Article 193. Procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions

Before applying disciplinary action, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee. If after two working days the employee does not provide the specified explanation, then a corresponding act is drawn up.

Failure by an employee to provide an explanation is not an obstacle to applying disciplinary action.

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

A disciplinary sanction cannot be applied later than six months from the date of commission of the offense, and based on the results of an audit, inspection of financial and economic activities or an audit - later than two years from the date of its commission. The specified time limits do not include the time of criminal proceedings.

For each disciplinary offense, only one disciplinary sanction can be applied.

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, not counting the time the employee is absent from work. If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the specified order (instruction) against signature, then a corresponding act is drawn up.

A disciplinary sanction can be appealed by an employee to the state labor inspectorate and (or) bodies for the consideration of individual labor disputes.

Procedure for imposing disciplinary sanctions

Disciplinary action may be imposed on an employee no later than 1 month from the day when the employer recorded a case of violation of labor discipline. But this period of time does not include:

    days when the employee was on sick leave;

  • the time spent on coordination with the representative body (trade union).

It should be remembered that any disciplinary action cannot be imposed:

    6 months after the date on which the disciplinary offense was committed;

    2 years after the commission of the offense, which was revealed as a result of a financial, audit or audit.

These time limits will not include the period of time during which the criminal proceedings continued.

Procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions next.

    The employer discovers that the employee has committed a disciplinary offense. As a rule, a report is sent to the head of the organization a note(report or other document) which indicates the facts of the offense. It is from the date of this document that all deadlines begin to count. But not from the date the author wrote the memo, but precisely from the date when this paper reached the manager.

    Next, the employer must request an explanation from the employee. If after 2 working days the employee refuses to write explanatory, then the relevant officials draw up Act. We draw your attention to the fact that the employee’s failure to provide explanations cannot serve as a basis for non-application disciplinary action.

    If an employee writes an explanatory note, then, accordingly, he indicates the reasons for the offense. Labor legislation does not provide for criteria for the “validity” of reasons, so the employer evaluates them at his own discretion.

    If the employer considers that the reasons for committing the offense are unjustified, a disciplinary order.

Imposition Order disciplinary action can be issued only in cases where the employee’s guilt is fully proven.

If an employee is subject to disciplinary action in the form of a reprimand or remark, then disciplinary order compiled in any form.

After issuing the order to impose disciplinary action The employee must be familiarized with it within 3 days. If he refuses to familiarize himself, then a corresponding act must be drawn up about this. Disciplinary action will be imposed in any case. This period of time does not include the period when the employee was absent from service.

If the employer does not comply with this deadline, the employee has the right to appeal the imposition disciplinary action.

Recording a violation of labor discipline by an employee in the form of a punishment order is necessary for the employer. After all, if there are several outstanding disciplinary sanctions an employee may be dismissed under clause 5, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (an employee repeatedly fails to perform job duties without serious reasons, while having disciplinary action).

Disciplinary responsibility- this is a legal liability that occurs for violation of labor discipline and is expressed in the imposition of a disciplinary sanction on the employee who committed the disciplinary offense.

Thus, the employer has the right to apply disciplinary sanctions only if the employee commits a disciplinary offense.

A disciplinary offense is the failure or improper performance by an employee of his or her job duties.

Labor legislation provides for three types of disciplinary sanctions:

    reprimand (the least severe disciplinary action);

    Special disciplinary liability is established by charters and regulations on discipline for certain categories of workers in certain sectors of the economy (transport, communications, etc.), approved by federal laws.

    The establishment of special disciplinary liability is due, firstly, to the specifics of the labor functions performed by these employees, and secondly, to the particularly severe consequences that may arise as a result of their failure to perform or improper performance of their assigned labor duties.

    Special disciplinary liability presupposes a broader concept of disciplinary offense and provides for a number of additional penalties.

    For example, in accordance with the Law on the State Civil Service, for committing a disciplinary offense, a civil servant may be subject to disciplinary sanctions such as a warning about incomplete official compliance and dismissal from the civil service position being filled.

    Disciplinary and administrative responsibility

    Disciplinary and administrative liability also differ in the types of penalties applied.

    Types of administrative penalties are provided for by the Code of Administrative Offenses and cannot be applied for committing a disciplinary offense (for example, a fine, disqualification, etc.).

