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Published: 01/12/2018
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A reduction in the number of workers is usually associated with the inability to maintain a certain staff at an enterprise or organization. Management is forced to take measures to reduce budget expenses, since it is impossible to pay wages in full to all employees. In such an unpleasant situation, the employer tries to say goodbye to unskilled or recently signed employees by sending them appropriate written notice of the upcoming dismissal.
- In what cases is a recall possible?
- How is the document compiled?
- Dates and features of delivery
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It should be noted that the employer does not have the right to dismiss employees on his own initiative, citing the need for layoffs.
He must first offer vacant positions, and only after receiving a refusal to change jobs from each of the employees, the head of the organization or enterprise can initiate the dismissal procedure. Another valid reason for terminating an employment contract is the lack of vacancies (Article 81 of the Labor Code).
Also, any employer has the opportunity to withdraw a notice of staff reduction that has already been sent, that is, change its decision and leave the employee or employees at the same place of work. This aspect of labor relations is not regulated by labor legislation, but at the same time, the Labor Code does not contain any prohibitions on revoking a notice at the request of the manager.
Reasons for canceling the reduction
Hello! In this article we will talk about how to cancel a staff reduction.
Today you will learn:
- When you have to cancel staff reductions.
- How to do it correctly.
- What must be included in the cancellation order?
- What to do if the employee has already been fired.
In any company, the manager has the right to decide to dismiss employees through staff reduction.
There may be several reasons for this. Workers receive certain payments and go in search of a new service. However, the situation does not always unfold this way.
There is nothing stopping the director from canceling the reduction he himself adopted. To do this, an order is created that cancels the previous one. Thus, employees remain in the organization and continue to work.
There are several reasons for canceling staff reductions.
The most common of them are the following:
- A sudden increase in staff (since the employee remains in his place, the employer no longer needs to pay him compensation. The employee will receive wages as before);
- The possibility of transferring an employee to another position (most often in this case, the level of earnings is maintained);
- The company does not have enough funds to compensate dismissed employees (sometimes the amount of payments due to the employee is quite high. And if there are also many dismissed, the company may not be able to provide monetary compensation. Then the manager leaves the employees for some more time. During this period the organization has free money, which is used to pay those laid off);
- Errors were found in the redundancy documents (then the procedure is drawn up anew, and employees continue to work until the period specified in the new order);
- If the dismissal order was drawn up by a person who does not have the right to take such actions (this happens quite rarely, and the documents are drawn up again by an authorized person).
If you have drawn up an order to cancel the reduction and want to cancel its effect, you need to go through a few simple steps:
- First, create a new order that cancels the previous one. If several employees were preparing for dismissal, then there is no need to draw up a separate document for each of them. One general order is enough, which will list the names of all employees. The order is drawn up in 2 copies (one for the employer, the other for the employee);
- Next, draw up a notice of cancellation of the previously written order. Notification to the employee is strictly in writing, which must be given to each employee whose name is on the order, against signature. The notice is also prepared in 2 copies;
- Also familiarize employees with the new order. If changes are planned in the work process of employees, then the persons specified in the order must also be notified about them;
- If the organization has previously notified the Trade Union and the Employment Center about the upcoming reduction, then it is necessary to notify them of the cancellation.
The employer has the right to cancel the layoff procedure before the termination of the layoff order itself. It is important to take into account that the employee must be notified of the upcoming dismissal no later than 2 months before the date of dismissal.
Cancellation order
To understand how to cancel a staff reduction competently, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules for drawing up an order.
The law does not establish strict requirements for it. This is an internal document of the company, when writing which you should adhere to the general rules for drawing up business documents.
