Staff reduction is carried out by an enterprise or organization in the prescribed manner by reducing the number of employees. The fact of the reduction is confirmed by the publication of the Order on the new staffing table for the enterprise and the introduction of appropriate changes to it. The dismissal procedure is carried out only after approval of the Order.

In order for dismissal due to reduction to become legal, the management of the enterprise must comply with all the requirements of the Labor Code:

1. Downsizing really needs to happen.
2. The management of the enterprise must personally (against signature) in writing warn each individual employee about the upcoming dismissal.
3. The dismissal of an employee due to staff reduction must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law on categories of persons with preferential rights to remain at work.
4. It is necessary, if possible, to transfer the employee to another position or job.
5. The local employment center must be notified no later than three months before dismissal.
6. Obtain consent to reduce the trade union body.
7. Make compensation and severance payments.

By law, the new staffing table must indicate the actual reduction of workers. You cannot hire a new employee to fill a reduced position.

All dismissed employees are notified personally (on receipt) of their upcoming dismissal at least two months before the start of the layoff procedure.

The warning time is documented. The general Order on staff reduction (or a separate order issued for an employee) must bear the personal signature of each dismissed employee.

The following categories of employees can take advantage of the benefits of dismissal due to staff reduction:

1. Persons other than whom there are no other family members with independent income.
2. Employees who received an occupational disease or work injury at their last place of work.
3. Disabled combat veterans who were injured while performing their duty to defend the Fatherland.
4. Employees who improve their skills on-the-job in the direction of the enterprise.
5. Family families supporting two or more disabled family members.

Abbreviations are not allowed:

1. Employees on vacation.
2. Temporarily disabled employees based on a certificate from a medical institution.
3. Women whose children have not reached the age of three.
4. Mothers who are raising a disabled child under 18 years of age alone.
5. Mothers raising children under 14 years of age on their own.
6. An employee who is under 18 years of age is dismissed only with the consent of the relevant government agencies.

Information about the upcoming layoff must be provided to the trade union body and the state employment center no later than three months before the start of the layoff procedure.

Transfer to another place of work

Dismissal of an employee due to staff reduction is possible when the company does not have the opportunity to transfer him to another position or job. Labor law obliges the employer to offer the employee in writing a vacant position at the same enterprise that corresponds to his qualifications. If there is no such job, offer a lower paid job or a lower position. If the employee refuses the existing offers, the employment contract with him is terminated. Refusal of an offered job must be accepted in writing and with the personal signature of the laid-off employee.

Payment of severance pay upon layoff

An employee’s dismissal benefit is calculated in the amount of one average monthly salary. Also, for the duration of employment, the employee retains his average monthly earnings for a period of up to two months from the date of layoff (including severance pay). If during this time the employee is not employed (in this case, the employment service authority issues a certificate, which is a confirming document), the average monthly salary is paid to the dismissed employee also for the third month following the layoff. This provision does not apply to an employee who applied to the state employment service after the expiration of a two-week period after the layoff.

An employer may terminate an employment contract with the written consent of the employee without giving two months' notice of layoffs. In this case, additional compensation is paid in the amount of two months’ salary of the dismissed employee.

Additional payments do not include the severance pay required by labor law upon dismissal.

The basis for termination of the contract is a written statement from the laid-off employee requesting dismissal. The date and personal signature of the dismissed employee must be included in the document.

What to do if your rights have been violated

Unscrupulous employers, when reducing staff, in order to save money and not pay severance pay, try to fire the employee under some other article of the Labor Code. Such dismissal is illegal from a legal point of view, so very often people turn to legal advice or lawyers to protect their legal rights in court. You can contact the prosecutor's office or the labor inspectorate. To do this, you should draw up a statement of claim, which can be filed only within one month from the date of dismissal.

What to do if you are laid off, what rights you have, what the employer does not have the right to do - you will find this and much more in this article.

To understand what to do when making redundancies, you need to clearly understand your rights and opportunities. Some people, as soon as they receive their payment, immediately start looking for a new job, while others decide not to rush things. First, you should calm down; you shouldn’t immediately rush into a frantic search for a new place. It's not all that scary. If you understand that you are threatened with dismissal, then it is in your interests to achieve the entire procedure for staff reduction. The company is obliged to carry out such operations only within the framework of strict adherence to the law.

