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Sample request for an explanatory note from an employee. Requirement of an explanatory note from the employee. When is this required and why?

I.A. Kossov, PhD in Law, Russian State University for the Humanities

  • legalization of the employee's right to an explanation
  • procedure for notifying an employee about providing an explanation
  • explanation documentation
  • act of non-explanation

The obligation of the employer to demand a written explanation from the employee in connection with the committed disciplinary offense is determined by law as an inalienable component procedures for bringing an employee to disciplinary responsibility.

Why does the legislator attach such importance to this document? First of all, the explanation is intended to contribute to the establishment of truth. The content of the document reflects the employee's view of what happened, his attitude to the misconduct and its consequences. If an employee pleads guilty to a committed offense, then in the explanation he has the opportunity not only to state the facts, but also to express, for example, his repentance for his deed, promise the employer not to repeat such misconduct in the future, etc. At the same time, when the employee believes that he did not commit a disciplinary offense, he also has the opportunity to explain his own arguments and provide necessary evidence. It also happens that an analysis of the content of the explanation helps the employer not only remove claims against the employee, but also determine the true offender. Thus, the explanation of the employee contributes to an objective assessment by the employer of the current situation, allows you to identify all the circumstances of the commission of a disciplinary offense and, if necessary, choose the right measure of disciplinary action on the employee.

The obligation of the employer to require a written explanation from the employee before applying a disciplinary sanction is established by the first part of Art. 193 Labor Code Russian Federation(hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In the same place, the legislator established the deadlines for the employee to write and submit an explanation - two business days.

Based on the fact that the legislator assigns strictly certain period, the employer needs to document the date when he invited the employee to provide an explanation. The legislator does not require the employer to perform such an action. However, such a document will be useful: firstly, the date indicated in it will become the starting point of the time allotted for the employee to prepare an explanation, and secondly, there will be documentary evidence that the employee was explained his right to an explanation.

The notification of the employee about the need to provide a written explanation is usually drawn up on a letterhead and signed by the representative of the employer who is entitled to apply disciplinary sanctions (most often, the head of the organization, but in some cases this can be done by another person who has been delegated such powers) .
It might look like this:
letterhead
Category III engineer
A.V. Avksentiev
About providing
written explanation

In connection with the improper performance of your labor duties, expressed in the absence of January 16, 2012 at the workplace from 13.00 to 18.00 hours, I ask you to submit until 18.00 hours on January 19, 2012 to the Directorate for Human Resources Management (Plant Administration, 3rd floor, room 36) a written explanation on this fact.

Director (signature) Yu.V. Mayorov

Notification received January 17, 2012
Category III Engineer (signature) A.V. Avksentiev

The question arises, what to do if the employee refused to receive such a document? How then to confirm that the demand for an explanation was brought to his attention and how to prove that it was from such and such a date that the two-day period allotted for the provision of an explanation began? The legislator does not give us an answer to this question. But, I think, in order to avoid legal problems in the future, the employer needs to take certain steps. For example, give the employee a notice not on his own, but on a commission basis (for example, in the presence of his immediate supervisor and a representative of the trade union committee or one of the employees of the organization who are not interested in the outcome of the case, if the employee is not a member of the trade union or the employer does not have a trade union organization), after reading the contents of the notice to everyone present. If the employee refuses to receive a notification, it seems necessary to draw up an act, which will be signed by those present, thereby confirming the employer's compliance with the provisions of part one of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Labor legislation does not directly regulate in the form of which document an explanation should be drawn up. So in this case, it is necessary to apply the existing rules of office work.
Most often, the explanation takes the form explanatory note - a document explaining the causes of an event, fact, act .
In order for the employer to receive a document that is useful in terms of content, it is important that in the explanatory note the employee sets out in detail all the circumstances of his actions or inaction and indicates:

  • whether he himself regards his behavior as unlawful, i.e. his actions or inaction were non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of labor duties, it is advisable for the employee to bring arguments confirming his own position;
  • does he admit his guilt?
  • What was, in his opinion, the reason (reasons) for committing a disciplinary offense?
  • what is his attitude to the committed misconduct and to the negative consequences that the employer had as a result?
  • does he have any opinion regarding his possible disciplinary action by his employer?

The explanatory note must contain such details as:
1) The name of the structural unit (the name of the structural unit in which the author of the explanatory note works is indicated).
2) Type of document ( explanatory note).
3) Addressee. Since, in accordance with the first part of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an explanation is required by the employer, then the addressee of the explanatory note should be the official who, by virtue of the charter or other document (for example, a power of attorney), is a representative of the employer with the right to apply disciplinary sanctions. By general rule this is the head of the organization - director, general director, chairman of the board, etc. In the case of delegation of authority to a subordinate official (for example, the deputy head of the organization for work with personnel), the explanation is addressed to him.
4) Date (the date of the explanatory note is indicated).

5) Heading to the text (for example, About the reason for absence from work or About the reason for failure to comply with the order of the head of the Department).

6) Text. It is written in a calm and even style, without excessively bright emotional coloring (although a certain proportion of the employee’s emotions should still be present in it). The text should be distinguished by conciseness, clarity, simplicity of presentation and clarity of wording. It is necessary to avoid artistic prettiness, high-flown phrases and excessive publicism. . An important factor is the logical sequence of the text, so that the addressee of the note correctly and without problems understands what the author wanted to say.

