Registration of financial liability of employees

Material liability of the employee

The financial liability of an employee is understood as the obligation to compensate for damage that the employee caused to his employer as a result of ignoring the internal rules of the company and other reasons established at the legislative level. Compensation for damages can occur either partially, when liability is established on the basis of the employee’s earnings, or in full, when the employee will be required to compensate the full amount of damage caused, regardless of his financial situation and the amount of wages.

In accordance with Art. 238 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, if the employer suffers material losses due to the fault of an employee, he has the right to recover the amount of damage from the responsible person.

But at the same time, the law states that the employer can demand from the guilty employee to return only the amount that corresponds to the actual damage, but the lost benefit will not be subject to recovery.

It is worth noting that partial financial liability is established for all employees of the organization who use the company’s property assets in the process of work. As for full liability, it can only occur in a situation where, upon hiring, the employee entered into an appropriate agreement with the employer.

Ensuring control over the safety of material assets

Imposing financial responsibility on employees requires control over the safety of the material assets entrusted to them. For these purposes, the institution should regularly conduct an inventory of property, since its purpose is precisely to identify the actual availability of property and compare it with accounting data (clause 1.4 of Methodological Instructions N 49{amp}lt;2{amp}gt;).

Compliance with the procedure for registering financial liability and carrying out control measures in the institution will allow you to avoid possible negative situations.

If damage is detected during the inventory, the day of its discovery is considered the day the corresponding act is signed. If it is detected in another way, then the day the damage caused by the employee was discovered is considered the day when the administration became aware of its existence. In any case, a written explanation must be obtained from the employee regarding this fact (Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In case of refusal or evasion of the employee from providing the specified explanation, a corresponding act is drawn up.

Limits of full financial liability

The current legislative framework states that the employee bears financial responsibility to his employer within the limits established in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the internal regulations of the company.

In that situation, if the employee, when applying for a job, entered into an agreement on full responsibility, in the event of emergency situations, he will be obliged to fully reimburse the employer for all expenses that he incurred as a result of the employee’s careless attitude to the work process (Article 242 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) . In Art. 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates cases of full financial liability , when the employee is charged with the obligation to fully compensate for expenses:

when an employee was caught intentionally causing harm to the employer;
when causing material damage while under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
in the event of a shortage of material assets that the employee received on receipt for the performance of his official mission;
if the employee caused harm to the organization as a result of criminal actions that were confirmed and established in court;
material damage to the employer was caused as a result of an administrative offense on the part of the employee;
if the employee caused the disclosure of confidential information (state, official or commercial);
if the material damage was not caused during the performance of official duties.

It is worth paying special attention to the fact that full financial responsibility arises for the employee if he voluntarily assumed obligations and signed an appropriate agreement with his employer.

Full liability can only be established for those employees who are over 18 years of age.

It is also worth noting that when concluding an agreement, the employer also assumes certain obligations, among which we can separately highlight the obligation to ensure normal conditions for the employee, ensure safety at work and equip special storage areas for material resources. If it is determined that the employer has not fulfilled its obligations, the court will determine this fact as official negligence, and the employee will be released from liability, but the conditions for ensuring it will be transferred to the employer himself.

Conditions necessary to bring an employee to full financial responsibility

Financial liability is the obligation of one of the parties to an employment contract to bear responsibility for damage caused by it to the other party as a result of culpable unlawful behavior (actions or inactions).
An employee’s financial liability can be of two types: full and limited. Limited financial liability is the employee’s obligation to compensate for direct actual damage caused to the employer, but not in excess of the maximum limit established by law, determined in relation to the amount of wages he receives. This maximum limit is the employee’s average monthly earnings (Article 241 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Full financial liability is the employee’s obligation to compensate the direct actual damage caused to the employer in full (Article 242 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

According to paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code), financial responsibility in full is assigned to the employee if there is an indication in the federal law of such liability of the employee for causing damage to the employer in the performance of work duties.

Therefore, in order to hold an employee to full financial liability, the following conditions must be met:

the presence in federal law of an indication of the full financial responsibility of employees;
performance by the employee of a labor function, which, in accordance with federal law, implies full financial responsibility;
causing direct actual damage to the employer when the employee performs his job duties.

To bring an employee to full financial liability in accordance with Art. 244 of the Labor Code, the following conditions must be present:

the employee reaches the age of 18;
performance by the employee of functions that are related to the servicing of monetary and commodity valuables, according to the position provided for in the List of Positions and Works;
conclusion of an agreement on full individual financial liability;
the employee commits guilty and illegal actions when servicing the valuables entrusted to him;
causal relationship.