Letter of the law

All workers need to know that according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, when laying off workers, the employer is obliged to:

• Notify you two months in advance of the date of reduction by notice and obtain your signature confirming awareness of the upcoming reduction (Article 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• During the period of your work, up to your dismissal, offer available vacancies on staff that correspond to your qualifications (Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• Pay monetary compensation. In addition to severance pay, you must be paid compensation for unused vacation. If you have not found a job within a month, then you have the right to ask for an extension of unemployment severance pay (Article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• Justify the reason for staff reduction. An order to reduce the number or staff of employees must be issued at least 2 months before the expected start of layoffs. It must clearly indicate the reason for the reduction (Part 2, Article 73 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Attention!
An employer can dismiss an employee with his written consent and without warning 2 months in advance, but with the simultaneous payment of compensation in the amount of two months' average earnings (Articles 178, 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Whom they do not have the right to lay off

The following categories of working citizens cannot be laid off at the initiative of the employer:

• employees during their temporary disability;
• employees while on leave (any: educational, basic, additional, without pay);
• pregnant women (except in cases of liquidation of an enterprise);
• women with children under three years of age; single mothers raising a child under 14 years of age or a disabled child under 18 years of age, and other persons who are raising such children without a mother (except for cases of liquidation of an enterprise and commission of guilty actions);
• members of trade unions - on the basis of paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
• representatives of workers conducting collective bargaining;
• participants in the resolution of collective disputes.

Who has the advantage of downsizing?

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation contains regulations regarding who should be the last person to be “sacrificed” upon dismissal. According to the article of the code, if there are two identical positions, then it is recommended to retain employees with higher qualifications and labor productivity (Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In case of equality of positions, the employer must not reduce:

• people with a family (with two or more dependents);
• persons in whose family there are no other workers with independent income;
• employees who received a work injury or occupational disease while working for this employer;
• workers who improve their skills at the direction of the employer without interruption from work;
• disabled people of the Great Patriotic War and disabled people fighting in defense of the Fatherland.

As you can see, being laid off is not as scary as it seems. In any case, thanks to compensation payments for three months, you can actively search for work and not worry.

However, if you are laid off, do not rush to look for another job. Many have a chance to stay in the same company. You just need to know how to use it. It is a mandatory requirement for the employer to offer the employee who is subject to dismissal due to reduction in headcount or staffing another job available at the enterprise. Moreover, they can offer both a vacancy that meets the qualifications and a lower position or lower paid job.

An advantage for you may be that, having shown yourself well in the position being reduced, you may turn out to be an indispensable employee, in which case the manager will try to retain the valuable employee. But even a high status in the eyes of your superiors does not provide a 100% guarantee that you will not be laid off, although you will receive an advantage.

Having learned about upcoming layoffs, you should discuss the situation with a personnel officer or manager and not only find out your future fate, but also offer yourself in a new field of application. Of course, this applies to those who are in good standing with management. There's nothing wrong with going and talking to the decision makers. The main thing is not to push for pity and not to threaten.

Dismissal due to staff reduction and liquidation of the organization

The downsizing procedure, both due to a reduction in the organization's workforce and due to the liquidation of the company, is strictly regulated. All activities must be carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other regulations.

Staff reduction means the abolition in the prescribed manner of one or more staff positions for the relevant positions. The main evidence confirming the fact of staff reduction is the staffing table. If the enterprise does not have a staffing table, then supporting documents may include salary statements before and after layoffs, payrolls, etc.

As noted above, in accordance with the law, the employer, no later than 2 months in advance, warns employees about the upcoming layoff and offers another job in accordance with their qualifications.

An important factor in deciding the issue of dismissal on the stated grounds is the participation of the trade union body. The participation of the trade union is manifested in the following:

• When an employer decides to reduce staff:
  The employer is obliged to notify the elected trade union body in writing no later than 2 months before the start of measures to reduce numbers or staff. If a reduction in numbers or staff may lead to mass layoffs of workers, the employer is obliged to notify the elected trade union body about this in writing no later than 3 months before the relevant measures are carried out (Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• When deciding on the dismissal of employees who are members of a trade union:
  - Dismissal of employees who are members of a trade union will be carried out taking into account the opinion of the trade union body of this organization (Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The employer must send the draft order to the relevant trade union body, as well as copies of the documents that form the basis for making this decision.
  - When staffing is reduced due to the liquidation of an organization, the above are retained: the same time of notice of liquidation and the same severance pay. The only difference is that the employee is no longer offered another position.

