The labor legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of concluding urgent labor agreements between employing companies and employees. The specificity of such documents implies some differences from those that are concluded for an indefinite period. In particular, this concerns the termination procedures of the relevant type of contract. What are the most remarkable nuances regarding the aspect of labor relations that we are considering? How to terminate an urgent agreement most correctly?
Features of the conclusion of a fixed-term contract
Fixed-term contract, in accordance with the provisions 58th article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, may be concluded for a period which does not exceed 5 years. The employer must explain to the employee the terms of the agreement, specifying the duration of the labor relationship, and also talk about the reasons that became the basis for signing such a contract (the conclusion of a fixed-term contract should be due to factors provided by law). It is important that the job order contains provisions that are consistent with those specified in the contract, including aspects that reflect the terms of the employment relationship between the employing company and the employee.
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not specify the rules governing the extension of the contracts in question (the exception is the provisions of the law regarding the rights of pregnant women and work in the scientific and pedagogical sphere, but we will talk about this a little later). Therefore, as soon as a person has worked during the period prescribed in the document, the termination of the fixed-term employment contract is legal due to the fact that the parties have fulfilled its conditions. But if, after the expiration of the agreement, a person continues to carry out his labor duties, and the employer does not mind, this can be interpreted as an occasion for the transformation of a fixed-term contract into a regular one.
As for labor relations involving pregnant women, the employer, in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, agrees upon the written application of the employee and upon the provision of a medical certificate confirming pregnancy to extend the contract signed with the woman until the birth of her child.
Special provisions for the extension of fixed-term contracts are also established in relation to employees of the scientific and pedagogical sphere. If an employee is elected to the appropriate position by competition, then a new contract is not necessary. In this case, the fixed-term contract can be extended in accordance with the mutual written agreement of the employer and employee.
With regard to such an aspect as the termination of a fixed-term employment contract, the legislation of the Russian Federation regulates this issue in sufficient detail.
Dismissal upon expiration of the contract
The most common scenario is provided for by Article 79 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The provisions contained in it provide for the termination of labor relations between the company and the employee due to the expiration of the contract. Termination of a fixed-term employment contract upon expiration of the term implies that the employing company, in the framework of this scenario, is obligated to notify the person 3 days before the moment of legal cancellation of the contract. However, this act is not classified as the initiation of dismissal.
If it is assumed that the termination of the fixed-term employment contract during the sick-leave period is appropriate, the actual date of termination of employment does not change. At the same time, the employer will have to pay the disability benefit prescribed by the law of the Russian Federation for the entire period while the person is being treated. The fact that the employee is no longer on the staff of the company does not play a role.
A scenario is possible in which a fixed-term contract is concluded for a person to perform a specific amount of work, and the moment of its completion cannot be uniquely determined in advance. In this case, the termination of the contract occurs as soon as a person performs this work - such are the norms contained in article 79 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
A variant is possible when a fixed-term contract is concluded between specialists and temporarily created organizations. As a rule, their legal nature is related to the fact that, as in the previous case, a specific amount of work is expected, the completion dates of which are difficult to determine in advance. In this case labor Relations cease as soon as the organization is liquidated by the achievement of the goals of its creation.
An option is possible in which an employment contract involves the temporary replacement of another absent employee by a person. In this case, the contract is also classified as urgent. A contract of this type is terminated as soon as a temporarily absent employee goes to work.
Another valid reason for concluding a fixed-term contract is work during a certain season. Termination of such agreements is carried out upon the expiration of the relevant period. But in this case, the employer does not have to notify in writing that the contract expires.
The termination of labor relations between the employee and the employing company does not imply any obligations that may be imposed by the employee - similar to the fact that the employer is obliged to notify the person 3 days before dismissal that the contract ends. An employee has the right not to go to work at all at the end of the document.
Termination of a fixed-term employment contract in connection with the expiration of the term is not the only valid basis for terminating labor relations in the appropriate format. Let's consider other scenarios.
Termination of contract by employer
We will study how termination of a fixed-term employment contract initiated by the employing company is carried out. The grounds for termination of employment are prescribed in the provisions 81st article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Their list is as follows:
- the employing company is subject to liquidation (if the employer is an individual entrepreneur, then a scenario with the termination of his activity is assumed);
- there will be a reduction in the staff of the organization (or company that belongs to the individual entrepreneur);
- a person ceases to correspond to the position or the nature of the labor functions performed due to insufficiently high qualifications, and this is confirmed by certification procedures;
- the organization has changed its owner;
- a person repeatedly violated his labor duties, received disciplinary sanctions;
- the employee failed to appear at work, allowed destructive actions in relation to the company, did not ensure the preservation of trade secrets;
- a person has committed reckless actions while handling commodity or material values, as a result of which the employer has lost confidence in him;
- the employee committed immoral misconduct that is incompatible with the further exercise of his labor functions (this is especially true in relation to teachers, educators, etc.);
- the employee, in a managerial position, made decisions that hurt the company or otherwise grossly violated his own labor duties;
- the employee provided false information or presented false documents at the time of signing the labor contract.
The procedure for termination of a fixed-term employment contract for certain reasons may be spelled out in contracts involving employment for the position of the head of the company or a vacancy in the structure of its executive body.
Legal grounds
A scenario of dismissal of an employee is possible, involving the application of the norms of other articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and federal legislation. For example, article 278 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation includes provisions according to which the head of a company can be removed from office if the organization is bankrupt. This article also contains the rules by which the owner of the property of the company or other authorized person can terminate the employment relationship with the head of the enterprise. Article 336 of the Labor Code states that a teacher who has repeatedly violated the charter of the institution in which he works repeatedly can also be relieved of his post.
