How to quit your job remotely?

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Published: June 28, 2016

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The labor rights of an employee are protected by law more thoroughly than those of an employer, so a subordinate has the right to quit his job at any time and for any reason.

Moreover, even submitting an application and other documents in person is also not mandatory - all this can be done without visiting the place of work, that is, remotely . Read more about the remote dismissal procedure and the nuances of its implementation later in the article.

• Situations when remote dismissal is possible Dismissal factors Territorial
• Temporal
• Personal

How is the process of terminating an employment contract carried out?

According to the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, Art. 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the procedure is implemented as follows:

• the employee submits an application;
• the boss gets acquainted with the document;
• further, the manager issues an order;
• the employee is credited with the funds due;
• The employee is given money and documents.

But in the case under consideration, there is one very significant nuance: the employee and the boss are at a certain distance.
They cannot meet, exchange documents, and the employee cannot immediately receive cash earned. With all this, it is possible to resign from a distance, according to current legislation. Be aware of this!

How to submit a resignation letter remotely

There are several ways to submit your resignation letter remotely:

1. By email.
2. Russian Post.
3. Through a legal representative.

Let's consider each option in detail.

By email

The person leaving needs to know the email address of the manager or the HR department - the application is sent there. It is compiled in MS Word or any other program and signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature.

If the program provides the opportunity, it is better to include a report on the delivery and reading of the letter by the recipient.

Elena Plokhuta

Lawyer, website author (Civil law, 7 years of experience)

Via Russian Post

The application is sent by a valuable letter with a description of the contents and a receipt. When the document is handed over, the warning period begins to count from the next day. The sender will receive written notification.

Through a representative

The law does not provide for the possibility of filing an application through a representative, but it is not prohibited either. The person leaving needs to issue a notarized power of attorney to the attorney and hand over the application to him. The authorized representative will then submit documents to the employer. If payment of wages is necessary, the power of attorney can be certified by the head of the organization (Article 185.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Important! The powers under a power of attorney can include both simply submitting an application and receiving documents and invoices from the employer. Everything depends on the will of the principal.

How to draw up and submit an application

This is the most important question in the topic.
If the application for voluntary resignation is submitted incorrectly, the entire procedure may be delayed. Or leaving work may not happen at all. About the form of the document: everything is standard here. There is no model developed by any government agency. But the practice has developed in such a way that the document states:

• employee and employer data;
• a request to terminate the contract at the initiative of the employee submitting the application;
• the number with which the employee wishes to leave his position;
• date of application.

The employee puts his signature under the text of the document.

Additionally: an employee, if he also wants to receive a work book remotely, must express his consent to sending documents in this way. Otherwise, the employer will not be able to send the papers.

You just need to write: “Please send your work book and all necessary documents by mail to the address...”.
But what is much more important is how the application is sent. Usually, several options come to mind:

1. By mail.
2. Through the Internet.
3. Through a representative.

Attention: you can send a letter of resignation by email only if the employee has a digital signature (EDS).

Sending an application by mail is an old and proven method.
The main thing is that the letter is accompanied by a notification and a description of the attachment. A representative who wishes to apply for the dismissal of a third party must be issued a power of attorney. It is not necessary, but it is advisable that it be signed by a notary.

Determining the date for remote dismissal

With offline dismissal, everything is simple: a person submits an application, and the period of service begins the next day. If the document is sent remotely, everything is considered differently:

1. Via email - from the day following the date of receipt of notice of dismissal by email. This is relevant if a delivery report arrives or the personnel officer himself “unsubscribes” about receipt of the document.
2. Via Russian Post - from the day following the day of receipt of notification of delivery of the letter to the employer.
3. Through a representative by proxy - from the date following the date of submission of the application.

Example. Before resigning from Magnit, the cashier sent a statement to the main office of the Russian Post on the 10th. The notice of delivery arrived on the 20th, and the countdown of the service period begins on the 21st. There are 30 days in a month. The date of dismissal is considered to be the 4th of the next month.

Are you tired of reading? We’ll tell you over the phone and answer your questions.

Pros and cons of remote dismissal

The method has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's start with the cons:

1. The head of the company may not receive the document in a timely manner. Everyone knows perfectly well how our mail works. If there is no statement, you will not be fired. It is clear.
2. The boss may delay the dismissal process by taking all measures to avoid receiving the letter.
3. According to Art. 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee must notify his superiors of his dismissal two weeks before the date of leaving the position. Thus, to the 14 days of work, the time during which the letter will be sent is also added.

