When reducing a specialist, it is important to adhere to all legal requirements of the procedure and make all payments that are required by law to a specialist. Both employees and employers should keep in mind that staff reductions due to a change of ownership are possible only after the re-registration of ownership of the enterprise. Dismissal by layoffs is not possible if the employee is officially on sick leave, maternity or regular leave. The legislation guarantees the protection of the rights of pregnant women, so they are not subject to dismissal due to staff reductions. When staff is reduced, the following are not subject to dismissal:
- women raising a child under the age of 3;
- official single mothers with a child under the age of 14;
- women dependent on children officially recognized as disabled;
- other persons performing the above duties.
Workers who fall into the above categories should remember that the manager can reduce the staff they occupy. In this case, the employer offers to take another position or the dismissal occurs by agreement of the parties.
Before handing the employee a written notice of the reduction, the personnel officer must provide him with the opportunity to move to another position. A refusal to transfer to a new job or the consent of an employee must be in writing. In case of staff reduction, the employer may offer the employee the transfer to a lower paid position, and the employee already decides to agree to it or not. It is very important for the employer to warn the employee in advance about the pending dismissal: in case of staff reduction, the specialist should be warned for 2 months, with the complete liquidation of the company in 3 months. In case of violation of these terms, the employee has the right to sue on the illegality of the procedure. In a written notice, the employee must put his signature and date. It is from this date that a two-month report will be kept, after which a settlement must be made with the employee upon dismissal. If the employee refuses to sign the notice of reduction, the personnel officer must draw up an act of refusal to sign, this document has the same legal force as the notice of dismissal on staff reductions.
If a trade union organization operates in the enterprise, the employer must inform the head of the trade union about the reduction in two months. The chairman of the union expresses his agreement or disagreement with this procedure. The law obliges the employer to inform the center of employment about the upcoming layoffs.
Upon dismissal of an employee to reduce the number of personnel, the following types of payments should be made:
- final payroll;
- compensation for unused vacation days;
- compensation in the amount of average earnings (severance pay).
All payments must be made on the last business day. When calculating the employee on the reduction of staff, two-week working off upon dismissal is not expected. In the work book issued to the hands on the last working day, the entry should be made: "Dismissed (a) due to a reduction in the number of employees."
Within 14 days after the dismissal, the employee must be registered with the employment center. This statement guarantees his right to receive compensation from the previous employer for 2 months in the amount of the average salary. If during this period the employee got a new job, then the right to receive payments is lost.
The dismissal of staff reductions is an unpleasant event, so it is very important to know how to protect your rights.