Didn't go to work without a good reason. How to skip work without unpleasant consequences? Reasons for absenteeism caused by external factors

Last modified: January 2020

Missing work time may be grounds for disciplinary action by the employer. However, there are good reasons for not showing up for work that justify the employee under certain legal provisions. To eliminate the risk of undesirable consequences from the administration, and also to be able to justify the position at work, the employee should carefully study the circumstances under which absence will not become a violation of labor discipline.

The employer sometimes experiences difficulties with the correct interpretation of situations in which an employee is absent from the workplace, because there is no direct explanation on this issue in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

When a no-show becomes a truancy

The law considers 2 categories of failure to appear, depending on the individual's specific circumstances.

1 The first category is absence from work without a good reason, when nothing prevented the employee from appearing at work, but he ignored the obligations under the employment contract and was negligent in his assigned duties. If absence from work exceeded a 4-hour interval, and the employee was unable to provide convincing evidence that the absence was agreed upon by law or management itself, they speak of absenteeism. Absenteeism without a good reason is a reason to impose penalties on the offender (reprimand, severe reprimand, dismissal under the article). 2 The second category is interesting in that missing a day of work will not entail negative consequences, since it is agreed upon by law. If a person was physically unable to attend and fulfill work obligations, if there was a valid reason for not showing up for work, the employee is not considered a truant.

Sometimes a misunderstanding arises between the parties to the employment relationship, and management orders the employee to be fired. A person who disagrees with the opinion of the administration has the right to challenge such a decision and be restored to his previous place by appealing to the court.

Good reasons

The opinion of management when determining the degree of guilt of an absentee employee has a certain weight, but in priority, the validity of the reason for absence is judged based on the norms of labor legislation (Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Sometimes an employee is even freed from the need to coordinate his absence (for example, if he develops an illness, confirmed by an open sick leave certificate).

Before judging the right to fail to appear, employed citizens should study cases of mandatory notification to management and situations where prior approval is not necessary.

Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines circumstances that require mandatory notification of absence from work due to leave at one’s own expense. Articles 125, 262, 267 regulate special situations when unpaid leave is granted without the consent of the administration.

Upon prior application, employees have the right to be absent for the following reasons for absence:

• death of a family member or close relative (upon application, a 5-day unpaid leave is allocated to the manager);
• marriage registration at the registry office and wedding celebrations (5 days of vacation without pay are issued);
• the birth of a child gives a similar right to 5 days at his own expense.

Certain categories of citizens have the right to be absent for the number of days established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, having previously notified the employer of the reasons for absence from the workplace; the following categories can serve as an example of such absence:

• persons with limited physical capabilities (with an assigned disability group);
• veterans of the Patriotic War;
• employed citizens of retirement age;
• employees who have not reached the age of majority;
• legal spouse, parents of law enforcement officers and emergency service employees who died in the line of duty;
• parents who support children with disabilities;
• employees who went on paid leave and were then called back from it to perform urgent work in the interests of the company;
• hired personnel who did not receive wages within the time limits specified by labor legislation.

The last point requires compliance with the mandatory notification procedure. If management delays labor payments, on the basis of Art. 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, after the expiration of 15 days from the date of scheduled receipt of wages, the employee notifies in writing of absence.

In a statement addressed to the manager, the employee explains the reason for absence from work - delay in payment of wages.

Assuming valid reasons for which employees of the above categories have the right not to go to work, the law requires written notification of the organization’s management of their intentions, since the sudden absence of a specialist threatens to disrupt the production process and other negative consequences for the organization.

To protect yourself from the arbitrariness of the administration, all written requests addressed to management should be duplicated, insisting on registration of the document and a mark on your own copy about acceptance for consideration. If it is not possible to deliver the papers in person, it is possible to send a registered letter with delivery notification.

Additional reasons

There is no separate rule or article in labor legislation that would list what is considered a valid reason. In the following cases, an absent employee has the right to count on agreeing on the time of his absence from work without subsequent sanctions from the administration:

1. Temporary incapacity for work of an employee or a member of his family, confirmed by open sick leave, gives the right to be legally absent for the entire period of illness.
2. Donation, with confirmation of the fact of blood donation by a corresponding certificate from a medical institution, serves as the basis for exemption from work duties for 2 days.
3. A strike with the participation of an employee does not give management the right to fire a person for absenteeism, which is confirmed by Art. 414 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
4. Calling a citizen to perform duties to the state if it is necessary to perform special assignments or public works.
5. Involvement in legal proceedings through a subpoena.

