Job loss is the biggest problem that can be caused by the financial and economic crisis. To get out of a difficult financial situation, organizations resort to the optimization of the production process. As part of optimization, a reduction in the number of employees is often made. Who can't be fired for a cut? What rights does an abbreviated employee have? What responsibility does the organization have?

What is a layoff?

Employees - this is the procedure for the abolition of posts (one or more), carried out in accordance with labor legislation. One way to reduce units is to eliminate vacant seats. The staffing table is the main evidence confirming the fact of reducing the number of employees. If the organization does not have a staffing table, then the payroll or list of employees can also act as a supporting document.

Legitimate Staff Reduction

Russian labor legislation regulates the procedure and determines the grounds for the reduction of workers. Thus, the employer may dismiss employees due to a decrease in the number of staff, reorganization or liquidation of the enterprise. Moreover, the employer himself determines the optimal number of employees in the organization. According to the law, the employer is not obliged to justify the decision to dismiss the employee for reduction, however, formally, the procedure should be carried out on the basis of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 82, 179, 180, 373). Dismissing an employee of an organization due to a reduction in the number of employees is possible only upon liquidation of the position that he holds.

Inappropriate staff reduction

In practice, there is often an unlawful (imaginary) downsizing, which has no valid reason. This procedure is illegal. Employers resort to this method when they need to fire an employee, but there are no real reasons for this. In case of incorrect termination of the contract or in case of non-compliance, the reduction is also considered unlawful. The rights of the dismissed in this case can be upheld in court. However, in practice it is quite difficult to convict of the illegality of the actions of employers.

How to get fired by a reduction

This procedure consists of several stages.

1. The start of the procedure for reducing the number of employees should be formally confirmed by an appropriate order and the approval of a new staffing table. Moreover, the new schedule is approved before the start of the procedure itself. Those employees whose position has not been preserved in the new staff list will be dismissed.
2.   governs the next stage of the procedure. At least 2 months before the planned date of termination of employment contracts with employees, the employer must send a written notice to the trade union organization.
3. At least 2 months before the dismissal of employees due to downsizing, the employer is obliged to notify the local employment service in writing. The notice must indicate the position, specialty, profession and qualifications of each specific employee. The employment service should be informed about the planned reduction of the organization’s staff at least 3 months in advance if the procedure could provoke massive layoffs.
4. 2 months before the planned date, the employer must inform its employees about the reduction for signature. When an employee refuses to sign a warning, the personnel department draws up an act.
5. The employer must offer employees an alternative - vacant positions in their own or other companies. If vacancies appear in the organization during the warning period, the employer should first offer them to employees who have been reduced. If vacancies appear in the organization in a two-month period, the manager notifies the staff to be reduced and in no case accepts new ones. When selecting vacancies, the qualifications and health status of the employee should be taken into account. With his consent, the translation procedure is started. First of all, similar vacancies are offered. The company's management has the right to dismiss an employee without warning by prior agreement of the parties, which is executed in writing. In this case, an additional monetary compensation is paid to the injured party, the amount of which is not limited by law and depends only on an agreement on the spot.
6. The company's management publishes employees, which indicates the date and reason for termination of the employment contract. Workers get acquainted with him under the signature. If the employee refuses to sign the order, an appropriate act is drawn up.
7. Dismissed employees on the last working day are counted, issued a work book with the appropriate entry. When dismissing employees in a trade union, the motivated opinion of this organization should be taken into account (Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, as well as 82 and 373). Dismissal of persons no older than 18 is allowed with the consent of the state labor inspectorate and the commission for the protection of the rights of minors.

Who should not be fired

In the Russian labor legislation there is a list of those employees who cannot be dismissed due to layoffs. Who can't be fired?

• Women with children not older than 3 years.
• Women on maternity leave (Labor Code of the Russian Federation, article 256).
• Single mothers with children not older than 14 years old (if a disabled child is under 18).
• Persons raising children under 14 years old without a mother (if a disabled child is under 18, article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• Employees of organizations on vacation or sick leave.
• Minors without the consent of the state labor inspectorate.

Also, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (article 256), maternity leave can be granted until he reaches 3 years of age at the request of the mother. The workplace and position in this case are retained by the woman.

Can a pregnant woman be dismissed on the basis of a reduction? Such dismissal is considered illegal. As the dismissal says, it is permissible only upon liquidation of the organization.

The only exceptions are cases when the reduction takes place as part of the liquidation of the enterprise.

