Order to reduce the number and staff of employees: sample 2021

An order to reduce the number of employees is a document that is drawn up in cases where an organization plans to dismiss one or more employees with the exclusion of their position from the staffing table. The reason for such actions by management can be a variety of reasons: from the reorganization of the enterprise and production necessity, to the lack of financial ability to support “extra mouths.”

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Who can and cannot be fired during staff reductions

In general, the employer is free to lay off any employee of the company. However, there are especially protected categories of workers who are legally prohibited from being dismissed due to staff reduction. These include

• women expecting the birth of a child,
• parents of children under three years of age,
• citizens or single mothers who have children under 14 years of age and under 18 in the case of disabled children.

As for minor employees, their dismissal during staff reduction is possible only when a special commission of the labor inspection agrees to this, protecting the rights of workers who have not reached the age of majority.

Order to cancel staff reduction

There are cases when, within two months after the notice of layoff, the situation changes and there is no longer any need to fire someone.

In this case, the employer needs:

• prepare an order to cancel organizational and staffing activities;
• familiarize all employees with the contents of the new order against signature;
• send everyone notices in writing that the previous notice of dismissal has been cancelled;
• notify the trade union and the employment service.

Procedure

The process of staff reduction is multi-stage and consists of several stages.

1. First of all, the management of the organization makes an appropriate decision and creates a written basis.

Important clarification: dismissal of employees due to staff reduction is possible only in cases where their positions are abolished in the company, and transfer to another vacancy within the company is impossible (i.e., the employer must initially consider the possibility of transferring employees to vacant positions that correspond to their qualifications and specialization and, if available, offer them to those being dismissed).

2. Then, in the manner prescribed by law, the trade union body (if there is one at the enterprise) is notified and an order is issued, which every employee who has been laid off must familiarize himself with. If any employee does not want to sign a document, this must be recorded in a special act.
3. The final stage: final settlement with those dismissed (which is made on the last working day), as well as making appropriate entries in the workers’ work books, their personal cards and other personnel documents.

Algorithm of actions

1. An Order is issued to reduce staff and change the existing staffing table.
2. Employment authorities and the trade union (if any) are notified of planned actions against employees. Reason: Art. 82 Labor Code of the Russian Federation; clause 2 art. 25 of the Law of April 19, 1991 No. 1032-1.
3. The circle of persons who have a preferential right to continue working is determined (Article 179 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
4. Employees of liquidated positions are notified of this by signature 2 months before the date of dismissal (Article 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
5. Those subject to dismissal are offered other positions or work (Part 3 of Article 81, Article 180 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
6. If there is a trade union, its opinion on this procedure is requested (Article 373 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
7. Termination of the contract is formalized by order in form T-9 with an entry in the work book about dismissal on the basis of clause 2 of Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
8. Settlements are made with the employee, guaranteed by labor legislation in the event of dismissal on this basis.

How to fill out an order form to reduce the number of employees (sample) 2 months before dismissal, we will consider further.

Rules for drawing up an order

This document is not particularly complex from a paperwork point of view. To date, it does not have a unified standard that is strictly required for use. Enterprises and organizations can write it in free form, based on their own needs and ideas about the content of this document.

However, there is some information that in any case should be present in the order. This concerns

• name of the organization,
• Full name, positions of dismissed employees,
• reasons for their reduction.

In addition, the order must be signed by the employees themselves , whose signatures will indicate that they are familiar with this document in the manner prescribed by law (it should be noted here that this must happen at least two months before the upcoming layoff).

The order can be issued either in handwritten form or printed on a computer, always in a single copy and must be certified by the director of the company. There is no need to stamp it, since since 2021, enterprises and organizations have the right not to use stamps or seals, not to mention the fact that it refers to internal documentation, which initially can only be certified with the help of a “managerial autograph.” After the employee reduction procedure is completed, the document must be transferred for storage to the enterprise archive.

If the number is reduced due to optimization

Optimization should be understood as changes (including personnel changes) that should increase the economic performance of the company. The goals that management pursues during optimization include:

• reducing the number of personnel and, as a result, saving money on their maintenance;
• restructuring of departments and reorganization of structural units to improve the efficiency of their work;
• changing job titles;
• creation of new jobs and dismissal of old ones.

