Dismissal of a civil servant in 2021: step-by-step instructions

Dismissal from civil service: grounds

Public service should be understood as professional activity in the government apparatus and relevant departments. Who are civil servants:

• Officials.
• Secretaries, specialists and other workers employed in government organizations.
• Some employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The civil service is divided into two types, according to the Federal Law “On the Civil Service System of the Russian Federation”:

When a civil servant is employed, not an employment contract is concluded with him, but a service contract, which is terminated on the grounds specified in Art. 33 Federal Law “On the Civil Service of the Russian Federation”:

• Agreement of the parties.
• Termination.
• At the request of the employee.
• At the initiative of the employer.
• Due to transfer to another position.
• A significant adjustment to the terms of the contract, resulting in the civil servant’s resignation from his position.
• Transfer of a government agency to another location followed by the employee’s refusal to move.
• Termination of Russian citizenship of an employee.
• Failure to comply with the terms of the contract.

Also, the reason for breaking the contract may be a violation of the prohibitions specified in Art. 17 of this law:

• Election to an elective position in local self-government bodies.
• Engagement in commercial activities.
• Inconsistency with the position held.
• One-time gross violation.
• Purchasing prohibited securities to generate income.
• Receiving remuneration from legal entities and individuals for actions related to the performance of official duties.
• Incorrect behavior in front of the media, rude statements.
• Participation in foreign commercial and non-profit organizations.

Here the grounds are comparable to the norms of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, but federal laws apply to civil servants.

Dismissal procedure

Any procedure related to the employment of citizens has a procedure established by the Code and relevant regulations. The dismissal of a civil servant at his own request or on the initiative of a manager is practically no different from a similar action not related to government agencies.

Alert

If a citizen decides to resign from public service at his own request, he must write and submit an application for termination of the contract. It is drawn up in two identical copies, on the second the receiving employee (secretary, HR department, accountant) puts a mark - it is from this date that the working period begins (14 days). Dismissal is possible on any day for the following reasons:

• retirement;
• termination of the contract on terms agreed upon voluntarily by the parties;
• admission to a university (full-time only);
• change in health status for the worse (if continuation of service is impossible for obvious reasons);
• appointment to another position after elections;

There may be other reasons as well. If the reason is valid and does not contradict current legislation, termination is possible without prior notification and work-out.

Attention! To confirm the validity of the grounds, you must provide relevant documents (originals for comparison and copies for your personal file).

If termination of the contract is the initiative of the employer, the employee must also be notified in writing. The standard deadline is no later than three days before the expected date.

Order of dismissal

Based on a written application or order from the manager, the personnel department of the government agency prepares a dismissal order (this is a standard document for terminating a work contract). The text indicates:

1. employee personal data;
2. organization details;
3. grounds for ending the working relationship;
4. terms of employment, procedure and amounts of payments.

Attention! The order and work book must refer to the relevant Federal laws, and not to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. For example, if an employee has not passed certification, indicate clause 4, part 1, art. 33 Federal Law No. 79.

Calculation

On the last official working day, the final settlement is made with the employee - the accrual and transfer of funds due for payment from the enterprise. Some are mandatory and apply to all categories of employees (including government):

1. salary for actual hours worked;
2. compensation for unused vacations and days off;
3. financial assistance (if applicable).

In addition to accruals, deductions are made if necessary. For example, funds were transferred for a future business trip, but the trip did not take place due to dismissal.

Legislation

The specifics of terminating contracts with civil servants are regulated by the Federal Law “On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation”. Only on the grounds specified in it, employees can be dismissed from government agencies.

How can a civil servant resign at will?

If the employee decides to resign on his own initiative, he must submit an application 2 weeks before the expected date of termination of the contract . What the procedure looks like:

1. The HR department receives the application in free form, the employer or his representative decides on the need for two weeks of work.
2. The employer draws up an order in form T-8 indicating the reasons and introduces it to the employee against signature.
3. On the last day of work, all payments are made and the work book is filled out. (For information on how to correctly write a resignation letter, see here ⇒ Sample resignation letter from the Federal Civil Service).