Who has advantages

In addition to the list of those who cannot be dismissed due to layoffs, the Labor Code also includes such a thing as “preemptive right”. According to article 179 of the Labor Code, this right gives employees of organizations the advantage of maintaining a job while reducing staff, depending on the quality of their work responsibilities or social reasons. These workers are the last to be fired.

The preemptive right is enjoyed by workers with a high level of qualification and labor productivity. Work experience and education are also taken into account. Qualification must be confirmed by documents on graduation, certificates of advanced training, extracts from the minutes of the commissions on assignment of a category or rank, etc. To assess the level of qualifications of employees, company management can conduct certification, including unscheduled. However, the procedure for conducting such certifications should be reflected in the internal documents of the organization. If all employees have equal qualifications and labor productivity, the head decides on dismissal together with the trade union organization.

The employees have the preemptive right to save a workplace:

• Containing two or more dependents (family circumstances).
• Who independently support their family (there is no other source of income than the salary of this employee).
• Received injuries or occupational diseases during the period of fulfillment of labor obligations from the employer conducting the reduction.
• Disabled people fighting.
• Advanced training in the field of work in the direction of leadership.

The collective agreement may also establish other categories of employees with the pre-emptive right to preserve the workplace.

Features of dismissal to reduce retirees

Often in Russian organizations people who have reached retirement age also work. However, age is not the reason for the primary reduction. Article 179 of the Labor Code states that age can be an advantage for an employee, as it can be an indicator of high qualification and productivity.

It says that retirees should be provided with all guarantees and payments upon dismissal. Other interpretations of these laws contradict the principles of equality of rights of workers and non-discrimination in the world of work.

Redundancy Reductions

According to 140, upon termination of an employment relationship with an employee, the management of the organization must settle accounts with him and pay all the money laid down. Payments must be made after the employee submits the relevant request no later than the next day.

If an employee is fired due to layoffs, he must receive a severance pay equal to the average monthly earnings. Within two months, the employee is paid severance pay while searching for a suitable job. This payment can also be made for the third month if the dismissed employee contacts the employment service within 14 days after the termination of the employment contract and does not find a suitable job.

Additional compensation is paid to employees who have been reduced without warning and in consultation with the employer. The size of the payment is determined by the sum of the average monthly earnings, calculated in proportion to the time remaining before the expiration of the term for the warning about the reduction. Pensioners, as mentioned above, are paid all compensation, as well as ordinary workers. The head, his deputies, the chief accountant are paid compensation in the amount of at least three average monthly salaries.

In addition, employees laid off due to staff reductions are entitled to pay for days worked in the current month and compensation for unused vacation days.

The amount of the severance pay may be challenged. In this situation, the organization pays the employee an uncontested portion of the amount. The remaining part is paid based on the agreement of the employee and management or by decision of the court.

Alternative

An alternative to the dismissal of workers to reduce is the termination of employment by agreement of the parties. This is, first of all, beneficial for the employer, since he is exempted from paying additional compensation and severance pay, the probability of appealing the procedure to the court is minimized, there is no need to notify the union, the employment service. In addition, the list of those who cannot be dismissed due to layoffs does not apply to this procedure.

Often, employers force their employees to quit at their own request. Thus, the employee also loses the severance pay and compensation that he is entitled to during the reduction.

Employer Responsibility

Employers are liable for violation of the rules for the dismissal of employees while reducing staff. In case of violation of the terms of payments, according to article 236 of the labor legislation, the employer is obliged to reimburse, in addition to the entire amount owed to the employee, interest that is at least one three-hundredth of the Central Bank of Russia refinancing rate for each day of delay. The same sanctions apply to employers in case of delayed payment of wages. If the employer does not fulfill the obligation to provide dismissed employees with vacant positions at the enterprise, this threatens him with a fine of 5-50 minimum wages in accordance with article 5.27 of the Administrative Code.

What to do when cutting

If you were fired for reduction, what should I do? You can contact several instances. To begin with, you can send a written application to the trade union organization of the enterprise. The union is required to respond to the complaint within a week. An incident with the wrongful dismissal of a reduction may be considered by the Federal Labor Inspectorate and the prosecutor's office. If the labor inspectorate has not revealed any violations of the procedure, you can file a lawsuit. This can be done in the 90-day period from the moment the employee learned about the violation of his labor rights. If the dismissed employee decided to challenge the termination of the employment contract, the statement of claim must be filed within 30 days from the date of issuance of the work book or a copy of the relevant order. Unlawfully dismissed employees do not pay duties and other legal expenses. Upon recognition of the dismissal of the reduction as unlawful, the employee shall be reinstated at the previous workplace by the authority that was authorized for the consideration of the labor dispute. In this case, the employee is compensated for the average wage during the forced absence or the difference for the period of the low-paid work, as well as moral damage.