What to do if, despite all your merits and merits, you are still laid off?
On your last working day, you should receive a work book in which your dismissal will be recorded, and all your other work-related documents. After receiving the calculation, apply for further compensation payments only to the territorial employment service. A timely contact with the employment service can extend the period for payment of average earnings by the previous employer in the event of staff reduction or liquidation of the enterprise.

In conclusion, it should be said that sometimes reduction must be taken for granted. This is not the end of everything. In many cases, it even makes it easier for people to make the right choice later on. Having a permanent, but unloved or uninteresting job, you may think for a long time that it would be nice to change it. In the modern world, there are countless cases when people, after layoffs, said that it shook them up, forced them to pull themselves together, and in the end they found a better place. Consider downsizing as a chance to change your life for the better.

Judicial practice

Example No. 1. The employee filed a claim against the Joint-Stock Commercial Savings Bank of Russia for reinstatement at work, recovery of wages for the period of forced absence, and compensation for moral damage. In support of his demands, he indicated that he was dismissed from the position of senior engineer of one of the divisions of the Central Office of Sberbank of Russia under clause 2 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation due to a reduction in the organization’s staff. The plaintiff considered the employer’s actions illegal, since labor laws were violated during the dismissal, including that he was not offered all the vacancies available in the organization.

Refusing to satisfy the stated demands, the court of first instance came to the conclusion that the employee was dismissed in accordance with the requirements of the law: the dismissal procedure was not violated, there were no vacant positions in the Central Office of Sberbank of Russia that corresponded to the plaintiff’s qualifications. The defendant provided the court with information about vacancies in the branches (branches) of Sberbank of Russia in Moscow at the time of staff reduction and at the time of the plaintiff’s dismissal. However, the court of first instance limited itself to examining the circumstances related to the plaintiff’s employment opportunity only in the Central Office of Sberbank of Russia, thereby making an error, which was subsequently corrected by the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

By virtue of Art. 20 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the parties to the labor relationship are the employee and the employer. Thus, the Savings Bank of Russia is a party to the employment contract with the plaintiff; by force of law, he is entrusted with the obligation to provide vacant positions during the procedure for dismissal of employees due to staff reduction in the same organization, including all its branches and structural units located in the area.

In the situation under consideration, the employer was obliged to offer the employee all the vacancies available to him in the city of Moscow. Taking into account the above, the judicial panel established the fact of the plaintiff’s unlawful dismissal and issued a ruling on the plaintiff’s reinstatement in his previous position (Decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 3, 2006 No. 5-B06-94).

Example No. 2. The Dudinsky City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory satisfied the claims of citizen K. on the following grounds. As established by the court, the plaintiff was dismissed under paragraph 2 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (staff reduction).

However, after conducting a comparative analysis of the staffing tables before and after the reorganization, the court came to the conclusion that the facts of reduction in numbers, staff, as well as the position occupied by the plaintiff itself, were not proven. This is due to the fact that the number of inspectors after the reorganization remained unchanged and amounted to 115 units, and it was not possible to conduct a comparative analysis of job descriptions due to their loss. In addition, the plaintiff was not offered all vacant positions, including lower ones, which he could occupy taking into account his education and qualifications. In this regard, the defendant’s reference to the plaintiff’s refusal of employment was found to be unfounded. Moreover, the court found that while the plaintiff was on staff, other people were hired for vacant positions, while the administration did not take into account the circumstances giving K. a preferential right to remain at work.

Based on the foregoing, the court declared the plaintiff’s dismissal illegal and decided to reinstate the employee in his previously held position (Letter of the Personnel Policy Department of the Ministry of Taxation of Russia dated March 19, 2003 No. 15-5-11/41-I577).

Example No. 3. K. filed a lawsuit against JSC “T***” for reinstatement at work. In support of the requirements, she indicated that she worked for the defendant as a salesperson and was dismissed with the wording “of her own free will,” but she had no intention of resigning. The corresponding statement was written under pressure from the administration, which threatened with dismissal for shortages of goods before K. went on maternity leave. The presence of pressure on K.'s dismissal from the employer was confirmed by the testimony of two witnesses. In addition, at the time of dismissal, the plaintiff was pregnant, which her immediate supervisor knew about. The court did not receive evidence that K.’s dismissal on her own initiative was preceded by the commission of a misdemeanor or crime. In the case there was a certificate of K’s pregnancy. Under such circumstances, there were no legal or factual grounds for dismissing the plaintiff at her own request, since there was no voluntary expression of her will to terminate her employment relationship before going on maternity leave.