Dismissal of a civil servant due to staff reduction

According to Art. 38 of the law, when a layoff contract is terminated two months before the upcoming event, the employer’s representative is obliged to inform the trade union body and employees whose positions are planned to be cut about this . How it's done:

1. The employer's representative provides each employee with a notice of layoff against signature 2 months before termination of the contract. The document indicates the positions to which you can transfer.
2. Written refusals are taken from those who did not want to move to available vacancies and decided to quit.
3. Orders are left for each employee to terminate contracts due to layoffs.
4. Workers are introduced to the orders against signature.

Within two months after dismissal, civil servants are paid compensation in the amount of average monthly earnings.

Are there ways not to work it out?

Of course have! As we have already said, if the dismissal is caused by the inability to perform official duties, as well as by agreement between the employee and the employer, the civil servant can be removed from the civil service position and dismissed without working before the period specified in the regulatory documents. Find out how legal it is to require 2 weeks of work upon dismissal here.

As you can see, the dismissal of a civil servant is not much different from the dismissal of any other employee at his own request. The main nuance in this matter is the need to familiarize the employee with a memo about the obligation to report if, within the next two years, he decides to get another job.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl+Enter.

Dismissal of a civil servant at the request of the employer's representative

If the initiator of termination of the contract is not an employee, but a representative of the employer, it is necessary to be guided by the grounds specified in Art. 37 Federal Law No. 79-FZ. It all depends on the specific situation:

• When an employee has committed a one-time gross violation (being intoxicated at work, an immoral act, etc.), this fact must be recorded in an appropriate act. This also includes absences without good reason.
• If an employee appears drunk, a medical examination report is required.
• It is impossible to terminate a contract without a preliminary internal inspection in order to collect evidence of the employee’s guilt.
• At the end of the inspection, an order to terminate the contract is drawn up and given to the employee for signature.

“The concept of “good reason” is not established anywhere by law, so absenteeism here means absence from work due to the illness of a loved one, utility problems, etc., when it will not be possible to fire someone for absence from work,” says Kirilin A. V., honorary professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and candidate of historical sciences.

If dismissal is made due to inadequacy of the position held or insufficient qualifications, a conclusion from the certification commission confirming this fact will be required..

CONSIDERATION OF THE APPLICATION BY THE HR SERVICE DIVISION.

Initially, the employee’s appeal is considered by the personnel department of the state (municipal) body for the prevention of corruption and other offenses. This unit also prepares a reasoned conclusion.

When preparing a reasoned conclusion, officials of the personnel department can conduct an interview with the employee, receive written explanations from him, and the head of the state (municipal) body or his deputy, specially authorized for this purpose, can send requests in the prescribed manner to any interested organizations.

For your information:

When conducting an interview and receiving written explanations, it may be recommended to clarify the information contained in the application, obtain additional information about the reasons for choosing this particular organization for employment, the method of employment (recommendations from friends, posting a resume in recruitment agencies, competition for a position, etc.) , expected range of responsibilities.

According to clause 17.5 of the Regulations on Commissions, a citizen’s appeal, as well as a reasoned conclusion and other materials, are submitted to the chairman of the commission within seven working days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

If requests are sent, the appeal, as well as a reasoned conclusion and other materials, are submitted to the chairman of the commission within 45 days from the date of receipt of the appeal. This period may be extended, but not by more than 30 days.

The result of the initial consideration of a citizen’s appeal is a reasoned conclusion, which makes a conclusion about the possibility or impossibility of giving the citizen consent to employment with justification of the reasons.

The Ministry of Labor in Letter No. 18-4/10/P-2943 dated May 11, 2017 recommends:

• analyze what the functions of state, municipal (administrative) management were that were previously performed by a citizen, specifying, if necessary, what specific economic activity of this commercial (non-profit) organization the decisions made by the civil servant concerned (for example, decisions on licensing certain types of activities, issuing permits for certain types of work, placing orders for the supply of goods, performing work and providing services for government needs, conducting state examinations and issuing opinions, etc.);
• to establish the presence or absence of benefits, advantages, preferences received by the organization in comparison with other legal entities when a citizen fills a position in the state (municipal) service. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between such decisions made by a state (municipal) employee independently and in the execution of instructions from a higher body or official. In addition, you should pay attention to the range of labor responsibilities in the organization in which the citizen plans to find a job, the amount of payment for performing (providing) work (services) under the contract, since an unreasonably high amount of payment for work (services), clearly different from the established average, may be considered as one of the signs indicating compensation for actions previously committed by a citizen in the interests of the organization.

