Order to provide an explanatory note. Requirement to provide explanations

Labor law provides that the employer in individual cases demanded a written explanation from the employee.

For example, the employer must request such an explanation from the employee before applying to the employee. disciplinary action in the form of a remark, reprimand or dismissal (part 1 of article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

A written explanation must be obtained from the employee and to establish the cause of the damage caused by such an employee (part 2 of article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

And how to draw up a request for a written explanation of the employee?

Sample Request for a Written Explanation

There is no single, mandatory form, according to which a requirement for an employee to provide explanations should be drawn up. Therefore, the employer draws up such a requirement in an arbitrary form. The request must indicate in connection with which written explanations are requested from the employee, as well as the period given to the employee to provide such explanations. For example, before the application of a disciplinary sanction, an explanation by the employee must be given within two working days following the day of receipt of the request (part 1 of article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Given that the employer is obliged in some cases to demand an explanation from the employee, non-observance of this procedure can be regarded as a violation of labor legislation. That is why the employer must confirm the fact that explanations from the employee were requested. This can be done by familiarizing the employee with such a requirement, where the employee puts his signature. Or, if the employee refuses to sign for familiarization with the request, such a request can be sent to the employee at his place of residence, confirming the fact of sending the attachment inventory and return receipt. Another option for familiarizing an employee with a demand when he does not want to pick it up is to read aloud the demand for an explanation. At the same time, this must be done in the presence of witnesses (commission), about which an appropriate act is drawn up.

Here is a sample of how to fill it out for the request for explanations.

Written provision of explanations becomes mandatory only in some cases. The most common is when assessing the validity of the reasons for an employee's disciplinary offense (violation by an employee of labor, job duties). This is required by the procedure for imposing a disciplinary sanction under Art. 193 Labor Code(hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), which can result not only in a remark or reprimand, but also in dismissal. It all depends on the circumstances in which you need to understand. An explanatory note in this case documents, communicates to the management the employee's position, his vision of the situation, his arguments.

Fragment of the document

Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Article 193 "Procedure for the application of disciplinary sanctions"

Before a disciplinary action is taken, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee. If after two working days the specified explanation is not provided by the employee, then an appropriate act is drawn up.

The employee's failure to provide an explanation is not an obstacle to disciplinary action.

A disciplinary penalty is applied no later than one month from the date of discovery of the misconduct, not counting the time of the employee's illness, his stay on vacation, as well as the time required to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees.

A disciplinary sanction cannot be applied later than six months from the date of the misconduct, and based on the results of an audit, inspection of financial and economic activities or an audit - later than two years from the date of its commission. The indicated time limits do not include the time of the criminal proceedings.

Only one disciplinary sanction may be applied for each disciplinary offense.

The employer's order (order) on the application of a disciplinary sanction is announced to the employee against signature within three working days from the date of its issuance, not counting the time the employee is absent from work. If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the specified order (order) against signature, then an appropriate act is drawn up.

A disciplinary sanction can be appealed by an employee in state inspection labor and (or) bodies for the examination of individual labor disputes.

But explanatory notes can be drawn up for other reasons, although at the same time the aspect of “the need to justify oneself” remains (after all, in other cases, service and memoranda are used). For example, during the investigation of the circumstances of causing damage to the property of the employer and determining its size under Art. 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Requesting written explanations

So, "before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee." As you can see, the law does not specify exactly whether the demand for explanations should be orally or in writing. In especially difficult cases, when both the employee and the employer are very serious and intend to go, as they say, to a victorious end, the employer must request an explanation from the employee in writing, so that later he can confirm compliance with the procedure prescribed for the imposition of disciplinary sanctions by Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Example 1). The approved form of this personnel document never existed, therefore in each organization it is formalized in its own way. Even the type of document used for this is different (notification, demand, letter, etc.), although it is more correct to call it a “demand”, because in Part 1 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that it is necessary to "demand" a written explanation. The meaning of the notification has a different connotation - there is information and there is no requirement to do anything. Letter - an outgoing document that is sent to a third-party organization or to an individual and the employee is not such a “stranger”.