The court concluded that the dismissal was illegal and reinstated K. at work (decision of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Samara dated December 21, 2011, appeal ruling of the Samara Regional Court dated March 22, 2012 in case No. 33-2152/2011).

Example No. 4. K. filed a claim for reinstatement at work to the branch of the State Unitary Enterprise of the Yaroslavl Region “O***”. The court found that the plaintiff, as a financially responsible person, was dismissed under clause 7 of part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in connection with loss of trust due to the commission of guilty actions. As follows from the case materials, the reason for dismissal was the inventory carried out by the defendant on 05/05/2011, during which a shortage of inventory items was identified. However, the procedure for carrying out this event, provided for by the “Methodological guidelines for the inventory of property and financial obligations” (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 13, 1995 No. 49), was violated. Therefore, the court did not recognize the inventory results as reliable evidence of a shortage. Under such circumstances, K.’s dismissal under clause 7, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation could not be considered legal. The court reinstated the plaintiff in her position (decision of the Pereyaslavsky District Court of the Yaroslavl Region dated September 22, 2011, cassation ruling of the Yaroslavl Regional Court dated November 10, 2011 in case No. 33-6620).

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the basis for dismissal of an employee initiated by the employer may be a reduction in staff or number of employees.

Reduction of staff means that a certain position is abolished and all employees occupying it will be fired. A reduction in the number of employees means that the position remains, but the number of employees occupying it decreases. In both the first and second cases, the reduction process must take place according to the established procedure, without violating the rights of the employee.

Notification of layoffs

Having made a decision about an upcoming layoff, the employer is obliged to notify the employee personally about this in writing, at least two months before the start of layoffs. The fact that the employee was properly served with notice of layoff will be indicated by his signature on the letter.

The fact that an enterprise is preparing to lay off workers must be reported not only to those who are being laid off, but also to the trade union organization and the employment service. The deadline for notifying the elected body of the primary trade union organization is the same as for the employee, i.e. no later than two months before the start of layoffs, and in case of mass dismissal - in three months.

Trade union members can be dismissed due to layoffs only with the consent of the trade union organization. The period for notifying employment agencies about future layoffs is the same - two months before the start of measures to dismiss workers.

For employers working as individual entrepreneurs, this period is two weeks. In its appeal to the above authorities, the employer must provide complete information about the position, qualifications and working conditions of each dismissed employee.

Guarantees for laid-off workers

According to the law, reducing the number of employees or staff, the employer must offer the dismissed employees another position at this enterprise.

In this case, the proposed position must correspond to the qualifications of the employee and his state of health, however, it can be either lower-ranking or lower-paid. When being laid off, the employee has the right to receive from the employer information about all vacancies that exist in the given locality or, if provided for by the collective agreement, outside it.

And only if the employer cannot fulfill its obligations to the employee to provide him with a vacancy or the employee refused to provide written consent to the proposed job, can a reduction be made.

If the parties have reached an agreement, there is no need to wait until the end of the two-month period to terminate the employment contract.

Preferential right to remain at work in case of staff reduction

The guarantees established by law for laid-off workers also include a preferential right to remain at work during layoffs. This right is that the employer will have to leave at the enterprise the employee whose qualifications are higher and whose quality of work is better than that of others.

If there are several such employees, then, according to the law, the following categories have the right to retain their positions:

• - workers who support two or more disabled family members;
• - workers whose earnings are the only source of income for the entire family;
• - employees who were injured or have an occupational disease while working at this enterprise;
• — disabled people of the Great Patriotic War and disabled people who took part in hostilities to defend the state;
• - employees who improve their qualifications at the place of work in the direction of the employer.

A collective agreement drawn up at an enterprise or organization may indicate an expanded list of categories of workers who have a preferential right to remain at work in the event of staff reductions.

In addition, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation protects against contraction pregnant women, mothers raising children under three years of age, single mothers raising children under fourteen years of age, or a disabled child under eighteen years of age, as well as those who are raising the above categories of children.

This must be done within one month from the day the employee received a copy of the dismissal order or from the moment the work book was issued. Otherwise, you will have to restore the missed deadline in court. According to the Civil Procedure Code, the prosecutor must make his conclusion on issues of reinstatement, and he can also appeal the court’s decision.

Employee's right to severance pay

An employee whose employment agreement was terminated due to a reduction in staff or numbers, has the right to receive severance pay from the employer. The amount of the benefit must be equal to the average monthly earnings during the period of work at the enterprise or organization.

