More and more modern enterprises because of the constant decrease in production volumes are forced to choose - reduce the total number of employees or use a shorter working day. But many people who are going to keep their own business afloat and at the same time want to save jobs, use the second option. However, some people have a lot of questions about how to introduce a shorter working day according to current laws.
Why is this needed?
Constant economic shocks forced most employers to apply a wide variety of flexible work organization systems in order to bring their work into line with reduced production volumes. One of the best ways to overcome the difficulties associated with a significant reduction in the total number of orders is to transfer employees to a shorter working day.
In order for the procedure for such a transfer to be carried out correctly, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the implementation of this measure, which will reduce the costs of the enterprise by reducing costs for employees, and also keep the company in working mode.
What it is?
Abbreviated working day represents the time during which the employee must fulfill his responsibilities in accordance with the terms of the drawn up employment contract and the current internal regulations. Moreover, by agreement between the employer and the employee himself, not only in the process of his finding a job, but also in the future, options for introducing a part-time may be established.
The Labor Code of Russia at the moment does not disclose such a thing as a “shortened working day” for pregnant women or any other groups of employees, so you can refer to the main provisions of the Convention of the International Labor Organization. As part-time work, time is perceived that is shorter than usual working hours. It should be noted that in the end this Convention was never ratified in the Russian Federation, but the General Agreement concluded between the all-Russian associations of employers, trade unions and the government of the Russian Federation provides for the obligation to consider this Convention for approval.
In fact, the work regime that is established if a shorter working day is used for pregnant women and other employees may include the following:
- reduced duration of work per day for a certain number of hours throughout the working week;
- reduction in the total number of days during the working week while maintaining the standard length of the day;
- combining the two options above.
At the same time, one should not confuse the concept of a part-time, which can be introduced by organizations even on holidays (December 31, March 8 and others), with a reduction in the length of time that is established by the current Labor Code for certain categories of employees. After all, do not forget that for such employees the reduced duration is full the norm of labor.
It is also worth considering that in the time sheet, the total duration under the reduced regime introduced at the initiative of the management in situations stipulated by the current legislation is indicated by the digital code “25” or the letter “NS”. In this case, the part-time mode is considered, because if the week is not full, non-working days will be displayed as weekends (including December 31 and other holidays).
Payment for rest and labor
If the company introduces a regime of part-time work, then in this case the total salary is reduced, regardless of which payment system is used. The thing is that remuneration for the performance of duties on such conditions is made in proportion to how much the employee worked for or how much work was completed, which is indicated in the current article 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Part-time work does not provide for an employee with any restrictions in terms of the duration of the main annual paid leave, as well as the calculation of seniority and other labor rights. All these features are indicated in article 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
It is also worth mentioning that the average daily earnings when paying for holidays, sick leave and business trips should be determined in a standard manner. Moreover, there does not play any role in billing period the employee decided to change the operating time. Special attention should be paid to the fact that the involvement of an employee in the performance of duties beyond the duration that is standard for him should be paid as overtime work.
At the personal request of the employee
As already mentioned, by prior agreement between the employer and the employee, a part-time regime for any numbers may be established. For example, on April 29, 2016, many expected to get a shortened day due to the need to prepare for the upcoming Easter, but in fact, the day off was only for Monday, so many had to ask employers. At the same time, at the personal request of the employer, in accordance with applicable law, it is mandatory to draw up a part-time week or day for the following categories of employees:
- women during pregnancy;
- parents (as well as trustees or guardians) of a child under the age of 14 years (if we are talking about a child with a disability, then his age can reach 17 years);
- An employee who cares for a sick family member following an established medical report.
It is worth noting that, according to his own statement, an employee who is on leave to take care of a child can also be able to work on a part-time basis, while retaining the right to receive social security benefits. At the same time, one must correctly understand that this rule applies not only to the mother, but also to the father of the child, grandfather, grandmother, and other relatives who are engaged in actual care. Thus, a shortened day can be assigned to any date - April 29, June 1, September 1, or some other.
If for an employee the regime of part-time work, as well as rest time has a lot of differences with the general rules used by this employer, this fact should be separately noted in the employment contract. It is worth noting that the agreement on the introduction of changes determined in advance by the parties in the conditions of the employment contract can only be concluded in writing.
With the threat of mass dismissal
In the event that, due to any changes in the technological or organizational working conditions, the initial conditions of the contract, determined by the parties, cannot be maintained, the possibility of changing them on the personal initiative of the employer is provided.And the only exception in this case is the change in the employee's job functions. At the same time, it is necessary to notify about upcoming changes, as well as the reasons why a shorter working day was introduced for women or men working at the enterprise in writing at least two months before the introduction of such adjustments.
