Is it possible to lay off a person of pre-retirement age?

A layoff in a job is always associated with a huge number of unpleasant consequences for both the employee and the employer. An employee who belongs to a group of socially vulnerable people is very vulnerable in the event of layoffs, since searching for a new job takes longer than for an ordinary citizen. This is especially true for citizens whose age is close to retirement. Unfortunately, such citizens have low competitiveness in the labor market. Therefore, the state is trying in every possible way to protect pre-retirement people.

Employer obligations to pre-retirement workers in 2021

The new pensioner reform has affected almost all areas of life of ordinary citizens, including labor relations with the employer. The innovations affected the relationship between the employer and pre-retirees. The legislation is aimed at ensuring the most favorable working conditions for persons whose age is close to retirement. This is justified by the fact that citizens of this category are less competitive in the labor market, and also, due to their age, require certain social support from the state. Therefore, the amendments to the labor code affected the following aspects:

Preservation of a job for a citizen of pre-retirement age. An employer does not have the right to dismiss an employee based on age. An exception are professions where there are age criteria for performing job duties, determined by the legal regulations existing in this area of legislation. The same applies to hiring a citizen of pre-retirement age.
The employer is obliged to provide, by mutual agreement, two additional paid days for undergoing a planned medical examination. A pre-retirement employee can exercise this right by agreeing in advance with his manager on the days for undergoing a medical examination. The employer, in turn, does not have the right to refuse, but may request a transfer to other dates due to production needs. These days off are paid like regular working days, and the employer has the right to receive compensation from the social insurance fund.
The employer is obliged to provide an alternative vacant place at the enterprise for a pre-retirement person who, due to his age, can no longer perform his job duties. When reducing staff or positions, the organization does not have the right to consider a candidate for dismissal of a citizen of pre-retirement age. Otherwise, the employee has the right to appeal to the labor commission to protect his rights and reinstatement at work.
A pre-retirement pensioner has the right to undergo free retraining at the center for social protection of the population in order to change his occupation or gain additional knowledge that may be useful in the workplace.

Important! To justify their rights in the workplace, a citizen is obliged to provide the employer with a certificate of pre-retirement status, issued by the Pension Fund at the place of residence.

Reasons for legal dismissal

The provisions of Article 81 of the Labor Law provide for situations in which the company’s management has the opportunity to terminate relations with a specific citizen. These include:

Conditions for obtaining the status of a citizen who has reached pre-retirement age

The new pension reform has made adjustments not only to the extension of working age for citizens of our country. The reform also affected the concept of pre-retirement people; now citizens can receive this social status five years before retirement. To obtain this status the following conditions must be met:

The retirement age corresponds to the established legal standards for the onset of retirement age. The legislation determines that 5 years before retirement age, a citizen has the right to formalize a new social status - pre-retirement. This status gives the right to receive social benefits.
A citizen's retirement age is determined not only by age, but also by his total length of service. For citizens who have extensive experience in a profession where the calculation of work experience takes place taking into account any accelerated coefficients, as well as the age of the citizen, obtaining social status will also be calculated as 5 years before the possible retirement age.
The length of service determines the retirement age. There are a number of professions that, due to the specifics of their activities, limit the maximum insurance period. Thus reducing the retirement age. This applies to the military, pilots, doctors of certain specializations, etc. For them, the onset of pre-retirement age comes with the end of their working life.
Citizens with preferential social status. There are a number of people who, due to some personal circumstances, cannot work fully. For some of them, early retirement is determined. This applies to mothers of many children, disabled people, etc. For such citizens, pre-retirement status is also granted 5 years before retirement. At the same time, benefits for each social status complement each other, but do not double.

Important! Citizens whose year of birth falls during the transition period of pension reform can clarify the age for receiving social status either on the website of the pension fund or in the multifunctional department at their place of residence.