7) Signature (issued indicating the position, personal signature and its decoding:, initials and last name of the employee).
An explanatory note might look like this:

Sales Department Director
Explanatory note Yu.V. Mayorov
17.01.2012

January 16, 2012 during the lunch break at 13:05. I went home for dinner. When I was already returning from home to work, in the courtyard of the house I met a neighbor on the entrance, who said that his son had returned from the army, and invited me to his house to celebrate the meeting. I refused, explaining to him that I had to go to work. But in the end, the neighbor persuaded me to come in for 10 minutes, and we went to his apartment. However, our celebration dragged on. I decided not to go back to work because I was drunk. I deliberately did not call for work, thinking that the call would immediately betray my absence, otherwise they might not notice it.

I am fully aware of my guilt and I assure you that such violations will never happen again in the future. However, please note that my absence from work did not entail any negative consequences for our management.

Please also take into account that during the past year I was twice encouraged for high performance in work - in May I was awarded Honorary diploma, and in December, based on the results of the year, I was given a cash bonus.

EngineerCategory III (signature) A.V. Avksentiev

If after the expiration of the allotted time an explanation is not provided by the employee, then in accordance with the first part of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to draw up an appropriate Act.

Labor legislation does not determine which of the officials of the organization and in what terms draws up an act, and whether it is necessary to acquaint the employee with it. This is determined at the local level, taking into account the existing rules of office work.

An act is a document that is compiled by a group of people, it confirms the facts or events established by them. Therefore, it is necessary that such an act be drawn up collectively. It is advisable to involve in the procedure for its preparation the same persons who were present when the employee was notified of the need to provide an explanation, since they are aware of the fact of notification of the employee and the deadline. But at the same time, those present need to be explained that in the event of a labor dispute, they can be summoned to the jurisdictional authorities to provide explanations on issues related to this act.
The act is drawn up according to the traditional scheme for acts and may look like this:

General form
ACT

20.11.2012

On the employee's failure to provide a written explanation in connection with the commission of a disciplinary offense

Me, the head of the Personnel Department M.A. Uralova, in the presence of the head of Department No. 13 A.M. Alekseev and an economist of the II category of Department No. 10 Yu.I. Zaikova drawn up this act on the following:

01/17/2012 to the engineer of Department No. 13 P.P. Korovin in accordance with the first part of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, it was proposed to provide a written explanation before 01/19/2012 in connection with the commission of a disciplinary offense by him, expressed in absence from the workplace for five hours in a row. In due time, a written explanation of P.P. Korovin was not provided. He told those present that, allegedly, he had already orally told his colleagues about the reasons for his absence and was not going to write anything else.

This act is drawn up in two copies: the first copy - to the Personnel Department; the second copy is P.P. Korovin.

(signature) M.A. Uralova
(signature) A.M. Alekseev
(signature) Yu.I. Zaikova

A copy of the act received:
(signature) P.P. Korovin

The legislator does not provide for familiarization with the act of the employee himself. But despite this, the employer should still make such an attempt. And first of all, it is recommended to do this in order to avoid any kind of misunderstanding as much as possible to keep the employee informed about the proceedings on the disciplinary offense charged to him. And the preparation of such an act is one of the stages of this production, and the employee should be aware of this.
However, if the employee, although with a missed deadline, nevertheless provided the employer with a written explanation, what should the employer do? Should he necessarily take it into account, or is such an explanation not a legally significant document? The legislator does not give a direct answer to this question. But based on the analysis of the content of the first part of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following can be allowed. If the employee claims that the missed deadline was due to a good reason, then, of course, an appropriate check should be carried out. In the event that the validity of the reason for the absence is confirmed, the written explanation must be accepted by the employer as if it were provided without missing the deadline. When the missed deadline is not due to a good reason, the employer has the right not to accept the explanation. At the same time, in order to avoid possible negative legal consequences in the future, the employer is still recommended to familiarize himself with the contents of the document, since there may be important information for him that will contribute, for example, right choice disciplinary action or resolving the issue of the need to bring this employee to disciplinary responsibility in general.

It is important to pay attention to the fact that the employee's failure to provide an explanation, even if expressed in a categorical refusal, should not be regarded as a new disciplinary offense. After all, the explanation is considered by the legislator not as an obligation of the employee, but exclusively as his right. Refusal to exercise the right does not entail the application of measures legal liability. But the legislator also established certain guarantees for the employer in case the employee refuses to exercise his right to an explanation. By virtue of the second part of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the absence of this document from the employer, confirmed by the relevant act, will not be an obstacle to the application of a disciplinary sanction to the employee.

Kuznetsova T.V. Personnel records management (traditional and automated technologies): a textbook for universities. - M.: MPEI Publishing House, 2011. S. 172.

Shugrina E.S. legal writing technique. - M .: Publishing house "Delo", 2000. S. 50.

Bykova T.A., Vyalova L.M., Sankina L.V. Office work: Textbook. - 3rd ed. perer. and additional / Under the total. ed. prof. T.V. Kuznetsova. - M.: Infra-M, 2012. S. 165.

There. pp.165-167.

An enterprise may face a situation where an employee is absent from work for a long time.

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Specialists personnel service find it difficult to decide: should I wait or start looking for a new candidate for the position? When a decision is made to dismiss, the employer has the right to send a letter of notification.

