The procedure for changing the employment contract: grounds, sample, procedure

An employment contract is the main document governing the relationship between company management and employees. It is compiled in the process of hiring specialists for work. In this case, it is often required to make some adjustments to the documentation. Employers need to know what the procedure for changing an employment contract is, so as not to violate labor laws when performing this process. In this case, it is required to notify employees in advance of the planned adjustments and obtain consent from them. Innovations are not allowed to infringe on the rights of an employee in any way.

Legislative regulation

The procedure for changing the employment contract involves taking into account all the rights held by employees. When performing any procedures with this document, it is required to take into account the requirements of Chapter 12 of the Labor Code. Features of the changes include:

• based on Art. 74, it is allowed to make some amendments to the documentation without the consent of the employee, if they lead to an improvement in working conditions, but it is important to notify the specialist of planned adjustments in two months;
• the head of the company cannot independently edit the provisions of the document related to the labor functions of the employee;
• if after certain transformations the company begins the procedure for the mass dismissal of employees, the head of the company should offer employees the opportunity to switch to a shorter working day, but the duration of such a regime should not exceed six months;
• the company management should have good justification for the need to make adjustments to the labor agreement;
• it is not required to obtain permission from the employee for changes if they are associated with a temporary transfer to another position or to another branch, if such adjustments are effective no longer than one month.

If employers violate the correct procedure for concluding and amending the terms of an employment contract, then he will be held administratively liable in the form of a fine. The size of the penalty increases when repeated violations are detected.

What adjustments are made?

Changes may vary, but some edits are most common in different companies. These include:

• the specialist’s place of work is changing, therefore he is being transferred to some other unit or branch of the organization;
• the labor function implemented by the employee is adjusted, and the employer must first make sure that the citizen has the necessary skills and qualifications in order to work under new conditions;
• labor remuneration increases, and amendments can be made in the amount of salary or tariff, and it is also allowed to prescribe in the labor contract various allowances, surcharges, incentive transfers or other monetary rewards;
• adjustment of the terms during which the salary is paid in the company;
• change in working hours and rest;
• making changes to the nature of the work, for example, a specialist should, instead of fulfilling duties in the office, be engaged in mobile, traveling or any other similar activities.

Each employer has the right to make other changes as necessary. They must be agreed with the employee. Often, the experts themselves insist on certain changes. In this case, they initiate the process.To do this, they must draw up a special statement, which is considered by the enterprise management.

Under what conditions is editing a document permitted?

The grounds and procedure for amending the employment contract must be taken into account by employers. Therefore, to complete this process, company executives must have good reasons. They are listed in chapter 12 of the Labor Code. Therefore, the correct procedure for changing an employment contract can be carried out on the grounds of:

• Employee transfer. It may involve sending a specialist to another branch or transferring to another position at the initiative of company management. This leads to the fact that the labor functions of a specialist radically change. He is forced to work in completely different working conditions. The procedure for amending an employment contract under such conditions implies the need to obtain consent from the employee to transfer. This process is not a move, as the employee's job functions are completely changing.
• Adjustment of conditions that were previously agreed with the employee.
• Change of ownership of a business or reorganization of a company.
• The removal of an employee from his duties for various reasons.

Other reasons may also be considered grounds for adjusting the contract. The procedure for concluding and amending an employment contract is enshrined in law. Therefore, if it is not respected by the heads of firms, then they are considered violators of the Labor Code.

According to the law, the parties can amend absolutely any clauses of the agreement if an appropriate agreement is reached between them. Most often, the term of the contract or the name of the company, the amount of the specialist’s earnings or his position changes.

Step-by-step process instruction

Each employer must understand how to properly interact with the employee. These relations are governed by the provisions of the labor agreement, so if you need to make any adjustments to the documentation, then the procedure for concluding, amending and terminating the employment contract must be taken into account.

