Reduction at work is an unpleasant event in the life of any person. The process is usually associated with poor performance of the company. Managers can reduce the position or staff. In the first case, a specific full-time unit is completely eliminated in the company. All people holding it receive a notice of job cuts. It must include certain mandatory information, and is also transmitted to the employee within the deadlines established by law.
Reduction process
Typically, the need for this process is due to the deterioration of the financial condition of the company or with a change in the direction of work. Therefore, management is forced to part with certain employees. The reduction process is divided into successive stages:
- Initially, management decides whether to reduce the position or staff;
- the relevant order is issued by the head of the company;
- approves a new staffing table;
- job postings are sent to the relevant hired specialists;
- citizens are offered other vacancies available in the company, and the process can be carried out within two months;
- at the end of the term, direct dismissal of specialists is carried out, for which an order is issued and the necessary information is entered in the work books;
- the calculation is made with the dismissed employees, and they can count not only on salaries and vacation compensation, but even on severance pay equal to the salary of a citizen for a month of work in the company;
- if within one month the specialist has not found a job, then he is transferred another severance pay, and often, by decision of the employment authorities, even the third allowance can be assigned.
If the basic rules and stages of the process are violated, then the dismissal can be challenged in court. For example, if an employee’s notice of job cuts is delayed, the specialist may request cancellation.
Reduction concept
Each employer may be faced with the need to reduce staff or position. In the first case, employees of the company who occupy different positions quit. For this, specialists are selected who have the least value for the operation of the enterprise.
When reducing the position, a specific position is completely eliminated from the staff list. All the people who occupy it quit, and they are also offered the opportunity to transfer to another job in the organization.
Notification Definition
If a decision is made by the management to reduce the number of staff in the company, it is important to competently perform the procedure for reducing the position and notifying the employee. The possibility of holding the company liable depends on this, since if the hired specialist lodges a complaint with the labor inspectorate or prosecutor’s office, an audit will be carried out to identify all violations.
The notice of job cuts is presented by an official document that indicates exactly who will be dismissed from the company, as well as when this process will be completed. The document must list the vacant places that may be occupied by the downsizing specialist. If at the time of writing this document there are no other jobs, then they can be offered later. For this, the employee is notified of the vacant position upon reduction.
Only jobs that match the qualifications, experience and education of a citizen are selected. Therefore, if a specialist previously worked as a marketer, then offering him a job as a cleaner is unacceptable.
When is the document transmitted?
Notice of job cuts should be transmitted at a strictly set time, since a violation of this requirement may become the basis for contesting the dismissal. Therefore, the requirements are taken into account:
- if several employees leave, the document is transferred to them two months before the termination of the employment relationship;
- if the company is massively reduced, then a notification is issued to specialists three months before the event.
During this time, the employer fully retains their salaries for all hired specialists, as well as severance pay.
Who cannot be reduced?
Before drawing up a notice of job cuts in the staff list, it is necessary to first determine who it is impossible to dismiss. There are some employees who cannot be fired if the organization is not liquidated. These include:
- pregnant workers;
- women or men raising children under three years of age on their own;
- single parents involved in raising a disabled child;
- the only breadwinners in the family.
The above-mentioned persons should not remain without work, therefore, they can be reduced only when transferring to another position corresponding to their qualifications and work experience.
How to compile a notification?
Before drafting a document, it is advisable to use the sample notice of job cuts in order to fill in all the necessary information. The basic rules of formation include:
- compiled solely on the basis of an order issued by management;
- formed in two copies, as one is issued to the hired specialist, and the second remains in the company;
- It is written solely on behalf of the enterprise;
- For the preparation of documentation, a standard A4 sheet is used.
Only when these rules are taken into account is the observance of the rights of workers guaranteed. A sample job posting notice can be found below.
What information is entered?
When compiling this document, the following data must be entered:
- the addressee represented by the direct hired specialist of the enterprise;
- the full name of the company, as well as the name of the unit in which the citizen works;
- date of notification;
- the direct text represented by the problem, therefore, indicates that the company eliminates unnecessary posts, which leads to the need to reduce the citizen;
- a reference is made to the required regulatory act, in accordance with which the termination of labor relations occurs;
- lists the vacant places that can be selected by the redundant employee if he does not want to leave the company, and they must correspond to the qualifications, education and experience of the citizen;
- in brackets the salary per month when working at the proposed jobs;
- Signed by the head of the company.
The document should be signed by the direct reducible hired specialist. An example of employee notification of job cuts allows the employer to correctly compile this document.
Actions after sending a notification
As soon as the employee was handed a notice of job reduction, the following actions are performed:
- if the employee does not agree with the proposed jobs, then he is registered with the employment center;
- job search begins, and during this time the head of the company may offer additional places;
- if during the first month a specialist cannot find a job, the employer lists another severance pay;
- two months after the issuance of the notice, the employment contract is terminated.
It is allowed to terminate the relationship until the moment when two months end, but for this a special agreement must be drawn up between the two parties. Typically, this method is used if the citizen really finds a new job, so he needs to immediately begin to perform official duties.
Delivery Methods
The notice of reduction with the offer of another position may be transmitted to the employee in various ways. Most often, it is transferred personally to the hands of a hired specialist.
Additionally, you can send it by mail if a citizen refuses to sign a notice or is on sick leave. When sending by mail, a registered letter is used, and a notification of delivery is paid.
What to do when an employee refuses to sign a document?
Many employees react negatively to dismissal, so they often simply refuse to sign a notice. This will not save them from reduction, but at the same time there is a chance to challenge it, if you prove through the court that the employer did not comply with all the requirements of the law in the process of termination of employment.
Therefore, if an employee refuses to put his signature on a document, then the following actions are performed by the company’s management:
- written explanations of the deed are required from the hired specialist;
- if an explanatory note is not drawn up, then three employees are invited to give notice to the employee;
- upon his refusal, a special act is formed containing information that the citizen does not want to put his signature on the document;
- this act is signed by witnesses.
This act is the proof that the head of the enterprise actually complied with the requirements of the law and all important formalities in the process of reducing hired specialists.
The nuances of the process
If the company is reducing the position, then the employer takes into account some important points:
- the manager cannot put pressure on employees;
- It is not allowed to offer citizens to make a letter of resignation of their own free will;
- in addition, the employer must notify the union and the labor inspectorate of the planned reduction, for which a notification in arbitrary form is used, and it is sent two months before the event;
- the letter sent to state organizations lists all the abbreviated posts, and a new staffing table is attached to the document;
- if citizens who are members of a trade union are reduced, then for their dismissal they will have to initially receive a reasoned decision from the organization;
- the employment center is obligatory notified in case of mass reductions, and in other cases the information is transmitted for advisory purposes;
- on the last day of work of employees being reduced, it is important to make all the necessary calculations with them, as well as provide them with work books containing the necessary information.
If for various reasons the employer in the process of reduction violates the rights of hired specialists, then they can challenge the decision of the company's management in court.
Conclusion
Job cuts are an unpleasant event in any company. It involves the dismissal of all persons holding a certain position in the company. The process is carried out exclusively two months after all dismissed hired specialists receive a special notice from the company’s management.
When preparing a notice, it is important to indicate which vacancies are offered to citizens, as well as which positions are being reduced. In violation of the requirements of the Labor Code, employees may challenge the termination of employment.