In addition, there are provisions that include the grounds for termination of a fixed-term employment contract for various types of organizations - state power structures, authorities, various types of joint-stock companies, municipal services, etc.
Early termination of the contract at the initiative of the employer: nuances
Above, we have listed a number of reasons why an employer can break off labor relations with an employee. Consider the relevant nuances characterizing the early termination of a fixed-term employment contract.
Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation says that an employer can dismiss a person if he does not fulfill his duties without good reason if there is a disciplinary sanction. Such may be a remark or reprimand (provided for by Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, the disciplinary sanction should be considered extinguished if the person did not commit the actions that once led to him, within a year - these are the norms of Article 194 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Termination of a fixed-term employment contract at the initiative of the employer suggests that the circumstances surrounding the dismissal should be documented. For example, if we are talking about the dismissal of a person due to non-fulfillment of labor functions without good reason, then the accompanying reason for dismissing an employee - a disciplinary offense - should be reflected in the documents.
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not contain provisions that would uniquely determine the requirements for such sources. Therefore, it may be a document at the discretion of the employer. As an option - memo. It may also require a written explanation of the employee, an act of the employer that a decision has been made to impose an appropriate penalty.
Studying the question of how the termination of a fixed-term employment contract is completed upon the expiration of the term, we noted that a person can be dismissed even when he is on sick leave. Naturally, there must be an appropriate basis for this. If the termination of the employment relationship is initiated by the employer, then it can be carried out only upon the employee’s recovery.
Termination of contracts with pregnant and child-bearing women
Termination of a fixed-term employment contract with a pregnant woman at the initiative of the employer, by virtue of the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, is impossible. Exception - if the organization is subject to liquidation or the individual entrepreneur acting as the employer has ceased operations. It is not possible to terminate an urgent employment contract with women raising children who are not yet 3 years old, as well as with single mothers of minor disabled children or young children who have not yet reached the age of 14 years.
Termination of contracts with minors
Certain norms of the Labor Code relate to labor relations involving employees under the age of majority. Termination of a fixed-term employment contract before the expiration of the term at the initiative of the employer, if the employee is a minor, is possible only with the consent of the state labor inspectorate, as well as authorities, whose competence is to resolve issues of labor relations involving minors. These are the requirements of the 269th article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The exception is if the organization must be liquidated or the individual entrepreneur ceases operations.
Termination of contracts with union members
Terms of termination of a fixed-term contract with employees who are part of trade unions are regulated by Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the provisions of the law, such employees can be dismissed taking into account the motivated position of the trade union body. At the same time, the contract can be terminated only a month after the union agreed to the dismissal of the employee.
In some cases, with the proposed reduction in the company’s staff, the relevant public organization must be notified 2 months before the entrepreneur takes the actual steps to relieve his employees of their posts. If there is a mass layoff, then the union must be warned in 3 months.
Compensation
The procedure for termination of a fixed-term employment contract may involve the payment of certain compensations to employees or the provision of preferences to dismissed employees. Appropriate measures are provided for by the norms contained in the 27th chapter of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. If there is a reduction in the organization’s staff, the employer must offer the dismissed employee an alternative vacancy that matches his qualifications, even if it involves a lower salary.
If there are no alternate employment options, then the employer must pay the person a severance pay in the amount of one average earnings, and also provide the same compensation in the next two months (or three if the person left an application for employment within 2 weeks after the termination of the contract and not managed to find a job). These are the provisions 178th article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. An employment contract may presuppose other compensations and preferences established through private interaction between the employer and the employee.
Employee-initiated contract termination
It is possible to terminate the fixed-term employment contract at the request of the employee. This procedure does not require any explanation from the latter, however, it involves the fulfillment of certain duties on his part. If a person has entered into a contract valid for less than two months, then in order to quit, he must notify his employer of his intention 3 days before the termination of work. If the duration of the contract is more than two months, then termination of the fixed-term employment contract by the employee assumes that he will write a statement of intent to resign 2 weeks before the proposed retirement.
In legal practice, the second scenario is most often referred to as “dismissal of one’s will”. In this case, Russian legislation does not imply any significant barriers to hired employees using this right of their own free will, depending on personal priorities, desires and preferences.
Moreover, within two weeks of working out, a person can withdraw his application at any time. And to remain in their current position if they did not manage to invite another specialist in his place (verbal agreements do not count, the agreement must be made in writing). If after 2 weeks the employee and the employing company still did not break off the employment relationship, then the contract becomes valid again.
The fact that a person must warn the employer about his intention to quit in 2 weeks implies that he will have to fulfill his duties in full during the corresponding period. That is, from the point of view of the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a person is considered as a full-fledged employee of the organization. But a related scenario is also possible, in which the termination of the fixed-term employment contract is carried out by agreement of the parties. In this case, it is not necessary for a person to work out the 2 required weeks, however, only on condition that the company management agrees to this.
After leaving - on vacation
If a person who has signed a fixed-term labor contract is quit for one reason or another, then the employer can arrange a vacation for him - but only with subsequent dismissal. If the employee terminates his labor duties due to the expiration of the contract, he can go on vacation in cases where his duration goes beyond the time frame reflecting the period of the contract. In accordance with the 127th article of the Labor Code, the day of dismissal is determined at the time the vacation ends.