Normative base

These relationships are governed by the following rules:

  • Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - termination of labor relations at the initiative of the employer;
  • article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - the procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions;
  • Art. 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - disciplinary sanctions;
  • Art. 172 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract.

general information

When an employee ignores official duties and is absent from the workplace at the appointed time, it is important for management not to rush to make hasty decisions, but to figure out whether a disciplinary offense occurs at the initiative of the employee or due to circumstances independent of the parties.

In the event of an incident, the procedure to follow is:

  • Document the fact of absenteeism (drawn up in the presence of witnesses or a report by the head of the unit).
  • Request to be submitted in writing.
  • If the reason for the absence is valid, the internal investigation is closed. Otherwise (and also in the absence of explanations), an appropriate act is drawn up and a decision is made on.
  • If the employer decides, it is being prepared, an entry is made in the work book.
  • A notification is sent (optional procedure).

Letter of notice of dismissal - a document sent to an employee for the purpose of informing the termination of employment contract.

Reasons for referral may include:

  • the employee is absent from the workplace for more than four hours in a row without a good reason;
  • unauthorized departure from work ahead of schedule;
  • refusal to work.

The legislation does not establish a list of good reasons, so the head makes the decision on his own.

Judicial practice shows that these include:

  • days of illness (requires a certificate of incapacity for work);
  • execution of public or public duties(he was a juror, witnesses, etc.);
  • days of passage medical examination and blood donation (for a donor).

In some cases, the average earnings for the days of absence are provided.

Dismissal for absenteeism is a serious conflict, so the management of the organization should not rush to formalize the termination of the employment contract. If the decision turns out to be unfair or the formalities are performed incorrectly, the employee has the right to contact the labor inspectorate.

Therefore, in the first place, a notice is issued with a request to inform the cause of the misconduct.

Issuing a notice to clarify the reasons for the absence

The document in question is drawn up in two copies: the first is sent to the address at the place of residence of the “truant”, and the second remains with the organization as documentary evidence.

The structure of the letter is as follows:

  • name of the organization - indicated in the upper right corner of the document;
  • standard details - the inscription "notification", date, time and place of compilation;
  • main text - contains a request to come to work and explain the reason for the absence;
  • leader's signature.

At the end of the document, the absent employee must also sign.

An example of such a notification is shown in the figure:

The legislation does not provide for a form, so the organization has the right to create its own notification letter template in local regulations or position.

There are different transmission methods:

  • by Russian post by registered mail(the receipt will be able to confirm the date);
  • in person (through colleagues or relatives);
  • on telecommunication networks;
  • via email.

The employee was given a response time of two days. If this does not happen, it is advisable for the manager to resend the notification letter until the reason for the absence is clarified.

The employee does not show up, what should I do?

If many unsuccessful attempts were made to contact the employee, but it was not possible to get an explanation, or the reason for the misconduct turned out to be disrespectful, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract.

In this case, it is required to correctly complete all the formalities and have irrefutable evidence. Otherwise, the court may reinstate the employee and demand.

What an employer should do:

  • daily draw up acts on the absence of an employee at the workplace;
  • record all absences for unknown reasons in the time sheet;
  • keep copies of notifications sent with a request to come to work to find out the reasons for the absence.

Only when the listed actions are performed, the judges can agree with the termination of the contract in absentia.

It was then that the employer must draw up a letter of notice of dismissal for absenteeism. When drawing up the procedure, it is necessary to be guided by article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

How to properly issue a notice of dismissal for absenteeism in 2020?

The legislation does not oblige to warn the “truant” in advance about the consequences of violation of labor discipline. If the employer wishes to notify the termination of the employment contract, you can send a notification.

The legislation does not provide for a sample notice of dismissal for absenteeism. The document is drawn up on a blank sheet of A4 format.

The structure is like this:

  • the name of the organization in which the employee works;
  • Name, position and personal data of the employee;
  • structural subdivision;
  • the name of the document - the inscription "notification";
  • Date of preparation;
  • full name of the addressee;
  • the main text informing the reason and date of dismissal;
  • Date of preparation.

The text indicates the date of the last working day, the reason for the termination of cooperation and a request to pick up.

The document is certified by the head of the structural unit or the head of the company. Delivery time - 14 days.

You can download the template document here:

The completed version is shown below:

You can fix a notification letter with a request to inform the reason for the absence or dismissal for absenteeism in local regulations. For example, in the registration log.

What should be paid special attention to?

The employer must remember that certain categories of citizens cannot be fired, except in cases of liquidation of the company:

  • pregnant employees;
  • single mothers;
  • guardians;
  • women caring for children under 3 years of age.

If the organization has such employees, it is highly desirable to obtain a written explanation of the disciplinary offense, try to find relatives, etc. labor disputes the court may come to their defense and demand compensation for the days counted for absenteeism.

In order to apply h. 1 Article. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, two “working days” should be understood as the working days of a particular employee (according to the work schedule). The deadline for submission of written explanations shall be calculated in business days starting from the day following the notification of the employee about the need to provide explanations.

An act of failure to provide explanations on the fact of a disciplinary act may be drawn up on any day after the expiration of the period established for giving explanations, regardless of whether this day is a working day for the employee or not.

The procedure for applying disciplinary sanctions is established by Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Part 1 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee. If, after two working days, the specified explanation is not provided by the employee, then an appropriate act is drawn up.