We list the main points of the sample order:
- Be sure to indicate the reason for canceling the order (it is better to write the real reason to avoid possible accusations of selfish intent for the cancellation);
- Write which order you want to cancel (indicate its name, number and date of preparation);
- Also note that previously issued notices will also become invalid;
- List all employees covered by the document, indicating their positions;
- Indicate the list of actions that need to be performed in connection with drawing up the order, as well as their deadlines (for example, notify the employment service);
- The document is signed by an authorized person of the company (for example, the general director);
The head of any enterprise can carry out a staff reduction procedure. At the same time, all laid-off employees receive the payments due to them according to the legislation of Russia or, for example, Ukraine, and begin to look for a new job.
If the situation has changed, then the manager has every right to cancel the previously made decision to lay off workers. To do this, he creates a new order that cancels the previous document. There may be several reasons for such actions:
- Unexpected increase in staff. Due to the fact that the employee continues to work in his place, the employer does not need to pay him compensation. The employee will continue to receive a salary.
- Transfer of an employee to another position. In this case, he usually retains his previous earnings.
- The organization does not have money for mandatory payments to employees subject to dismissal. Sometimes the compensation can be quite high. In addition, there may be many laid off workers. In both cases, the company may not be able to cover the costs of cash payments. A solution may be to postpone the layoff, which will allow the organization to find the necessary amount to make payments to those laid off.
- Errors were made when preparing documents. The entire layoff procedure is carried out again, while employees continue to perform job duties until the deadline established by the new management order.
- The order to reduce staff was drawn up by a person who does not have the rights to carry out such actions. This situation occurs quite rarely, but if it does occur, then all documents are drawn up again by an authorized employee.
The meaning of this administrative act is to cancel the previous order on the dismissal of employees due to reduction. There is no strict template for this document. It is drawn up in any form, but according to established rules, that is, on the official letterhead of the enterprise and with the signature of the manager.
Such an order can be issued only within two months following the date of notification of employees about the upcoming dismissal. It must contain information such as:
- The reason for the decision to cancel the dismissal.
- Details of all orders that should be cancelled.
- Instructions to personnel service employees that it is necessary to notify the Employment Center, as well as other government bodies, about a change in the decision of the organization’s management.
- If some employees who were subject to staff reduction quit during the notice period of their own free will, then their job functions should be distributed among the remaining employees, indicating the necessary information in this document.
- Responsible persons who are obliged to monitor compliance with all terms of the order. Most often, this function is assigned to the manager himself.
In the text of the order, it should be noted in a separate paragraph that the chief accountant and the senior employee of the enterprise’s personnel department must be familiar with it. The canceled document is stored in the archive, since it cannot be destroyed, since the document is registered.
How to cancel an order?
If it is necessary to cancel the reduction in staff, then the corresponding order should be canceled. This is done by issuing a new order. This document provides information on the cancellation of planned measures to reduce the number of employees.
The employer must first inform the trade union committee, heads of personnel and accounting departments about the decision made. Then a notice is sent to employees with whom, according to the previous order, the employment relationship should have been terminated.
Notification of services and employees is made in writing. An order is attached to the notice. The document is drawn up in any form. It is important to highlight two columns for signature: regarding familiarization with the notice and with the order.
The notification is sent in two copies: one remains with the employee, and the second is certified by the employee’s signature and sent back to the enterprise administration. Notices are sent by mail.
Expert opinion
Irina Vasilyeva
Civil law expert
The employment service, labor inspectorate and other bodies that the employer had previously notified about the dismissal of employees must also be notified of the cancellation of the layoff.
How many days in advance can an employee be notified of the cancellation of a layoff?
Staff reduction is a forced measure that the manager resorts to to improve the economic condition of the company.
There are situations when the circumstances that forced the director to begin dismissal change, and therefore there is no need to eliminate some positions.
The law allows the employer to cancel the dismissal, while the director must notify employees of the cancellation of the reduction in staff.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the Order for dismissal by proxy
General provisions
It is established at the legislative level that the director of an enterprise can carry out a reduction procedure, but it must be justified. For example, if one of the employees decides to file an application with the court, the director of the organization will have to provide documents that will prove the need for layoffs.