Plus, essentially, one. But it is significant: you don’t need to meet with the employer, go to the office, waste time, money, and, sometimes, even nerves.

Payment procedure for remote dismissal

In case of remote dismissal at one’s own request, by agreement of the parties or on the initiative of the employer, the employee is transferred salary and compensation for unused vacation days.

Many organizations have long switched to payments through banks, and money goes to bank cards. If the salary is paid in cash, the person resigning must indicate in the application what details to transfer it to him.

Important! According to Art. 140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the final payment is made on the last working day.

Employer's actions

If the head of an organization has received a letter of resignation, he needs to figure out whether the employee has the right to leave the organization without working. If the employee has such a right, then the boss must:

• issue a dismissal order;
• make an appropriate entry in the work book;
• determine the amount of money owed to the employee, transfer funds to the card or set aside cash.

According to Art.
140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, if a person was not present at the workplace on the day of dismissal, then the money must be paid to him no later than the day following the day the employee applied for these funds. If the organization pays wages in cash, which is now rare, then there is a good option: in the resignation letter, the employee must ask to transfer the money to a bank account and indicate the details. The employer is obliged to fulfill this request.

Once again about the most important points:

1. The work book is waiting for the employee if he has not given consent to have it sent by mail. Or, if a representative of the dismissed person did not come for her. The employer needs to inform the former employee that the documents are ready for issue - write a corresponding letter.
2. If payment in the organization is carried out by card, then the money is transferred to the employee on the day of dismissal. If the salary is paid in cash, then the bills lie there and wait for the employee to come for them. A representative can take the money if the power of attorney issued to him contains such authority. The dismissed person can indicate bank details to which funds can be transferred.

What does the Labor Code of the Russian Federation say?

The law provides for all the necessary components of dismissal of a remote worker, because there can be different situations in a person’s life. But in what cases is such a process allowed? The law does not contain a list of reasons why you can quit offline. It is for this reason that such an issue can be resolved through interaction between the employer and the employee himself. Based on the experience gained, people often quit for the following reasons:

• An urgent move to another place and getting a job there, the reason for which is the illness of relatives and the need to care for them, or the transfer of a military husband to a new place of work;
• The main office of the company is located in another city;
• The decision to quit came to mind during maternity leave;
• Injury or other serious health problems;
• Individual characteristics of the body, which in every possible way interfere with the implementation of this or that work;
• Situations that led to conflict with some employees;
• The reason may also be the character of the person.

In general, an employee has the opportunity to resign in this way if he has any reason that is considered valid. But in this case, no one knows how direct employers will look at it.

Undoubtedly, such dismissal processes can also present certain types of difficulties. This applies to a greater extent to persons who are financially responsible, because upon dismissal they must hand over documentation and valuables. Such situations always involve a process of working out.

Dismissal of a remote employee

In the age of the Internet, a lot of workers do things remotely. That is, he doesn’t go to the office. Works at home or somewhere else. For example, in a coworking center.

To be honest, not many remote workers are formalized. Termination of the employment contract does not occur, because the document does not exist in nature.

If the relationship is fully formalized, then everything happens as described above. For example, an application by mail, issuance of an order, money on a card, a work book by mail.

Documents for remote dismissal

When dismissing an employee, the employer must give him on the last working day:

• work book;
• educational documents;
• certificate of contributions to the Pension Fund;
• SZV-STAZH certificate;
• STD-R certificate, if the work book is kept in electronic form.

Upon written request, a copy of the dismissal order, a certificate for submission to the Employment Center and other documents related to labor activity may be issued.

Note: documents are sent by valuable mail with a list of attachments. It is better to indicate the delivery method in the application, or the employer will have to take written consent from the resigning employee to send it by Russian Post.

Arbitrage practice

While remote workers rarely go to court to challenge dismissal, there are few actual cases in court practice. Here's one of them:

A woman worked remotely as a chief accountant for an individual entrepreneur. First, the entrepreneur fired her under clause 5, part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation for systematic failure to fulfill duties. I didn’t ask for an explanation; the dismissal was unexpected for the employee. She went to court, and the order was declared illegal.

Then the defendant-employer fired her under clause 9, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation for making an unreasonable decision. The woman recovered through the court, seeking compensation for moral damage and unpaid wages. The defendant issued an order to restore her to her previous position, but in fact did not allow her to work. The accountant filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office, but the results of the audit were not communicated to her.