The average monthly salary must be retained by the employee who has lost his job for the entire time needed for employment, but no more than two months from the date of dismissal. Payment of severance pay can also be made in the third month after dismissal, but only if, after the layoff, the employee registered with the employment service and within two weeks they could not find a new job.

An employment or collective agreement may stipulate increased amounts that are paid to employees in the event of layoffs. For those who work in the Far North or areas with the same status, labor legislation determines longer terms for payment of severance pay in the event of layoffs.

For days not worked Leave due to layoffs is not allowed to be deducted from wages.

As we can see, the state protects citizens from unjustified layoffs, establishes compensation in case of job loss, and gives citizens the opportunity to challenge their dismissal.

What to do after receiving notice of layoff?

Do nothing in the first minutes or even hours. Any legal documents must be taken into account with a calm mind.

• Read the redundancy notice carefully. Pay attention to the dates, bank details, and the presence of the manager’s signature.
• Read the list of vacant positions that you can apply for in the event of a layoff. It must also be certified by the signature of the head of the enterprise.
• Find out whether the trade union committee agrees to the reduction.
• Sign the documents and work quietly for another 2 months, if you agree and do not belong to one of the following categories of citizens:
  • pregnant woman;
  • a woman (or other person) raising a child under 3 years of age;
  • a single parent (or other person) raising a child under 14 years of age, or up to 18 years of age if the child is disabled;
  • the only breadwinner in a family with 3 or more children.

You can agree in writing to the administration's proposal for early dismissal. In this case, you are paid the average salary for the remaining period and all other money due for reduction.

Is it possible not to sign a notice of staff reduction?

Yes, you can. The countdown will begin only from the moment you sign the notice of reduction. If the document does not contain the signature of the manager or the date of review, it cannot be signed.

Also, if you do not agree with the actions of management or belong to one of the categories of citizens listed above, you can, without signing any document, file a claim with the labor dispute commission.

The employer may ask you to state in writing your reasons for refusing to sign the documents. Write explanations in duplicate, have your copy certified by the secretary. This document can also testify in court, both in your favor and in favor of the head of the enterprise.

But you can refuse these actions. If you again do not agree, the administration has the right, in the presence of witnesses, to draw up an act reflecting the fact of the warning about the reduction and your refusal to sign.

If the labor dispute commission decides the case is not in your favor, the countdown of 2 months of revision will begin from the day the act is drawn up. Next, the employee has the right to appeal to the people's court ( Art. 201 Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

A woman became pregnant after signing a redundancy notice

In the Labor legislation of the Russian Federation It is clearly stated that termination of an employment contract with a pregnant woman is not allowed, with the exception of the complete liquidation of the organization. The same rights are enjoyed by a woman who has already signed a notice of layoff and then finds out that she is expecting a child.

There can be no talk of any pre-emptive right when reducing staff; she cannot be fired at all. A woman has this right only if she presents a medical certificate of pregnancy before dismissal (within two months).

You must write a statement indicating the reason why you require the suspension of the redundancy order with a note that a copy of the document (medical certificate) is attached.

The application is written in two copies. One is served on the table of the manager, the other is certified by the secretary and kept by you.

If the employer does not agree to cancel the layoff order, the certified statement will be your evidence in court of providing information to the management about the pregnancy.

It must be remembered that an employee who has learned of a violation of his rights must go to court within a month from the date of dismissal (not the day of signing the dismissal order) or handing over (against signature) a work book.

When implementing measures to reduce the number of employees, the head of the organization must remember that highly qualified subordinates have a preferential right to remain in their position in the enterprise. This rule is enshrined in Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. If all employees of an enterprise have the same qualifications, then jobs should be reserved for family citizens with several dependents, as well as for those who were injured during their professional activities in the organization, war invalids and persons undergoing training in the direction of leader without interruption from service.

What is important to know

Many citizens who fall under redundancy are wondering whether they will be able to remain at work in their position if they have high qualifications, certain knowledge, experience and positive characteristics. Here we can say for sure that the head of the organization cannot fire such subordinates. Because the norm of Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates that highly qualified employees have a preferential right to remain at the enterprise in their workplace.

If the manager cannot independently determine the categories of subordinates who should be dismissed due to reduction, then he needs to consult with the organization’s lawyer and take into account the opinion of the trade union.