In the absence of evidence, the employer may be held accountable, followed by a fine. However, the need to fire employees may no longer be necessary due to a change in the general situation or the disappearance of the reason why the employer began the reduction, for example, a sharp increase in the organization’s income.
in this case, the law allows you to cancel the procedure for terminating labor relations with employees.
If a citizen does not want to further cooperate with this employer, then he can be dismissed on his own initiative or according to an agreement signed between the parties. At the same time, insist on dismissal under clause 2 of Art.
81 employees do not have the right, since this reason has lost its relevance.
Cancellation Procedures
To cancel a dismissal, the employer must perform the following sequence of actions:
- issue a cancellation order;
- familiarize employees of the HR department, accountant and trade union organization with the order;
- send employees who were to be laid off a notice to cancel the layoff;
- send a notification to the employment service, labor inspectorate and other regulatory authorities, to which a notification about the upcoming layoff was previously sent.
It is worth considering that Part 3 of Art. 180 of the Labor Code of Russia allows the employer to dismiss an employee early if he has his consent.
When canceling a reduction, if an agreement was concluded between the parties on early termination of cooperation, but the employee has not yet been fired, then this document is considered invalid, which obliges the citizen to continue fulfilling his official obligations or write a letter of resignation of his own free will.
The return of an employee after early termination has already been completed can be carried out in the standard procedure for resuming employment relationships, that is, the employee must be hired again without taking into account the previous layoff. This measure is optional, that is, the employer himself decides to return the employee or not.
Thus, current legislation allows the employer to cancel the reduction at any time before the termination of the employment relationship with the last employee who was to be dismissed.
Sample notification
When canceling a reduction, the manager must notify his employees, whose employment contract was to be terminated. A special notice is drawn up for this purpose.
This document does not have a unified template, which allows the director to draw it up in any form. The exception is situations when the organization has developed a special form that is mandatory for use.
The notification must contain the following information:
- about the exact name of the organization;
- the full name of the employee to whom the notification is sent;
- about the fact of cancellation of the reduction. The manager can start this point by addressing the employee. Here it is necessary to stop the reference to the corresponding order;
- on the continuation of cooperation on the same terms, that is, the recognition of the previously sent notice as invalid, and the need for the employee to continue fulfilling his job obligations;
- about the impossibility of terminating cooperation due to layoffs. In this situation, the employer must explain to the employee that the employment contract can be terminated by agreement or at the employee’s personal initiative.
At the end of the document, the date of its preparation must be indicated, as well as the signature of the manager with a transcript. This notice must be given to the employee for signature with a copy of the cancellation order attached. If a citizen refuses to sign, then a corresponding act is drawn up. Each party must retain a signed copy of the notice and order.
sample notice of cancellation of layoff
Notifications are sent and drawn up immediately after the issuance of an order to cancel the previous one on reduction.
When a retrenchment is cancelled, all retrenched employees receive a special notice that contains all the necessary information to cancel the previous notice. After receiving the notice and signature, the employee cannot be laid off. The sample document does not have a special form, but must be drawn up in accordance with all regulations.
It is during this period that employers have the opportunity to cancel their decision by drawing up written documents on which employees who have become familiar with it must sign.
For two months after notification of layoffs, employees continue to perform their job duties, so managers have time to think. If after two months the situation does not change, citizens are dismissed due to staff reduction.
If after some time the employer changes his mind about reducing the number of his employees, he is obliged to notify them in writing about this.
It often happens that an employee, after being notified of a layoff, quickly finds another job, and after being recalled, decides to leave for another organization, and then he can be fired either of his own free will or by agreement with the manager.
The employee has the right not to sign the notice. After two days, if the refusal remains in force, you can request a written explanation of the reasons for the refusal. The employee writes an explanation, signs and dates it.
This confirms awareness of future dismissal. ATTENTION: But refusal to sign is not grounds for non-payment of benefits due! If the employee refuses to write a justification, then the enterprise administration should create an act of refusal to sign.