    At the same time, penalties established by the Labor Code for committing a disciplinary offense cannot be applied for committing an administrative offense.

    It does not matter where the administrative offense was committed - on the territory of the organization with which the employee has an employment relationship, or in another place.

    Procedure for applying disciplinary action

    Before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer is obliged to require a written explanation from the employee.

    If after two working days the employee does not provide an explanation, the employer draws up a report on the failure to provide written explanations.

    At the same time, the employee’s failure to provide an explanation cannot be a basis for not applying a disciplinary sanction (Part 1 of Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

    Based on the explanation provided by the employee or the act of failure to provide written explanations, the employer approves the order to apply a disciplinary sanction.

    An order to apply a disciplinary sanction is submitted to the employee against signature within three working days from the date of its approval, not counting the time the employee is absent from work.

    If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the specified order (instruction) against signature, the employer draws up an act of refusal to familiarize himself (Part 6 of Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

    Duration of disciplinary action

    The employer may apply disciplinary sanctions within a month from the date of discovery of the misconduct.

    A disciplinary sanction cannot be applied later than six months from the date of commission of the offense.

    Bringing the head of the organization and his deputies to disciplinary liability

    The Labor Code provides additional grounds and a special procedure for bringing to disciplinary liability for the head of an organization and his deputies (Article 195).

    This is due, first of all, to the peculiarity of their legal status.

    The head of the organization, on the one hand, is an employee, and on the other, the sole executive body of a legal entity.

    He acts on behalf and in the interests of the employer, is his representative, including in relation to the employees of the organization.

    Deputy heads of the organization perform certain duties as a representative of the employer (his functions) as authorized by the head.

    One of the main responsibilities of the employer is compliance with laws and other regulations, local regulations, terms of the collective agreement, agreement (Article 22 of the Labor Code).

    The state of labor discipline in the organization largely depends on compliance with this obligation by the employer.

    In this regard, the Labor Code has established special rules aimed at ensuring the fulfillment of this obligation, and additional guarantees for their implementation.

    Among them, in particular, enshrined in Part 1 of Art. 195 of the Labor Code is the obligation of the employer to consider the application of the representative body of workers about the violation by the head of the organization, the head of the structural unit of the organization, their deputies of labor legislation and other acts containing labor law, the terms of the collective agreement, agreement and report the results of the consideration to the representative body of workers.

    Having received a statement from the employees' representative body, the employer is obliged to verify the facts stated in it.

    If facts of violations of labor legislation and other acts containing labor law norms, the terms of a collective agreement, agreement are confirmed, the employer is obliged to apply disciplinary action to the head of the organization, the head of the structural unit of the organization, and their deputies.

    At the same time, he has the right to determine the measure of disciplinary action for these employees.

    This can be any disciplinary sanction provided for by the Labor Code, including dismissal (Part 2 of Article 195 of the Labor Code).


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A disciplinary offense is a failure to perform or improper performance through the fault of an employee of the labor duties assigned to him (part 1 of article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; clause 35 of the post of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of March 17, 2004 No. 2 (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 2)).

The Labor Code provides for three types of disciplinary sanctions (Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

  • comment;
  • rebuke;
  • dismissal for appropriate reasons.
  • a severe reprimand (for example, to civil servants, employees of internal affairs bodies) (Article 57 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2004 No. 79-FZ; Article 41.7 of the Federal Law of January 17, 1992 No. 2202-1);
  • warning about incomplete official compliance (for example, to prosecutors, customs officials) (Article 50 of the Federal Law of November 30, 2011 No. 342-FZ; subparagraph 4 of clause 32 of the Order of the Federal Customs Service of Russia of December 24, 2008 No. 1658).

Let us note that fines are not a legal measure of influence, since the Labor Code does not allow the use of disciplinary sanctions not provided for by federal laws, charters and regulations on discipline (Part 4 of Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Also, the Labor Code does not allow violation of the procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions. For such actions, liability is established in the form of a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine (Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation):

  • for officials - in the amount of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles;
  • for legal entities - from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles.

Committing a similar violation repeatedly (Part 2 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) entails the imposition of an administrative fine:

  • for officials - in the amount of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles or disqualification for a period of one to three years;
  • for legal entities - from 50,000 to 70,000 rubles.

