Test: Disciplinary offense. All about disciplinary offense

18.06.2018, 2:36

The work process does not always go smoothly. A disciplinary offense is one of the types of labor violations committed through the fault of an employee. The reasons for its commission may be different, but the essence is that the obligations prescribed in the employment contract were violated. The immediate superior must ensure their compliance. More details in the material.

Violation of discipline

It is worth clarifying that we can only talk about such a concept as a disciplinary offense in relation to labor relations between a subordinate and a superior. The employer may resort to punishment if there has been a violation labor discipline. The following features of this violation can be distinguished:

• the subordinate did not fulfill pre-agreed and documented duties, or performed them, but not completely or not as required;
• must be job description, with which the employee is familiar, where these responsibilities are clearly and clearly stated. It is important that the employee is familiar with them in advance.
• the employee is at fault and there is evidence that it was his actions or, conversely, inaction that led to the violation.

Only if all three signs are present can we say that a disciplinary violation has been committed.

The employer has the right to independently decide whether to apply punishment. However, the subordinate can challenge his decision. In any case, the employee retains the right to in writing provide information about the reasons for your actions (or inaction). Only after this does the administration decide on punishment.

In practice, a distinction is made between repeated and continuing offenses. The first were once stopped, the culprit was punished. However, after some time the situation repeats itself. In the second case, the violation was not stopped at all, that is, the subordinate continues to behave in such a way that provokes these violations.

What awaits the violator?

The issue of applying punishment is decided by the immediate superior of the perpetrator. One punishment may be applied for each disciplinary offense. You cannot use 2 types of punishment at once for the same violation.

There are 4 types of influence on the offender:

If the boss immediately reprimands the employee after discovering a violation, then dismiss him, provided that there are no repeated violations. However, if the situation repeats and a second reprimand is issued, dismissal is quite possible and it will not be possible to challenge it in court.

Any measure of punishment can be applied within six months after the commission of the offense and within a month after its discovery. Otherwise, punishment cannot be applied, since the deadline has already passed.

It is worth mentioning that not a single disciplinary violation entails fines. An employer can punish a person only by depriving him of bonuses, but by cutting wages or cannot demand fines. If an employee causes material damage to the organization, an amount can be recovered from the offender to cover the damage.

What violations are considered disciplinary offenses

The Labor Code does not have a clear list of violations that qualify as disciplinary offenses. The document contains only types of punishments and signs of misconduct.

Therefore, such issues are resolved privately. The employer himself determines whether there was a violation, and the subordinate can challenge it and explain it in writing. If we talk about serious offenses, then among them we can name:

• absence from work for more than 4 hours. It is considered absenteeism if the employee cannot provide evidence of a valid reason for the absence;
• purposeful refusal to work for one reason or another;
• constant delays;
• presence at work able alcohol intoxication;
• Submitting false information or forged documents when applying for a job.

It is clear that the list of violations is not limited to this. According to the law, if working conditions change, all subordinates must be familiarized with them, as evidenced by a signature in the relevant document. It must be taken into account that these conditions should not worsen, otherwise employees will be able to refuse such changes and it will be impossible to apply punishment in this case.

Labor activity requires citizens to properly fulfill their duties and comply with established routines and rules of behavior, violation of which is a disciplinary offense. This concept implies bringing the perpetrators to justice in the form of disciplinary action.

Wherein this measure used by the employer at his own discretion, that is, the legislation does not oblige him to apply any measures of influence against an employee who has committed an offense, but only gives him such a right (Part 1 of Article 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, the decision to impose a penalty is made by him independently.

However, bringing an employee to disciplinary liability requires the management of the enterprise to comply with the procedure established by law. It provides for the mandatory requirement of written explanations from the violator, as well as an internal investigation, if necessary.

The need to prove the employee’s guilt in the occurrence of negative consequences due to his commission of deliberate actions, failure to fulfill his job responsibilities or through negligence lies with the employer. If there are no sufficient grounds to bring a person to disciplinary liability, a penalty cannot be imposed on the worker.