To edit any paragraphs of this document, sequential actions must be performed by the company management:

• if the employer is the initiator, then he notifies the employee of his intention to make changes to the labor contract;
• For this, the head of the company sends the employee a written notice in duplicate by mail or hands it in person;
• specialist consent for the planned adjustments is being formed;
• further, a special supplementary agreement to the contract is made in duplicate;
• the agreement lists all amendments;
• competent registration of this agreement with the company is made on the basis of the rules enshrined in the charter documentation of the enterprise;
• one copy is handed over to the employee, and on the second a signature is put by the specialist;
• a decree is issued confirming amendments to the contract, and it is also registered at the enterprise;
• the employee gets acquainted with the order, and then puts his signature on it.

The above procedure is standard and legal, therefore, it is not allowed to change any points. If the procedure for concluding or amending an employment contract is violated by the management of the enterprise, this may become the basis for the employee to file a complaint with the labor inspectorate or the Prosecutor's Office.

How to properly notify an employee?

The concept and procedure for changing employment contracts should be well known to every employer, since only under such conditions he will be able to accurately follow the requirements of the law.

If really significant adjustments to the labor contract are planned, then they should be carried out officially, for which an employee should be notified of these changes in advance.This is due to the fact that, according to the law, the employee's labor functions are inviolable, therefore, he may refuse to introduce significant amendments to the labor contract.

The employer must have good reason for changing this document, so the employee is provided with official justifications for the decision. The proposed changes must be notified to specialists two months before the immediate amendment.

A notice must be compiled in writing. A sample of this document is located below.

When compiling a notice, the following information will certainly be included in the document:

• reasons why adjustments are made to the labor contract;
• an offer for the employee, as the employee of the company may agree to the editing or refuse it;
• Additionally, the document offers the specialist the opportunity to take another vacancy in the company, which corresponds to his education, skills and experience.

The legislation does not contain any strict requirements for the form of this document, therefore it is compiled in a free form. But at the same time, the content of the notification should not contradict the provisions of the Labor Code. If the employee agrees with the changes, then he forms an official document confirming this fact, a sample of which is located below.

How is the agreement of the parties drawn up?

It is with the help of a correctly drawn up agreement that amendments are made to the labor contract. Therefore, the formation of this document should be approached responsibly by the head of the enterprise.

This additional document is attached to the employment contract. A sample of such an agreement can be found below.

It is the existence of an agreement that ensures that an agreement has actually been reached between the employee and the employer regarding the editing of the contract. Even if adjustments are made solely on the initiative of the employer, this document is required.

The agreement certainly lists all the amendments that are being made, and it is not necessary to indicate the reasons for which the labor contract is being edited. Such an agreement comes into force only from the moment when it is signed by the head and direct employee of the organization. Additionally, you can prescribe that the document will begin to act only after a certain period of time.

The agreement is required to be concluded with any changes, which include a change in the official functions of an employee, an increase in salary, the appointment of other payments or a change in the place of work of a specialist.

Issuing an order

The correct procedure for changing an employment contract implies that the procedure should be initiated by issuing the relevant order by the head of the company. The legislation does not contain any specific and strict requirements for the form of this document. Therefore, it can be issued in a free form, but the company letterhead is used for this.

In order to comply with the correct procedure for changing the terms of an employment contract, the head of the company must include the following information in the order:

• the heading indicates the name of the company, as well as its checkpoint, PSRN and TIN;
• below is the name of the document submitted by the “Order”;
• next is the order number;
• indicates the date of preparation of documentation;
• the water part contains the basis for making substantial amendments to the labor contract of a specific specialist, and for this, an agreement drawn up between the employee and the head of the enterprise is used;
• the date from which the adjustments begin to take effect is displayed;
• responsible persons are appointed who will monitor the correct implementation of the instructions of the head of the company;
• at the end is the signature of the director of the organization, responsible persons and direct employee.

Making such a document is actually very simple. Thanks to this order, the correct procedure for changing the essential conditions of the employment contract is observed. A sample order can be studied below.

What if the employee does not agree with the changes?