Dismissal due to a reduction in the number of employees in the organization can affect everyone. Therefore, it is so important to know the list of those who cannot be fired due to layoffs and who have the pre-emptive right to preserve their jobs. These issues are fully regulated by Russian labor law. The decision of the employer to dismiss the reduction may be challenged both in court and when applying to the trade union, prosecutor's office, the Federal Labor Inspectorate. Russian labor law governs the rights of a laid-off redundant. If you encounter difficulties, you should seek the help of a competent lawyer.

  Article 261 of the Labor Code provides a list of citizens to whom the reduction is never applied. These include: The legislator also took into account rare situations when the younger generation is half orphaned. If in the situation described above (except for pregnancy) is not a mother, but a different relative, the rule of non-reduction applies to him.

Downsizing advantage

261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Hello! I work as a primary school teacher.

Work experience 10 years. Second qualification category. I have two dependent children.

One child 1 year 7 months. I also study at the institute. I am in my fourth year. It remains to study for two years.

A highly qualified teacher works with me. Work experience more than 15 years. She is retired after seniority.

Who has the advantage of downsizing

To carry out such operations, the company is obliged only within the framework of strictly following the norms of the law.

In two months to notify you of the date of reduction by notification and secure your signature confirming awareness of the upcoming reduction (Art.

180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation); During the period of your work, up to dismissal, to offer available vacancies in the state that correspond to your qualifications (Art.   81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

How is the reduction of the staff of employees in accordance with the current Labor Code of the Russian Federation and which category of workers cannot be reduced

Until the moment when all maternity leave ends, i.e.

Reducing staff: who has the right to pre-emptive leave at work?

It is not legally established who should be part of such a commission, but according to established practice, staff members, lawyers are included in the commission, and if there is a body of a trade union organization, its representative. However, sometimes, depending on the size of the organization, only one staff member or even the head of the department is involved in this.

“On social guarantees to citizens exposed to radiation as a result of nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site”

Do not think that this is just a formality. Having studied the Labor Code, it will not be difficult for you to defend your violated rights.

We draw your attention to the fact that if the employer has violated the law, that is, he dismissed an employee who belongs to one of the above categories, then feel free to contact the court.

Dependent preemptive right

The dependents of an employee include any members of his family who are fully supported or receive assistance from him, which is their constant and main source of livelihood. This can be not only children, but also the parents of spouses receiving a pension, as well as other family members who have income, if the employee’s help is a constant and main source of livelihood for them.

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

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

1. Staff reductions really have to take place.
2. The management of the enterprise personally (under signature) must in writing notify each specific employee of the impending dismissal.
3. Dismissal of an employee in connection with a layoff should be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the law on categories of persons with preferential rights to leave work.
4. If possible, it is necessary to transfer the employee to another position or job.
5. Not later than three months before the dismissal of the employee, the local employment center should be warned.
6. Obtain consent to the reduction of the union.
7. Make compensation and severance payments.

By law, the new staffing table must indicate the real reduction in employees. You cannot hire a new employee for a job title.

All dismissed employees are notified of their forthcoming dismissal personally (against receipt) at least two months before the start of the reduction procedure.

The warning time is documented. On the general Order on staff reduction (or on a separate separate order for an employee), a personal signature of each employee to be dismissed must be indicated.

The following categories of employees can take advantage of the dismissal of staff reductions:

1. Persons other than whom the family has no other members with an independent income.
2. Workers who have received occupational illness or work injury in their last job.
3. Disabled combatants injured while fulfilling their duty to protect the Fatherland.
4. Employees who improve their skills on the job in the direction of the enterprise.
5. Family, containing dependent on two or more disabled family members.

Reduction is not allowed:

1. Workers on vacation.
2. Temporarily disabled employees on the basis of a certificate from a medical institution.
3. Women whose children have not reached the age of three years.
4. Mothers who bring up a disabled child under the age of 18 years.
5. Mothers raising their children up to 14 years old.
6. An employee whose age is less than 18 years old is fired only by agreement with the relevant state bodies.