On the other hand, an employee with a disciplinary sanction may be reasonably deprived of a bonus and other incentive payments, or their amount may be reduced if this is provided for by the employer’s local regulations (appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan dated September 26, 2013 in case No. 33-11761/ 2013).

At the same time, the punishment must be commensurate with the severity of the offense, its consequences and take into account the circumstances under which it was committed (Part 5 of Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), as well as the previous behavior of the employee, his attitude to work (Clause 53 of Resolution No. 2) .

In practice, a reprimand is a more common measure of responsibility than a reprimand.

Dismissal in the event of a single gross violation of labor duties is the most severe form. The Labor Code contains a list of grounds for its application, for example (clause 6, part 1, article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

  • absenteeism;
  • an employee showing up at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
  • disclosure of state, commercial, official and other secrets, including disclosure of personal data of another employee, etc.

Dismissal due to repeated failure to fulfill job duties is possible provided that a disciplinary sanction was applied to the employee during the last year and at the time of repeated failure to fulfill job duties without good reason, it has not been lifted or extinguished. It does not matter what the first punishment was - a reprimand or a reprimand. This basis for dismissal does not require the employee to commit the same misconduct, for example, only being late or only poor-quality work with clients. Any failure to fulfill obligations under the concluded employment contract gives the employer the right to dismiss the employee if the previously imposed disciplinary sanction was carried out in accordance with the law.

Thus, according to the author, a punishment for rude treatment of a client can be a reprimand if the employee’s actions did not have serious consequences for the company (for example, such as the loss of a client, a potential client’s refusal to conclude a profitable contract with financial indicators, etc. .).

Grounds for disciplinary action

Internal labor regulations, local regulations, employment contracts and job descriptions can regulate the procedure for interaction between an employee and clients (Article 189 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated September 16, 2016 No. 14-2/B-888). These documents may establish a ban on the use of profanity in communication, the inadmissibility of insults or other forms of unethical behavior.

In addition, the rules may be detailed in a separate document, such as a code of conduct, ethics and business communication, and include the following employee responsibilities:

  • maintain a polite tone when communicating with clients and colleagues, show respect and tolerance;
  • do not allow obscene, offensive and rude words, categorical statements, incorrect tone in communication;
  • be attentive and friendly;
  • avoid conflict situations, do not commit provocative actions;
  • resolve controversial issues in a timely manner, while using a constructive method of dialogue and business correspondence;
  • contribute to the formation and maintenance of a favorable moral and psychological climate in the team;
  • support and develop the initiative of colleagues.

The company is obliged to familiarize the hired employee with its rules before signing the employment contract (Part 2 of Article 22, Article 68 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If it adopts new local regulations or changes already existing versions of internal documents, then all employees must be familiarized with them under signature before they are put into effect, and in the event of a change in the essential terms of the employment contract - two months before such a change.

Please note that the established rules should not worsen the position of employees regarding labor legislation, the collective agreement (if there is one) and must take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees (if there is one in the organization) (Article 8 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Otherwise, they may be declared invalid, and the imposition of disciplinary sanctions for non-compliance with the rules may be unlawful.

It is the company's responsibility to prove that an employee has committed a disciplinary offense. In addition, she must prove the consequences that resulted from the employee’s actions and the amount of damage caused.

Disciplinary action and evidence

The procedure for imposing a disciplinary sanction is regulated by the provisions of the Labor Code.

The fact of violation by an employee of labor discipline is recorded in writing, for example, in a memo addressed to management, an act, a decision of a commission based on the results of an inspection, since in the event of a trial the employer will need to provide evidence of the misconduct (paragraphs 38, 43, 49, 53 of Resolution No. 2 ).

Sample memorandum

The documentary basis for the penalty must describe what the employee did and when, what clause of which local regulatory act he violated, and what consequences his actions entailed. You can also give recommendations regarding disciplinary action against the offender.

Please note that the obligation to familiarize the employee with these documents is not established by labor legislation.

Once the company becomes aware of a disciplinary violation, it should request a written explanation from the employee for his actions. It is advisable to document this request, that is, draw up a notice of explanation and hand it over to the employee against signature, indicating the date of review on the copy of the document and signature on receipt.

Sample notification for providing explanations

The employee must provide written explanations within two working days, which are counted from the date following the day the demand was submitted (Article 191 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Deprivation of such a right may be grounds for declaring a disciplinary sanction illegal (decision of the Moscow Regional Court dated August 19, 2010 in case No. 33-14897).