Social benefits and preferences for citizens of pre-retirement age in Moscow

People whose age is close to retirement are limited in their work activity not only by age criteria, but sometimes also by health reasons. It is more difficult for such citizens to compete with young people, and for some professions they are no longer suitable due to the existing professional legal regulations. Therefore, the state has developed a number of regulations that are aimed at social support for this category of citizens.

Tax benefits for property and transport taxes. Previously, this benefit was provided only to pensioners and certain categories of citizens who have a preferential status not related to age. Registration of the benefit takes place at the tax service office at the citizen’s place of residence or at the “My Documents” office.
Free travel on public transport and suburban transport. This benefit is provided to pre-retirees with Moscow registration.
Dental prosthetics once every five years. This service is provided in state dental clinics, on the basis of a certificate of pre-retirement status.
Receiving compensation for the purchase of medications according to a prescription prescribed by the attending doctor. In some cases, the cost of the medicine may be fully compensated if the disease belongs to the group of diseases for which medicines are provided free of charge.
Increased unemployment benefits and extension of the period for receiving this benefit. Upon dismissal due to layoff or at his own request, a citizen has the right to register with the social employment center. If there is a pre-retirement certificate, a citizen has the right to write an application for an additional payment to unemployment benefits.
The center for social protection of the population has a number of retraining and advanced training programs for citizens. Pre-retirees have the right to take free courses to learn a new profession.
Benefits at the workplace in accordance with labor legislation. Providing additional days for medical examination, employer's responsibility for

Important! Any benefit is provided on the basis of a document confirming this right. For a citizen whose age is close to retirement, they must promptly obtain a certificate of pre-retirement status from the pension fund department.

Some situations and ways out of them

Many questions and reviews about pre-retirement people losing their jobs are related to layoffs and inappropriate positions for medical reasons. There are also cases of dismissals under pressure from the employer - at their own request.

Situations of the latter type are resolved through the citizen's appeal to the court with evidence that the real reason for leaving was age. In this case, the manager will be punished, and the employee will be reinstated.

Features of pre-retirement reduction:

Keeping the best employees at work, example: reducing the number of accountants - out of two you need to leave one. The difference between the workers in age: the younger employee is a single mother, the older one is working until retirement. The latter will be reduced, since a woman with a child under 14 years of age is protected by law. Pre-retirement benefits do not work in this case.
Receiving benefits at the Employment Center - this opportunity is provided to a citizen who has lost his job before retirement.
Early retirement. In some cases, this is possible with the direction of the employment service.

Dismissal due to health – this is something drivers, machinists and pilots often face. Here you need to remember that the employer is obliged to offer the pre-retirement worker another job, and can terminate the contract with him if the future pensioner agrees.

If no vacancies are offered, you can contact the trade union, request an official response from management about the lack of vacancies, or appeal the medical report.

Features of layoffs for pre-retirement workers in the workplace in 2021

Legislation protects working citizens who, for personal reasons, have social status. This also applies to pre-retirement people, since due to their age, not all employers are ready to show social responsibility and the state’s goal is to provide this category of citizens with jobs. Therefore, the employer is responsible for citizens with preferential status. Taking into account the legal aspects of the pre-retirement status, the following features of the pre-retirement reduction procedure can be highlighted:

A citizen who has less than five years left before retirement cannot be dismissed due to staff or position reduction if there are other candidates;
The employer is obliged to offer the employee alternative vacant positions that can be filled by pre-retirement workers;
An employee with a preferential status has the right to receive additional severance pay upon dismissal if he is unable to find a job within three months after the layoff;
In case of violation of the rights and unlawful dismissal of an employee, he has the right to appeal to the labor commission to protect his rights;
By decision of the labor commission, the employee can be reinstated to his job with full compensation;
After layoffs, the employee has the right to register with the labor exchange to look for a new job, as well as receive additional education completed free of charge;
A citizen has the right to extend the period of receiving unemployment benefits up to six months, and in some cases longer.