Information on the forthcoming reduction should be provided to the trade union body and the state employment center no later than three months before the start of the reduction procedure.

Transfer to another place of work

Dismissal of a staff reduction employee is possible in the case when the enterprise does not have the opportunity to transfer him to another position or job. Employment law obliges the employer in writing to offer an employee a vacant place in the same enterprise that matches his qualifications. If there is no such job, offer a less paid job or a lower position. If the employee refuses the existing offers, the employment contract is terminated with him. The rejection of the proposed work must be accepted in writing and with the personal signature of the employee being reduced.

Severance pay reduction

The allowance for dismissal is accrued to an employee in the amount of one average monthly salary. Also, the employee at the time of employment retains his average monthly earnings for a period of up to two months from the date of reduction (taking into account the severance pay). If during this time the employee is not employed (in this case, the employment service body issues a certificate, which is a supporting document), the average monthly earnings are paid to the dismissed employee for the third month after the reduction. This provision does not apply to an employee who has applied to the state employment service after two weeks after the reduction.

An employer may terminate, with the written consent of an employee, an employment contract without warning of a reduction in two months. In this case, additional compensation is paid in the amount of a two-month salary of the dismissed employee.

The additional payments do not include the severance pay due under the labor law upon dismissal.

The basis for termination of the contract is a written statement of the redundant employee with a request for dismissal. The presence in the document of the date and personal signature of the dismissed employee is mandatory.

What to do if your rights have been violated

Unscrupulous employers, while reducing staff, in order to save, so as not to pay severance pay, are trying to fire an employee under any other article of the Labor Code. Such dismissal from a legal point of view is illegal, therefore, very often people turn to legal advice or lawyers for help to protect their legal rights in court. You can contact the prosecutor's office or labor inspection. For this, a statement of claim should be made, which can be submitted only within one month from the date of dismissal.

When taking measures to reduce the number of employees, the head of the organization must remember that highly qualified subordinates have the pre-emptive right to remain in their position at the enterprise. This rule is enshrined in Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. If at the enterprise all employees have the same qualifications, then jobs should be reserved for family citizens who have several dependents, as well as for those who have been injured during their professional activities in the organization, disabled war veterans and people studying in the same direction Manager on the job.

What is important to know

Many citizens falling under staff reductions are wondering if they can 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 dismiss such subordinates. Because the norm of Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates that highly qualified employees have the preemptive right to remain at the enterprise in their workplace.

In the event that the head cannot independently determine the categories of subordinates that should be dismissed due to reduction, 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 on maintenance, as well as to persons who have been injured during the performance of official duties, to invalids of the Second World War. This rule is fixed in Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

At the same performance

Subject to the provisions of Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the reduction should bypass the following categories of employees:

• family people who have two or more dependents on maintenance (i.e. disabled citizens for whom the breadwinner’s earnings are considered the main income);
• subordinates who received serious injuries at the time of the performance of official duties at this company;
• family persons, if no one else has a source of income in his family (even the able-bodied relatives of the latter);
• invalids of the Second World War and participants in hostilities to protect the state;
• persons carrying out advanced training in the direction of the boss on the job.

It is important.

How to determine

Art. The new version of Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates that employees with very high or even better labor productivity and qualifications have the pre-emptive right to remain in their posts upon reduction of staff. But how can you identify those people who need to be left to work in the organization?

Here it is necessary to carefully review the personal file of the employee, who is allegedly subject to reduction. If he has work experience, a good education, quickly fulfills the duties assigned to him and does not violate the discipline of labor in the organization, then, accordingly, he will not be able to dismiss him. Otherwise, the latter will be reinstated in court.

Necessary actions

The administration of the organization, together with the trade union, must carefully review the personal files of all subordinates, which are supposedly subject to reduction. Moreover, if all employees have the same level of education and the same work experience in their specialty, preference should be given to family persons with children, war invalids, and those who have been injured in the line of duty at this enterprise, because this is a rule spelled out in Part 2 of Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Other categories

Other citizens who have pre-emptive rights to remain in the organization may be prescribed in the collective agreement of the organization. These include:

• people of pre-retirement age, when there is very little time left before going on a well-deserved rest;
• minor citizens;
• subordinates carrying out official activities at the enterprise for many years (15 or more);
• specialists just starting their career (in the first three years of work);
• workers raising a child under 16 without the participation of a second parent.