Since the Labor Code does not provide clear instructions on what situations can be considered disrespectful reasons for failure to appear, you should adhere to the basic norms of the Labor Code and established judicial practice. So, for example, the following situations can be recognized as disrespectful reasons:

• undergoing a medical examination, consultation with a doctor without opening a sick leave;
• absenteeism from work due to unregistered leave from vacation and absence of documents confirming that the period was worked;
• lack of approval on an application for leave to care for a minor ward;
• hospitalization of the spouse.

Unless otherwise specified by law, management will decide whether to consider the reason for non-appearance to be valid or to apply punishment for violation of labor discipline.

Depending on the severity of the offense, management has the right to reprimand for a single violation, but in case of systematic offenses and ignoring the work schedule, the administration may be subsequently dismissed under the article.
In special cases, if absence from work for more than 4 hours caused a disruption in production and led to losses for the enterprise, dismissal with the first offense is also legal.

If the employee considers the applied sanction to be excessively strict, the administration’s decision will be challenged in court. Do not forget that the final decision on whether to punish a subordinate is made by the manager himself, and he has the right to cancel the punishment or limit himself to an oral reprimand.

Personnel position

Before initiating dismissal or issuing a reprimand, you should wait for an explanation from the employee. Sometimes unforeseen circumstances arise in which it is impossible to notify the manager or be present at the workplace.

There are some external circumstances that do not depend on a person’s will, and force majeure cannot become a reason for blaming a violator of discipline. Such situations include:

• a stuck elevator makes it impossible to get to work on time, and the time it takes to rescue a person can last for hours;
• a car accident while driving to work;
• departure of a regular bus and the unavailability of alternative ways to get there;
• natural disasters, elements (floods, hurricanes, etc.);
• an epidemic in the region forcing mandatory vaccination;
• problems with transport when returning from a vacation trip or business trip, lack of travel tickets.

If, at the request of the employer, a person provides a detailed explanation and attaches supporting documents, the application of sanctions is unlawful, since there were valid reasons for absence from work.

When an employee does not show up for work, having previously agreed on the absence with the manager, it is impossible to punish the employee if an order for time off or vacation was issued before leaving. Even if the employer's consent is not required, the employee must still apply and obtain supervisor approval for the visa. To prevent the possibility of later applying disciplinary sanctions against the absent person, it is worth obtaining an order to grant days of vacation or time off.

Free question to a lawyer

Need some advice? Ask a question directly on the site. All consultations are free / The quality and completeness of the lawyer’s response depends on how completely and clearly you describe your problem.

It is the circumstances due to which the employee was not at work that are decisive in the issue of his dismissal for absenteeism. Absence for what period of time is not absenteeism and what reasons are considered valid?

As labor legislation tells us, absenteeism is absence from the workplace without good reason for more than four hours in a row during a working day (shift) or throughout the entire working day (shift), regardless of its duration. Cases when an employee’s absence can be considered absenteeism are given in paragraph 39 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 No. 2.

Employees' appeals to the labor inspectorate regarding their illegal dismissal happen frequently, says state labor inspector Yulia Gavrilenko. - Employers violate the dismissal procedure in case of absenteeism. They do not take an explanatory note to find out how valid the reasons for absence from work are. They do not notify you that you need to pick up your work book. Of course, in this case the employee is reinstated at work. Courts make decisions depending on proof of violation of labor law, and are also guided by their own convictions.

To determine the exact duration of an employee’s absence from the workplace, several points must be taken into account:

• whether the period of absence of the employee occurred during working hours or during rest periods;

• what is the duration of the specified period;

• Is the time of the employee’s absence from the workplace correctly determined if the employee was not found at the workplace several times during the day.

Good reasons?

It happens that an employee has circumstances that prevent him from coming to work. In such cases, if, after all, the employee was fired for absenteeism, the court will evaluate how valid the reasons are for which such a situation has arisen.