It should be noted that the duration of daily work (shift), the start and end time of work, the number of shifts per day, the alternation of working and non-working days are elements of the working time regime and are established by the internal labor regulations in accordance with labor law and other regulatory legal acts containing norms labor law, collective agreement, agreements, and for employees whose working hours differ from general rules established with this employer - by an employment contract (Article 100 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Working hours in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation recognizes the time during which the employee, in accordance with the internal labor regulations and the terms of the employment contract, must perform labor duties, as well as other periods of time that, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, other federal laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation refer to working hours.

Thus, the working time regime establishes the periods during which the employer has the right to require the employee to perform labor duties, and the periods during which the employee is free from the performance of labor duties. It appears that in order to apply Part 1 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, "working days" should be understood as the working days of a particular employee. Therefore, in this situation, the employee has the right to submit an explanatory note within two working days according to his work schedule. At the same time, the period for submitting written explanations is subject to calculation in working days starting from the next day after the employee was notified of the need to give explanations (decisions of the Moscow City Court dated February 4, 2011 in case No. 33-2371, dated July 6, 2010 in case No. 33-19977, and also the decision of the Pravoberezhny District Court of Magnitogorsk dated February 1, 2013 in case No. 2-276/2013). As follows from the question, the employee works according to the “day after three” schedule. If the workers for the employee are, for example, March 14, 18, 22, and the employee received a notice of the need to give explanations on March 14, then the last (second) day for submitting written explanations is March 22. If the employee does not provide written explanations within the specified period, then on March 23 the employer has the right to draw up an appropriate act.

The law does not establish the requirement to draw up such an act in the presence of the employee or on his working days. Therefore, an act of failure to provide explanations can be drawn up on any day after the expiration of the period established for giving explanations, regardless of whether this day is a working day for the employee or not. It is desirable to draw up an act with the involvement of witnesses who were aware of the fact that the employee was contacted with a demand to provide explanations and that the employee did not provide an explanation after two working days.

As established by Part 2 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee’s failure to provide an explanation is not an obstacle to the application of a disciplinary sanction. Accordingly, on the day the act of non-submission of explanations is drawn up, an order may also be issued to apply a disciplinary sanction to the employee (of course, if time is not required to investigate the circumstances of the misconduct).

Indeed, the employer can apply a disciplinary sanction to the employee no later than one month from the day the misconduct was discovered, not counting the time the employee was ill, he was on vacation, as well as the time required to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees (part 3 of article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation ). At the same time, all holidays provided by the employer in accordance with the current legislation, including annual (basic and additional) holidays, holidays in connection with training in educational institutions, holidays without saving wages. The absence of an employee from work for other reasons, including in connection with the use of rest days (time off), regardless of their duration (for example, when shift method organization of work), does not interrupt the course of the specified period (paragraph 34 of the resolution of the Plenum Supreme Court RF dated March 17, 2004 No. 2 “On the application by the courts of the Russian Federation of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation”).

Note

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The deadline for requesting a written explanation from an employee is not established by law. Therefore, the employer can request such an explanation after the discovery of a misconduct even on non-working days. It does not establish the law and the list of ways in which the employer can request a written explanation (in a personal meeting, which does not have to take place at the place of work, or by sending a letter, telegram). Therefore, the employer has the right to use any method convenient for him, if he subsequently allows him to confirm the very fact that the employee received such a requirement (appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated 06.11.2012 No. 11-24872). In the case of sending a request for an explanation, for example, by telegram, two working days are counted from the date it was received by the employee; at the same time, it is necessary to have evidence that the employee received the telegram (the personal signature of the employee must be in the notification of delivery).

The use of explanations is regulated by law. For example, Federal Law No. 90 (in the 57th article) and the Labor Code (in articles 192-193) fix the rights of the employer and the procedure for requesting an explanatory note from the employee if he violated the rules of the company, neglected his duties or labor discipline. In Article 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a citizen “recognizes the right to individual and collective labor disputes using the established federal law ways to resolve them”, therefore, the right of an employee to seek the truth and use the employee’s explanatory notes in disputes is established by the main state documents.

Memo Templates: Download Samples

We have prepared several templates for explanatory notes from employees, which you can download below.

When an employee has neglected his duties prescribed in the employment contract, the employer, by law, can apply disciplinary sanctions to him at the following levels:

  • Oral reprimand for minor infractions.
  • Reprimand (oral or on paper - depends on the circumstances and severity of the violation).
  • Dismissal of an employee in compliance with the Labor Code and other regulatory legal acts in the field of labor relations.

However, the director cannot immediately use these methods of penalties, first he must take an explanatory note from the employee containing explanations for the incident, the reasons for such an act and the conditions in which the violation of disciplinary norms was committed. An explanatory worker may provide in writing or orally.

A mandatory written response is usually required in the most difficult or difficult cases, when it is necessary to understand how good reasons led the worker to this or that misconduct. Each such case requires a thorough analysis and an individual approach, so the requirement of an explanatory letter from the employee is a justified step. This paper can bring clarity, add details to the picture of the incident, and also demonstrates to the authorities the position of the employee and his willingness to analyze and negotiate.

At the request of the management, the employee is obliged to provide a note within two days, otherwise, according to the law, a special act is prepared on its non-submission. This act does not preclude punishment that is appropriate for the misdemeanour.