Financial liability in the full amount of damage caused is assigned to the employee in the following cases:

When, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation or other federal laws, the employee is financially responsible in full for damage caused to the employer during the performance of the employee’s job duties
Shortages of valuables entrusted to him on the basis of a special written agreement or received by him under a one-time document
Intentional causing of damage
Causing damage while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other toxic substances
Causing damage as a result of criminal actions of an employee established by a court verdict
Causing damage as a result of an administrative violation, if established by the relevant government body
Disclosure of information constituting a secret protected by law (state, official, commercial or other), in cases provided for by federal laws
Causing damage not while the employee was performing his job duties.

Financial liability in the full amount of damage caused to the employer can be established by an employment contract concluded with the deputy heads of the organization and the chief accountant.

Based on Art. 244 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, agreements on full individual financial liability can be concluded only with employees performing work or holding positions named in the list approved by the Ministry of Labor of Russia. The position “driver” is not included in this list, but, for example, workers who transport material assets are mentioned.

However, courts most often recognize this practice as illegal, pointing to the fact that a car by its nature is not a transportable material value, but is a tool with which an employee performs a labor function.

An agreement on liability with a driver cannot be concluded in relation to a vehicle, since a vehicle is a material and technical means used and necessary to perform the driver’s labor function. The car assigned to the employee was provided to him to perform the job function of a driver, and not as material assets for reporting. In this regard, there are no grounds for imposing full financial liability on the employee.

With regard to the obligations voluntarily assumed by the employee to compensate for damage, the court noted that the provisions of Art. 248 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (according to which an employee who is guilty of causing damage to the employer can voluntarily compensate it in full or in part) are not an additional basis for the employee to have full financial liability, and a written obligation for the employee to compensate the employer for damage should not contradict the requirements of Art. 241 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which limits the amount of financial liability of an employee.

The driver may bear full financial responsibility under the relevant contract for the cargo he transports, but not for the car itself. This conclusion is contained in a certificate from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Buryatia based on the results of a study of the practice of considering cases of employee financial liability for 2015 - 2017.

The review presents a case in which the legality of bringing to full financial liability a forwarding driver who allowed a vehicle to overturn, resulting in damage to both the vehicle and the cargo being transported, was assessed. At the same time, an agreement on full financial liability was concluded with the employee, in connection with which the employer considered it possible to demand compensation from him for the full amount of damage.

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The court of first instance upheld the employer, but this decision was not appealed on appeal. However, the court of the republic in its review did not agree with the conclusions of the first instance. The court indicated that an agreement on full financial liability could not be concluded with the employee as a driver.

Therefore, the driver cannot bear such responsibility for the car on the basis of this agreement. This would have been possible if it had been established that the employee had committed an administrative offense that resulted in an accident, but the relevant information was not provided in court. At the same time, the agreement on full financial liability was legally concluded with the employee as a person transporting material assets.

And for these values, the driver can be held accountable for the full amount of damage caused. Therefore, the employer had the right to demand full compensation for damaged cargo. The fairness of this approach is also recognized by other courts (for example, the rulings of the Altai Regional Court dated September 7, 2021 No.

In accordance with paragraph 2 of part 1 of Article 243 of the Labor Code, an employee may be held fully financially liable if there is a shortage of valuables entrusted to him on the basis of a special written agreement or received by him under a one-time document.

Those. a necessary condition for bringing to responsibility is an indication of the law (for example, a manager) or the presence of a special written agreement on the full financial responsibility of the employee for the shortage of material assets entrusted to him or a one-time document (for example, an invoice and (or) a power of attorney to receive material assets ).

When hiring persons whose job responsibilities include responsibilities for receiving, storing, selling, forwarding, etc. inventory items and cash, along with the employment contract, it is also necessary to conclude a written agreement on full individual or collective (team) financial liability, that is, on compensation to the employer for damage caused in full for the shortage of property entrusted to employees.

According to current legislation, agreements on full liability can be concluded only with certain categories of employees:

With employees who have reached the age of majority, i.e. 18 years;
With employees whose labor function involves the maintenance or use of monetary, commodity valuables or other property and is named as part of the work or positions (professions) included in the Lists approved by Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated December 31, 2002 No. 85.

It must be remembered that concluding an agreement on full financial liability is the right, and not the obligation, of the employer, while it is an obligation for an employee whose labor function is related to the maintenance of material assets and is indicated as part of the work or positions (professions) in the Lists approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor Russia dated December 31, 2002 No. 85. This means that the employee does not have the right to refuse to enter into an agreement on full financial liability.