• The employee fell ill, and there is an entry in his outpatient card or a certificate from a doctor, but there is no sick leave. In this case, the dismissal will most often be considered illegal. Even in the absence of a certificate of incapacity for work, medical documents from the employee’s initial examination or a medical certificate are adequate evidence of a valid reason.

• The employee could work during working hours, but underwent a medical examination on his own initiative. In this case, if the employee does not have a sick leave certificate, undergoing various medical examinations is not a valid reason for absence from work, except in cases where the employee is required to undergo a periodic medical examination (Article 213 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

• An employee's child became ill and was unable to work because he was seeking emergency medical care for a minor. In this case, judicial practice suggests that this is still a valid reason.

• The employee was on sick leave, but during the period of incapacity he worked and was absent only periodically, but the time of absence was not agreed upon with the manager. In this situation, dismissal will be illegal, because the employee has sick leave, and the fact that he worked does not mean that his ability to work has been restored. But if the employer did not know that the employee was on sick leave, due to the fault of the employee himself, the dismissal may be considered legal.

• The employee's home was undergoing emergency repair work, and he had to provide access to the apartment for repairmen. In this case, judicial practice speaks of the illegality of dismissal. Absence from work for these reasons is considered valid. This does not apply, for example, to the installation of various types of equipment or routine repairs at the request of the employee.

• The employee was absent from the workplace due to participation in the court hearing as a plaintiff. The courts consider this reason for absence to be valid. According to Art. 46 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the right to judicial protection includes the right to personal participation in a court hearing. In addition, calls and appeals from courts are mandatory for everyone without exception and are subject to strict execution. But if the employee does not perform government duties and is simply a representative, then the reason for his absence is considered disrespectful. By the way, visiting other government bodies during working hours on personal matters is also not considered a valid reason for absenteeism.

• There are cases when the employer did not notify the employee that it was necessary to go to work at a certain time. In this case, the dismissal will be considered unlawful, since by law the employer is obliged to familiarize employees, against signature, with local regulations directly related to their work activities. In such a situation, the employee’s absence from work is not absenteeism. The same applies to the situation when the employee was not notified of a change in his workplace.

• In the event that an employee does not show up for work due to non-payment of accrued wages, the dismissal will be considered illegal. In case of delay in payment of wages for a period of more than 15 days, the employee has the right, by notifying the employer in writing, to suspend work for the entire period until the delayed amount is paid(Part 2 of Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Rabotnik, who notified the employer in writing of the suspension of work, is absent from the workplace for a valid reason.

Read about what is considered a disciplinary sanction and what responsibility awaits for failure to comply with the procedure for imposing a disciplinary sanction in the next issue.

Timing is everything

The issue of correct calculation of absenteeism time plays a decisive role. Many different situations have already been considered by the courts, and by analyzing judicial practice, we can come to the following conclusions.

Dismissal of an employee is unlawful if:

1. the employee was not present at work for four hours or less;

2. the employee was absent from the workplace for more than four hours in a row, but minus the time of absence during the lunch break, the working time accounted for less than four hours of absence. According to Art. 108 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, during the working day the employee must be given a break for rest and food of no more than two hours and no less than 30 minutes. This break is not included or paid during working hours. That is why, when calculating the time an employee is absent, lunch time must be subtracted from the time absent from the workplace.

It is legal if:the employee was absent from the workplace for more than four hours of working time, but neither before nor after the lunch break the time of absence exceeded four hours. The lunch break does not count as working time, so the employee’s absence time before and after the lunch break must be summed up.

Hello! This article talks about the reasons for absenteeism.

Today you will learn:

1. Disrespectful and valid circumstances of absence from work;
2. about absence from production;
3. What penalties apply for unlawful absenteeism and is it possible to impose a penalty for failure to appear for a good reason.

Truancy concept

In simple terms, absenteeism is the absence of a person from his place of work for some time, with or without a reason. According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the term absenteeism is defined as absence from work for more than 4 hours for an unexcused reason and less than 4 hours for a valid reason.

According to this terminology, absence from work can be divided into two types:

1. Without a reason, which may later result in dismissal. But in some cases, management may take other measures to punish their worker.
2. For any reason, that is, absence is justified.

According to labor law, an employee can seek help from the court if the employer neglected a valid reason and decided to resort to.

