Labor Code of the Russian Federation late for work article. What is the difference between being late and absenteeism? Step-by-step instructions for dismissal for systematic delays

Sooner or later, any manager becomes a witness to an unpleasant event: a hired employee is absent from the workplace without warning his immediate superiors. If an employee is absent without good reason for more than four hours in a row, then the Labor Code Russian Federation(hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the Code) this is regarded as absenteeism (clause 6 "a" of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

But what if the employee was absent from the workplace for less time? Can disciplinary action be taken for being late for work?

The main thing is the need to properly arrange job descriptions(and / or other local regulatory documents), clearly defining in them exactly where the workplace: otherwise it will be difficult to confirm in court the fact of being late for work.

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What counts as being late for work?

Strange as it may seem, there is no such concept as being late for work in the Code. Being late for work according to the Labor Code falls under the definition of "disciplinary offense", interpreted by Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation as “non-performance (improper performance) job duties».

Labor discipline, in turn, is the obligation for employees to comply with certain rules imposed on them by the Code, the collective and labor agreements, as well as other local acts of the employer, in particular the Labor Regulations.

The definition of being late for work, in this case, can be formulated as the impossibility of observing labor discipline due to the absence of an employee at work at the scheduled time. As already mentioned, being late for work is considered to be absent from the workplace for up to four hours. However, if the specific work schedule suggests that the entire shift lasted less than this period, then the absence of an employee during the entire such shift is also absenteeism.

A prerequisite for a penalty for being late for work is the presence of an employee's signature, indicating that they are familiar with the Labor Regulations (and / or other regulatory acts of a local nature regulating the work process). Because if there is no evidence that the employee really does not know, for example, about the start time of his work shift, then he cannot be held liable for being late for work.

Of course, there are situations when the number of delays and the time you are late for work are insignificant and you can turn a blind eye to them. But even if we do not take into account the factor of discipline, each employer probably has employees whose absence at a critical moment can bring huge losses. Therefore, speaking about being late for work, we primarily mean the methods of combating this phenomenon, the impact on undisciplined employees and ways to punish them.

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At the same time, in some cases it is possible and not worth it to follow the principle: if valuable employee for a good reason, he physically does not have time to get to work by the beginning of the shift, then maybe you should think about an individual schedule? But on the other hand, a responsible executor would certainly warn the authorities about such difficulties even before employment, without forcing him to further compromises.

Having studied examples of being late for work, you can classify them as follows:

• An employee is late for work, which he does not allow more than a few times a year, for objective reasons: the need to visit various institutions, transport and family troubles.
• Being late for work by 15 minutes or less, without good reason and allowed by the employee with a stable frequency. The peculiarity of such behavior of a person is inherent in the character and is explained by the fact that the employee simply does not perceive such behavior as a violation of the labor schedule. In the form of an argument in their defense, the circumstance is usually cited that "nothing terrible happened in these few minutes."
• Regular lateness to work. There are also employees who are late everywhere and everywhere, both at the beginning of working hours and in all other areas of activity. How to deal with such workers, can they counter their chronic indiscipline with any strengths and irreplaceable qualities - you decide.

Respectful, disrespectful and systematic lateness to work: what is the difference

Being late for work, depending on the reasons, is classified as respectful and disrespectful.

Good reasons for being late for work are not legally defined. Determination of them as such is at the mercy of employers and courts in the event that, in connection with this, grounds for judicial trial. As a rule, the following reasons are considered to be valid: illness of an employee or members of his family, death of a relative, getting into an accident, other circumstances that are usually attributed to force majeure.

It is possible that the employer will require documentary confirmation of the existence of valid reasons for the employee being late for work. In this case, any delay or absenteeism is easy to justify by submitting the relevant documents: sick leave, a copy of the death certificate, a certificate from the traffic police or transport company, a certificate from the management company (HOA, other housing and communal services) about a household accident and / or a photograph confirming it.

If the employer does not have evidence that supporting documents were requested from the late employee, then later this will become an argument in favor of the employee's innocence.

Irrelevant reasons for being late for work are usually divided into one-time and systematic. Article 192 of the Code defines the “systematic nature” of such a misconduct already in relation to the second violation (if the first was properly recorded). At the same time, we are talking not only about being late - we mean any violations of the labor schedule in the aggregate.