Failure to conclude such an agreement with employees means their release from the obligation to bear full financial responsibility.

As a general rule, an agreement on full financial responsibility must be concluded simultaneously with an employment contract. The refusal of a person applying for a position (profession), the labor function of which is related to the maintenance of material assets, gives the employer grounds for refusing to conclude an employment contract.

There are situations when an employer simultaneously enters into an individual and collective agreement with the same employee on full financial responsibility. I believe that such actions are not based on the law.

The procedure for bringing to disciplinary liability
Raising the retirement age
Sample notification of changes in the terms of an employment contract
Additional agreement to the employment contract: when is it concluded, form, procedure for conclusion
Incentive payments: premiums, bonuses, additional payments and allowances
Consent to the processing of personal data
Effective contract
Differences between an employment contract and a civil law contract
Qualification requirements for drivers
Regulation of labor of minor workers
Work time
Irregular working hours
Overtime work
Errors in the employment contract
Recruitment
What documents does an employer have the right to require to conclude an employment contract (hiring)?
What documents are required when applying for a job?
What conditions must an employment contract contain?
Hiring an employee - registration procedure and necessary documents (detailed instructions)
Sample (approximate form) of an employment contract
Internal labor regulations (sample)
Sample (approximate form) of an agreement on the full individual financial responsibility of an employee and the necessary conditions for its conclusion
Transfer to another job (change of terms of the employment contract)
Dismissal at your own request
Dismissal due to reduction
Dismissal at the initiative of the employer (other cases)
Wages, sick leave, dismissal payments
Vacations
Labor disputes
Other labor law issues

Moscow January 11, 2009

Agreement on full financial responsibility

As practice shows, concluding a full liability agreement is a prerequisite for employment in many situations. Many analysts regard this fact as ignoring the legal rights and interests of employees, while other experts define this agreement as an effective mechanism for establishing normal legal relations between the employer and his hired personnel.

Nevertheless, whatever the attitude of ordinary people to this kind of agreement, the law establishes the employer’s right to sign such an agreement.

Often, agreements of this nature are concluded with those employees who, due to their official duties, will have uncontrolled access to material resources (cash, property assets).

At the same time, the main cases when an employee will bear responsibility and fulfill its basic conditions are fixed at the legislative level. In this way, the state protects hired workers who agree to conclude an agreement on financial responsibility.

Based on the legal requirements for this agreement, it should be noted that the agreement will be recognized as valid in a situation where it is signed and certified by both parties to the agreement, and also has a clearly structured form consisting of the following components:

name of the agreement and indication of complete information about the parties to the process;
the subject of the agreement, which specifies all the valuables that will be under the control of the hired employee, and for the safety of which he will be responsible;
specific mechanisms and methods of compensation for potential damage are stipulated, as well as mechanisms for determining the exact amount of damage, in particular expert assessments, commission audits, etc.;
The text of the agreement must necessarily indicate which specific cases may become the reason for the employee’s financial liability. As a rule, all the conditions noted in Art. are duplicated here. 243 Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
additional conditions are specified, for example, the possibility of terminating the agreement, the legal basis for resolving disputes, etc.;
At the end of the agreement, the details of the parties are indicated and their signatures are affixed.

It is legally determined that all the requirements specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation must be complied with by the parties to the process when signing the agreement. Otherwise, the contract may be considered void and will have no legal force.

It has also been established that specific specialties have their own standard agreements. For example, samples of financial liability agreements for sellers and cashiers, drivers and forwarders, warehouse managers, storekeepers and accountants have been approved by law.

Procedure for compensation for full material damage

It is established by law that the text of an agreement on liability must necessarily contain information regarding the specific procedure for compensation for damage. Here everything will depend on the terms of the agreement, as well as the characteristics of the material value that was damaged.

In accordance with the requirements of the legal system, the procedure for compensation for an employee may be as follows:

provision of similar property to replace lost property;
payment for repair work if, as a result of a negligent attitude to official duties, the employee’s actions led to a decrease in the potential value and a decrease in its value;
monetary compensation for damage caused, which will be commensurate with the real assessment of material damage. It is worth noting that the payment of compensation can be a one-time payment (the employee repays his debt in full) or proportional (the employee will transfer a specific amount to the employer every month until he pays off the amount of damage).

In a situation where an employee does not agree with his guilt or the specific amount of damage in monetary terms, he has the right to apply to the courts to protect his interests.

Author of the article

Results

Drawing up an agreement on liability with a person entrusted with working with material assets is an issue that is extremely important for an employer interested in the safety of his property. When drawing up this document, you must adhere to a number of rules established by current legislation.

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