (theft, damage, etc.). Possible consequences of the committed offense:

• dismissal;
• reprimand or severe reprimand;
• comment.

For a military man

Like employees of non-law enforcement organizations, military personnel are obliged to comply with the rules prescribed to them, violation of which is subject to sanctions described in regulations. A violator of discipline can be held accountable within the time limits provided by law and if there are legal grounds. The main document regulating the rights and obligations of military personnel is Law No. 76 of 1998. According to it, responsibility for misconduct lies not only with contract soldiers or conscripts, but also with civilians called up for training.

Depending on the severity of the violation committed, the provisions of the Criminal or Administrative Codes will be applied to the military man. For violation of the charter, the culprit may be subject to disciplinary liability, and sometimes the offense contains elements of an administrative offense. However, when drawing up sanctions, it is not the norms of the AK that will be relevant, but Law No. 76.

Military discipline can be violated by the following types of offenses:

• rude;
• intentional (the culprit was aware of what he was doing and could foresee the consequences);
• careless (the offender did not understand what consequences his action could lead to);
• minor (action/inaction that did not cause serious harm to order or third parties, for example, being late, violating the regime of a military unit, etc.).

Decree No. 145 contains a list of gross disciplinary violations. These include:

• leaving the territory of a military unit without permission;
• hazing;
• absence from the place of duty for more than 4 hours without a valid reason;
• failure to return from dismissal on time (from vacation/business trip, etc.);
• failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office when summoned;
• violation of the order of guard duty, border service, combat duty, patrolling, etc.;
• improper handling of ammunition/equipment/weapons;
• waste, damage, illegal use of property of a military unit;
• causing harm to property/employees of a military unit;
• being on duty in a state of alcohol or other intoxication;
• violation of traffic rules or rules for driving a car/other equipment;
• inaction of the commanding officer to prevent misconduct by subordinates.

Disciplinary penalties for violating military rules may include the following:

• reprimand or severe reprimand;
• deprivation of a badge;
• deprivation of dismissal;
• dismissal from service before the end of the contract;
• warning;
• demotion;
• expulsion from a military educational institution, from training camps;
• disciplinary arrest for 45 days or longer.

For a state civil servant

Punishments for civil servants are not fundamentally different from the generally accepted ones. However, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation takes into account the Law on Civil Service No. 79-FZ, which provides for an increase in employee liability measures several times, since the status of a state executive requires compliance with restrictions/prohibitions and anti-corruption legislation.

Article 57 of the Federal Law describes four types of disciplinary sanctions that are imposed on civil servants. These include:

• rebuke;
• comment;
• dismissal;
• warning.

The reason for punishment may be not only lateness or absenteeism, but also failure to fulfill official duties or their improper implementation. The only condition is that all the person’s responsibilities must first be specified in the job description and agreed upon with the employee under signature. The most serious disciplinary sanction for a civil servant is dismissal, which can only be applied in cases established by law (Article 37 of Law No. 79-FZ):

• repeated failure to fulfill official obligations without good reason;
• one-time gross violation of official duties (absenteeism, alcohol or other intoxication in the workplace, disclosure of secret information, theft of someone else's property, embezzlement of funds, etc.);
• adoption by a civil servant working in the “managers” category of an unfounded decision, which resulted in a violation of the safety of property, damage to property, its unlawful use, etc.;
• a single serious violation by a civil servant working in the “managers” category of his official duties, which resulted in harm to a government agency or a violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions

Involvement in disciplinary punishment is a sequential procedure that consists of several stages. These include:

1. Drawing up a document indicating the discovery of a violation (report, act, etc.).
2. Requesting a written explanation from the culprit indicating the reasons for his action. If the manager receives a refusal or the employee does not submit a document within 2 days, this fact is recorded through a special act.
3. The employer makes a decision on guilt and chooses a punishment for the employee who committed the offense. To do this, all available materials are assessed and circumstances that can mitigate the guilt are taken into account. The lack of evidence does not give the manager the right to apply any disciplinary action.
4. Creation of an order for the imposition and subsequent execution of punishment. For one misconduct, an employee can only be given one disciplinary punishment.

Order of punishment

The document must contain complete information about the employee, including his position, place of work, the fact of violation with reference to current regulations, a description of the violation, the type of penalty imposed and the grounds for this. The completed order is given to the culprit for review, who must sign it within 3 working days. If the employee refuses to do this, a corresponding act is drawn up in accordance with Part 6 of Art. 193 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Duration of disciplinary action

The punishment is valid until it is lifted, which may occur as a result of the employee’s dismissal. In this case, only a reprimand or reprimand can be removed from the culprit (subject to the continuation of the labor relationship between the employee and the employer). At the same time, the removal of a disciplinary sanction occurs in two cases, according to Article 194 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation:

• automatically one year from the entry into force of the punishment order;
• by early withdrawal on the initiative of the immediate superior/leader of the trade union or the employee himself.