If for the first case of being late for work for an unexcused reason, the manager has the right to hold the employee liable only in the form of a remark or reprimand, then for the second violation of discipline the employee can be fired, as well as for absenteeism. At the same time, absenteeism also includes absence from the workplace for four consecutive hours or more within one work shift.

Therefore, it is better for an employee if he allows himself to be late for work for an hour or two (up to four inclusive) once than he allows himself to be repeatedly late for work by 5 minutes, for which he can theoretically be fired.

In practice, of course, this rarely happens. Even if the employer decided to dismiss the subordinate in two five-minute delays, Article 192 of the Code is the basis for the dismissed employee to sue: in part five it is expressly stated that the employer is obliged to take into account the severity of the violation when establishing a measure of responsibility for him.

Thus, if a former employee finds the dismissal unacceptable severe punishment for committed violations of discipline and will sue, it is possible that the judges will accept his arguments.

Being late for work: TOP 30 excuses from employees

1. Late for work due to traffic. The congestion of transport routes leads to the fact that the “usual” delay, due to traffic jams, already has to be supplemented with something else, in case of a particularly long delay.
2. Breakthrough of a pipe (faucet, battery) and the associated need to wait for a specialist.
3. Breaking public transport, if the delay time does not exceed the frequency of this route.
4. Family troubles: there is no one to stay with the child (the wife has urgent business, the nanny did not come, the kindergarten is in quarantine). Or, for example, a grandmother from the village does not answer calls - you need to urgently go to check.
5. Being late for work due to problems with pets: they got sick - they had to be taken to the veterinarian, they ran away for a walk: they had to look for a long time.
6. Poor health "after yesterday."
7. Poor health due to problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
8. Tights are torn - if the boss is a man, he works repeatedly and without fail.
9. Elevator breakdown.
10. Being late for work because of the neighbors: flood, fire and many other options.
11. Theft: in transport or on the street, the employee lost money for travel (documents, other personal belongings). It is worth asking for a copy of the statement to the police.
12. Suddenly fell ill: fever, cough, etc. Often, at the same time, the employee cannot present a certificate, justifying himself that he suddenly recovered and decided not to go to the doctor.
13. I stayed at the hospital, where I dropped in in the morning for a minute to take tests.
14. Forgot or lost: keys, phone, money, anything else that can delay. Households, for example, can leave and not leave the key. Car keys often go missing.
15. I forgot to turn off the heaters: I had to return halfway.
16. Falling asleep, drove past the desired stop.
17. I had an accident (including on a bus or tram), a flat tire, etc.
18. Being late for work due to the sudden onset of monthly women's problems.
19. For some reason the alarm clock didn't ring.
20. My teeth ached: I suffered all night, I managed to fall asleep only in the morning, so much so that I didn’t hear the alarm clock.
21. Due to bad weather.
22. The traffic police detained him: either it seems to them that the employee is drunk, or he fits the orientation.
23. Overslept.
24. Late for work because the employee is so busy that he had to take work home and sit well after midnight. From constant processing completely exhausted and overslept.
25. The railway crossing was blocked for a long time, which is why I was late.
26. I forgot to take my medicine, and I can't skip taking it for anything. So I had to return. From the answer to the question: “What is being treated for?”, The employee, as a rule, evades.
27. Being late for work due to an angry dog ​​blocking the exit from the house.
28. Wedged the castle front door took a long time to open.
29. In the morning I was urgently called to some institution (bank, housing and communal services, any where they do not give a summons), I had to urgently go.
30. Being late for work due to the fact that the traffic police once again conducted a thorough inspection of the entire car.

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Expert opinion

Smartphone is an effective remedy for being late

Sergei Wasserman,

head of Mobiforce, Moscow:

I will give an example from own practice. Customer - an organization that provides services for connecting and repairing various household appliances. The problem was that there were numerous complaints about the lack of punctuality of the company's employees carrying out work at the addresses of clients: specialists allowed themselves to be late for work for an hour or more, and sometimes they did not appear at all. At the same time, the specialists themselves shifted the blame on the clients themselves: they allegedly do not answer calls and are absent at the address at the set time.