This also applies to situations where the onset of negative consequences or failure to fulfill his official duties was not due to the fault of this person. Disciplinary offenses also do not include offenses committed by a citizen that are not related to the performance of his official duties.

Norms labor legislation two types of disciplinary liability are established: general and special. The first applies to all workers and can be applied to any employee if he commits violations of labor discipline. Penalties in this case are established by federal regulations, as well as local documents, which apply to all workers of the enterprise.

Special responsibility, in turn, extends to a separate category of workers and is established by relevant industry regulations or local documents. It provides for the imposition of stricter sanctions on those responsible.

IN general procedure According to Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following types of disciplinary action may be applied to the offending employee:

• Comment;
• Rebuke;
• Termination of an employment contract.

When preparing documents, the management of the enterprise or an employee authorized by it must indicate the type of penalty applied in the wording specified in the Labor Code. Therefore, the clause on termination of employment relations, as a measure of disciplinary liability, must contain the wording “dismissal”, otherwise the employee who received the penalty can appeal this decision.

Separately, it is necessary to mention the offenses for which the commission is subject to administrative or criminal liability. In this case, the imposition of a disciplinary sanction is possible only if the crime contains elements of a disciplinary offense. Otherwise, the imposition of penalties by the management of the enterprise is impossible.

As for combining material and disciplinary liability, an employee can be held accountable for them simultaneously if industry or local regulations provide for such a possibility.

Differences between disciplinary offenses and other types of violations

Disciplinary offense – special kind misconduct that is associated with a person’s performance of labor activities. Any job imposes certain responsibilities on citizens and establishes rules of conduct. At the same time, these restrictions are enshrined in federal, industry and local regulations.

Violation of established rules, depending on its severity, can be classified as a crime or misdemeanor. Based on this, as well as the circumstances of the offense, the responsibility to which the citizen is held is determined.

A person can commit both a crime and a misdemeanor at the workplace. But not every one of them can be considered a disciplinary offense. This group includes actions or inactions directly related to the worker’s performance of his job duties.

Another difference between disciplinary responsibility and its other types is the specifics of its imposition. Firstly, the imposition of penalties is carried out by the head of the enterprise, and if the guilty person is the director, then by a higher organization, if there is one. Secondly, bringing to this type of liability is not mandatory. That is, when a disciplinary offense is identified, the employer independently determines whether he will impose a penalty on the employee or not.

Despite the fact that a worker may commit a crime or misdemeanor at the workplace, the employer does not have the right to bring him, for example, to administrative liability. Depending on the type of offense committed and its severity, the imposition of an appropriate penalty is carried out by an authorized person or organization.

The head of the company, for his part, can punish an employee only for an offense directly related to the performance of his official duties. On the other hand, a worker cannot be held accountable by other persons or bodies for similar violations.

To impose a penalty, the employer must take a number of mandatory actions:

• Request written explanations from the offending person, and if they refuse to provide them, draw up a corresponding act signed by at least two witnesses.
• Collect evidence confirming the guilt of the specified person in the occurrence of negative consequences.
• If necessary, conduct a full internal investigation.
• Draw up an order to impose a disciplinary sanction on the guilty employee and hand it over to the employee against signature.

When determining the measure of influence on an employee, it is necessary to take into account the severity of the offense committed, as well as the degree of his guilt. For example, this type of penalty such as dismissal can only be applied to a worker who has committed an offense that is incompatible with further continuation of work in this position.

In some situations, the classification of an offense may be difficult due to the rather vague wording contained in the norms of the current legislation. In such cases, the employer often has to contact the authorized bodies and wait a long time for a response from them on whether to initiate or refuse to initiate proceedings against the perpetrator. Only after this the management of the enterprise has the right to impose a disciplinary sanction on the worker.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account the deadlines for bringing to justice, after which it will no longer be possible to punish the guilty person. In general, a disciplinary sanction can be imposed within a month after the discovery of an offense, with the exception of the time spent waiting for a response from the authorized bodies. But at the same time, the guilty person can be brought to justice no later than 6 months from the date he committed the offense.