It is also necessary to remember that in the absence of employees with the highest labor productivity at the enterprise, preference should be given to family citizens who have several dependents to support, as well as to persons injured during the performance of official duties, and disabled people from the Second World War. This rule is enshrined in Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

With the same performance

Taking into account the norms of Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the reduction should bypass the following categories of employees:

• family people who support two or more dependents (i.e. disabled citizens for whom the breadwinner’s earnings are considered the main income);
• subordinates who received serious injuries at work while performing official duties at this company;
• family persons, if no one else in his family has a source of income (even able-bodied relatives of the latter);
• disabled people of the Second World War and participants in military operations to defend the state;
• persons who carry out advanced training in the direction of their superiors without interruption from work.

This is important.

How to determine

Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in the new edition indicates that employees who have very high or even better labor productivity and qualifications have a priority right to remain in their position in the event of a reduction in staff. But how can you identify the people who need to be retained in your organization?

Here you need to carefully review the personal file of the employee who is supposedly being laid off. If he has work experience, a good education, quickly fulfills the duties assigned to him and does not violate labor discipline in the organization, then, accordingly, it will not be possible to fire him. Otherwise, the latter will be reinstated at work through the courts.

Required actions

The administration of the organization, together with the trade union, needs to carefully review the personal files of all subordinates who are supposedly being laid off. Moreover, if all employees have the same level of education and the same work experience in their specialty, then preference should be given to families with children, war veterans and those who were injured in the line of duty at a given enterprise, because this is the rule stated in Part 2 of Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Other categories

The collective agreement of the organization may also include other citizens who have preferential rights to remain in the organization. These include:

• people of pre-retirement age, when there is very little time left before they retire;
• minor citizens;
• subordinates who have been working at the enterprise for many years (15 or more);
• specialists just starting their career (in the first three years of work);
• employees raising a child under 16 years of age without the participation of a second parent.

Comment

Those employees who have very good labor productivity and high qualifications have an advantage when making redundancies. This is stated in Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is impossible not to agree with her comments. Because it is these two criteria that allow the employer to decide on the choice of those employees who will not be dismissed on this basis.

If several subordinates are laid off, one of whom has extensive work experience and a high level of qualifications, then preference for remaining in the position will be given to him and not to other citizens.

In the event that all employees have the same knowledge and equal productivity, the enterprise needs to reserve places for family people, war invalids, as well as those people who received injuries during their official duties.

Typical mistakes of a manager

For some reason, most employers believe that by laying off employees they can get rid of subordinates they don’t like. Although this is not at all true. The latter can be reinstated in their positions through the courts.

In addition, employees with good labor productivity and a sufficiently high level of education have an advantage over other subordinates who are being laid off. This rule is fixed in Part 1 of Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And even if these citizens do not arouse the sympathy of the boss, they still cannot be laid off without a proper assessment of their professional qualities. Moreover, they must be under the protection of the trade union committee.

Carrying out the procedure

The employee must be warned in advance about the upcoming layoff. The law provides for a certain period of time for this, which cannot be less than two months. The person receives a corresponding notification, the second copy of which remains in his personal file at the enterprise. In addition, the head of the organization must remember that highly qualified employees have an advantage over other subordinates, and all those subject to layoffs must be offered available vacancies that exist in the company. These rules are enshrined in Art. 179, 180 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

When a subordinate refuses the offered vacancy and wants to leave the position being reduced early, the manager is obliged to pay him all the money due on the last day of his official activity.

Additional guarantees

In the event that all subordinates in an enterprise have the same productivity and level of education, then preference for remaining in the workplace during staff reduction is given to: family citizens with two or more dependents, war invalids, persons injured while performing official duties in this organization - this is written about in the article. 179. Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation supplements the category of people who cannot be fired in connection with the implementation of these events. Thus, the reduction should not affect the following citizens:

• representatives of the fair sex who support children under three years of age;
• single mothers raising disabled children under 18 years of age or minors (if under 14 years old);
• a person who is considered the sole breadwinner if he has more than three children in his family, one of whom is under three years old, and his wife is not employed and does not have a source of livelihood;
• a person who himself supports a disabled child (until the latter reaches adulthood).

Practice

The citizen was warned about the upcoming reduction two months before the implementation of these measures. At the same time, the head of the organization did not offer him available vacancies. After the expiration of the period of time specified in the notice, the employee was dismissed from the organization with the payment of benefits.

The citizen considered that the contract with him was terminated unfairly, because he has a very good education, work experience and copes with his responsibilities much faster than other subordinates who remained at their jobs. The man went to court.