  • Being late for work: 4 effective methods of struggle and 30 excuses

When is it necessary to provide an explanatory worker

Due to the fact that the employee, having signed an employment contract with the enterprise, took over certain responsibilities(including the obligation to comply labor discipline and the norms established by local acts), he must describe in the explanatory reasons and events that prompted him to violate. Usually all offenses come down to several types:

  • Temporary (or throughout the day) absence from the office without presenting documents allowing this (such a document may be, for example, a certificate from the employee attached to the explanatory note from medical institution, confirming the illness of the employee).
  • Refusal to comply with prescribed labor functions or improper attitude towards them (for example, in a situation where an employee works, but does it in any way, which leads to negative results for the company).
  • Being late (the reasons may be disrespectful or quite satisfactory, which will need to be indicated in the explanatory note from the employee).
  • The harm done corporate property as a result of employee negligence.
  • Staying at work under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any toxic substances, etc., which is a neglect of the obligation to comply with labor protection standards.
  • Unfulfilled task of the head, which is not the direct responsibility of the employee.
  • Concealment or distortion of information provided to superiors about the actual activities of the company, which leads to violations in economic activity enterprises.
  • Deviation from the norms of human life safety adopted in the organization.

In each case, there may be extenuating circumstances, so it is extremely important to provide the manager with an explanatory note from the employee and, if possible, attach official documents to it.

“I didn’t come to work because there was no inspiration”: TOP ridiculous explanatory

The editors of the magazine "Commercial Director" collected the funniest explanatory staff and displayed them as posters. Print them out and hang them up in your office.

Who has the right to demand an explanatory letter from an employee

The current laws and regulations of the Russian Federation in the field of labor relations establish that the requirement for an explanatory note from an employee is the right of only the employer, that is, the head of the company or a person officially authorized to perform the functions of a head.

This requirement is main part disciplinary liability in the territory of the employer, which should include all employees.

An explanatory note from an employee is a good tool for clarifying the circumstances of the incident and the causes of the violation. Thanks to familiarization with this document, the employer gets the opportunity to make a balanced and reasoned decision on the appropriate punishment.

How to request an explanatory note from an employee

The first thing we turn to in order to understand the procedure for solving any task in labor relations is the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In the 193rd article we find an indication: "... the employer must request a written explanation from the employee." And that's all that is said about the format of the requirement for an explanatory note from the employee. That is, it must be, but oral or written is unknown.

Most often, in potentially conflict and difficult situations, the manager draws up a written demand for an explanatory letter from the employee. This is done so that in the event of an excessively harsh reaction of a subordinate or even in a lawsuit, to be able to document that all formal procedures were followed, all the nuances were studied, and the decision on disciplinary action was taken without any deviation from the letter of the law.

The Labor Code and related acts also do not establish the form for requesting an explanatory note from an employee, so it looks different in different companies. Often the type of document itself is determined by the personnel officer (for example, a notice or a letter). It is best to consider this a requirement, since at the beginning of Article 193 we are talking about “requesting” an explanatory note from the employee. Such literalism will also help in the event of a serious trial, when the check may consider the inaccuracy to be a mistake.

Now let's clarify some deadlines for drafting documents and making decisions.

Firstly, part 3 of the same article states that the punishment for an employee's misconduct must be imposed no later than one month after the violation is noted. The moment when the misconduct was discovered is not established by the requirement of an explanatory note from the employee, but by a separate act, which should be drawn up on the same day.

The demand is the starting point for a different period: a written explanatory note from the employee must be presented to the company within two business days after the transfer of the demand. Here, organizations are faced with another bureaucratic task: it is not enough to draw up and submit a request, you also need to prove the fact that it was handed over to an employee. For this, fields are made under the explanatory note itself, one of them is for the signature of the employee confirming receipt of the paper, the second is for the signature of witnesses who can confirm the addressee's refusal to fulfill the conditions.

Since questions often arise about when the two-day period for presenting an explanatory note from an employee expires, we will clarify this point. For example, an employee was absent from work on September 1, 2016 and did not provide a medical certificate. Witnesses confirmed the violation, and at the same time an act was prepared fixing the misconduct. The next day, on the 2nd day, the offender was given a demand for an explanatory note from the employee. Then he has two days to prepare a response:

  • September 3 - 1st day;
  • September 4 - 2nd day;
  • On September 5, the employer has the right to prepare papers on the non-submission of an explanatory note by the employee.

Please note that if the request is sent to the offender on Friday, then the following days off are not included in the calculation - the first and second days for submitting an explanatory note from the employee will be Monday and Tuesday.

To avoid confusion and confuse an employee who seeks to honestly resolve the situation, simply indicate in the requirement the deadline for the employee to provide an explanatory note. It is also worthwhile to immediately prescribe to whom the explanatory note should be addressed and to whom to transfer it when ready (since the addressee and the first recipient often turn out to be different people such as the CEO and HR).

No need to be afraid of an explanatory note from an employee and avoid writing it. On the contrary, if the employee has good enough reasons, and the employer is an adequate and reasonable manager, then this document will become part of the defense of the offender. In this situation, you don’t even need to wait for the demand for an explanatory note from the employee, you should immediately write to the management and attach all available evidence of your innocence. Not only documents with a dozen seals are suitable, but also copies of news confirming that on the road along which the employee gets to the enterprise, on the morning of that day there was big accident. When the problem is a staff conflict, then a qualitative explanatory note can incline the authorities to one side or another.