In order to increase control over the work of specialists, a program was installed on their working smartphones that uses information about the current location and transmits it to the server every minute. This allowed the dispatcher at any time to have reliable data on where this or that specialist is located.

After a month of work, the situation changed dramatically: customer complaints about delays and absences of specialists completely stopped. In addition, the productivity of each repairman has significantly increased, due to which the company has been able to dramatically increase sales and enter the core market in several neighboring cities.

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What should an explanatory note about being late for work look like?

Explanatory note for being late for work official document, which fixes the fact of violation of labor discipline by an employee. The person responsible for its acceptance, processing and storage is a personnel officer, manager or his secretary.

As part of the note when being late for work, the offender is obliged to admit the fact of the violation (absence from the workplace in working time) and reflect the reasons why this happened. That is, the content of the note necessarily includes two blocks: factual (confirmation of the fact of violation) and explanatory (list of reasons that led to the violation, explanations, facts and arguments in their defense).

There are no special requirements for the explanatory form for being late for work. It can be written both on a regular sheet of paper and on the letterhead of the organization, or in a form specially developed by the company. The document is filled in by the latecomer personally.

In addition, you must make sure that the following information is filled in the document:

• To whom the note is sent (filled in at the top right): name of the organization, position, surname and initials of an authorized person or manager acting on the basis of constituent documents;
• Title of the document (centered): indicated with a capital letter, with a dot at the end.
• The text of the note itself, consisting, as was reflected above, of two semantic blocks: factual and explanatory.
• Below the text, the person who compiled the note must put his signature indicating the last name and initials, as well as the date of compilation.
• The person responsible for the document flow must indicate the incoming number and date of the document on the note.

If, due to being late for work, not only explanations are presented, but also any supporting documents, they are drawn up as an annex to the explanatory note, about which a corresponding entry is made between the text and the signature of the note. If the employee refuses to write an explanatory note, a special commission draws up a special act, being late for work is recorded in it.

If the immediate supervisor of the latecomer decided to apply a penalty to him, he draws up a memorandum about being late for work in the name of the management.

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What is the penalty for being late to work?

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in particular, Articles 21, 189 of the Code) expressly states that the employee, in accordance with the concluded employment contract, is charged with certain duties that he must perform. These include not only duties directly related to the performance of certain work, but also disciplinary duties determined by the employer in the labor regulations and / or other local normative act.

Failure to comply with labor discipline (including being late for work) under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is interpreted as a disciplinary offense for which an employee must be held liable in the form of a penalty.

The Code defines 3 types of collection: remark, reprimand and dismissal.

At the same time, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes specific deadlines during which a disciplinary sanction for misconduct (for example, a reprimand for being late for work) can be applied.

Firstly, the penalty cannot be applied if a month has elapsed from the moment the misconduct was discovered. But this period can be extended by the number of days during which the offender was on vacation and / or on sick leave, as well as for the period of decision-making by the trade union or other authorized body acting in the interests of the offender.

Secondly, the penalty cannot be applied if six months have elapsed from the date of the misdemeanor. This period may also be extended if criminal proceedings are pending in relation to the incident. In addition, if facts of violations are discovered as part of audits, audits and other inspections, penalties against the employees who committed them are possible within two years.

An order to be late for work, that is, to apply a remark, reprimand or dismissal to a delinquent employee, is brought to his attention within 3 working days from the date of signing: the person in respect of whom the order was issued must put a mark on it . In case of refusal, the representatives of the employer draw up an act in which the fact of refusal is recorded. If a dismissal is made, a corresponding entry is made in the work book of the offender. With other measures, entering information about them into the labor is unlawful. The application of a fine for being late for work is not regulated in the Code.

If during the year the employee commits one more, even the slightest violation (which includes, according to the Labor Code, being late for work), the employer has the right to dismiss the employee as a repeated violator. After a year, this measure expires.

It may be prematurely removed by the employer: the corresponding right is granted to him by the Code.

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Being fired for being late for work as the last resort

As already mentioned, a single lateness to work cannot be grounds for dismissal of an employee. But Article 192 of the Code defines the “systematic nature” of such an offense already in relation to the second violation (if the first was properly recorded).