It should be remembered that "a disciplinary penalty is applied no later than one month from the date of discovery of the offense" (part 3 of article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The fact of his discovery is confirmed by an act, not a requirement. Therefore, this month should be counted from the date of discovery (which ideally should coincide with the date of drawing up the act), and not from the date of requesting written explanations.

From the date of the request, another period is counted - 2 days for giving a written explanation (see Example 3). Therefore, it is important not only to issue a demand, but also to prove that it was handed over to the employee or he refused to receive it. To do this, at the bottom of the sheet, you can immediately make the corresponding blanks (marked with numbers 1 and 2 in Example 1): if the first is not drawn up (signature on receipt of the request), then the second is drawn up (witnesses confirm the fact of the employee's refusal to receive this document, this mark eliminates the need to draw up a separate act on this matter).

Written request for explanations from the employee

The text of the request for explanations from the employee about the reasons for absence from work and the signature

Calculation of the term for giving a written explanation of the reasons for the disciplinary offense

Suppose a worker, through negligence, damaged the employer's property on Monday 09/01/2014, there were witnesses to that, and an act was drawn up on the same day. On September 2, 2014, the worker was asked to provide written explanations. We begin to count the term from the next day:

  • 09/03/2014 - 1st day,
  • 09/04/2014 - 2nd day (when the presentation of the explanatory note will still be considered timely),
  • 09/05/2014 it is already possible to act on the fact of failure to provide explanations.

If the requirement to give written explanations was presented to the employee on Friday 09/05/2014, and Saturday and Sunday are his days off (i.e. they do not participate in the calculation of the 2-day period), then the deadline for the timely submission of the explanatory note will expire only on Tuesday 09.09. .2014.

So that a conscientious employee does not get confused in the calculation of this period, it is better to immediately indicate in the request a specific date by which the explanatory note must be provided. Here you can add the specific department / official to whom it should be given (see the second paragraph of the text of the requirement from Example 1). The addressee of the explanatory memorandum (in whose name it is drawn up, for example, the CEO) and the person to whom it should be handed over (for example, the secretary or boss personnel service) are likely to be different people.

If the employee really had valid reasons for the behavior that the employer did not like, and on the whole they are adequate people, then you should not be afraid of an explanatory note - it will stand up to defend the “accused”. Then there is no need to wait for a written request from the employer. At his verbal request, it is better to immediately draw up an explanatory note, attaching maximum evidence of his innocence to it. Not only official documents will do, even a printout from a news site about interruptions in the work of the metro line, along which a latecomer gets to work, will do. If there is a conflict between employees, then a well-written explanatory may even "drag" the management over to the side of its author.

In whose name is the explanatory note written?

To accurately answer this question, you need to look at the Internal Labor Regulations, which should be in force in every organization. Most likely, it says that the employee reports to his immediate superior and CEO. Then the employee will write an explanatory letter in the name of either his boss or the general director.

Local regulations may establish a different hierarchy: for example, members working group obey the leader of this group, despite the fact that they represent different divisions in it. The team leader can only ask for written explanations if the wrongdoing is related to the work of the group.

Thus, the security service, the manager of corporate culture, the head of the personnel department does not have the right to demand explanations from employees of other departments who do not obey them, if this is not directly spelled out in the local regulations organizations. True, the corresponding powers of these and others officials can still be delegated director general by order (for example, to the chairman of a commission to investigate a specific incident). See the captions in Examples 1 and 2 marked with an exclamation mark.

By hand or on a computer?

The law does not oblige to write explanatory notes by hand, they can be typed on a computer. But experienced personnel officers demand explanations from employees, written only in their own hand. In the event of a labor dispute, this will help the employer protect against misconduct on the part of the employee, who may claim that he was “forced” to sign a text already drawn up by someone.

The minimum required set of handwritten elements, inscribed by the hand of an employee on an explanatory note, is as follows:

  • position,
  • personal flourish and
  • AND ABOUT. Surname.

It is impossible to confine oneself only to a handwritten personal stroke, tk. some signatures, the graphological examination is not able to unambiguously identify as belonging to a certain person. And for whole words (in the position and surname) it will definitely be possible to do it.