The procedure for changing the terms of the employment contract requires the mandatory receipt of written consent from the direct employee. Often, specialists do not want their job functions to change or they are transferred to a company branch. Under such conditions, the nuances are taken into account:

• if the specialist does not agree to the amendments, the employer should offer him the opportunity to take another vacancy in the company;
• if the company does not have any suitable employment options for the employee, and the specialist does not want to agree to the proposed changes, then, on the basis of the Labor Code, relations between the parties are terminated by terminating the employment contract;
• often when changing the owner of a business, the terms of agreements drawn up with all employees of the enterprise change, and often this leads to mass layoffs, so management can take part-time work for the entire staff, but its duration cannot exceed 6 months;
• if workers refuse to switch to a shorter working day, then labor contracts are terminated with them in any case.

An indispensable condition for changing the employment contract unilaterally or by drawing up an agreement with the employee is that the position of the employee in the company should remain the same.

How are changes made if the initiator is an employee?

Often there are situations when a direct employee of the company wants some amendments to his labor contract. In such conditions, the correct procedure for changing and terminating the employment contract must be observed. Therefore, sequential actions are performed:

• the employee draws up a statement where he asks the manager to make certain amendments to the labor contract;
• reasons for such changes are given;
• the application is registered by the management of the company, after which the specialist needs to wait for an answer;
• if the answer is yes, then an agreement is drawn up between the parties on the basis of which the contract is being edited;
• this agreement is registered with the company on the basis of the requirements of the internal regulatory acts of the enterprise;
• the agreement is signed by both participants in the process;
• an order is issued to amend the document;
• the employee gets acquainted with this document, and then puts his signature on the order.

Violation of this process is not allowed. If the competent procedure for changing and terminating the employment contract is violated, then this is a serious offense.

What mistakes are made by company executives?

Often, employers are not too well versed in the requirements of the Labor Code. This leads to the fact that they violate the conditions for the grounds and procedure for changing the terms of the employment contract. The most common violations include:

• notification is given to the employee of the adjustment two months before the direct completion of this process;
• the notice does not contain reasons for changing the terms of the contract;
• a notice is given to the employee later than two months later, which is a serious violation of the law;
• upon refusal of an employee to adjust, the employer does not offer other vacancies available in the company;
• the correct procedure for converting documentation is not respected.

All the above violations are grounds for invalidating the amendments. Upon identification, the employee may file a complaint with the labor inspectorate, and may also file a lawsuit.By court decision, adjustments are canceled, and the employer is held administratively liable. Even compensation for non-pecuniary damage may be exacted. Therefore, each employer must clearly follow the correct sequence of actions if it is required to amend the contract drawn up with a specific employee.

Nuances in judicial practice

Most often, the court takes the side of workers, since often employers violate their rights by their thoughtless actions and decisions. The interests of employees are put above the interests of business owners. Therefore, enterprise managers must be responsible in their responsibilities. It is important not only to understand what is the procedure for changing an employment contract, but also what documents should be prepared for this.

Often, by a court decision, all changes made are canceled, and the company is brought to administrative responsibility. Fines for a company can reach 100 thousand rubles, and officials guilty of violation pay fines in the amount of 3 to 5 thousand rubles. Individual entrepreneurs pay from 10 to 30 thousand rubles for violations.

Workers may additionally file a complaint with the labor inspectorate. Specialists of this institution will conduct an unscheduled audit of the organization. If violations are found, the company will be held accountable, and the consequences of all errors made will be corrected.

Conclusion

Each employer must understand the features and concept of an employment contract. The procedure for concluding, amending, terminating or canceling this contract should be carried out strictly in accordance with the requirements of the law. Otherwise, the company and its officials will be held accountable. Often, the initiator of editing a contract is not the business owner, but the immediate employee, for which he compiles a special application. If a positive decision is made on it, then the necessary adjustments are made to the agreement.

The procedure for changing the terms of the contract involves the implementation of certain successive stages. Their violation is detected by employees of the labor inspectorate or the Prosecutor's Office, so the company will have to pay significant fines for its illegal actions.