Therefore, if for the first case of being late for work for an unexcused reason, the manager can hold the employee liable only in the form of a remark or reprimand, then for the second violation of discipline, the employee can be fired, as well as for absenteeism.

But if the former employee considers dismissal an unacceptably severe punishment for committed violations of discipline and sues, it is possible that his arguments will be accepted there.

The established practice of penalties for absenteeism and being late for work, as a rule, does not imply any serious sanctions for the first being late without a good reason: in most cases, the employer is limited to fixing the violation in the form of an explanatory note from the violator of labor discipline.

In the future, a constantly late employee risks incurring an order for a fine for being late for work (if such an opportunity is present in the local regulations of the employer), a remark and / or reprimand. Do not forget that with any penalties that are not specified in the Code, but introduced within the organization, each employee must be familiarized before this penalty is applied to him.

And after that, a particularly malicious violator of the schedule can really be fired. Summarizing the foregoing, we can say that dismissal due to being late for work is made in several stages:

• With the help of explanatory notes of a late employee, the fact of each delay without a good reason is recorded.
• The amount of working time during which the latecomer was absent from the workplace is recorded in the time sheet specially created by the commission.
• In accordance with the internal regulations of the organization, starting from a certain number of violations (usually two or more lateness to work), for each within a month, an order is issued by the head of the remark or reprimand. The violator must be familiar with the order.
• In the future, if the violation is repeated within a year from the moment of collection, the employer has the right to dismiss him for non-compliance with labor discipline.
• If an employee is once late for four hours or more without good reason, such a violation is absenteeism: the Code provides for the possibility of dismissing such an employee without waiting for a repetition of the misconduct.

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Alternative punishment for being late for work

1. Contest "Late of the month"

If the situation with being late for work has not reached the stage when the manager is no longer in the mood for jokes, and the relationships in the team suggest the possibility of informal communication, then you can treat the situation with a bit of humor: for example, give an alarm clock to someone who is constantly late or assign the title “Late of the month”.

1. Personal example

It is quite obvious that if the management allows itself to “linger” every day in the morning, then the work team can develop a similar habit over time. If the boss is determined to deal with being late to work, you need to start with yourself.

1. Conversation

In a relatively small team, as part of a strategy to improve labor discipline, it is desirable to take into account the human factor. If you calmly discuss the problem of being late for work, it will certainly turn out that anyone can be motivated in one way or another to come to work on time or reach some kind of compromise in this matter.

Expert opinion

Discomfort is the best way to deal with latecomers

Ariadna Denisova,

HR Specialist, President of the Association, Moscow

The leadership of our team considered harsh measures against latecomers unnecessary and ineffective: my colleagues are accomplished successful professionals, many of them work according to special schedules, business trips and distant work. Therefore, more creative solutions were used.

No. 1. Late - pay for lunch to colleagues. After one not very punctual employee was late for an important lunch meeting twice in a row, the idea spontaneously arose that she should pay the entire bill. Tellingly, she was no longer late, and this method of punishment for being late for work has become our norm.

No. 2. Challenge Cup "Champion of being late". This method is practiced in the team of one of our American partners. The "prize" is drawn weekly and must be on the "winner's" table all week.

True, not everyone succeeds in motivating in this way: in that company, for example, there was one employee who did not hide his almost daily nightly adventures. Often waking up, he allowed almost daily delays to work for 15 minutes or more, for some time he became a permanent "champion". However, this did not bring a disciplinary effect, on the contrary, the employee considered the cup his hallmark and cause for jokes. As a result, he joked that his contract was not renewed.

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Systematic Lateness to Work: Unconventional Ways to Deal with Latecomers

• Impact of small groups

If corporate ethics does not imply rewards for the absence of violations of labor discipline, and management policy is limited to a "stick" without a "carrot", which is not uncommon in very large teams, then you can try using this method.

The point is to enlist the disciplined employees as a kind of arbiter to deal with lateness to work. For example, you can distribute responsibility for the misconduct of one member of a small group to all its members.

If those who are late anywhere and everywhere have long been accustomed to censure and fines for this, then cases when even a slight shadow can fall on the impeccable reputation of such an "arbitrator" due to the fault of a negligent colleague issued "in the load", the "arbitrator" will severely suppress .