Please note that when calculating the period for providing explanations, the individual work schedule of the employee is not taken into account (determination of the RF Armed Forces dated July 30, 2008 No. 36-B08-23).

If after two working days there are no explanations, the company draws up an act of refusal to provide them. For example, if explanations are requested on Monday, the company waits for them for the next two days and, if they are not provided, draws up a corresponding report on Thursday.

Lack of explanation does not prevent the imposition of disciplinary action.

If the employer considers the explanations provided to be valid, disciplinary action may not be applied.

It is important to comply with the deadlines for imposing disciplinary sanctions. It is applicable for a month from the moment the misconduct was discovered (from the moment the employer learned or should have known about this fact), not counting the time of illness of the employee, his stay on vacation, as well as the time required to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees (Art. 193 Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

It is considered that the company learned about the commission of a disciplinary offense from the moment the employee’s immediate supervisor became aware of it.

The Labor Code specifies the limitation period for imposing a disciplinary sanction (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

  • within six months from the date of commission of the offense;
  • if the misconduct became known during an audit or inspection - within two years from the date of the commission of the misconduct.

So, if due to illness the deadline for imposing a disciplinary sanction is missed, then it can no longer be applied.

The legislation does not provide for a unified form of order to impose a disciplinary sanction. The document must contain the following information: Full name of the employee; his position and structural unit; description of the offense committed; clauses of which local regulations of the employer were violated; links to reports and explanatory notes, acts, decisions/minutes of the meeting of the investigation commission and their details; what type of disciplinary action is taken.

Sample order to impose a disciplinary sanction

If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the order in writing, it is necessary to draw up a corresponding act.

It is not necessary to make a record of a disciplinary sanction in the employee’s personal card (form No. T-2, approved by the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1). But if necessary (to ensure internal accounting), this information can be reflected in section X “Additional information”.

An entry about a disciplinary sanction is also not made in the work book, except in cases where the disciplinary sanction is dismissal (Part 4 of Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

An employee has the right to appeal a disciplinary sanction to the state labor inspectorate, the labor dispute commission and the court (Part 7 of Article 193, Article 382 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The Labor Dispute Commission is obliged to consider the dispute within 10 calendar days from the date the employee submits the application (Part 2 of Article 387 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If this does not happen, the employee has the right to transfer the consideration of the application to the court (Part 1 of Article 390 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The period for appealing in court is three months from the date of issuance of the order to apply a disciplinary sanction and a month if the employee was dismissed for a disciplinary offense (Article 392 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the case for reinstatement at work must be considered before the expiration of a month from the date of receipt of the application to the court. The specified time frame also includes the time required to prepare the case for trial (clause 7 of Resolution No. 2; Chapter 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Please note that when filing a claim in court for claims arising from employment relations, including regarding non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the terms of the employment contract, employees are exempt from paying fees and legal costs (Article 393 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If an employee tries to appeal against dismissal for repeated failure to fulfill job duties, and the period for appealing previous disciplinary offenses has expired, the court will not grant his request for reinstatement (Review of legislation and judicial practice of the RF Armed Forces for the second quarter of 2007, approved by the resolution of the Presidium of the RF Armed Forces dated 08/01/2007).

In conclusion, we note that it is important to comply with all legal requirements regarding the procedure for imposing a disciplinary sanction. Otherwise, the employee will have grounds to recover compensation for moral damage from the company (Article 237 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), and if he was fired, he will be reinstated in his position and, accordingly, receive a salary for the entire period of forced absence, taking into account interest (monetary compensation) for it delay (Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation indicated that if in the internal labor regulations, local regulations or in the employment contract there are provisions stipulating the inadmissibility of rude, harsh expressions when communicating with clients, then the employer may apply disciplinary measures to an employee who violates these provisions impact (letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated September 16, 2016 No. 14-2/B-888).

In judicial practice, there are examples when the court does not regard the unethical actions of an employee and the expressed opinion different from the position of management as a violation of labor discipline (ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated 04/08/2013 No. 33-5330, appeal ruling of the Omsk Regional Court dated 10.23. 2013 in case No. 33-7037/13).

The right to freedom of thought and speech is guaranteed by Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. An employee has the right to freely express his opinion and criticize the actions of other persons, if his actions are not offensive in nature and do not humiliate the honor and dignity of the individual.