It is required that 2 employees in whose presence the refusal occurred put their own signatures on the act that confirms the refusal. This will make it clear that there was a notice, but the employee being laid off refused to sign it.
Then the process proceeds as usual: the employee continues to work until the day of layoff.
Important For employees, layoffs also have several positive aspects:
- You can receive compensation;
- In two months, you have the opportunity to find a suitable place or get a more profitable position offered by the employer;
- Women raising children alone, as well as pregnant and minor employees cannot be laid off due to layoffs.
The disadvantages in this case are that citizens do not have the opportunity to avoid dismissal if they previously refused the offered positions, and in any case they will have to wait two months for final payment and receipt of a work book. How is retrenchment reversed? By law, all employees must be given two months' notice by mailing notices.
- an indication of the fact that the reduction has been canceled with reference to the relevant order;
- an explanation that the employment relationship will continue on the same terms;
- clarification that the employee can no longer be dismissed due to layoffs, and if he does not want to continue working for this employer, he can be dismissed at his own request.
The document in question, like a layoff notice, must be personal, that is, addressed to a specific employee (and not a group of employees who were previously laid off).
It must be signed by an authorized person - the head of the organization (based on the charter) or a representative by proxy.
Attention
If a notice of layoff is refused, the employee remains at his previous place of work with his salary, allowances, bonuses and work schedule retained. As a rule, the manager notifies the employee of his decision in writing.
On what basis can an employer demand the return of a notice? Even if an employee has received a document stating that he has been laid off, this does not mean that he has been fired. The dismissal of an employee is carried out only on the basis of an order signed and certified by the living seal of the manager, and the employee must familiarize himself with it.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with Draw up a sample employment order
After which a corresponding entry must be made in the work book. The employer may request the return of a previously issued redundancy document due to the fact that it is possible not to reduce staff or the employee was laid off unreasonably.
It is impossible to give a resigning employee a copy of SZV-M. According to the law on personal accounting, when dismissing an employee, the employer is obliged to give him copies of personalized reports (in particular, SZV-M and SZV-STAZH). However, these reporting forms are list-based, i.e. contain information about all employees.
This means transferring a copy of such a report to one employee means disclosing the personal data of other employees.
- The order is signed by an authorized representative of the employer, for example, the director of the organization (according to the charter) or another person (by power of attorney).
- The order should be familiarized to all employees in respect of whom a decision was previously made to dismiss due to reduction and who had not yet been dismissed at the time the order was issued.
Cancellation Procedures
It will not be possible to quickly cancel the order to reduce the number of employees. This procedure consists of the following steps:
- Creating a new order that cancels the previous one. If, according to the initial order, several employees had to be fired, then there is no need to draw up a separate order for each. One document listing all employees will be more than enough.
- Drawing up notices of cancellation of the previous order, as well as that the notices associated with it have been withdrawn. Employees are notified only in writing. Notices must be delivered against signature to each employee specified in the order.
- Familiarization of employees with the new document. This action is necessary so that each employee knows about his place in the enterprise and about all the changes that affect his position. If the employer refuses to familiarize his employees with the document canceling the layoff, then they have the right to apply to the judicial authorities with a corresponding claim within a month. In addition, if changes are made to the work schedule of people subject to dismissal, then this should also be reported to everyone mentioned in the order.
- Notification of the Trade Union and the Employment Center, provided that they were previously notified of the upcoming staff reduction.
It is worth considering that Part 3 of Art. 180 of the Labor Code of Russia allows the employer to dismiss an employee early if he has his consent. When canceling a reduction, if an agreement was concluded between the parties on early termination of cooperation, but the employee has not yet been fired, then this document is considered invalid, which obliges the citizen to continue fulfilling his official obligations or write a letter of resignation of his own free will.
How does the warning procedure work?
The procedure for warning an employee about layoff involves the following steps:
- Employment service notification.