• What time of absence occurred, that is, working time or time intended for rest;
• How long does the absence last?
• How many times during a shift or during a working day a person was absent from performing a production task.

In practice, absenteeism at work is bad, but before you are fired, you need to know the basic concepts of labor law.

Absenteeism is classified as a violation of the production process, which may result in losses and damage to the organization.

Unexcused reasons for absenteeism

The concept of a disrespectful reason is not defined by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It follows from this that the employer himself has the right to assess the legality and importance of absenteeism or absence from work for some time.

The absence of a list of unexcused reasons does not give the employer the right to regard each absence as unauthorized absence. He must take this determination with full responsibility, otherwise the precedent will be considered in court.

As a rule, the court proceeds from legal and disciplinary responsibility, that is, the entire proportionality and legality of the case is taken into account. In this case, the entire galaxy of reasons and motives for the employee’s absence from his place is subject to verification. And if a valid reason for absenteeism is identified, the employer will be punished in this case.

When identifying factors that precede an employee’s failure to appear, the employer must apply a punishment commensurate with the employee’s misconduct, and also take into account previously identified disciplinary measures.

What is a valid reason for absenteeism?

There come times when you cannot be present at your workplace. And in some cases, you don’t try to warn your boss about this. This may cause disagreements between you and management. Therefore, it is better to worry about this in advance and notify about deliberate absence.
What could be the reasons for such a no-show:

Circumstance of non-appearance	Characteristic
	Reasons why it is impossible to get to work. It can be a strong storm, in which case there is a traffic jam, a blizzard. Severe frosts are also an obstacle to coming to the workplace. As a result, traffic jams and poor visibility occur. For such reasons, you do not have the right to fire if this is stated in advance in the explanatory note.
Late return from vacation	An employee may not return from vacation on time if this is accompanied by weather conditions. The boss must consider such a reason as valid.
Administrative arrest	If an employee is arrested or detained as a witness or accused, this is not a reason for recording absenteeism on the work time sheet.
Public transport malfunction	If you have to get to work by public transport, but a breakdown occurs during the journey, this is regarded as a valid reason.
Leaving work	To care for a sick member of your family, to undergo a medical examination or tests. In this case, you need to support your care with a certificate from a doctor or a certificate of incapacity for work.
There was an accident at your house	If a plumber or other specialist comes to you to eliminate an accident and your presence is required. But in this case, if you yourself called such an employee to stay at home, then this is not a valid reason
Road accidents while traveling to work	These could be accidents while driving your own car or public transport
Self-exclusion for health reasons	If things get bad at the workplace, the employee can go to the doctor, evidence of which is a discharge or outpatient card with records of a doctor’s visit, as well as a referral to a doctor
Late payment of wages for more than 15 days	A long delay in salary may be the reason for non-attendance at the workplace, but it must be documented in writing, which is regulated by Art. 142 TK
	If at the end of the training session the employee for some reason was unable to show up for work on time, but this will be explained, then these are valid reasons

In any case, you must inform the director in advance of the reason for your late arrival to work. This can be put in writing upon arrival at work, by calling your boss or any other manager from your cell phone.

According to the above circumstances of absence from work, it can be argued that some of them are beyond the control of the employee and may occur unexpectedly. But still, each of them must be considered independently, taking into account all the nuances of its occurrence.

Another group of factors confirming excused absence during a work shift are force majeure circumstances:

1. Malfunction of the building elevator.
2. Flood, fire, robbery.
3. The sudden onset of an epidemic in the employee’s area of ​​residence and the need for quarantine.
4. Delays of regular transport during vacations, business trips and travel to work.
5. If there are no tickets for the next flight.

Such obstacles to getting a job must be supported by a written explanatory statement indicating the reason. If there is other evidence of the occurrence of a force majeure situation, then they should be attached to it.

There are times when the occurrence of a circumstance is known in advance:

• Severe illness of a relative that ends in death;
• A relative has a child;
• Birthday party;
• Going to a wedding.

Usually such reasons are known, so it will not be difficult to write an explanatory note before the actual reason for failure to appear occurs. As a rule, such reasons for absence are also accompanied by several unpaid days off, which do not exceed 5 days, as prescribed in Labor Code Art. 128.

Additional days off that occurred with the permission of the manager do not equate to absenteeism.