  • Punishment of an employee as a method of disciplinary control

If the employee refuses to write an explanatory

The employee has the right to refuse, since the explanatory note is a direct or indirect confirmation of his guilt in the current situation. However, it is often better to provide paperwork to ward off the most severe penalties, such as dismissal or large fines.

When the demand for an explanatory note from the employee is received by the delinquent, he is obliged to respond to such a letter, even if he is not going to prepare the necessary note to the management. The employee is obliged to notify the employer of his decision, but it is important to understand that the employee’s refusal to write an explanatory note is not an offense or another violation of labor discipline.

In whose name is the explanatory note written from the employee and in what form

The answers to these questions, first of all, are in the Internal Regulations of the organization. Usually it is indicated that the employee reports to the General Director and his direct supervisor. This determines the addressee of the explanatory note from the employee - in this case, it should be written in the name of the General Director or the head of the department.

Company internal documents may also establish other hierarchy options. Suppose there is a working group consisting of employees from different departments, then local acts may indicate that one of the managers becomes the boss for that particular group. In this case, an explanatory note from the employee will be written in his name. But it is legitimate to demand it only if a violation related to the activities of this group is recorded.

Therefore, if the company's rules do not provide otherwise, then no one, except for the immediate supervisor, has the right to demand an explanatory note from an employee who is not his direct subordinate.

In addition to local documents, this right can be granted by the General Director, delegating duties by order for the enterprise. In difficult cases, a special commission can be formed to investigate the incident, and a chairman is appointed in it, authorized to collect explanatory notes from employees and make decisions.

Labor legislation does not establish how an explanatory note should be written, however, prudent HR specialists ask employees to write explanations by hand. During a serious dispute, this circumstance can prove that the employer did not force him to sign a ready-made printed document, but used an explanatory letter from the employee written by himself.

The text must contain at least the following handwritten elements: the position of the employee, his full name, personal signature.

It is not necessary to write only a stroke by hand, since in extreme cases, the graphological examination may not be able to unambiguously determine the authorship of the signature. A few words already increase the chance of a concrete conclusion of specialists.

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Explanatory note from an employee: sample filling

This document is based on several simple rules. First, an explanatory note is written in an official business style. The form begins with a heading, which indicates the addressee (usually the General Director) and the author of the note.

Below in the middle of the page write the name of the document - "Explanatory note". After that, the main text of the explanatory note from the employee is compiled, containing information about the incident and its causes.

The explanatory note from the employee must include a detailed description of the circumstances under which the violation was committed, as well as the reasons for inaction if it turned out to be fatal.

The note should include:

  • Evaluation by the employee of his own actions and decisions that led to misconduct, to disruptions in the work process or insufficiently high-quality performance of his labor functions.
  • Appropriate reasoning in the explanatory note from the employee.
  • Whether the employee pleads guilty or not guilty of what happened.
  • Circumstances under which the violation was committed.
  • The attitude of the employee to the results of his actions or inaction, which negatively affected the enterprise.
  • His position that the employer intends to hold him accountable and impose one or another disciplinary sanction.

Another structural element allowed in the explanatory note is attachments. They are drawn up as a list after the main part and filed with the document.

Consider a few more examples of an employee's explanatory note (documents for download in the appendix to the article).

1) Explanatory note from the employee for absenteeism.

2) Explanatory note from the employee, accompanying sick leave in connection with the injury.

3) A note on the reasons for neglecting work duties.

  • Conclusion of an employment contract: how to properly formalize an employment relationship with an employee

Funny but real explanations from employees who are always late

  • Traffic jams

There are several reasons for my being late. Firstly, I arrive at the office by car, and the road is a dangerous place where risking for 10 working minutes is the pinnacle of idiocy, so I don’t try to dash around the traffic jam.

Secondly, I am a non-smoker, unlike most of the employees of our company. Therefore, instead of five 10-minute smoke breaks, I have 50 minutes of working time while everyone is doing whatever they want. At this time, I'm WORKING!

The third thing I will clarify in this explanatory note from the employee is that I am a responsible employee and resigned myself to the fact that at least twice a month I have to stay in the office until 11 am (until the building closes) and WORK! This happens because smoke break lovers accumulate 16 hours of bulldozing per month, as a result of which they do not cope with their direct duties and let others down.

In total, saving 16 hours on trips to smoke and overworking for eight hours, I WORK 24 hours more than the rest of our team. At the same time, my delays in total take a maximum of two hours a month.

If the company doesn't see that my tardiness is still economical profitable investment into an employee, then you can fire me and hire another, more punctual specialist. I wish you that he smokes and, despite the timely start of the working day, steals two days of work from the enterprise.

  • Explanatory note from an employee on the topic: drunk look

I swear I didn't drink.

  • Explanatory note from an employee who overslept

I confess that today I came with a six-hour delay, because yesterday I returned late from a tasting at a wine and vodka factory. Until two in the afternoon, I tried to remember where I worked, until my mother told me.

I assure you it won't happen again because my work address and taxi number are now scrawled on my fridge.