In many ways, the reduction of pre-retirement workers is no different from the procedure for laying off ordinary citizens. The difference is that the employer is obliged to try to preserve the employee's job, sometimes to the detriment of other employees.

What can the employee do?

Each employee must clearly know his rights, then if he is laid off, he will be able to take the right actions, namely:

An employee has the right to demand that he be excluded from the list of persons subject to layoffs on the basis provided for in Art. 179 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. We are talking about the preferential right to remain at work. It is possessed by workers who meet the following characteristics: the highest labor productivity in the enterprise; high level of qualification.
A person of pre-retirement age has the right to request from the employer a list of all vacant positions available at the enterprise in a specific period of time. This is possible thanks to Part 1 of Art. 180 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. According to this rule, the employer is obliged to offer the employee who has been laid off another job. Further dismissal is permissible only if there are no vacancies, or the person being laid off is not satisfied with the positions offered to him and he does not want to take them.

The organization's management can offer the following options: a job that meets the employee's qualifications, or a lower position with less pay. In turn, the dismissed person retains the right to accept the offer by writing a written consent, or to refuse. This procedure is indicated in Part 3 of Art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

If several people meet these requirements, then preference is given to the following categories:

a person with a family (if he is dependent on 2 or more disabled family members);
an employee who is the sole breadwinner;
an employee who is injured or becomes ill at work (for example, due to hazardous conditions);
disabled people of WWII and other combat operations;
personnel who are undergoing advanced training.

Read also: Survivor's pension: types, size and procedure

If a pre-retirement employee is fired, he has the right to claim a violation by the employer of his legal rights if there are such grounds. In this situation, he can write a complaint to higher authorities (for example, the Labor Inspectorate) and talk about the following violations:

untimely notification of an upcoming staff reduction (the employer must do this 2 months before dismissal);
termination of an employment contract before the deadline prescribed by law;
non-payment or incomplete payment of all due amounts and compensation, etc.

If the employee manages to prove that the employer violated labor law, he will be reinstated to his previous position. In this case, the management will have to additionally pay him compensation for the inconvenience caused.

The process of reducing pre-retirement employees in any organization in 2021

Dismissal of an employee at the initiative of the employer is a rather complicated legal process. This is due to the fact that dismissal must be truly lawful and justified; even the slightest violation of the law can lead to administrative liability being brought to the management of the organization. This is especially true for the dismissal of employees who have any social status. This also includes pre-retirees. The process of reducing a citizen who has benefit status consists of the following stages:

At the first stage, depending on the reason for layoffs, the employer is obliged to study the personal files of candidates for dismissal. First of all, those who fall into the preferential category of citizens must be eliminated. If there are no other options, the employer should try to find alternative options for working in the organization for these citizens.
Along with notice of the impending layoff, the employer must offer available vacant positions to employees who are at risk of layoffs. After the proposed alternative options, the employee himself decides to accept the new position or accept the notice of layoff.
Notice of reduction must be provided two months before the appointed date. The employee is required to sign a document stating that he received the notification and has read it. In two months he can try to find a new job. The employee also has the right to try to protest a possible reduction by contacting the labor commission for pre-trial resolution of the conflict.
The employer is required to prepare all calculations two months in advance, which are made on the employee’s last working day. This includes the calculation of wages for the last month worked, the calculation for unpaid vacation, severance pay for layoffs (paid regardless of whether the employee found a new job or not), all calculations within the framework of the internal bonus system regulated by the enterprise.

After being laid off, the employee has the right to register with the labor exchange. This gives him the right to receive two more months of additional severance pay from the employer. And in a situation where a citizen was unable to find a job and in the third month after dismissal, he has the right to claim severance pay for another month. At the same time, the employment center also issues a social benefit for such a citizen - unemployment benefits. Moreover, for pre-retirees, this benefit is paid in an increased amount and for 6 months, and in some cases it is extended to a year.