Execution of explanatory note

Not every employee knows how to correctly draw up an explanatory note and how to indicate in it the reason for absence from work. It is the correctly formulated reason that is the legal basis for your absence and will protect you from unlawful dismissal.

A written explanation for failure to appear is a document drawn up by the truant in his own hand in any form, but maintaining a business style.

Document writing scheme:

1. In the upper part, right corner, write the full or abbreviated name of the organization, the full name of the manager, to whom the employee addresses with explanations.
2. The title of the document is indicated in the center of the sheet. In many organizations, this is an explanatory note about absence from work.
3. Below is a description of the circumstances of absence from work, which is presented arbitrarily.
4. Below is the autograph of the truant and the date of compilation.
5. It is necessary to list the documents confirming the fact of absence, if any, and attach them to the note.

All attributes of the note must be written correctly, without distorting the facts. There must be a business style of writing. All facts and reasons are presented directly, without emotional cues.

There are moments that have a dual nature and can be regarded by the employee on the one hand, and by the employer on the other. For example, if an employee was absent from the workplace for more than 4 hours, but was present in another workshop of the enterprise, this is not absenteeism. If the time away from production was exactly 4 hours and not a minute more, this is not absenteeism. If, for some reason, an employee was unable to notify the boss of a valid reason, but there is documentary evidence of this, this is not absenteeism.

The occurrence of such moments should be fully reflected in the note. After drawing up the explanatory note, it must be endorsed in the incoming correspondence journal by the secretary and submitted to the manager for signing.

The deadline for drawing up the document has been established, which is two days from the moment of absenteeism.

Punishment for absenteeism without a good reason

If an employee actually has an unexcused reason for absence, then the employer has the right to hold him accountable, in some cases this ends in dismissal.

Absenteeism is a reason for terminating the labor relationship between an employee and his boss, which will ultimately lead to termination.

On the fact of illegal absence from work, a report is drawn up. It can be written by the head of the structural unit under whose subordination the truant is located.

Such an act must be drawn up at the time of absence and contain:

1. Date of compilation.
2. Full name and position of the person preparing the document.
3. Reason for compilation.
4. Full name of the employee who was absent from work.
5. Length of absence.
6. Signature of the director of the company.

If possible, a written explanation must be taken from the absentee employee indicating the reasons for his absence. If it turns out that the absence is illegal, the director writes an order for disciplinary punishment and then dismissal.

An order is drawn up according to, which contains all the necessary points of a regular order, with the exception of a description of the essence of the order. It specifies the reason for dismissal. The dismissed employee must be familiar with the order for absenteeism and can appeal it to the local labor authorities.

Another measure may be a reprimand for absenteeism. This is at the discretion of management. The mildest measure is an oral reprimand from the boss. However, sometimes it is in writing, after which a reprimand order is issued.

At some enterprises, a series of several reprimands ends in dismissal. The reprimand has its own validity period, and it is equal to 12 months, after which it is removed from the employee. This may come earlier, but it all depends on the will of the director. A person who has committed truancy is informed of the order within three days.

Is it legal to punish absenteeism for a good reason?

If a person does not show up at work for any reason and does not answer the phone, then this is not a reason to consider his absence as absenteeism, until all the circumstances are clarified. Punishment is imposed if the reasons are classified as disrespectful.

According to the Labor Code, the employee is not obliged to report to his superiors in advance about forced absence, but after which he must give a written explanation. If, after the next appearance at work, it turns out that the circumstances are of an important nature and are due to failure to appear, then the boss should not subject his subordinate to disciplinary measures. Otherwise, this may be appealed in court.

Litigation is a complex and serious process. When the case is ready for trial, the judge sets a date and time for the trial. Next, the parties to the trial and other participants are notified when and at what address the case will be considered. To do this, they are sent subpoenas called judicial notices. There are certain rules for serving subpoenas. In particular, this is done against signature, by registered mail with notification. A person who has received a summons is required to appear at a court hearing, unless there are valid reasons for failure to appear in court.

Why is it important to ensure the attendance of all participants in the trial?