A comment

Those who have very good labor productivity and high qualifications have an advantage in reduction. This is stated in Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. One cannot disagree with the comments on it. Because it is precisely these two criteria that allow the employer to decide on the choice of those employees who will not be dismissed for this reason.

If several subordinates fall under the reduction, one of whom has extensive experience and a high level of qualification, then the preference for leaving the post will be given to him, and not to other citizens.

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

Typical mistakes of the head

Most employers for some reason believe that by reducing staff, you can get rid of unwanted subordinates. Although this is not at all true. The latter may be reinstated in court.

In addition, employees with good labor productivity and a fairly high level of education have an advantage over other subordinates falling under reduction. This rule is recorded in part 1 of article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And even if these citizens do not cause sympathy among the boss, they still cannot be reduced without a proper assessment of their professional qualities. Moreover, they must be protected by the trade union committee.

Procedure

An employee should be warned of an impending reduction in advance. The law provides for a certain period of time, which cannot be less than two months. A person receives a notification in his hands, 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, as well as all those falling under the reduction should be offered free vacancies existing in the campaign. These rules are enshrined in Art. 179, 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

When a subordinate refuses the proposed vacancy and wants to leave the job shortly ahead of time, the manager must pay him all the money due on the last day of his career.

Additional Warranties

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

• representatives of the fair sex, in which the children are under the age of three years;
• single mothers raising children with disabilities under 18 years of age or minors (if not 14 years old);
• a person who is considered the sole breadwinner if he has more than three children in his family, one of whom has not turned three years old, and his wife is not employed and has no source of livelihood;
• a person who himself contains a disabled child (until the latter comes of age).

Practice

A citizen was warned of the impending reduction two months before the implementation of these measures. At the same time, the head of the organization did not offer him the available vacancies. After the specified time period expired, 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 much more quickly cope with his duties than other subordinates who remained at their workplaces. The man went to court.

When clarifying all the circumstances at the meeting, it was established that the dismissed employee not only has a good education and productivity, but also he has never been held accountable for violation of 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 dismissed illegally. Therefore, the man was restored to his post.

Judicial practice under Art. 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation most often shows that the heads of enterprises when dismissing employees to reduce staff do not evaluate their professional skills, knowledge and skills, and this is a significant violation of the law. Therefore, most highly qualified citizens are reinstated at work.

The introduction of new technologies, the centralization of functions in large companies, reduced income or poor financial condition - in such situations, the employer may decide to reduce the number of employees. In order to comply with legislation when deciding on a layoff, you need to know which of the employees has a preemptive right to dismiss.

Redundant Staff Reduction Procedure

After the owner or head of the company decides to change the structure or number of employees, it is necessary to correctly conduct the reduction procedure itself.

A special role in it is played by the determination of the categories of workers who cannot be dismissed for reduction, and those who have the pre-emptive right to remain in the state while reducing the number of employees.

If you plan to remove the unit or staff units of the position in full, the preemptive right does not apply.

For example, the owner of the company, considered that building maintenance would be cheaper to outsource to a specialized company. Accordingly, the company no longer needs to keep on staff employees who were involved in cleaning, maintenance of the building, etc. In this case, the pre-emptive right does not apply, since all employees of the technical department fall under the reduction.

The reduction procedure is carried out in several stages:

• creation of an internal document on the restructuring of staff and job cuts;
• identification of those employees who have the preemptive right to stay at work;
• notification of employees, the union and the regional branch of the employment service;
• offer vacant positions in the enterprise, if the employee is suitable for such a vacancy by skills or qualifications;
• termination of employment and compensation.

Violation by the employer of at least one of the stages may be the reason for the trial with the payment of fines and the restoration of the wrongly dismissed employee at work.

Categories of workers that cannot be reduced

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

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

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

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

Such workers do not fall under the reduction, however, the employer may terminate their labor relations with them in case of repeated delays, absenteeism or the commission of actions that cause damage to the company.

Preemptive right to downsizing

After identifying employees who cannot be fired, people who have any predominant basis for leaving 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, they leave employees with higher work efficiency and qualifications. If these indicators are approximately the same, the employer considers additional grounds that may give preemptive rights in case of reduction in the number of employees. These include:

• people who have several dependents;
• those who are the sole breadwinner in the family;
• a person who has been injured or sick during the period of employment with this employer;
• disabled people whose disability was the result of their participation in various hostilities;
• those who improve their skills on the job and in the direction of the employer.