• Breakfast instead of punishment

Much more effective are the methods associated with the encouragement for strict adherence to the work schedule.

There is an interesting method of dealing with being late for work that kills two birds with one stone: due to the free breakfast given to employees before the start of the working day, the timely attendance of the team becomes almost one hundred percent, in addition, employees are energized for the first, often the most effective, segment of working time.

For example, if the working day in the office is from nine, then it is advisable to schedule a free (energy balanced!) breakfast from 8.20 to 8.40. In addition to reducing the number of late arrivals and energizing the team, due to such an original and, in general, inexpensive solution, informal communication in the office is well stimulated.

Expert opinion

Employees deal with delays

Dmitry Maksimov,

head and co-owner of the Mediasphere group, St. Petersburg.

There was a time when being late to work was common in our team and seriously affected the productivity of the agency. After trying several traditional methods (fines for latecomers, rewards for compliance with labor discipline), we came to the conclusion that they do not solve the problem. Then an unorthodox decision was made.

A flexible schedule was introduced for all employees: if someone is late, he must compensate for the time he is late for work by staying after the end of the working day. And vice versa, if the employee has accumulated enough hours of processing, he has the right to arrange an additional day off for himself. If one of the colleagues has achieved an impressive result, has brought significant benefits to the company, along with other incentives, he is forgiven a certain number of hours of “debt”. Well, if the unfinished hours still remained at the end of the month, then they are taken into account when calculating earnings.

Such a policy became possible with the introduction of electronic passes and a time tracking system in the agency. For business travelers or remotely working employees, there is an opportunity to “check in” through Personal Area on the system website.

To date, there is no problem of lateness in our team.

4 Ways to Prevent Being Late to Work and Wean Your Employees of the Habit

Method 1. Report on the arrival.

In the context of large teams, the implementation of CRM systems and tracking the entrances, exits and internal movements of employees is, of course, worthy of attention control method. However, it has its own specifics: the object must be well guarded, preferably on their own organizations, and the implementation and maintenance of the system requires large expenditures. Such solutions apply large organizations rather for security reasons, and the control over being late for work is a nice bonus.

Method 2. Execute one - intimidate others.

explanatory talks and verbal warnings It is far from always possible to influence an undisciplined employee. Therefore, if people of a certain type are not able to work "for conscience", it is necessary that they work "for fear." The exemplary dismissal of the most persistent violator of discipline can help in this for a long time.

Method 3. Hang on the board of shame.

This method can be effective, but, again, not with everyone. If a team member does not feel guilt and shame in front of colleagues for his eternal lateness to work, then the situation can only worsen. Moreover, by earning dubious notoriety by such public censure, the "hero" may reduce the motivation and discipline of his colleagues.

Method 4. Late - do the dirty work.

In small teams, this very original method of dealing with being late for work is often used. It owes its origins to working traditions: late for an outfit - get the dirtiest and hardest job. In the office, the violator of discipline can be loaded with common household duties or expenses: buy tea / coffee, bring a box of paper from the supply manager, copy a thick stack of documents, work as a courier. It is very possible that such an approach will help to strengthen work discipline, the main thing is to have a sense of proportion: not to arrange such punishments to the detriment of the main work.

Company information

Association of professionals in the field of personnel motivation and organizational development. Field of activity: training and independent certification of specialists in the field of personnel motivation and organizational development. Number of staff: 15 (including freelancers). Number of certifications per year: 30. LLC "Mobile Solutions for Business" ("Mobiforce"). Field of activity: development software. Number of staff: 8. Number of service clients: 50.

GC "Mediasphere". Field of activity: complex Internet marketing, web analytics, creation and promotion of sites. Territory: head office - in St. Petersburg, branch - in Moscow. Number of staff: 60. Number of implemented projects: more than 3500.

LLC "Mobile Solutions for Business"("Mobiforce"). Field of activity: software development. Number of staff: 8. Number of service clients: 50.

Each of us has been late for work at least once. Being late can be due to many reasons, both of a respectful nature, and due to the fact that the employee is simply undisciplined. What is being late for work according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation? What are the consequences for the worker can lead to a delay in work? How can an employer apply for penalties?