According to Part 2 of Art. 25 of the Federal Law “On Employment” No. 1032-1, when reducing the number or staff, legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs, are required to notify the employment service.
Individual entrepreneurs send notifications no later than 2 weeks before the expected dismissal of employees, legal entities - 2 months.
The document indicates qualifications, position and payment conditions.
- Notifying employees about layoffs.
Employees who are eligible for layoff must be notified of this in writing and signed. The notification is issued in 2 copies. In one of them, the employee confirms with his signature that he has read the document and received a copy of it, and also indicates the date.
The document reflects the details of the order to reduce the number and staff, as well as the proposal to transfer to another job or position (Part 3 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
- Job offer.
The employee must be offered a vacancy (if any) that corresponds to his qualifications and state of health, including a lower paid one. By mutual agreement, the parties have the right to terminate the employment contract earlier than the period established by law (Article 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), which must be documented (written consent).
Recommended reading:
What should an employer do when laying off an employee?
How to correctly draw up a layoff order?
How is an employee notified of a layoff?
How many months notice must be given?
How long in advance (how many months) must one give notice (or notice) about layoffs at work? In accordance with Art. 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to warn employees about the upcoming layoff no later than 2 months in advance. The warning period begins from the moment the employee familiarizes himself with the relevant notice, confirmed by his signature. The notification date may fall on the day the reduction order is approved.
The employer also notifies the employment service and the trade union (if necessary) 2 months in advance. In the event of a mass layoff, it is necessary to notify the employment authorities no later than 3 months before the expected dismissal of employees.
How to convey it correctly?
To serve a notice of layoff, you can use one of the following methods:
- Deliver in person.
The employee is asked to read the text of the document on site during working hours, and then sign and date the review.
- Sending by postal service.
The document is sent by registered mail with a list of attachments and notification of delivery to the employee’s registered address or actual residence. This information is contained in personnel documents.
- Telegram or courier service.
In this case, it is important to obtain confirmation that the notification has reached the addressee.
- To visit.
If an employee is absent from the workplace, a panel of 2-3 people can pay him a visit at his residence address. Audio or video recording is carried out with the consent of the addressee.
Reference. If a registered letter is returned to the sender due to inaction by the addressee, the notification procedure for reduction will not be violated. You can confirm the shipment, for example, through the history on the Russian Post website.
What if the employee does not sign the document?
If the document is not signed, the dismissed person can challenge it with the relevant authorities and file compensation claims in connection with violation of the reduction procedure. In particular, he may require reinstatement at work.
To prevent this, it is necessary to read the text of the notification in the presence of 2 witnesses, and then draw up an act in two copies.
In the act:
- the persons in whose presence the employee was notified are listed;
- the circumstances of the reduction are indicated;
- a note indicating refusal to sign is entered.
The document is filed with the file, and the employee is fired according to the general rules.
Is it possible to withdraw?
Notification of an employee's layoff does not mean his dismissal, since the basis for terminating the employment contract is an order. If the procedure is no longer necessary, the notification may be withdrawn in the following order:
- An order is issued to cancel organizational and staffing measures in connection with the reduction.
- A copy of the written notice of cancellation notice is sent to employees.
- Employees are introduced to the text of the order to cancel the layoff upon signature.
The employee must sign the second copy of the document.
Notification of the employment center and trade union is carried out in the same way. They are sent a written notice with a link to the order to cancel the reduction.
Nuances of carrying out
When staff reduction is carried out, the employer is obliged to notify the local Employment Center about this. This measure allows a laid-off employee to quickly register with the Employment Center, as well as find a new job in a short time. But when there is a possibility that staff reductions can still be avoided or it will be possible to restore workers to their positions, then there is no point in reporting this to the Employment Center.
The main thing is to notify employees both about the reduction in personnel and about the cancellation of this procedure. In both cases, this should only be done in writing. If employees are notified by telephone or orally, then it is not impossible to verify these facts, which means that the reduction can be challenged, that is, declared invalid on the grounds that the person did not know about it.