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

Preferential grounds may appear in the employee even after it became known about the reduction.

For example, a person graduated from a university with a specialty that fits the profile of work and, accordingly, improves his qualifications.

In order to take into account all the nuances of the reduction procedure, a commission can be created in the company that will evaluate the pre-emptive grounds of one or another candidate for reduction.

Reduction Commission

When the employer plans to reduce several employees, then for an objective assessment of their effectiveness and determination of pre-emptive rights in the reduction of staff, you can create a commission of 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 on the reduction of personnel.

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

The head of the department prepares an employee performance profile. The personnel service provides data on qualifications and other grounds for pre-emptive right in case of staff reduction. Lawyers assess the objectivity and legality of applying one or another reason to reduce or leave an employee on staff.

It is imperative that the decisions of the commission be formalized in a protocol signed by its head and all those present at the meeting shall endorse.

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

Such a collegial and comprehensive assessment of each of the employees who may be subject to reduction will solve most problems in the future, for example, it can protect the position of the employer if the dismissed employee sues and disputes his reduction.

Employee performance assessment

The first criterion that the manager pays attention to is how efficiently the employee works. For working specialties in piecework wages, the productivity of an employee is assessed by meeting production standards, the number of rejects, etc. Everything is simple here - it fulfills and overfulfills a plan that is minimum rejected by product controllers, which means that the employee is working well.

Complexity is an assessment of 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 it can be cost savings 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 contracts concluded, attracting new customers, an effective advertising company, etc. .

Reduced Qualification Benefits

It is more difficult to evaluate the effect of the work of employees who do not directly participate in the formation of profit. Therefore, the second criterion for assessing the advantages of one employee over another is qualification.

Comparing the qualifications of employees is easiest. This concept includes:

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

With a reduction from the staff list, specialties and positions with a lower category are removed.

For example, if there is a specialist in the reduced unit with the 1st and highest categories, the qualification advantage will be given to the position of an employee of the highest category.

So it is with working specialties. Leave at the enterprise locksmith or turner with a higher discharge.

The following criteria for qualification assessment are the presence and degree of education. An employee can have only general, secondary specialized, higher and postgraduate education. Having a higher degree of specialized education is an advantage.

For example, several employees work in the same positions with equal efficiency. One unit must be reduced. One specialist has a specialized higher education. The second one also has a university diploma, but in a specialty that is far from the scope of work. In addition, there is a diploma of retraining in the profile of work. The second employee falls under the reduction.

An additional advantage will be given to the employee who constantly improves, without prejudice to his productivity, work skills, takes various advanced training courses, has a degree in professional activity.

Other benefits while reducing

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

Additionally, the collective agreement may indicate the benefits for:

• people who have few years left until retirement;
• employees with extensive experience in the company;
• young professionals;
• people with disabilities
• workers with minor children.

Complexity can be caused by a situation when potential applicants for reduction have the reasons listed in the code or collective agreement. Then it is advisable to choose the employee whose preemptive right is listed in the law first.

For example, one of the employees was injured at work, and another of pre-retirement age. The advantage is given to the first employee, since this reason is specified in the legislation, and for the second employee it comes from the collective agreement.

Reduced staff costs

Dismissal of a layoff employee is accompanied by mandatory payments. The employer must pay such an employee a few monthly salaries. There are several options where you can comply with all legal requirements and reduce the cost of reduction.

Firstly, the offer of all the vacancies available at the enterprise, which may suit the layoff employee by his qualifications or health status. This is not only a way out of the situation, but also the duty 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, you can remove the staff due to the available vacancies.

It is impossible to clean only those places that are intended to be filled in according to the quota for the disabled.

Secondly, consider the possibility of termination of employment on other grounds. You can offer employees who have reached retirement age to retire on a well-deserved rest, and not to extend labor relations with employees who have a fixed-term employment contract ending.

Third, apply informal methods. For example, to offer to women who went to work earlier than the deadline to go on maternity leave. Thus, a temporary position will appear in the company and the employee falling under the reduction can be transferred to it.

When carrying out measures to reduce staff, it is necessary to strictly comply with all legal requirements. This is especially true for the choice of the employee who will have to leave. Consider all the reasons that may give precedence in the reduction of staff is best collegially, by creating a commission. This will protect the company from possible claims dissatisfied with the dismissal of employees, as well as from financial expenses for fines, additional payments to a former employee and reimbursement of legal costs.