Since the decision to sanction is determined by the employer, early removal of the sanction must also be agreed upon with management. Automatic release from collection occurs without any documentation. In this case, the trade union or immediate manager must draw up a petition addressed to the head of the enterprise (the document does not have a mandatory form). The paper contains the data of the head of the enterprise, the employee/team who initiated the petition, a reasoned request to cancel the punishment, the date and signature of the persons who compiled the document.

Removal of foreclosure

If the employee does not commit the offense again, after the expiration of the calendar year the disciplinary violation is removed. The director of the institution can eliminate the sanction before the end of this period if the employee has realized his own guilt and corrected himself. The manager makes this decision:

• at the request of the team;
• at the request of the employee himself;
• on one's own.

Consequences of disciplinary action

According to Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, if a repeated decision is detected before the sanction expires, the employer has the right to dismiss the violator. In addition, during the period of disciplinary punishment, the head of the organization may deprive the employee of any incentive payments (bonuses, bonuses), provided that this is provided for by the local regulatory documents of the institution, such as the charter, etc. The employee has the right to appeal the penalty with the help of the labor inspectorate or court.

Video

Five minutes of black currant for the winter

If facts of violation of labor discipline are established, disciplinary action can be applied to any employee of the organization. This possibility is established by various regulations governing labor legislation, including the Labor Code, disciplinary statutes (for example, “On the Armed Forces of Russia”), laws (for example, “On Civil Servants”) and other documents. The decision on disciplinary liability is made by the head of the enterprise or another person entrusted with this responsibility. What a disciplinary sanction is, how it is imposed and lifted, what types of liability are commensurate with a specific offense, and other similar issues will be discussed in this article.

Types of disciplinary sanctions

Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines only 3 types of legal penalties that can be used:

• rebuke;
• comment;
• dismissal.

Often in the practice of various enterprises, cases arise when managers use a severe reprimand, deprivation of bonuses, transfer to a position with a reduced salary, warnings, fines, etc. for disciplinary action. All these measures cannot be considered legal. The only exceptions are cases when additional penalties are provided for by local laws or charters.

For example, in relation to military personnel, in addition to the standard ones, the following recovery options can be applied:

• reduction in rank by one or more steps;
• severe reprimand;
• disciplinary arrest;
• deprivation of a badge or another dismissal;
• early dismissal;
• expulsion from an educational institution or from military training;
• assignment of work order, etc.

Also, additional measures may be provided for by internal regulations and collective agreements. Only at the time of hiring the employee should be familiarized with the entire list of offenses for which liability may follow.

For each misconduct, an employee can be subject to no more than one type of disciplinary action. For example, you cannot be reprimanded for absenteeism, and later fired for it.

Reprimand as a disciplinary sanction

A reprimand is a form of disciplinary action that is given orally. Before it can be applied, an explanation must be sought from the guilty employee indicating all the circumstances and the reasons for the offense. Even during employment, a citizen must be notified of all types of misconduct for which he may receive a reprimand from his superiors.

The reprimand indicates the place, time, date, as well as the reasons for applying this type of penalty. In this case, the reprimand note is not entered in the work book. But if this employee is subsequently dismissed due to regular violations of labor discipline, then the employer has the right to list all episodes of reprimands in the dismissal order, and indicate the details of this order in the work book.

If all of the specified features of issuing a reprimand are not observed by the employer, the employee can challenge the penalty.

Remark as a disciplinary sanction

In essence, a reprimand, neither in terms of legal consequences nor in the form of imposition, differs from a reprimand. The only difference is in the wording: “remark” sounds somewhat softer than a reprimand.

Dismissal as a disciplinary sanction

Dismissal, as the most severe disciplinary measure, can be used by a manager against a negligent employee only on the following grounds:

1. Repeated failure to fulfill job duties.
2. The presence of cases where the employee was previously subjected to other, milder types of disciplinary liability.
3. Refusal to perform or improper performance of labor duties without good reason. If a citizen cannot work normally due to lack of normal working conditions or insufficient qualifications, due to health reasons, his dismissal is not legal.

Misconduct - grounds for disciplinary action

Disciplinary action is used only in case of labor misconduct, namely: for failure to perform or poor performance of duties by an employee due to his personal fault. The entire list of labor offenses is contained in Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, indicating the type of liability corresponding to a particular offense. This is why the employer has every right to bring the employee to a certain type of disciplinary liability:

• One-time gross violation of labor discipline. Examples: theft, drunkenness at work, absenteeism, disclosure of trade secrets, etc. If any of the listed facts are discovered, the employer has the right to apply at its discretion any type of disciplinary action (maximum - dismissal).
• Guilty actions of persons who are financially responsible. Here we are talking only about employees whose employment contracts provide for the possibility of bringing them to financial liability (for example, sellers, cashiers or storekeepers). For material misconduct, they can be subject to dismissal, reprimand or reprimand.
• Providing false documents by a citizen when hiring. Dismissal is usually applied for this offense. However, if a false document on education was provided, which is not required to perform the assigned duties, then the dismissal of such an employee is illegal.
• Failure to perform labor functions without good reason. In this category, the offense of being late is quite common. An employee cannot be fired for being late once. First, it is necessary to issue a reprimand, if repeated, a reprimand, and only in case of systematic delays can a decision be made on dismissal.

