Is it necessary to create a commission when reducing the number of employees?
If you plan to reduce staff, the total number of employees, without a special commission it is difficult to comply with the laws. But a situation is acceptable when the employer does not take such an initiative.
The Labor Code regulations do not contain precise instructions according to which the creation of a commission would be a mandatory requirement. Managers are given the right to make independent decisions about how and with which employees to terminate employment contracts.
In any case, the legality of each action taken requires separate verification. The creation of a commission helps to comply with the requirements of current regulations.
When and why is a personnel assessment commission formed during layoffs?
During a reduction, a situation may arise when there is a set of identical positions, of which only a part should be laid off. That is, there are several employees in approximately equal positions (in the same positions) and a choice must be made between them - who will leave and who will stay.
It is in this case that it is necessary to use a mechanism for evaluating employees with the help of a special commission. In other circumstances there is no need to create it.
There is an opinion that the work of the commission can be entrusted to one employee. There is no ban on this. But we don’t recommend doing this. For the reason that in the event of a dispute with a dismissed employee, labor inspectors and judges will definitely pay attention to the absence of a commission, consider the opinion of only one person subjective and not competent enough, and will almost certainly recognize the reduction carried out as illegal.
The commission's task is to rank employees depending on their qualifications and performance indicators. Persons who occupy the top lines of such a list will have an advantage to remain in their jobs over those who are lower.
What should be the composition of the commission?
The labor documentation of the Russian Federation does not contain information regarding what the composition will be. In this case, the employer also compiles a list of those taking part in the event. The optimal solution is when the commission is represented by the following employees:
- Lawyers . They involve consultations in the relevant field. This is all the more relevant when the dismissal of a citizen is related to controversial issues and situations.
- Representatives of the personnel service . Provide documentation with information regarding employees who are being laid off.
- Management in structural units whose work is affected by the reduction. They help provide adequate assessment when necessary for the training of subordinates and their skills.
- The employer or person entrusted to represent the interests. Act as chairman of the commission.
What to do if several employees have equal results?
If several employees get the same assessment results, but some of them still need to be laid off, then additional circumstances will need to be taken into account.
If the evaluation scores are equal and one of the people being assessed has factors from the list above, the advantage goes to the one who has these factors.
What if several people have both high assessment results and additional circumstances that give an advantage? In this situation, you need to find out all the possible factors that can influence, and choose to keep the one who has more such factors.
For example, two employees support disabled family members, but one of them still has an occupational disease acquired while working for this employer. Preference should be given to the second employee.
The list of additional circumstances that give an advantage to staying at work in the event of a layoff is also not closed.
An employer can establish additional criteria that will give an advantage to an employee with the same primary rating as someone else.
Execution of orders for the creation of commissions
When a positive decision is made to collect a commission, the first action on the part of the employer is to issue an appropriate order with information. The document becomes the main basis on which the commission meets.
The employer has the right to decide what the document will be, since there is no standardized form.
Table 1. Information in the order on the creation of the commission
Order items | A comment |
A cap | Contains the full form of the company name along with all details. Be sure to indicate the date the order was issued along with the serial number. It is mandatory to have references to legislative acts that regulate the reduction procedure. |
Description of the purpose for which the commission is created | Here they indicate that an event has been organized to reduce the number of |
Main part, in text form | Usually a list of members making up the commission is provided here. It is necessary to indicate positions, secretaries, chairmen, and so on. Specific actions and powers are indicated for commission members. |
Indication of the person responsible for issuing the order | Usually this function is assigned to the head of the enterprise. |
Signatures of responsible persons and seal of the organization |
Compound
There is no information about the composition of the commission of this nature in the labor documentation of the Russian Federation.
The employer independently prepares a list of specialists who will need to take part in this procedure.
Ideally, the commission should include the following citizens working in a given company:
- the head of the company or a person representing his interests. Acts as chairman of the commission;
- heads of structural units in which it is planned to reduce the number or staff of employees. They more adequately and fairly assess the professional qualities of each employee;
- personnel officers. In this case, they are appointed responsible for providing the necessary documentation about employees whose candidacies may be laid off;
- lawyers. Their presence is necessary to provide (if necessary) professional advice on legal issues. For example, in determining the legality of the dismissal of an employee who has been laid off.