Such an order is drawn up in accordance with standard rules in free form. Its peculiarity is that it is necessary to indicate the reason that occurs in this particular company, and the remaining points are of a general nature.

The employer will have to complete this procedure in full:

1. Notify workers, trade unions and employment authorities about the upcoming procedure two months in advance.
2. Issue a regulatory act on the exclusion of staff positions.
3. Notify the employment service.
4. Determine a list of who should be fired and who should not be fired.
5. Offer those being laid off other vacant positions.
6. Take into account the opinion of the trade union and, if necessary, consult with it.
7. Correctly draw up the work book and relevant documents.
8. Make a full settlement with the person being dismissed.

Local regulations on termination of employment relations are drawn up on standardized T-8 forms, which indicate:

• employee personal data;
• date and basis for termination of the employment relationship.

Example of an order

This order is drawn up according to the standard scheme for this type of document.

Document header

First, in the middle of the line, its full name is written (with a short indication of the essence). Then, just below, the locality in which the enterprise is registered and the date the order was drawn up are indicated.

Document body

The next part is the main one. First, the reason for the reduction in staff is recorded here, then the order itself is transmitted, which includes several points.

1. The first contains the date and full name of the company, as well as those positions that are subject to abolition and the number of employees employed in them.
2. Then instructions are given to the head of the personnel department or another authorized person - here it is necessary to enter his position and full name - to bring information about the staff reduction to those employees who are directly affected by it (remember that this must be done two months before the event itself).
3. Then a clause is written about the requirement to prepare all the necessary documents and carry out the procedure in a legal manner. Also here you need to include an instruction on the preparation of a new staffing table, in which there will no longer be any positions being eliminated. All this must be done before the actual reduction of employees takes place.
4. At the end, you need to give a link to the document (i.e. name it and indicate the date of preparation and number) on the basis of which this order was issued.
5. Then the order should be approved by the signature of the head of the company, indicating his position (director, general director or other person acting on the basis of a power of attorney, etc.), last name, first name and patronymic, and signature with a transcript.
6. Lastly, the order is brought to the attention of the employees subject to reduction, who must also put their signatures on it.

Next Steps

The employee signs the order, the act comes into force only after the employee is presented with a document with a personal signature.

In the event of a change in the staffing table, the employer is obliged to provide a list of vacant positions with similar job responsibilities or a position of a lower rank than the one being abolished. If there are no such positions, the manager is obliged to draw up a corresponding act in any form.

When drawing up an order for the dismissal of specific labor units, it should be remembered that the following cannot be reduced:

• pregnant women;
• women with children under three years of age;
• single mothers with children under the age of fourteen (children with disabilities under 18 years), in connection with Article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, part 4;
• highly qualified workers.

Important! After all procedural measures have been carried out and after the expiration of a two-month period, the stage of dismissal of the employee occurs.

In the event that the available fields in the Order are not filled in, if errors are made (mismatch of details, duplicate act number, etc.), this is considered an unlawful error. The consequences of incorrect preparation of papers may include penalties.

Reasons for reducing the number of employees

The employer has the right to independently determine the grounds on which staff are being reduced (part 1 of article 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause 10 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 No. 2, Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated July 15, 2008 No. 413-O-O) .

Most often, reductions are the result of:

• low profitability;
• unfavorable economic situation;
• changes in production technology (for example, through automation).

In order to defend their point of view in court, management should obtain the necessary information to explain the reasons why the need for a regular event arose.

Sample order for layoffs in 2020

A reduction order, taking into account all the recommendations for its preparation, may look like this:

Order to reduce the number and staff of employees

Clause 2.6 is included in the order if the organization has a trade union.

Our example involves reducing both numbers and staff. In other cases, the content of the order is adjusted:

• when reducing staff (excluding vacant units), paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 remain relevant;
• when reducing the number of employees (dismissal), paragraph 1 lists the employees dismissed due to reduction with a further distribution of tasks according to paragraphs 2 and 4.

Reducing headcount and staff: understanding the concepts

Clause 2 art.
81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows for termination of an employment contract when the number or staff of employees is reduced. But the Code does not specify what the difference is between such cases. HR specialists use the following terminology:

The reduction procedure is regulated by law. Its first stage is the issuance of an order.