In order for the trial of any case - criminal, civil or administrative - to be as complete as possible, the judge must interview all persons who can provide important information on the merits of the case. The plaintiff and defendant, suspect and victim, as well as witnesses must appear in court and answer the judge’s questions in detail. The more diverse data there is on the case, the more objective the decision will be. And because it must be fair, it is imperative that all persons to whom court notices have been served be present in court.

Failure to appear in court without a valid reason - what are the consequences?

The obligation of a person who has received a subpoena to appear at a court hearing on the appointed day and time is established by law. If a person duly summoned to court ignores this duty without valid reasons, this is regarded as contempt of court and entails certain liability.

The degree of responsibility and sanctions depend on the capacity in which the person is summoned to court. Thus, if we are talking about failure to appear at a hearing in a civil or administrative case of a participant in the process, the fine ranges from 5 thousand rubles (for an individual) to 100 thousand rubles (such a significant fine can be imposed on government agencies). When a witness skips a criminal court hearing without good reason, the fine can be up to 2,500 rubles.

There is also the concept of forcibly bringing to a court hearing a participant in a process who systematically fails to appear at hearings. This is usually used in criminal cases.

Which reasons for being absent from a court hearing are considered valid?

Sometimes persons summoned to a court hearing cannot attend for compelling reasons. There is no list of them in legislative acts, but in practice it has long been formed. What are the valid reasons for failing to appear in court?

1. Quite a serious illness of a participant in the trial. A disease is considered serious if it prevents you from appearing in court in person. This also includes the summoned person being treated in a hospital hospital.
2. Receiving a subpoena too late, for example, directly on the day of the hearing, due to which the summoned person was unable to appear in court.
3. Being on a business trip or leaving for any significant reason is a common valid reason for the failure of the defendant or other participant in the process to appear in court.
4. Inability to attend the meeting due to difficult personal circumstances (illness or death of relatives).
5. Force Majeure. Force majeure circumstances - various types of disasters, accidents, accidents. For example, a temporary lack of access by transport from a populated area or a burst pipe in a house.

As a rule, valid reasons for failure to appear in court are limited to the above. But in each specific case the court decides this issue on an individual basis.

Reasons for absence that are not considered valid

Here everything depends on the court’s assessment of the circumstances of the non-appearance of the summoned person. Practice shows that, for example, leaving on a tourist package, even if purchased in advance, is not recognized by the court as a valid reason. A person who lives within walking distance from the courthouse will not be able to plead the inability to get to the court hearing due to transport problems.

In addition, documentary evidence of the reasons cited by the person is required. A certificate from the hospital with a doctor’s signature and seal, a travel document, a certificate from the housing department about the breakdown of utility systems in the house - such documents must be provided to confirm valid reasons for failure to appear in court.

Actions releasing from the consequences of failure to appear in court

There is a legal opportunity to skip a court hearing and avoid liability for failure to appear. It is enough to apply to the court in advance with a request to postpone the date of the scheduled hearing or to consider the case in your absence. In this case, there is no need for special valid reasons for failure to appear in court; it is enough to refer to the impossibility of attending the hearing “due to family circumstances.” Usually the court is loyal to such applications and postpones the trial date without negative consequences for the applicant.

The decision to dismiss for absenteeism must be fair and proportionate. The servants of Themis once again reminded us of this (ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated August 13, 2013 No. 33-11362/2013). After all, it would seem quite obvious that dismissal for absenteeism for a good reason is illegal.

The employer’s desire to create a team in which each employee clearly fulfills his or her duties and does not “stuff” is aimed at the development of the organization. To achieve this, the “carrot and stick” method is often used. Thus, labor legislation reserves the employer’s right to set employees bonuses, etc., as well as to enforce or fail to fulfill obligations.

Each organization chooses independently: some believe that it is better to encourage and not pay attention to minor offenses, while others consider punishment to be the most effective way. But regardless of the chosen path, there are violations that few employers can forgive. These include, for example, absenteeism, for which one of the most severe punishments is imposed - dismissal.

What is truancy?

This action means absence from the workplace without good reason during a working day or shift, regardless of duration, as well as absence from the workplace without good reason for more than four hours in a row.

However, before asserting that an employee committed absenteeism, it is necessary to pay attention to both the reason for the absence and the definition of his workplace.

All reasons for absence from work must be justified and, if possible, documented. The employee must also notify (call, write a letter, etc.) the employer about his absence.