It is necessary to take into account the possibility that the candidate for dismissal will find a new job before the reduction is canceled. In such a situation, the employee can terminate the employment relationship either at his own request or by agreement of the parties. He has no right not to demand that he be dismissed due to layoff, or not to claim special payments, since according to Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, only the employer himself can initiate a layoff.
Cancellation of staff reductions and its consequences
It happens that the employer refuses his decision to lay off workers. This can be caused by various reasons, both external and internal (changes in the financial situation, conclusion of new contracts, change of management, etc.); The employer is not obliged to explain them.
The reduction can be canceled at any stage up to the moment of dismissal of employees. In this case, the reverse procedure to that described above begins.
Employees notified of dismissal due to reduction cannot demand dismissal on this basis with the payment of appropriate benefits. They have the right to resign at their own request or by agreement of the parties.
In addition, if the layoff is cancelled, the employer’s agreement with the employee on early termination (before the expiration of the notice period for layoff) of the employment contract will also lose force if the parties entered into it in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 180 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Reversing redundancy: a step-by-step process
You can lose your job for various reasons. The dismissal procedure can be initiated by both the employee and the employer. In the second case, one of the reasons is staff reduction. But in some situations this decision may be revoked.
Since the organization is obliged to notify employees of the upcoming liquidation of their positions two months before the date of dismissal, the decision can be canceled during this same time. The algorithm of actions will be as follows:
- it is necessary to issue an order to cancel the reduction;
- one copy is sent to the employment service, the second to the trade union (if any);
- each of the employees who received earlier notifications is given copies of this document;
- In addition to a copy of the order, employees who received notifications must be sent information letters about their withdrawal.
If during the time that has passed since the notification was served, some employees have already quit, then their job functions must be redistributed among other employees. This information must also be included in the order.
The first stage of the procedure for canceling a previous decision is to issue an appropriate order.
The document can be drawn up in any form, but subject to a number of conditions:
- availability of mandatory details (date, number, place of compilation);
- indication of the details of the previous order;
- instructions to the HR department (for work with personnel) to inform employees about this decision;
- Full names, positions and signatures of responsible persons.
Letter of revocation of previous notice
A notice containing information about the withdrawal of notice of impending dismissal is drawn up in free form. But it must include:
- a message about the fact of cancellation of the reduction, containing a link to the order;
- notification that the employment contract will continue under the same conditions;
- information that the employee will not be dismissed due to reduction, and if he does not want to continue working for this employer, he has the right to resign at his own request.
This document must be addressed to each employee personally. It must be signed by the head of the enterprise.
Notification of layoffs
A notice of layoff is a document by which the employer informs the employee that he has been laid off.
But sometimes a miracle happens - the employer changes his mind about layoffs and sends the employee a withdrawal notice.
All actions relating to layoffs and termination of an employment contract with an employee, revocation of a redundancy document are regulated by Labor legislation and the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
Also, all these processes can be described in the job descriptions of the personnel officer and in the regulatory documents of the organization itself - procedures, instructions, and others.
Features of delivery of notice
An employee of an organization who has received notice of a reduction in his staff position is not considered dismissed. His dismissal is carried out only if there is an order signed and certified by the seal of the personnel service of the enterprise. Only in this case can a corresponding entry be made in the employee’s work book.
To avoid misunderstandings and ambiguous situations when delivering notices, a certain procedure should be followed. It includes the following steps:
- An employee who is subject to dismissal due to a reduction is given a notice of cancellation against signature.
- The employee signs two copies of the document, one of which is kept in the person’s personal file.
If for some reason the employee refuses to sign the notice, then a corresponding act of refusal is drawn up in front of two witnesses. It is also entered into your personal file. It should be noted that in such a situation, the employee loses the right to demand payment and special compensation payments due to the redundant employee.