How to issue an order for creation?
If the manager nevertheless decided to create a commission, the members of which will determine the list of specialists subject to reduction, the first thing he does is issue a corresponding order. It is he who serves as the basis for the creation of this commission.
The creation order is issued in free form .
There is no unified form for filling it out, so each employer can develop the most suitable version of the paper themselves.
The order should reflect the following information.
- A cap.
It must indicate the full name of the institution and its details. The serial number assigned to the order and the date of publication of the document are also written here. A reference is made to the legislative act regulating the topic of reduction.
- The purpose of creating the commission.
An approximate wording of this paragraph may look like this: “Reduction in staff or number of employees.”
- Main text part.
Includes a list of committee members. The position of each employee is indicated, as well as the moment which specialist is appointed as chairman, who as secretary, etc.
- Purposes of creating the commission.
This reflects the powers of the commission members and the actions they must perform. For example, hold a meeting, draw up and send a corresponding notice to the employment center, etc.
- The person responsible for executing the order. Most often this is the head of the enterprise.
- Signatures of responsible persons - members of the commission and the director of the company.
- Seal of the organization.
order to create a commission to reduce the number or staff - word.
This is what the sample looks like:
What responsibilities do members have?
The main purpose for which any commission is collected is to competently assess the level of current productivity of employees at risk. The case of each subordinate is considered individually. A general description of the responsibilities of members is as follows:
- preparation of relevant documentation in the form of decisions;
- making a decision on the need for dismissal;
- taking into account the personal qualities of the employee, along with professional training, level of qualifications, and the correspondence of knowledge to the work performed;
- identifying employees for whom layoffs are prohibited;
- studying the opinion of heads of structural divisions;
- comprehensive consideration of each candidate nominated for dismissal.
Rules for drawing up a protocol
A protocol is a written report that the commission draws up at one of the final stages of its work. The company's local regulatory documentation may contain information related to the execution of this act.
The main thing is that the protocol contains the following information:
- Signatures of responsible persons.
- The decision that was made in the end.
- List of issues considered during the meeting.
- Composition of the commission, with initials and positions.
- Details and conditions under which the procedure is organized.
- Name of paper.
Information is entered separately for each of the specialists affected by the case. If a subordinate has disciplinary sanctions, they are also taken into account. The same applies to practical work experience and professional achievements.
How to draw up a protocol?
The staff (number) reduction protocol reflects:
- place, date and time of the commission meeting;
- composition of the committee members present;
- meeting agenda;
- issues considered and decisions made;
- opinion of the commission members.
Comparison of skills, abilities, and qualifications of specialists is a very important point in the protocol.
The most convenient way for comparison is to compile a summary table where the achievements and penalties of employees are viewed.
When evaluating personnel, disciplinary sanctions, rewards, and level of education (basic and additional) are recorded.
Trade union committee in the process of layoffs
During the layoff procedure, subordinates become more vulnerable compared to employers. Therefore, taking into account the opinions of representatives of the trade union body has also become a mandatory requirement. Just one resolution of the assembled commission is not enough.
If a representative of this association was not invited to the event, the trade union has the right to hold its meeting. At this meeting, employers provide documents that become the basis for decision-making. If the trade union body has not given any response within the next seven days, the manager has the right not to take this opinion into account.
Persons subject to dismissal must receive offers of employment for other vacant positions associated with the same enterprise. If an employee believes that the dismissal is illegal, he has the right to appeal the decision, but in court.
How to conduct personnel assessment for reduction
The assessment methodology is left to the discretion of the employer. The main thing is that it is logical and understandable not only for the commission members, but also for employees and regulatory authorities who may study the assessment results.
The most convenient way is to assign evaluation points. For example, 1 point is given for having a secondary specialized education, 2 points for higher education, for additional advanced training, certificates, etc. 0.5 points are added for each event. And so on for each criterion applied.
Then, based on the total number of points, it is easy to build a ranked list of employees.
However, the assessment does not end there.