On the other hand, for a number of professions, failure to comply with ethical standards and rules of official conduct is a disciplinary offense. For example, this applies to employees of municipal services, police, and teachers (decision of the Moscow City Court dated April 10, 2012 No. 33-8753/2012).

To avoid the situations described in the article, the company needs to introduce a corporate culture that:

  • includes standards of behavior in the office;
  • calls to observe and adhere to the established rules in any situation;
  • obliges managers to be an example for their subordinates;
  • cultivates respectful relationships between employees;
  • allows you to track feedback on team collaboration and periodically survey customer satisfaction levels.

Labor discipline is established in the company taking into account the Labor Code and internal labor regulations. By signing the job description and other documents when applying for a job, the employee makes it clear to the employer that he understands his job responsibilities and is ready to comply with the accepted routine.

Application of disciplinary sanctions: procedure and terms

The main rule that applies in this case: one disciplinary offense = one disciplinary sanction.

In order to, in principle, launch a mechanism to bring an employee to disciplinary liability, the employer must first of all record a fact that gives reason to believe that a disciplinary offense actually took place. This can be done with the help of an order to conduct an internal audit, the conclusion of an internal audit, or an act.

The procedure for applying penalties set out in assumes that the employee, within two days, gives a written explanation at the request of the employer, explaining the circumstances and reasons for the incident.

Rostrud recommends familiarizing the employee, against receipt, with the proposal, drawn up in the form of a resolution addressed specifically to him on a document received from law enforcement, supervisory or regulatory authorities. Since the likelihood that the employee will refuse to sign this document is high, the proposal to provide an explanation of the reasons for the commission of the offense should be read aloud in the presence of witnesses, and in conclusion, a corresponding act should be drawn up indicating the date, time and place of its preparation.

If the employee does not complete the preparation of a written explanation within two days, the employer draws up a corresponding act. However, as Rostrud notes, the employee has the right to present his explanations even after the expiration of the two-day period, the main thing is that this is done before the completion of the internal audit. It is important to understand that the fact that an employee fails to provide an explanation cannot be regarded as an obstacle to applying a disciplinary sanction.

Next, an order is issued, which the employee signs within three working days from the date of its publication, not counting the time of absence from work. If the employee refuses to sign the order, then the employer needs to draw up a report.

An employee has the right to appeal a disciplinary sanction to the labor inspectorate and court.

Disciplinary sanctions are tied to specific terms specified in labor legislation:

  • They apply no later than 1 month from the date of discovery of the offense. The exceptions are the following periods: employee illness, time to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees, while the employee is on vacation.
  • They are not applied later than 6 months from the date of the offense.
  • They do not apply later than 2 years from the date of commission based on the results of an audit, inspection of financial and economic activities or an audit. Moreover, this period does not include the time of criminal proceedings.
  • If within 1 year from the date of action of the penalty the employee is not subject to new “sanctions”, then he is considered not to have had a disciplinary sanction ().
  • Before the expiration of 1 year from the date of application of the penalty, the employer has the right to remove it on its own initiative, at the request of the employee himself, at the request of his immediate supervisor or a representative body of employees.

An employer applies disciplinary action to an employee for violating labor discipline: being late or leaving work early, absenteeism, refusal to carry out work assignments. When a newcomer is hired, he undertakes to comply with internal labor regulations and industrial safety rules, as well as perform all functions provided for in the job description. If an employee neglects his duties, disciplinary sanctions may be applied to him under the Labor Code.

General disciplinary sanctions under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 192) are of three types:

  • Comment- the mildest measure of influence.
  • Rebuke- punishment of moderate severity.
  • Dismissal “under article”- the most severe measure.

This is an exhaustive list no other types of disciplinary sanctions are provided for under the Labor Code.

But additional types of penalties may be established by separate legislative acts, charters and regulations on discipline. For example, a state civil servant can be given a warning about incomplete job compliance, and an employee of special hazardous production in the nuclear energy sector can be transferred to a lower position for up to three months. Other, rather strict types of disciplinary action are also applied to military personnel, which are not mentioned in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

List of punishments for military personnel:

  • severe reprimand;
  • demotion in position or rank;
  • deduction from fees or from an educational institution;
  • early dismissal;
  • deprivation of an award badge;
  • disciplinary arrest.