Number of penalties for one disciplinary offense

In accordance with Part 5 of Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for committing a disciplinary offense, only one disciplinary measure can be imposed on the guilty person. Thus, the employer can choose only one sanction as punishment for an offense committed by the worker. And if he chose one measure of influence when making a decision, then he will no longer be able to change it later.

If an employer, for example, wants to fire an employee, but the severity of his offense does not allow him to impose this type of penalty, then he will have to limit himself to issuing a reprimand. But if the employees commit another offense before the penalty is lifted, the employer has the right, in accordance with clause 5 of Part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation to terminate employment relations with him.

According to the norms of current legislation, the validity period of a reprimand declared to an employee is one year. After this time, the disciplinary sanction is lifted automatically. If an employer, for whatever reason, wants to prematurely remove a reprimand from an employee, then he has this right. To do this, he will need to issue an appropriate order and make an entry in the employee’s personal file.

At the same time, if the manager chose termination of the employment relationship as a measure of influence, then subsequently he will not be able to cancel his decision or change it. Reinstatement of an employee at work can only be carried out by decision of the authorized bodies. The employer has the right to hire the employee back after dismissal, but he will no longer be subject to penalties.

As for attracting financial liability, then it can be applied both separately and together with disciplinary. It is important to remember that the grounds for these types of liability are different and in order to impose an appropriate penalty it is necessary to establish the existence of the necessary circumstances and follow the procedure established by law.

Signs of a disciplinary offense

When considering the issue of imposing a disciplinary sanction on an employee, management first of all needs to evaluate the employee’s actions and determine whether there are grounds for holding him accountable. Signs of a disciplinary offense are:

1. The presence of a violation of established labor rules or improper performance by an employee of his work, expressed in the form of intentional actions or criminal inaction.
2. The job responsibilities that the employee had to perform were imposed on him by current legislation, an employment contract or local regulations of the enterprise.
3. A direct connection must be established between the employee’s actions and the violation of established rules or the resulting negative consequences. At the same time, the presence of criminal intent on the part of the employee is not necessary.

The employer is obliged to establish the presence of all indicated signs until a final decision is made and the worker is brought to disciplinary liability. It must be taken into account that the actions of an employee for which he may be held accountable may not entail negative consequences. If he violated the established rules, for example, was late for work, but this did not entail any negative consequences, the employer has the right to impose a disciplinary sanction on him.

Types of disciplinary offenses

The current labor legislation does not provide an exhaustive list of citizens’ offenses for which they can be subject to disciplinary liability. At the same time, Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation specifies offenses that entail termination of employment relations. Among them are such disciplinary offenses, examples:

• Absenteeism;
• Refusal to perform the duties assigned to the employee;
• Working in a state of toxic, alcoholic or other type of intoxication;
• Refusal to undergo medical examination. examinations or prof. training, if any, for the position held by the citizen;
• Disclosure of data protected by law as a commercial, state or other secret;
• Committing theft while performing official duties (in this case, damage can be caused to both the employer and other employees of the enterprise);
• Providing knowingly false information (fake documents) when applying for a job.

However, even in relation to these offenses, the employer can prescribe a sanction other than dismissal, since it is he who makes the decision to bring the worker to disciplinary liability.

The entire life of a full-fledged citizen is tied to compliance with sets of rules and laws. Social norms and rules are regulated by separate legal institutions. Depending on the nature of the violation, it is classified as either a crime or a misdemeanor. In turn, the latter can be divided into three main types: disciplinary, administrative and civil law.

What is a disciplinary offense

In any developed society, failure to comply with norms and order entails punishment. The labor activity of a citizen is no exception. While performing his or her job duties, an employee may commit a deliberate or unconscious violation of labor discipline, which will entail subsequent penalties.

This is any failure or non-compliance by an employee with his job duties, which he officially agreed to perform when concluding an employment contract. The punishment for this type of violation is assigned by the employer.