  • Explanatory note from an employee for family reasons

Yesterday I was late for work because my child was going to Kindergarten needed to go. Since the time of leaving the house and the road to the kindergarten and work was calculated exactly, I stayed exactly for the time of that very need. These reasons can be classified as force majeure circumstances, which cannot be influenced in any way by my desire to be on time.

  • Newbie Explanatory Note

I have only been working at your company for two days. Today is Monday, and the weekend was not easy, so in the morning I took the metro to my previous place of work. And only the director's face made it clear that I was not where I should be.

  • Banal reason

Friday I came to workplace five hours late because I was sure it was Saturday.

What the employer should do, how the employee writes an explanatory

An explanatory note from an employee is a document that requires registration (it is necessary to record the number of the incoming paper and the date of receipt).

To avoid illegal actions of the authorities, the employee should necessarily register his note in two copies with the secretary or in the office of the enterprise in order to keep one option for himself.

In this scenario, no one will be able to refer to Article 193 of the Labor Code and state that the explanatory note from the employee was not presented to the management on time (no later than two days after the transfer of the demand).

Based on all collected information a measure of disciplinary liability is assigned for an offense or negligent inaction of an employee. This decision is made only by the employer, i.e. the general director, and draws it up as a resolution.

All documents that enforce the decision to punish are prepared on the basis of this management resolution.

Written submission of explanations becomes mandatory only in a number of cases. The most common is when assessing the validity of the reasons for an employee’s disciplinary offense (violation by an employee of labor, official duties). This is required by the procedure for imposing a disciplinary sanction under Art. 193 of the Labor Code (hereinafter - the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), which can result not only in a remark or reprimand, but also in dismissal. It all depends on the circumstances in which you need to understand. The explanatory note in this case documents, conveys to the management the position of the employee, his vision of the situation, his arguments.

Document Fragment

Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Article 193 "Procedure for the application of disciplinary sanctions"

Before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee. If, after two working days, the specified explanation is not provided by the employee, then an appropriate act is drawn up.

The employee's failure to provide an explanation is not an obstacle to the application of a disciplinary sanction.

A disciplinary sanction is applied no later than one month from the date of discovery of the misconduct, not counting the time of illness of the employee, his stay on vacation, as well as the time required to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees.

A disciplinary sanction may not be applied later than six months from the date of commission of the misconduct, and based on the results of an audit, audit of financial and economic activities or an audit, later than two years from the date of its commission. The above time limits do not include the time of criminal proceedings.

For each disciplinary offense, only one disciplinary sanction may be applied.

The order (instruction) of the employer on the application of a disciplinary sanction is announced to the employee against signature within three working days from the date of its issuance, not counting the time the employee is absent from work. If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the specified order (instruction) against signature, then an appropriate act is drawn up.

A disciplinary sanction may be appealed by an employee to state inspection labor and (or) bodies for the consideration of individual labor disputes.

But explanatory notes can also be drawn up for other reasons, although the aspect of the “need to justify” is preserved (after all, in other cases, service and memos are used). For example, in the course of investigating the circumstances of causing damage to the property of the employer and determining its amount under Art. 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Requesting written explanations

So, "before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must request a written explanation from the employee." As you can see, the law does not specify exactly whether the demand for explanations should be oral or written. In particularly difficult cases, when both the employee and the employer are very serious and intend to go, as they say, to the bitter end, the employer must ask the employee for an explanation in writing, in order to later be able to confirm compliance with the procedure prescribed for imposing disciplinary sanctions in Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Example 1). The approved form of this personnel document never existed, therefore, in each organization it is drawn up in its own way. Even the type of document used for this is different (notification, demand, letter, etc.), although it is more correct to call it “requirement”, because in Part 1 of Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation says that you need to "request" a written explanation. The notification has a different connotation in meaning - there is information and there is no requirement to do anything. A letter is an outgoing document that is sent to a third party organization or to an individual, and the employee is not such a “stranger” person.

It should be remembered that “a disciplinary sanction is applied no later than one month from the day the misconduct was discovered” (part 3 of article 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The fact of its discovery is confirmed by an act, not a requirement. Therefore, this month should be counted from the date of discovery (which ideally should coincide with the date of drawing up the act), and not from the date of requesting written explanations.

From the date of the request, another period is counted - 2 days for giving a written explanation (see Example 3). Therefore, it is important not only to issue a claim, but also to prove that it was handed over to the employee or he refused to receive it. To do this, at the bottom of the sheet, you can immediately make the appropriate blanks (marked with numbers 1 and 2 in Example 1): if the first one is not issued (signature on receipt of the demand), then the second one is issued (witnesses confirm the fact that the employee refused to receive this document, this mark eliminates the need to draw up separate act for this).

Written request for an explanation from the employee

The text of the demand for explanations from the employee about the reasons for absence from work and signature

Calculation of the period for giving a written explanation of the reasons for a disciplinary offense

Suppose a worker negligently damaged the property of the employer on Monday 09/01/2014, there were witnesses to this and an act was drawn up on the same day. On September 2, 2014, the worker was required to give written explanations. We start counting from the next day:

  • 09/03/2014 - 1st day,
  • 09/04/2014 - 2nd day (when the submission of an explanatory note will still be considered timely),
  • On 09/05/2014, it is already possible to activate the fact of failure to provide explanations.