An employee was late for one minute or for several hours, whether such a delay is due to a good reason or not, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, he violated labor discipline.

What is considered late for work, the Labor Code does not define. Therefore, any arrival at work later than the time established by the internal labor regulations is late.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes the types and procedure for applying penalties for violation of labor discipline, regardless of the cause of the misconduct. Yes, in accordance with Art. 192 Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer has the right to apply the following types of influence to the latecomer:

• comment;
• rebuke;
• dismissal for appropriate reasons.

IMPORTANT! The presence in Art. 192 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the wording “has the right” indicates that the application of the listed impacts on an employee is a right, and not an obligation of the employer.

Step-by-step algorithm for applying measures to a late employee

Being late for work entails responsibility up to and including dismissal (if the employee has already been subjected to disciplinary sanctions and the lateness is malicious) ( Art. 193 Labor Code of the Russian Federation). However, this is a very labor-intensive event. The employer's procedure is as follows.

Step 1. Fix the fact of being late. There is no unified document form for this. It can be done in the form of an act, service or memorandum.

Step 2. Demand to explain the reasons. This action can be issued by order.

The employee has 2 days to give explanations (Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If he refuses to give explanations, the employer will have to draw up an act in the presence of witnesses confirming the fact of refusal to provide explanations. Such refusal will not prevent the application of disciplinary action. If the employee has a good reason for being late for work, it is in his interests to draw up an explanatory note indicating the reasons and attach supporting documents.

Step 3. Consider explanations and decide on disciplinary measures. When choosing a punishment, one must take into account the severity of the misconduct and the circumstances under which it was committed, as well as the previous behavior of the employee, his attitude to work.

On the explanatory note, the head puts a resolution that includes the names, initials of the performers, the content of the order, the due date, signature and date. An example resolution is provided in the sample.

IMPORTANT! Labor legislation does not contain a list of valid reasons for non-performance or improper performance of labor duties, therefore, it is up to the employer to determine whether the reason was valid or not.

Step 4. Issue a Disciplinary Order if the employee's explanations are deemed disrespectful by the manager.

It is necessary to familiarize the employee with the order against signature no later than three working days from the date of its issue. In case of his refusal to familiarize himself with the order, the employer draws up an act of refusal to familiarize. An order to issue a comment or reprimand may be drawn up in free form. If, however, dismissal is chosen as a punishment, it is necessary to issue an Order to terminate the employment contract (it is up to you whether or not to use the unified form T-8).

An entry is made in the work book only if a disciplinary sanction is applied to the employee in the form of dismissal ( Art. 66 Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Can a latecomer be deprived of a bonus?

It is possible if this is provided for in the local regulatory act of the organization establishing the bonus system. In this case, the provision on bonuses must necessarily establish the conditions and procedure, including documentation, in accordance with which the size of the bonus may be reduced or the employee may be deprived of the bonus in full.

Terms and other conditions

Punishment for violation of discipline may be applied only within one month from the day when the violation became known, and no later than six months from the day the misconduct was committed. A six-month period is provided for situations where the offense was not detected within a month.

For each disciplinary offense, only one disciplinary sanction may be applied. For example, it is impossible for an employee to be reprimanded and terminate the employment contract for being late.

When deciding on a disciplinary sanction, the employer should first of all assess the significance of such an employee for the activities of the enterprise, the actual damage caused by such an employee to the organization's activities as a result of being late. In addition, it should be borne in mind that failure to apply measures to one employee may lead to the fact that the rest consider compliance with the internal regulations of the enterprise as optional. Therefore, if an employee who is very necessary for the organization has a habit of being late, it is more expedient to establish a special, irregular work schedule for him.

When employed by the company, the employee undertakes to comply with the Internal Regulations, including the mode of being at the workplace. Therefore, being late for work according to the Labor Code is a violation of production discipline. It does not matter whether the subordinate was late for a couple of minutes or for several hours. If the employer does not recognize the reasons for his absence as valid, a disciplinary sanction may be applied to the late employee, up to and including dismissal.

What is considered late for work: Labor Code

At the household level, workers and employers understand the meaning of this term. Late arrival of an employee is considered to be his arrival at work later than the time, determined by the Rules internal routine as the beginning of the working day. The presence or absence of valid reasons for the delay does not matter. Even if they were, they do not cancel the fact of being late. But they serve as a basis for mitigating disciplinary punishment or refusing to use it by management.