Explanatory note details

The explanatory note form is relatively free. Nobody requires an employee to have a thorough knowledge of the standards for paperwork, and compliance with the required minimum is enough.

At the top, in the right part of the sheet, in a column, information is written about who and by whom the explanatory note is addressed. The employee must indicate his structural unit, position, as well as full surname, name and patronymic. The name of the type of document - an explanatory note - is written in the center, after a few lines (usually with capital letter or in capital letters only, as shown in Example 4). Example 5 demonstrates an outdated version, where the name of the document type is written entirely in small letters and a period is put after it, i.e. the whole “cap” could be read as a single sentence; such design options were previously encountered in applications.

"Hat" of the explanatory note

Outdated version of the header of the explanatory note

  • correct wording and use whenever possible formal business style statements,
  • only exact dates, if necessary - time,
  • facts and reasons for the current situation.
  • Circumstances are different, and it is incorrect to require an employee to be brief in explanatory terms. A note can take up several sheets of paper, contain direct speech and read like a good detective, or it can consist of one line. The employer does not have the right to restrict the employee in such "creativity".

    No one expects the employee to make explanatory conclusions and suggestions, although it will not work to forbid him to include them.

    The content of the explanatory note is determined only by the employee to whom it needs to be written. The boss does not have the right to dictate the text, say phrases like “this is not the reason”, demand to rewrite and in other ways influence the content of the document. Some organizations go even further and constitute standard texts explanatory notes. The employee has the right to decide whether to use them or write an explanatory note on his own. It is in his interest to describe what happened as he sees fit. The employer, in turn, is obliged to familiarize himself with any explanations of the employee, whether he likes them or not.

    Compilation of the text of the explanatory note is very often difficult. Let's repeat the main rule: events must be presented as they happened.

    If the employee's fault is obvious (he was late, rude to the client, forgot to do something), then it is pointless to deny it and invent any excuses. We'll have to write as it is:

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Fragment of the text of the explanatory note

    Explanatory note text

    App availability mark

    App availability mark

    App availability mark

    Explanatory compiled. What to do next?

    The employer, having received an explanatory note, puts on it the registration number of the document and - without fail - the date of admission.

    According to Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, to which we referred at the beginning, the employee has 2 working days to write an explanatory note. If after this time the employee has not provided explanations, the employer has the right to draw up an appropriate act on this. To insure against misconduct on the part of the employer, it is better for the employee to register his explanatory note with the office or with the secretary with the appropriate mark on the document, and then take a copy of the explanatory note with this mark. Another option: the employee can write an explanatory note in 2 copies, and leave one of them, after putting down the admission mark. Then no one will be able to say that the employee did not provide written explanations in statutory term.

    1 -1

    The company may face a situation when an employee does not go to work for a long time.

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    HR specialists find it difficult to decide: do you need to wait or start looking for a new candidate for the position? When a decision on dismissal is made, the employer has the right to send a letter of notification.

    Normative base

    These legal relationships are governed by the following rules:

    • Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - termination labor relations at the initiative of the employer;
    • Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - the procedure for the application of disciplinary sanctions;
    • Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - disciplinary sanctions;
    • Art. 172 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract.

    general information

    When an employee ignores job duties and is absent from the workplace at the due time, it is important for the management not to rush to make hasty decisions, but to figure out: a disciplinary offense occurs at the initiative of the employee or due to circumstances independent of the parties.

    In the event of an incident, the procedure is as follows:

    • Document the fact of absenteeism (drawn up in the presence of witnesses or the report of the head of the unit).
    • Require to provide in writing.
    • If the reason for the absence is valid, the internal investigation is closed. Otherwise (and also in the absence of explanations), an appropriate act is drawn up and a decision is made on.
    • If the employer has decided, is prepared, an entry is made in the work book.
    • A notification is sent (optional procedure).

    Dismissal letter - a document sent to an employee to notify the termination employment contract.

    The grounds for referral may be as follows:

    • an employee is absent from the workplace for more than four hours in a row without a valid reason;
    • unauthorized leaving work ahead of schedule;
    • refusal to work off.

    Legislation does not establish a list good reason, therefore, the leader makes a decision on his own.