In the event that a change in any technological or organizational working conditions can lead to the mass dismissal of employees, in order to maximize the preservation of jobs, the employer may introduce a regime of part-time work for up to six months.
It is worth noting that the current legislation defines a list of the main criteria for mass dismissal, in connection with which a shorter working day or shift can be used. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the main indicator here is considered to be the number of dismissed employees due to the liquidation of this company or a reduction in staff for a certain period of time.
A shortened and part-time job may be established by an order for the enterprise, and employees should receive a written notice of this change against signature. The consent or disagreement of an employee to work in such a regime should be prescribed in the notification itself or be made out in a separate document.
Features to consider
Any changes in the terms of the drawn up employment contract should not worsen the general situation of the employee in comparison with the rules that are prescribed in the contract and collective agreements. And if the shortened working day (1 hour or more) is reduced to the period for which it was originally set, this procedure should be carried out by the employer taking into account the opinion of the authorized elected body of the trade union organization.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that in order to maintain additional benefits for people working in “harmful” professions, when they switch to part-time work, they are assigned a part-time work week instead of a shift. The fact is that at the expense of the time a person works in workshops with harmful working conditions, only those days can be counted on which the employee actually worked in such conditions for at least half a working day, and in certain situations even full time. Therefore, they should not be set to a shorter working day for TC.
Possible difficulties
In accordance with applicable law, if an employee has decided to refuse to continue his work in part-time mode, an employment contract may be terminated with him, but at the same time he must be provided with all necessary compensations and guarantees.
It is worth noting the fact that in this case the law provides for a double interpretation. When using this norm, quite often a question arises as to whether the obligation to provide the necessary compensations and guarantees applies to those employees who did not accept the order on a shorter working day if such conditions were introduced due to changes in technological or organizational working conditions. Also quite controversial is the time period set for warning an employee about dismissal in case of refusal to continue work.
Expert opinion
Some experts say that the standard two-month period for giving notice of dismissal due to staff reductions is an element of the term for warning of changes in the conditions of an employment contract if a shorter working day is introduced. Before the holiday, it can either be introduced or not. It does not matter anymore.
Some say that an employee who has refused to conduct further work should receive a warning of dismissal on such a basis in the manner prescribed by applicable law, that is, at least two months before the immediate date of dismissal, regardless of when he declared his refusal. Thus, if an employee is warned in two months that a part-time job is being introduced, he has the right to decide on disagreement by the end of the notice period, and only then will the employer be able to notify him of the dismissal, which will take place two months later .
It is also worth noting that when conducting litigation, the employer will have to prove that the adjustment of certain conditions of the employment contract is a consequence of changes in technological or organizational working conditions. If such evidence is absent, then this will indicate the illegality of this change.
If there is a union
If there is a threat of mass layoffs, the employer has the opportunity to establish a shortened working day, but at the same time he must first take into account the opinion of the elected body of the trade union, and also perform all the procedures in the order that the current legislation provides.
Thus, before making this decision, the employer must forward the draft local regulatory act, as well as provide justification for it to the elected body of the union, which represents the interests of the overwhelming majority of employees.
The elected body, in turn, must not later than five days after the receipt of such a project provide the employer with their own motivated opinion, and this must be done in writing. If he does not agree with the project or intends to make any suggestions for improving it, the employer may agree to such amendments or must repeat consultations within three days after that.
If an agreement is not reached, the disagreements that have arisen must be formalized in a protocol, as a result of which the employer has the opportunity to adopt a local regulatory act, which can subsequently be appealed in court or the labor inspectorate. It is also worth noting the fact that the elected body has the right to initiate the process of collective labor disputes.
In the event of a complaint, the labor inspectorate has one month to conduct an appropriate inspection. In the event that any violations are identified, it must provide the employer with a prescription that the specified regulatory act has been repealed.
Submission of a report to Rosstat
Beginning in 2009, any company must obligatorily notify special agencies of the employment service that it is introducing a part-time regime. It is worth noting that this notification should be provided for no more than three business days after a decision is made to conduct these events.
A notice can be compiled in any form, but it must contain at least the following information:
- the date on which the relevant changes will be introduced;
- the period of time for which their introduction is planned;
- the reason for applying such measures;
- The total number of company employees who will be exposed to this procedure.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, a copy of the order is additionally attached to such a letter, according to which the company introduces a shorter working day. It is worth noting that certain employment centers are urged to provide the above information in a form that they determine on their own.
You also need to correctly understand the fact that, in accordance with applicable law, untimely provision of information on the introduction of a shorter working day to the employment service entails the imposition of an administrative fine on the company.