Examples of disciplinary offenses

Each organization has its own standards of behavior, which an employee can become familiar with when concluding an employment contract. However, we can list the most common types of offenses:

• late for work,
• showing up at work in an inappropriate manner,
• ignoring the dress code,
• drinking alcoholic beverages during working hours,
• refusal to undergo a medical examination,
• failure to comply with management orders,
• leaving the workplace without permission from superiors,
• damage to the employer's property, theft of funds,
• violation of norms of behavior and communication with clients, if the list of such is established in this organization.

For committing a disciplinary offense, the employer has the right to apply the following disciplinary sanctions:

• Fine;
• Demotion and salary reduction;
• Removal from official duties;
• Dismissal;
• Dismissal with the appropriate note about disciplinary action in the work book.

This issue is considered in more detail.

Gross disciplinary offenses by military personnel

For military personnel, prosecution is carried out on the basis of violation of military discipline. The worst ones include:

• willful departure from the territory of a military unit without appropriate permission;
• violation of the statutory rules of guard duty, patrol, combat duty, border service;
• intentional damage, theft of military property;
• deliberate careless handling of weapons, ammunition, chemicals or other objects/substances that may pose a danger to others;
• improper operation or damage to military equipment;
• performing guard duty, border duty, duty, patrolling while under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
• non-acceptance necessary measures military personnel when one of his subordinates commits an offense, as well as concealing the fact of the violation and failing to report the incident to higher management.

The difference between a disciplinary offense and an administrative offense and a crime

If a citizen can commit a disciplinary offense while performing labor discipline, then administrative offenses are regulated by administrative law and imply the commission of public dangerous actions. For example, an employee left while intoxicated workplace at inopportune hours without warning management, and then he went to the playground, where he continued to drink alcohol. In such a case, the citizen violated both labor discipline and administrative law. Accordingly, a citizen expects two types of punishment: disciplinary from the employer and administrative from the relevant authorities.

Is it possible to apply two penalties for a disciplinary offense?

As a punishment for this type of violation, the employer can apply three types of punishments, which are classified by degree of severity:

• comment,
• rebuke,
• dismissal.

For each offense, the employer has the right to apply only one penalty, and not necessarily in an increasing order: from the least to the most severe with the commission of each offense. If the offense is regarded by the employer as extremely serious, he has the right to immediately apply the most severe penalty: dismiss the employee.

If two or more penalties were applied to an employee simultaneously for one violation, his rights were violated, he must send a complaint to the federal labor inspectorate. However, the employer has the right to apply a penalty for the violation in parallel with bringing to financial liability if, due to non-compliance with labor discipline, the employee caused material damage to the employer’s property.

Act on the commission of a disciplinary offense by an employee - sample

There is a universal sample of an act of non-compliance by an employee with work ethics, which is filled out by the employer.

Disciplinary offense- one of the concepts used in labor legislation. What is meant by this definition, how it differs from other offenses and how an employer can react to it, you will learn from our article.

How does a disciplinary offense differ from other types of violations?

• If there are rules, then, accordingly, there may be those who break them. The norms and rules established in society are divided into groups that are regulated by separate legal institutions. Depending on what branch of legislation the committed offense belongs to, it can be classified either as a crime or as a misdemeanor. In this case, the offense can be administrative, disciplinary or civil.

An employee, while at his workplace, may well commit any of the above offenses. However, a disciplinary offense has one characteristic feature that is unique to it: it, unlike others, is firmly connected with the performance of labor duties.

What liability does an employee’s employer have the right to hold for committing a violation?

An employee who has violated the law or labor discipline rules, depending on the severity of the offense, may be subject to different types responsibility. Accordingly, different persons/organizations have the right to hold accountable.

Thus, an employee can be held criminally liable only by a court decision, and administratively by a decision of the authorized bodies or their officials. Only the employer has the right to punish for a disciplinary offense.