If the requirement to give written explanations was presented to the employee on Friday 09/05/2014, and Saturday and Sunday are his days off (that is, they are not included in the calculation of the 2-day period), then the deadline for the timely submission of an explanatory note will expire only on Tuesday 09/09 .2014.

So that a conscientious employee does not get confused in the calculation of this period, it is better to immediately indicate in the requirement a specific date by which an explanatory note must be provided. Here you can add a specific unit / official to whom it should be given (see the second paragraph of the text of the requirement from Example 1). The addressee of the explanatory note (in whose name it is drawn up, for example, the general director) and the person to whom it should be transferred (for example, the secretary or head of personnel department) are likely to be different people.

If the employee really had good reasons for the behavior that the employer did not like, and in general they are adequate people, then you should not be afraid of an explanatory note - she will defend the “accused”. Then you do not need to wait for a written request from the employer. According to his verbal wish, it is better to immediately draw up an explanatory note, attaching to it the maximum evidence of his innocence. Not only official documents will do, even a printout from a news site about interruptions in the operation of the metro line, through which a latecomer gets to work, will do. If there is a conflict between employees, then a well-written explanatory note can even “drag” the management to the side of its author.

In whose name is the explanatory note written?

To accurately answer this question, you need to look at the Internal Labor Regulations, which should be in force in every organization. Most likely, it says that the employee reports to his immediate supervisor and CEO. Then the explanatory note, in which case the employee will write in the name of either his boss or the general director.

Local regulations may establish a different hierarchy: for example, members of a working group report to the head of this group, despite the fact that they represent different divisions in it. The group leader may ask for written explanations only if the misconduct is related to the work of the group.

Thus, the security service, the manager of corporate culture, the head of the personnel department is not entitled to demand explanations from employees of other departments who are not subordinate to them, unless this is expressly stated in the organization's local regulations. True, the relevant powers to these and other officials can still be delegated CEO by order (for example, to the chairman of the commission to investigate a specific incident). See the captions in Examples 1 and 2 marked with an exclamation point.

By hand or on a computer?

The law does not oblige to write explanatory notes by hand, they can be typed on a computer. But experienced personnel officers demand explanations from employees, written only with their own hands. In the event of a labor dispute, this will help the employer protect against misconduct by an employee who may claim that he was “forced” to sign a text already drawn up by someone.

The minimum required composition of handwritten elements, inscribed by the employee’s hand on an explanatory note, is as follows:

  • position,
  • personal stroke and
  • AND ABOUT. Surname.

It is impossible to confine oneself only to a handwritten personal stroke, because some signatures are not able to be unambiguously identified by handwriting examination as belonging to a certain person. And for whole words (in positions and surnames), this can definitely be done.

Details of the explanatory note

The form of the explanatory note is relatively free. No one requires an employee to have a thorough knowledge of the standards for paperwork, and compliance with the necessary minimum is enough.

At the top, on the right side of the sheet, information is written in a column about to whom and by whom the explanatory note is addressed. The employee must indicate his structural unit, position, as well as full surname, name and patronymic. The name of the type of document - an explanatory note - is written in the center, a few lines later (usually with capital letter or capital letters only, as shown in Example 4). Example 5 shows an outdated version, where the name of the document type is written entirely in small letters and followed by a dot, i.e. the whole "cap" as if could be read in a single sentence; such design options used to be found in applications.

"Header" of the explanatory note

An outdated version of the "cap" of the explanatory note

  • correct wording and use whenever possible formal business style presentations,
  • only exact dates, if necessary - time,
  • facts and reasons for the current situation.

    • Circumstances are different, and it is incorrect to demand brevity from an employee in an explanatory note. A note can take up several sheets of paper, contain direct speech and read like a good detective, or it can consist of one line. The employer has no right to limit the employee in such "creativity".

    No one expects conclusions and suggestions from the employee in the explanatory, although it will not work to forbid him to include them.

    The content of the explanatory note is determined only by the employee who needs to write it. The boss does not have the right to dictate the text, say phrases like “this is not the reason”, demand rewriting and influence the content of the document in other ways. In some organizations, they go even further and draw up standard texts of explanatory notes. The employee has the right to decide whether to use them or write an explanatory note on his own. It is in his interest to describe what happened in the way he thinks is right. The employer, in turn, is obliged to familiarize himself with any explanations of the employee, whether he likes them or not.

    Drafting the text of an explanatory note is very often difficult. Let us repeat the main rule: events must be stated as they happened.

    If the fault of the employee is obvious (he was late, was rude to the client, forgot to do something), then it is pointless to deny this and invent some kind of excuse. We'll have to write it as it is:

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Explanatory note text

    Fragment of the text of the explanatory note

    Explanatory note text

    Application check mark

    Application check mark

    Marking the presence of applications

    An explanatory note has been drawn up. What to do next?

    The employer, having received an explanatory note, puts on it the incoming registration number of the document and, without fail, the date of admission.

    According to Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, to which we referred at the beginning, the employee has 2 working days to write an explanatory note. If, after this time, the employee does not provide explanations, the employer has the right to draw up an appropriate act about this. In order to insure against illegal actions on the part of the employer, it is better for the employee to register his explanatory note at the office or with the secretary with an appropriate mark on the document, and then take a copy of the explanatory note with this mark. Another option: the employee can write an explanatory note in 2 copies, and one of them, after putting a mark on admission, keep it. Then no one will be able to say that the employee did not provide written explanations within the period established by law.

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