When all the circumstances were clarified at the meeting, it was established that the dismissed employee not only had good education and productivity, but also he had never been held accountable for violating discipline at the enterprise. While other subordinates remaining in the organization are constantly late and do not fulfill the work plan. In this regard, the court concluded that the person was fired illegally. Therefore, the man was reinstated in his position.

Judicial practice under Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation most often shows that enterprise managers, when dismissing employees due to staff reduction, do not evaluate their professional skills, knowledge and abilities, and this is a significant violation of the law. Therefore, the majority of highly qualified citizens are restored to work.

The introduction of new technologies, centralization of functions in large companies, decreased income or poor financial condition - in such situations, the employer may decide to reduce the number of employees. In order to comply with the law when making a decision to reduce staff, you need to know which employee has priority rights upon dismissal.

Procedure for reducing excess personnel

After the owner or manager of the company decides to change the structure or number of employees, it is necessary to competently carry out the reduction procedure itself.

A special role in it is played by determining the categories of workers who cannot be dismissed due to reductions, and those who have a preferential right to remain on staff during a reduction in numbers.

If it is planned to remove a unit or staff positions of a position completely, then the preemptive right does not apply.

For example, the owner of a company decided that it would be cheaper to outsource building maintenance to a specialized company. Accordingly, the company no longer needs to keep on staff employees who were involved in cleaning, routine repairs of the building, etc. In this case, the preemptive right does not apply, since all employees of the technical department are subject to layoffs.

The reduction procedure is carried out in several stages:

• creation of an internal document on changes in the personnel structure and reduction of positions;
• determination of those employees who have a preferential right to remain at work;
• notification to employees, the trade union and the regional office of the employment service;
• offering vacant positions at the enterprise if the employee has the skills or qualifications to fill such a vacancy;
• termination of the employment relationship and payment of compensation.

Violation by the employer of at least one of the stages may give rise to legal proceedings with the payment of fines and reinstatement of the incorrectly dismissed employee at work.

Categories of employees who cannot be laid off

Labor legislation provides additional guarantees for certain categories of workers (Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 261). The most protected part of employees in any organization are pregnant women.

With the exception of the liquidation of the enterprise, the employer can dismiss such an employee on his own initiative only if the position he occupies is temporary and the main employee leaves. In this case, the pregnant woman must refuse all vacancies that the employer offers her.

• women with children under 3 years of age;
• single parent (legal representative) of a child under 14 years of age or a disabled child under 18 years of age;
• the only working parent, provided that there are more than 3 children in the family and at least one of them is under 3 years old.

Such employees can be dismissed at the initiative of the employer only if they commit disciplinary actions.

Such employees are not subject to layoffs, however, the employer may terminate their employment relationship if they are repeatedly late, absenteeism, or commit actions that cause damage to the company.

Preemptive right in case of staff reduction

After identifying employees who cannot be fired, people who have any preferential reason for remaining in the team are selected from the remaining candidates. These are employees whose priority is regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 179) and.

First of all, employees with higher work efficiency and qualifications are retained. If these indicators are approximately the same, the employer considers additional grounds that may give a preemptive right to reduce the number of employees. These include:

• people who have multiple dependents;
• those who are the sole breadwinner in the family;
• a person who suffered injury or illness while working for that employer;
• disabled people whose disability resulted from their participation in various hostilities;
• those who improve their qualifications on the job and in the direction of the employer.

The collective agreement may also list other categories of workers who have a preferential right to remain at work. Most often, such guarantees are provided for people of pre-retirement age.

The employee may have preferential grounds even after it becomes known about the layoff.

For example, a person graduated from a university in a specialty that suits his job profile and, accordingly, improves his qualifications.

In order to take into account all the nuances of the reduction procedure, the company can create a commission that will evaluate the preferential grounds of a particular candidate for reduction.

Reduction Commission

When an employer plans to lay off several employees, then to objectively assess their effectiveness and determine preferential rights when reducing staff, a commission can be created from representatives of several departments.

Such a collegial body is created by order of the head of the company. Its powers and composition can also be included in the order to carry out staff reductions.

The commission must include the immediate head of the unit in which they plan to remove positions, representatives of the trade union committee, personnel and legal services.

The head of the department prepares a performance review of the employee. The personnel service provides information on qualifications and other grounds for preferential rights in case of staff reduction. Lawyers evaluate the objectivity and legality of the use of certain grounds for laying off or retaining an employee on staff.