This happens by issuing an appropriate order approved by the head of the organization (or the head of the department, if such powers are vested in him by a local act), and familiarizing the violator with it. At the same time, the employer, even before punishing an employee for a disciplinary offense, must demand from the person who committed it written explanation to decide on the imposition of punishment and the choice of specific sanctions, taking into account all the circumstances.

True, in some cases it can be problematic to correctly classify an offense committed by an employee. If we take, for example, the division of criminal and administrative liability, then in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation the legislator often uses the wording “if such an action does not contain a criminal offense.”

The boundary between administrative and disciplinary offenses or crimes official somewhat blurry. As a result, the employer sometimes has to wait until the competent authorities refuse to initiate criminal proceedings and criminal proceedings. administrative offense based on the absence of signs of their commission, and only after that independently bring the employee to disciplinary liability.

How many sanctions can be applied for each disciplinary offense?

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation has an immutable rule enshrined in Part 5 of Art. 193, which states that only one penalty can be imposed for one disciplinary offense. That is, it is impossible, for example, to reprimand an employee and fire him under Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The employer will have to wait until the employee commits the next disciplinary offense - only this can serve as a basis for dismissal in this case.

And it doesn’t matter whether the offense is such that in itself it can serve as a reason for dismissal, and whether the law has a mandatory condition regarding the repetition of the violation. If the employer initially chose a reprimand instead of dismissal, then so be it. The period for bringing disciplinary action is limited to 6 months from the date of its commission and 1 month from the date of its discovery.

However, situations often occur in life when an employee’s violation of work duties also causes damage to the employer. For example, Ivanov, while intoxicated, did not follow the line, as a result of which defective parts were stamped. And what should an employer do in this situation?

For such cases, it is envisaged to bring the employee to financial liability, within the framework of which the employee is fully or partially compensated for the damage caused to him. At the same time, it is important to distinguish between material and disciplinary responsibility, since these are different concepts and they have different reasons for their occurrence. Thus, if a disciplinary offense serves as the basis for damage, the employee can be punished both disciplinary and financially (i.e., according to separate procedures).

Signs of disciplinary offense

In order to be able to talk about the fact of committing a disciplinary offense, the violation must have the following characteristics:

1. A violation is expressed in non-fulfillment (or improper execution) labor responsibilities of a specific employee.
2. The obligations that were violated were imposed on the employee within the framework of labor legislation, an employment contract or other local acts of the organization.
3. The violation is recognized as a culpable act (or omission). The form of guilt does not matter.

Moreover, all these signs must be present. That is, the absence of even one of them deprives the employer of the opportunity to talk about a disciplinary offense and hold the employee accountable for this type of violation. However, it is important to remember that such a sign as Negative consequences for the employer, not in the above list. In other words, a manager can reprimand an employee for absence from work even if manufacturing process it didn't have any effect.

Types of disciplinary offenses

There is no special part in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation where possible disciplinary offenses and specific punishments for them would be described. In Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which defines a disciplinary offense, lists only the types of sanctions.

At the same time, the most serious types of violations are mentioned in the text of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, even as possible reasons for dismissal. According to Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following are recognized as such:

1. Failure by an employee to fulfill job duties, expressed by:

• in the absence of an employee at the workplace;
• refusal to continue working after changes in labor standards;
• evading medical examination or training when it is prerequisite permission to work.

However, even for these disciplinary offenses, other types of punishment may be imposed if the manager decides so. After all, it is he who is authorized to determine sanctions for committing a disciplinary offense - and his choice must be motivated, because otherwise the employee will be able to challenge it.

Other examples of disciplinary offenses are scattered throughout the text of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, but may well be specified in local acts of the organization.

Conclusion

So what did we find out?

1. A disciplinary offense occurs only within the framework of labor relations.
2. For violation of rules and regulations, the employee is held accountable by the manager. However, if the act contains signs of an administrative offense or crime, punishment for it can also be imposed by a court or other competent authority (but within the framework of administrative or criminal liability).
3. In addition to penalties, the employer can apply monetary sanctions to the violator working for him - of course, if there are grounds for bringing him to financial responsibility.