    Judicial practice shows that these include:

    • days of illness (requires a certificate of incapacity for work);
    • fulfillment of state or public duties (was a juror, an attesting witness, etc.);
    • passing days medical examination and donating blood (for a donor).

    In some cases, it is provided average earnings for the days of absence.

    Dismissal for absenteeism is a serious conflict, so the management of the organization should not rush to formalize the termination of the employment contract. If the decision turns out to be unfair or the formalities are not completed correctly, the employee has the right to contact the labor inspectorate.

    Therefore, first of all, a notification is drawn up with a request to inform the reason for the misconduct.

    Registration of a notification to find out the reasons for absence

    The document in question is drawn up in two copies: the first is sent to the address at the place of residence of the "truant", and the second remains with the organization as documentary evidence.

    The structure of the letter is as follows:

    • the name of the organization - indicated in the upper right corner of the document;
    • standard details - the inscription "notification", date, time and place of compilation;
    • main text - contains a request to come to work and explain the reason for the absence;
    • manager's signature.

    At the end of the document, the absent employee must also sign.

    An example of such a notification is shown in the figure:

    The legislation does not provide for the form, therefore the organization has the right to create its own template for the letter of notification in local regulations or regulations.

    Exists different ways transmission:

    • by mail of Russia by registered mail (the receipt will be able to confirm the date);
    • in person (through colleagues or relatives);
    • over telecommunication networks;
    • via email.

    The employee has a deadline for responding - within two days. If this does not happen, it is advisable for the manager to re-send the notification letter until the reason for the failure to appear is clarified.

    The employee doesn't show up, what should I do?

    If there were many unsuccessful attempts to contact the employee, but it was not possible to get an explanation, or the reason for the misconduct turned out to be disrespectful, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract.

    In this case, it is required to correctly complete all formalities and have irrefutable evidence. Otherwise, the court may reinstate the employee and demand.

    What an employer should do:

    • draw up acts on the employee's absence from the workplace on a daily basis;
    • in the time sheet to record all absenteeism for unknown reasons;
    • keep copies of notifications sent with a request to come to work to clarify the reasons for the absence.

    Only when performing the listed actions, the judges can agree with the absentee termination of the contract.

    It is then that the employer must draw up a letter of dismissal for absenteeism. When registering the procedure, it is necessary to be guided by Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

    How to properly issue a notice of dismissal for absenteeism in 2020?

    The legislation does not oblige to warn the "truant" in advance about the consequences of the violation labor discipline... If the employer wishes to notify about the termination of the employment contract, a corresponding notification can be sent.

    The legislation does not provide for a sample notice of dismissal for absenteeism. The document is drawn up on a blank A4 paper.

    The structure is like this:

    • the name of the organization in which the employee works;
    • Name, position and personal data of the employee;
    • structural subdivision;
    • the name of the document - the inscription "notification";
    • Date of preparation;
    • Full name of the addressee;
    • main text informing the reason and date of dismissal;
    • Date of preparation.

    The text indicates the date of the last working day, the reason for the termination of cooperation and a request to pick up.

    The document is certified by the chief structural unit or the head of the company. The term of provision is 14 days.

    You can download a typical document form here:

    The completed option is presented below:

    You can record a notification letter with a request to inform the reason for absence or dismissal for absenteeism in local regulations. For example, in the logbook.

    What should you pay special attention to?

    The employer must remember that certain categories of citizens cannot be dismissed, with the exception of cases of liquidation of the company:

    • pregnant employees;
    • single mothers;
    • guardians;
    • women caring for children up to 3 years of age.

    If the organization has such employees, it is highly desirable to obtain a written explanation of the disciplinary offense, try to find relatives, etc. In the event of labor disputes, the court can defend them and demand compensation for the days counted for absenteeism.

    I missed the deadline for submitting information to the parent organization. The boss was very upset with this event and said that he was reprimanding me. He said and said, you never know what you can’t say in a fever. But no. His secretary comes up to me and asks for an explanation. He says that a written explanation of the employee is necessary for the preparation of a punishment order.