The decisions of the commission must be documented in a protocol, which is signed by its head and endorsed by all those present at the meeting.

In the protocol itself or its appendices, it is necessary to thoroughly describe all the criteria by which candidates for reduction were assessed, separately for each of them.

Such a collegial and comprehensive assessment of each of the employees who may be laid off will solve most problems in the future, for example, it can protect the employer’s position if the dismissed employee sues and challenges his layoff.

Employee performance assessment

The first criterion that a manager pays attention to is how effectively an employee works. For blue-collar professions on piecework wages, the employee’s productivity is assessed by meeting production standards, the number of defects, etc. Everything is simple here - he fulfills and exceeds the plan, the minimum of products rejected by inspectors, which means the employee works well.

The difficulty lies in assessing the performance of office workers. Some performance criteria can be assumed for employees whose actions have a direct impact on the financial result of the enterprise.

For example, for suppliers - this could be saving money when purchasing raw materials and semi-finished products for production, organizing an uninterrupted supply of components, etc. For employees of marketing and sales services - the number of concluded contracts, attracting new customers, an effective advertising campaign, etc. .

Qualifying advantages for redundancy

It is more difficult to assess the effect of the work of employees who are not directly involved in generating profits. Therefore, the second criterion for assessing the advantages of one employee over another is qualifications.

Comparing the qualification level of employees is the easiest way. This concept includes:

• presence and degree of specialized education;
• position category;
• classiness;
• discharge.

When reducing staffing, specialties and positions with a lower category are removed from the staffing table.

For example, if there is a specialist with the 1st or higher categories in the downsized department, the position of the employee of the highest category will have an advantage in qualifications.

It’s the same with blue-collar jobs. A mechanic or turner with a higher rank is retained at the enterprise.

The next qualification criterion is the availability and degree of education. An employee can only have general, specialized secondary, higher and postgraduate education. Having a higher degree of specialized education is an advantage.

For example, several employees work in identical positions with equal efficiency. One unit needs to be reduced. One specialist has a specialized higher education. The second one also has a university diploma, but in a specialty far from the field of work. In addition, there is a diploma of retraining in the job profile. The second employee is being laid off.

An additional advantage will be given to the employee who constantly improves his work skills without compromising his productivity, takes various advanced training courses, and has an academic degree in the field of professional activity.

Other benefits when downsizing

If there is equal efficiency and qualifications, the legislation and the collective agreement provide additional criteria that will help the employer select a candidate for layoff. They are listed in Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Additionally, the collective agreement may indicate benefits for:

• people who have several years left before retirement;
• employees with extensive experience in the company;
• young specialists;
• people with disabilities;
• workers with minor children.

Difficulty may arise when potential applicants for redundancy have grounds listed in the code or collective agreement. Then it is advisable to choose the employee whose preferential right is listed first in the legislation.

For example, one of the employees was injured at work, and the other was approaching retirement age. The first employee receives the advantage, since this basis is specified in the law, while for the second employee it comes from the collective agreement.

Reducing the cost of layoffs

The dismissal of an employee due to staff reduction is accompanied by mandatory payments. The employer must pay such an employee several monthly salaries. There are several options when it comes to meeting all legal requirements and reducing downsizing costs.

Firstly, the offer of all vacancies available at the enterprise that may be suitable for the redundant employee based on his qualifications or health status. This is not only a way out of the situation, but also the responsibility of the employer.

In a large company with representative offices throughout the country, an employee can be offered a transfer to another location.

In addition, staffing positions can be removed using existing vacancies.

Only those places that are intended to be filled according to the quota for disabled people cannot be removed.

Secondly, consider the possibility of terminating the employment relationship on other grounds. You can offer employees who have reached retirement age to take a well-deserved rest and not renew their employment relationships with employees whose fixed-term employment contracts are ending.

Third, use informal methods. For example, offer to take maternity leave for women who returned to work before its end date. Thus, a temporary position will appear in the company and an employee who is being laid off can be transferred to it.

When carrying out measures to reduce personnel, it is necessary to strictly comply with all legal requirements. This is especially true when choosing an employee who is about to leave. It is best to consider all the grounds that may give a pre-emptive right to a reduction in staff collectively, by creating a commission. This will protect the company from possible lawsuits by employees dissatisfied with the dismissal, as well as from financial expenses on fines, additional payments to the former employee and reimbursement of legal costs.