Disciplinary sanctions for absenteeism

Absenteeism is a serious offense for which the manager can subject the employee to any type of disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal (even if it is a one-time occurrence). The most difficult thing in this matter is the interpretation of the concept of “truancy”. In Russian legislation, it is defined as the absence of an employee from the workplace without good reason for more than three hours during the working day. Absenteeism can be considered a failure to show up for work at all, or absence from work continuously for three hours or for the entire day in total. Example: an employee was one hour late, then left the workplace without permission for 1 hour 40 minutes and left half an hour earlier than expected; This day can be counted as absenteeism for him.

We are talking about the employee being at his specific work place - in the office, at the machine, etc. If he was not at the workplace for more than three hours, but was present on the territory of the enterprise, even if he did not perform his official duties, count this day The employer has no right to pay for absenteeism. This situation to a greater extent falls under the concept of violation of labor discipline, for which the employer can issue a reprimand or reprimand, but not fire.

Actions that can be qualified as truancy:

1. Unauthorized use of days off or going on vacation without approval.
2. Unauthorized replacement of shifts, with the exception of situations when it is performed within one day. In this situation, we are talking about violation of labor discipline, and not about absenteeism.
3. Failure to show up for work to which the employee was legally transferred.
4. Absence from work on a holiday or day off, provided that it is declared a working day. But engaging an employee to work without his consent on a non-working day is illegal.
5. Leaving a place of work by a person after graduating from an educational institution when sending him to a given enterprise to work for a specific time. However, the failure of a young specialist to show up to an assigned employer cannot be considered absenteeism, since there is no labor relationship between them yet.
6. Failure of a posted worker to appear at the enterprise to which he is assigned.

An employee’s absence from the workplace for valid reasons is not considered absenteeism, namely:

• disaster;
• disruptions in the operation of the transport system;
• illness of the employee himself or the need to care for a sick family member;
• passing the session without taking leave;
• absence from work with the permission of authorized managers of the enterprise, etc.

Disciplinary responsibility of the manager

Bearing in mind that the decision to impose a disciplinary sanction is made by the head of the enterprise, a completely logical question arises - is it possible to hold the director of the organization accountable? Since the director, like any other employee of the enterprise, is obliged to comply with the rules established not only by legislative acts, but also by local documents (labor safety instructions, labor regulations within a legal entity, etc.). In addition, the manager must fulfill his functional responsibilities and implement the decisions of higher authorities. Therefore, in case of failure to comply with the requirements of labor discipline or negligent performance of official duties, the director may also be subject to disciplinary action.

This procedure can be initiated by the employees of the organization themselves through a representative body of employees (trade union committee) or the employer. The problem is that it is quite difficult to monitor how disciplined a manager is in fulfilling the requirements of labor discipline. The fact is that the specific nature of the work of most directors involves a traveling nature of the work. But it is quite simple to determine how well the director performs his functions by analyzing the accounting and statistical reporting of the organization.

For misconduct committed, the manager may be subject to standard types of disciplinary action - a reprimand, reprimand or dismissal. They are imposed by the owner of the organization or the employer.

Procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions

Disciplinary proceedings consist of the following stages:

1. The employer gives the employee the opportunity to explain the reasons for his misconduct in writing. If this is refused, the person entrusted with such a duty (director, head of the personnel department or structural unit) draws up an act indicating the place and time of drawing up the document, the full names of the persons who drew up the act and committed the violation, the essence of the offense, the employee’s explanation for this fact or an indication to refuse to give explanations, etc.
2. Obtaining from the head of the structural unit in which the offender is a member, evidence of the offense committed (for example, a time sheet indicating the hours of absence of the employee), as well as his opinion on what type of disciplinary sanction corresponds to the gravity of the act committed.
3. The head of the organization makes a decision about the guilt of the employee. In doing so, he takes into account mitigating circumstances (if any).
4. The director issues an order imposing a disciplinary sanction. A sample of it can be found below. The employee should be familiarized with the order within three working days from the date of its publication. If you refuse to sign the order, a corresponding act is drawn up.

Terms of imposition and terms of application of disciplinary sanctions

The following terms are typical for disciplinary records: 1 month and six months. If one month has already passed after the commission of the labor offense, then the imposition of a penalty becomes impossible. The counted time does not include periods when the employee is on vacation or sick leave. The maximum period of time for which an employee must be brought to disciplinary liability is 6 months. This period can be extended to two years only if a comprehensive audit of financial and economic activities or an audit is carried out at the enterprise.

Removal of disciplinary action

If, within one year after the penalty is issued, the employee conscientiously fulfills his duties and is not brought to disciplinary action again, the penalty is automatically lifted, and the violator is considered to have no disciplinary action.

There are cases when responsibility is removed early. Most often this happens on the initiative of the head of the enterprise or at the request of the head of a structural unit or trade union committee. The violator himself can initiate the removal of the penalty by personally making such a request to the employer.

When an appropriate decision is made, an order to lift the disciplinary sanction must be drawn up. A sample of it can be viewed here.