According to the Labor Code, article 81 defines being late for work as absenteeism, but only if:

• if it took place without a good reason;
• if the late employee was absent from the workplace for more than 4 hours.

With such a delay, the employee may be fired at the initiative of the employer, as this is allowed by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Being late for work, article 81, if it is not absenteeism, does not cover. However, it also indicates another reason for dismissal - repeated disciplinary sanctions applied to an employee for failure to perform work duties. One of these duties is to comply with the working hours established by the labor contract (Article 21 of the Labor Code). Therefore, if an employee will have numerous disciplinary sanctions for being late, he can also be dismissed at the initiative of the management.

Systematic tardiness for work: Labor Code

So, one employee being late for work is not a reason for his dismissal. Especially if it happened for a good reason, which the employer is ready to take into account. However, if the delays of a subordinate become systematic, his immediate supervisor has the right to apply disciplinary measures to him, of which, according to Article 192 of the Labor Code, there are only three:

• comment;
• dismissal.

As already noted, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not allow dismissal precisely for being late for work, even if they are systematic. The employer has the right to terminate the contract with the subordinate only if there are repeated disciplinary sanctions imposed on the employee, both for being late and for other faults.

Fixing lateness

In order to bring an employee to disciplinary responsibility for being late, they must be properly recorded. To do this, the immediate supervisor of the employee, who noticed his lateness, draws up a memorandum addressed to the management of the organization. In it, he reports the fact of a violation, informs when and how late the employee was. The text can also mention the negative consequences of being late.

Based on the memorandum received, the manager issues an order - on the provision of explanations by the employee. The employee himself and the person responsible for receiving an explanatory note from him are introduced to him against signature (it is also indicated in the order).

The employee is given 2 working days to draw up an explanatory note (Article 193 of the Labor Code). His refusal to explain in writing the reason for being late is recorded in the act, which is certified by witnesses of the employee's disobedience.

If the explanatory note is drawn up, the management of the company independently assesses whether the indicated reasons for being late are valid. If the employer does not recognize them as such, and wishes to punish the undisciplined subordinate, a resolution is put on the explanatory document - on the application of disciplinary action against the employee.

Based on the resolution, an appropriate order is issued, the contents of which are introduced to the employee (against signature). This must be done within three working days after the document is issued.

Only if the procedure is followed and repeatedly brought to disciplinary responsibility, the employer has the opportunity to dismiss the employee for being late.

Being late for work is not considered as an independent type of legal offense, for which a separate kind of liability is provided. Therefore, dismissal for this reason often becomes a reason for an employee to go to court. In these circumstances, it is extremely important for the employer and the subordinate to be informed about the procedure for recognizing being late for work as a disciplinary offense.

Being late for work as a type of disciplinary violation

Labor legislation does not provide a separate definition of an employee being late for the workplace. However, when signing labor agreement, the employee agrees with the procedure for the performance of his work duties, enshrined in the specified document. It follows from this that the employer determines the mode of work and rest at the enterprise for all subordinates.

The specified violation is the basis for bringing the subordinate to disciplinary responsibility, including dismissal, even though the offense was committed for the first time. Absenteeism is recorded in the report card, which indicates the specific time of absence.

Dismissal for absenteeism is noted in work book subject, which can lead to difficulties in further employment, since most employers are skeptical about truants.

Good reasons for being late for work

Due to the fact that the legislation does not provide for the definition of being late for work, accordingly, it also does not provide a list of valid reasons for employees being late. In situations like this, where the legislator does not regulate any aspect of civil and working life, it is customary to rely on practical activities.

So, as practice shows, company managers recognize as valid reasons for not appearing at the workplace at the appointed time:

In order for the manager to be sure of the veracity of a good reason, it is strongly recommended to have an evidence base of the incident available. For example, medical statements or certificates from transport companies, tickets with marks from Russian Railways or airlines, etc.

In a situation where, after providing explanatory and relevant evidence, the manager does not require further explanation and closes this question, we can assume that being late is recognized as respectful and is not regarded as a disciplinary offense.