    I ignored this request. But the boss took a bite at the bit and issued an order to provide an explanation. The essence of the order is that within 24 hours I must explain in writing my ugly behavior, why I allow the deadlines to be violated, not by me, but for me, the dunce, established.

    I don’t want to provide a written explanation. Am I obligated to provide it or not?

    Judging by the mood of the boss, he intends to impose and will not back down from his plan. Provide a written explanation, just be sure to mention in it that you are providing it on the basis of an order. You are more likely to be attracted to disciplinary responsibility... If you wish, you will appeal the order to the prosecutor's office or the federal labor inspectorate in connection with a violation of the procedure for applying a disciplinary sanction in terms of providing a written explanation of the employee. The procedure for the application of disciplinary sanctions is established by Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

    Employee's written explanation - what to remember:

    1. The employer must request a written explanation from the employee.
    Providing a written explanation is a way of protecting the employee and his right. In the explanation, the employee confirms or refutes the fact of the commission of a disciplinary offense, sets out the circumstances of its commission. An act is drawn up on the failure to provide an explanation within the time period established by law.

    The issuance of an order to provide an explanation deprives the employee of the right to choose whether or not to provide a written explanation. By order, the employer obliges the employee to provide an explanation. And if the employee does not provide it, thereby violating the order, he actually again becomes a violator of labor discipline? No, this approach seems to be wrong. A written request for an employee's explanation with the words “please provide” or “offer to provide” seems more appropriate.

    2. The employer must give the employee two working days to provide a written explanation.

    The employer must provide exactly two workers, and not calendar days to the employee to provide a written explanation. A decrease in this period indicates a significant violation of the employee's rights.

    Thus, since the boss ordered to provide a written explanation and limited the term for its provision, they violated the employee's rights to defense. The disciplinary order, if challenged, is likely to be canceled.

    Violation of labor discipline and the occurrence of damage through the fault of the employee is not such a rare occurrence. In this case, according to article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to demand from the employee an explanation of the fact of the violation. The requirement for an employee to provide explanations can be requested from an organization of any form of ownership, when a violation of labor laws has been recorded and is confirmed.

    Also, according to part 2 articles 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an explanation from the employee can be taken in the event of damage due to his fault.

    Among the violations that imply the request for an explanation from the employee, we note the following:

    • being late for work;
    • non-fulfillment of labor duties provided for by the employee's functionality;
    • absence from the workplace for 4 hours;
    • damage to the property of the employer;
    • intoxication (alcoholic or narcotic);
    • non-observance of labor protection rules;
    • failure to provide reliable information to the management of the enterprise.

    The explanatory form can be of two types:

    • oral;
    • written.

    A feature of the explanatory note is that it is equated to official documents.

    It is important to note that if the conflict between the employer and the employee turns into legal proceedings, the absence of a requirement to provide an explanatory note is a disadvantage for the employer, since in this case the court most often takes the side of the employee.

    How and who draws up

    The employer is engaged in the registration of the requirement, in his role may be immediate superior employee or higher management of the company. The explanation received from the employee allows you to determine the degree of his guilt and choose the punishment.

    It must be remembered that in the case when the decision made by the employer did not satisfy the employee, he has the right to file a claim for the protection of his rights or to the first level authority, which is the commission for labor disputes, either to the court or to the labor inspectorate.

    How to hand over and how long to wait

    The notice is given to the employee by the manager or another person authorized by the employer. In this case, the employee has the right to refuse to write an explanatory note. That is why, when serving the document, the boss must have confirmation that the explanatory letter was requested from the employee and the answer was not received in the allotted time. The following solution options can be used to obtain confirmation:

      To familiarize the employee with the requirement under his signature.

      In case of refusal to sign the document, send it to the place of residence of the violator of labor discipline in the form registered letter with an inventory of the contents and a return receipt.

    The term for writing an explanatory note is two days.

    If the explanatory note is not received on time, this does not bear any legal consequences for the employee. In this case, the employer is obliged to draw up an act on the absence of an explanatory note.

    Sample

    To date, there is no unified form for this document, so it can be drawn up in free form. Also, the company can develop its own form of such a document, which will relate to internal local documentation.