The employer decided to change working conditions by appointing his relative to the position of accountant. In fact, the woman could only agree to worse conditions, or quit of her own free will. She was still not allowed to work; the manager tried to fire her “under the article”, drawing up reports of absenteeism.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit to declare these acts invalid, reinstate her in her position, recover wages for the period of forced absence, and compensate for moral damage. Decision No. 2-2051/2017 2-97/2018 2-97/2018(2-2051/2017;)~M-1951/2017 M-1951/2017 dated July 17, 2021 in case No. 2-2051/2017 requirements are satisfied.

How to quit your job remotely: step-by-step instructions

The procedure for remote dismissal depends on the grounds:

1. At the request of the employee.
2. By agreement.
3. At the initiative of the employer.

Let's look at the features in detail.

At your own request

Everything is quite simple here:

1. The person resigning draws up a statement, sends it by e-mail or in any other convenient way.
2. The employer receives the application and specifies how to deliver the work book and other documents to the employee. Permission to send by mail is drawn up in writing.
3. On the last working day, a dismissal order is issued.
4. The employer sends the employee a notice of the need to appear at the organization to receive documents, or to give written consent to send them by mail. From this moment on, he is released from liability for late delivery.
5. All documents are sent by Russian Post or transferred to a representative if the resigning employee agrees to this.

Sample application

Consultation on document preparation

Sample consent

Consultation on document preparation

By agreement of the parties

Art. 78 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows you to terminate a contract by mutual agreement. This method is usually used if there are disagreements between the employee and the manager, but there are no grounds for dismissal at the initiative of the employer:

1. The employer sends a notice to the employee with an offer to resign by agreement, indicating the conditions: for example, “compensation”.
2. The employee receives a notification and gives written consent to formalize the agreement.
3. The parties sign the agreement electronically, each with their own signature. One copy remains for both.

The agreement can be drawn up on paper, but then it will have to be sent by Russian Post. This will delay the dismissal period.

Sample agreement

Consultation on document preparation

At the initiative of the employer

The most difficult thing is to dismiss an employee at the initiative of the employer, since here you have to follow certain rules:

1. The manager discovers an offense from the list of Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Fixes it in documents in the presence of at least two witnesses.
2. The employer requests an explanatory note from the offender; it must be submitted within two working days (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
3. Having studied the explanations, the boss draws up a dismissal order and sends it to the employee for signing. If he refuses to sign it, a corresponding act is drawn up.
4. The employer sends a notice to the dismissed person, indicating that he needs to come for documents or agree to be sent by mail.
5. The dismissed person receives documents himself or through Russian Post.

If there is no response from the employee, there is no need to send the work book and other documents upon dismissal without authorization by Russian Post. They will have to be issued later upon a written application from the dismissed person no later than three working days (Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Important! In addition to the general grounds provided for in Art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for remote workers there are additional grounds for termination of the contract (Article 312.8 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For example, an employer may dismiss an employee on his own initiative if he does not interact with him on work-related issues for more than two days in a row, unless a longer period is established by the contract. Also, the contract is terminated if the employee moves to another area, which makes it impossible to perform previous duties.

Lawyer's answers to private questions

Is it legal to submit a resignation letter via email?

Yes. There is no law prohibiting sending in this way. But it is better to check with the employer whether it has been received. It is advisable that the answer is also given by email.

How to fire an employee without his presence if he refuses to pick up documents and sign an order?

The main thing is to draw up an act of refusal and send him a notice requiring consent to be sent by mail. Even if he ignores it, the employer will not be held responsible for the untimely issuance of the work book. It can be issued later, when the fired person applies for it.

Can an employer refuse to dismiss me if I am unable to come and collect the documents in person?

No. He is obliged to dismiss in any case after the end of the warning period. It is better to immediately write about the delivery of documents by mail in the application.

Is it possible to leave remote work without quitting?

No. Leaving remote work is possible through a transfer to offline work in agreement with the employer. In other cases, you will have to quit if you are not satisfied with working online. If you just need a break, you can take a vacation without saving your salary (Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

How to pick up labor without working off?

Work off is not assigned if the manager agrees to dismissal without it. If you don’t want to go to work, you can take a vacation and then quit. The warning period (14 days) is included in it, as in sick leave. According to the documents, she is appointed, but she will not actually be present at the workplace.