Labor legislation establishes that a workplace is a place where an employee must be (where he must arrive) in connection with his work and which is directly or indirectly under the control of the employer. Each employee’s workplace is indicated in the employment contract and is most often indicated by the address of the organization without further detail. This will likely impact the ability to identify an employee's behavior as absenteeism. An employee may be on the employer’s territory, but at the same time be absent directly from the place where he performs his duties, and this will not be considered absenteeism, since his workplace is defined as the entire territory of the organization. Therefore, it is best to specify in detail in the employment contract (name of the workshop, office number, etc.) where the employee’s workplace is located.

It is also necessary to find out the reason for the absence, which must be unexcused for the employee’s actions to be considered absenteeism. However, labor legislation does not contain a list of both disrespectful and valid reasons for absence from work. Thus, all responsibility for determining the category of the reason for absenteeism falls on the shoulders of the employer. The employee’s explanations or documents may come to the rescue. In this situation, the main thing is not to make a mistake and look at the situation objectively in order to avoid disputes.

A respectful reason

Finding out the reasons for an employee’s absence from work must be approached with all seriousness and responsibility. After all, it often happens that in the employer’s opinion the reason for non-appearance is insignificant, but upon further investigation it turns out that he was wrong. Thus, the servants of Themis once again reminded employers that for illegal dismissal for “absenteeism” they will be held accountable and punished. The ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated August 13, 2013 No. 33-11362/2013 states that the employee should be reinstated at work and paid for the time of forced absence, since dismissal for absenteeism is illegal. The judges concluded that the employee was absent from work for a valid reason because he was undergoing outpatient treatment. As evidence, a medical report is presented, which indicates: the period of outpatient treatment, the diagnosis and what course of treatment was prescribed. The judges also found that the employee took measures to inform the employer about his absence.

In addition to an outpatient card and a certificate of incapacity for work, an employee can confirm his illness with a doctor’s certificate.

However, health problems are not the only valid reason for absenteeism. These reasons may include:

• accident;
• adverse weather conditions (traffic jams, fog, ice, etc.);
• impossibility of returning from vacation or business trip on time due to weather conditions or health conditions;
• waiting for an ambulance to arrive to a sick person;
• administrative arrest;
• caring for a sick child or other family member;
• breakdown of public transport;
• emergency repair work at the employee’s home, in connection with which he provided access to the apartment for repairmen. However, this does not apply to work carried out at the request of the employee, or routine repairs;
• natural disasters, etc.

Among other things, according to the instructions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in the resolution of March 17, 2004 “On the application by the courts of the Russian Federation of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation”, valid reasons for absence from work include involvement in public or state duties as a juror, member of an election commission, etc. .d.

Attention

Labor legislation does not contain a list of both disrespectful and valid reasons for absence from work. Thus, all responsibility for determining the category of the reason for absenteeism falls on the shoulders of the employer

Also, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in its ruling dated March 30, 2012 No. 69-B12-1, indicated that the absence of railway tickets at the ticket office is also a valid reason.

All reasons must be justified and, if possible, documented. The employee must also notify (call, write a letter, etc.) the employer about his absence. But if the employee did not show up at his workplace and did not warn anyone, then it is best for the employer to contact him himself. Because the employee may not be able to do this on his own.

If it was not possible to contact the employee, then the fact of his absence must be recorded. To do this, a memo is written to the general director, on the basis of which an order is given to document the fact of absence from work. It is formalized by an act, the form of which is developed by the organization itself. But it must indicate: full name and position of the employee, time and date of absence. This document is signed by the official who compiled it. At the same time, the act must also contain the signatures of at least three employees, who confirm that at the time of drawing up the act, the employee indicated in it was absent from the workplace.

• “NN” or code 30, if the employee is not at the workplace during the entire working day;
• “I” or code 01 indicating the number of hours worked if the employee was absent for four consecutive hours.

As soon as the employee arrives at work, he must be given an absence from work certificate and required to provide written explanations for his absence. If the reason is considered valid, then the documents regarding absence from work are filed in the personal file of the employee who continues to work. In this case, days or hours of absence are not paid if documents (certificate of incapacity for work, summons, etc.) are not submitted, on the basis of which the time of absence is subject to payment.

Practical accounting