If during verification activities it is established that a citizen, holding a position in a state (municipal) service, did not in any way exercise functions of state, municipal (administrative) management in relation to the commercial (non-profit) organization in which he is employed, in the operative part of the reasoned conclusion a conclusion is made that it is inappropriate to consider a citizen’s appeal at a commission meeting.

It is recommended to familiarize the citizen with the prepared reasoned conclusion one or two days before the commission meeting.

Dismissal from civil service upon reaching the age limit

On May 11, 2016, the State Duma adopted Federal Law No. 146-FZ, according to which the retirement age of civil servants should be increased according to the following scheme:

If the dismissal is made in connection with the employee reaching retirement age, an appropriate order is prepared indicating this reason. All payments and compensations in the amount of several official salaries are transferred to the employee .

* * *

Let's summarize the above. So, not all state and municipal employees apply for consent to conclude an employment or civil contract, but only those whose positions are included in special lists.

The former employee’s appeal is considered by the personnel department of the state (municipal) body for the prevention of corruption and other offenses, and then by the commission. When making a decision, the commission evaluates the range of labor responsibilities in the organization with which the employee plans to enter into an agreement, the amount of payment for the performance (provision) of work (services) under the agreement and other conditions. As a result, the commission either gives consent or refuses the citizen.

[1] “On sending Methodological recommendations on compliance with restrictions imposed on a citizen holding a position in a state or municipal service when he concludes an employment or civil contract with an organization.”

Power ministries and departments: accounting and taxation, No. 8, 2021

Is it possible to be reinstated in the civil service?

If an employee resigns voluntarily, he has 2 weeks to withdraw the application. Once the termination of the contract has already occurred after the expiration of the two-week period, it is impossible to return to service. In this case, you should contact the employer's representative and find out if the position you are interested in is available. If the answer is positive, you can find a job again.

If the termination of the contract occurred at the initiative of the employer and the employee considers it illegal, he must go to court and file a statement of claim, which will indicate the legal grounds on which the dismissal should be considered unlawful, as well as all the circumstances of the case.

Entitled payments

When an employee is terminated, the employer must make all appropriate payments. If we are talking about leaving service of one’s own free will, then the list includes:

• wages for the time actually worked until the termination of the employment relationship;
• compensation for unused vacation (proportional to the number of days of service);
• material assistance due to an employee and not used by him.

No severance pay or other additional payments are due in case of voluntary dismissal. An employee is entitled to them only in the event of layoff or liquidation.

Most common mistakes

Mistake #1. When dismissing an employee due to staff reduction, it is not necessary to take a signature from him; a verbal notification is sufficient.

No, a written notice must be drawn up for each employee, otherwise the employer’s actions will be considered illegal. Example:

Artemyeva O.I. filled the position of head of the methodological department of the Sports Department. By order of the employer, she was dismissed under clause 6 of Art. 33 of the Federal Law “On Civil Service”, she did not receive notification of staff reductions. Subsequently, she appealed the manager’s actions in court, and the court decided to reinstate the employee on two grounds:

• She was not offered any vacant positions.
• She was not notified in writing about the layoff

Mistake #2. An employee can be fired for a single absence.

If an employee was absent only once and explained the reason, theoretically he can be fired, but in practice, in most cases, when going to court, violators manage to be reinstated at work. It is more reasonable to apply another disciplinary sanction - a reprimand or reprimand.

FAQ

Question No. 1. To whom should a medical report be given if a civil servant is going to resign for health reasons?

All documents are provided only to the HR department.

Question No. 2. Is it possible to somehow confirm absenteeism for a good reason in order to avoid dismissal?

Yes, you can. It all depends on the situation: if you get into an accident while driving to your place of work, you will need a certificate from the traffic police. If a relative falls ill and requires emergency hospitalization, it is advisable to provide a certificate from a medical institution.