However, such measures, prescribed in industry regulations and laws, apply only to certain categories of personnel. In all other cases, employers are limited to the penalties listed in Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

How a disciplinary sanction is applied to an employee (Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

It is important not only to know what types of disciplinary sanctions are provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, but also to apply them correctly. The key requirements of the law, which employers often forget about, are the validity, one-time nature and proportionality of punishment.

Validity. Any disciplinary measures under the Labor Code are applied only after all the circumstances have been clarified. First, request written explanations from the employee, collect witness testimony, and make sure that a written act or protocol has been drawn up regarding the violation of discipline. If the case is complex, a special commission may have to be involved in the case. Remember that an unjustified disciplinary sanction under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows you to appeal in court, by contacting the prosecutor's office or through the State Tax Inspectorate.

Example

Omega LLC warehouseman Igor R. came to work drunk and reacted aggressively to the comments of his immediate superior, the warehouse manager. Based on a memorandum drawn up on the same day by the warehouse manager, the storekeeper was fired on the basis of subparagraph “b” of paragraph 6 of part 1 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, without waiting two days from the date of the incident and without asking for an explanation. Two weeks later, the dismissed Igor R. filed a lawsuit and proved that the employment contract was terminated with gross violations, without drawing up an act of violation of discipline and an explanatory note. He was reinstated by a court decision, and the company had to pay for the time he was forced to miss and legal costs.

An employee may refuse to give an explanation, which does not deprive the employer of the right to take disciplinary measures against him. But do not draw up a written act of refusal to provide explanations immediately, but only after two working days after you have requested the explanatory note.

One-time use. Even if the employee’s guilt is proven, only one disciplinary sanction can be applied to him for one offense committed (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For example, you cannot first issue a reprimand for the same violation and then issue a dismissal “under the article.” Such a decision will most likely be appealed by the employee in court, which will ultimately reinstate the plaintiff at work, despite the disciplinary offense committed. And all just because the employer imprudently applied double punishment.

Example

The manager of Teta LLC, Marina Yu., came to work half an hour late and refused to give an explanation. On the same day, the employee was reprimanded and presented with the relevant order against her signature. At the end of the week, checking the accounting documents, the head of the department discovered that this was the second delay in the current month. Having decided that Marina S. was undermining discipline in the department, the head of the company fired her. But as a result of the trial, the employee had to be given her job back: the presence of two orders imposing different punishments for the same offense played against the employer.

Proportionality. When applying in practice certain types of disciplinary liability under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, always take into account the severity of the offense, its consequences and the circumstances under which it was committed (Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In other words, you cannot immediately dismiss an employee who has never previously violated discipline for being late or any other minor offense that did not cause any particular harm to anyone. Dismissal is a proportionate response only if the employee has violated discipline repeatedly (this is indicated by the presence of an outstanding or outstanding penalty) or has committed one, but gross, offense.

List of gross offenses:

  • absenteeism;
  • showing up at work drunk or in a state of drug intoxication;
  • theft of company property;
  • disclosure of secrets protected by law.

But violation of industrial safety requirements is considered a gross misconduct for which an employee can be fired only if there are serious consequences or a direct threat of their occurrence. If negligent behavior in the workplace causes an accident or accident, the culprit can be fired after completing all the necessary paperwork.

Is it possible to apply a disciplinary sanction that is not enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation?

Rule: no employer has the right to apply punishment to an employee that is not provided for in Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, federal legislation, industry charters or discipline regulations.

In practice, this rule is regularly violated. Partly because not everyone knows what types of disciplinary sanctions are provided for in the Labor Code. But more often, the reason for deviation from generally accepted rules is the reluctance to be limited to the permitted list of measures. Deprivation of bonuses or salary increases, temporary transfer to a lower position, cancellation or postponement of vacation are the most common types of disciplinary sanctions that are not reflected in the Labor Code and are therefore absolutely illegal.

Fines

There are many ways to maintain discipline among employees, but all of them must be legal. For applying penalties not provided for by the Labor Code, the company may be fined.

Fines:

  • From 30,000 to 50,000 rubles for a company.
  • Personal fine of up to 5,000 rubles for the manager.

In addition, the State Tax Inspectorate will oblige the employer to cancel the disciplinary order issued with violations.