Reasons for being late for work, for which responsibility is provided

As noted earlier, there is no minimum limit for being late. As well as the concept of systematic delay. Any, even the first fact of such a case is considered a disciplinary offense.

If the employee does not provide the employer with confirmation of any good reason from the ones described earlier, the manager regards the delay as unreasonable. The most common punishment for a primary offense is a verbal reprimand. In the event of a repeated violation, the employer has the right to both issue a written reprimand and dismiss the subordinate on the basis of Art. 81 and Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Based on this, the subject who was late by 10 minutes several times is in a worse position than the one who was late by 2 hours once. That is, what matters is not the time period of delay (if it does not exceed 4 hours), but the frequency of the illegal action.

The procedure for the employer when the subordinate is late

The first step is to document the violation. Such paper can be a report from the head of the department in which the violator works, information from the secretary who keeps the time sheet, or from any other entity that has the right to exercise control over labor discipline. The form of the document in question is free, however, it is necessary that it contain information about the reporting person and the offender, as well as information about the period of absence of the subject (a specific period of time).

Further, the head of the company must request an explanatory note from the delinquent employee. Even in those circumstances when the manager decides not to apply any penalty to the subordinate, the explanatory note must be correctly drawn up (the date, full name and position of the employee, the reason for being late is required) and signed by the employee. Such an action will serve as an evidence base in case of further violations by a particular subject.

If the subordinate refuses to provide the manager with an explanatory note, it is required to draw up a special act of refusing explanations, as well as document the testimony of at least two people confirming the fact of the employee’s refusal.

In the case when the head of the enterprise decides that the employee should be held accountable, he publishes a corresponding order. Within one month from the date of the specified order, a punitive measure must be applied to the employee. If the person is on regular or sick leave, the period in question may be extended to six months.

The procedure for an employee in case of being late

There is no specific algorithm that will become a rescue instruction from the imposition of a penalty in the event of such a violation. However, as practice shows, there is an acceptable course of action for an employed entity that will help mitigate the consequences of a violation:

1. It is strongly recommended to warn the immediate supervisor that it is not possible to arrive at work on time for specific reasons (even if the reason is not valid: a traffic jam, overslept, was late in paying utility bills).
2. If the delay is made for a good reason, the employee must take care of its documentary evidence. Documents that can provide evidence are medical certificates, extracts from the traffic police or from the housing office.
3. Voluntary registration of an explanatory note. At the same time, it is recommended to attach an evidentiary certificate to this paper. Then the set of considered documents will be recognized as an excuse for being late, if the reason turns out to be valid in the opinion of the head.

Under any circumstances, the employee is highly discouraged from providing false information to the authorities, as well as trying to forge evidence papers (for example, a medical certificate). If such circumstances are discovered, the employee will be dismissed, and the person who facilitated the receipt of a fake document will be held criminally liable.

Responsibility for being late for work according to the Labor Code

Since being late is recognized as a disciplinary offense, the corresponding responsibility is provided for it. Based on the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, disciplinary responsibility can be expressed in an oral remark, a written reprimand and dismissal.

It is prohibited by law to collect any monetary funds from employees as a fine for disciplinary violations. In such circumstances, the subordinate has the right to apply to the state labor inspectorate with a request to protect their rights.

Based on Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the head should approach the issue of applying punishment as objectively and fairly as possible. Labor legislation obliges the employer to measure the degree of illegal action with subsequent punishment.

If the head of the company repeatedly makes comments to the employee about being late (3 or more times), the next measure may be dismissal without reprimand.

Dismissal is lawful to carry out only on one of the grounds given in Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, most managers who meet halfway their subordinates, in the event of such violations, prefer to grant the right to issue an application for own will so that the subject does not have further difficulties with employment due to the note in the work book about the reason for dismissal.

The most common employer mistakes when firing a subordinate for being late for work

Being late for work entails liability, but dismissal is not considered a mandatory measure even for the second or third such violation. Such a decision is always the initiative of the head of the company.

Moreover, if the dismissal of the subject is in the circle of interests of the employer, it is important not to make the most common mistakes in practice:

Thus, being late for work is grounds for disciplinary action. The degree of punishment and the measure of bringing to responsibility are determined based on the independent judgment of the employer.