Can an employer fire without cause?

Dismissal of an ordinary employee without reason

If an employer fires an employee without explaining the reasons, this is a violation of labor laws. A former employee may well contact the authorized authorities, after which the company will face unpleasant inspections. If violations are confirmed when dismissing an employee, the organization as a whole and the manager in particular are fined. Moreover, the employee is required to be reinstated at work and compensated for his wages for the entire period of absence. And if he requests compensation for moral damage, then this amount will have to be paid with the appropriate court decision.

When it comes to civil servants, they are guided by Articles 37 and 39 of the Law “On State Civil Service in the Russian Federation” No. 79-FZ. In this case, the above list of grounds for dismissal is supplemented by:

• Failure to fulfill duties;
• Loss of trust due to disclosure of secret information, failure to submit income data on time, engaging in commercial activities and failure to comply with prohibitions.

Expert opinion

Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich

Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.

Dismissal without explanation is prohibited by Article 33 of the aforementioned Law No. 79-FZ. And in the case of military duties, this is prohibited on the basis of Article 51 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” No. 53-FZ.

What to do if you were fired without reason?

If you are faced with a similar situation, you need to know that the employee has legal grounds to protect his interests. To do this, he has the right to apply:

• To the State Labor Inspectorate (GIT);
• Prosecutor's Office;
• Court.

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This can be done simultaneously or alternately, but it should be noted that there is a statute of limitations for going to court, which is one month after dismissal. If the former employee files an application later, the claim will be left without consideration. But you can contact the GIT, just like the prosecutor’s office, at any time. Moreover, if the audit shows that an offense actually took place, then the relevant authorities themselves will file a statement of claim and defend the interests of the employee.

When faced with a similar situation, it is recommended to adhere to the following procedure:

Is such dismissal legal?

No! A manager cannot fire his employee without explaining to him the reasons for such an action. In Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides an exhaustive list of grounds on which an employer can terminate an employment relationship with an employee:

• liquidation of the enterprise;
• reduction in the number of employees of the enterprise or reduction of positions;
• the employee is not suitable for the position he occupies. This was revealed during personnel certification;
• the property of the enterprise has changed its owner;
• the employee repeatedly ignores his job duties or has received a disciplinary sanction;
• the employee repeatedly grossly violates his job duties;
• the employee skipped work, that is, was absent from the workplace for more than 4 hours in a row or during the entire shift, and he cannot explain his absence;
• appearing at work in a state of alcohol, drug or other toxicological intoxication. This fact must be proven by the conclusion of a medical professional;
• when gross violations by an employee are detected. These include: disclosure of secret information. On this basis, it is possible to dismiss if the employee, when hired or during his work career with this employer, signed an appropriate non-disclosure agreement of any information;
• theft of company property or material assets entrusted to the employee. He can be fired only if the court finds this employee guilty of these actions;
• violation of labor safety requirements, resulting in injury or death.

If the employer has identified one of the conditions presented above and in Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, he must record it in the presence of witnesses. This does not apply to the liquidation of an enterprise or reduction of staff, but the guilty actions of the employee must be reflected in the documents.

Dismissal without explanation can only be applied to the head of an enterprise who works under an employment contract. The founders, participants or shareholders of the company can make such a decision at a general meeting and document it in the minutes.

What can you do if you were fired without reason?

Although dismissal without explanation is possible for senior company officials, such actions are strictly prohibited for ordinary employees. In practice, the employer often exerts moral pressure on the employee, forcing him to resign without any good reason.

Situations are possible when an employee refuses to write a statement of his own free will based on the results of such influence. Then the employer can artificially create various conflict situations for the purpose of formally imposing disciplinary sanctions and subsequent dismissal of the “undesirable” employee on the initiative of the administration.

If an injured citizen believes that his rights were violated and he was fired illegally, or with the use of moral and psychological pressure, without specifying objective reasons, he has the right to defend his rights. For these purposes, the following tools are available to him:

• Write a written appeal to the owners of the company, complaining about the illegal actions of the executive body;
• Apply to the trade union body (if there is one) with a statement to protect your legal rights;
• Submit a written complaint to the State Tax Inspectorate;
• Report a violation of your rights to the prosecutor's office;
• File a claim in court to have the dismissal declared illegal and reinstated at work.

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The first option, as a rule, is ineffective, since in most cases the owners trust the decisions of the executive body authorized by them. Trade unions also do not operate in all organizations. Therefore, the most effective from a practical point of view will be appeals to the labor inspectorate, prosecutor's office or court.

How to write a complaint about illegal dismissal to the labor inspectorate?

An employee has the right to complain about illegal actions of the company administration to the labor inspectorate. To do this, he draws up a written request in free form, in which he indicates:

• Name of the institution where you are applying;
• Applicant's contact details;
• The essence of your appeal, violations committed by the employer, evidence of his illegal actions.

The appeal can be delivered in person or sent by mail with a list of attachments. Having received the application, the inspector initiates an inspection of the employer. Within 10 days from the date of the application, the inspection must provide a response based on the results of the inspection. If violations are discovered during dismissal, the inspectorate has the right to file a claim in court to protect the rights of the employee. It is better to contact the State Tax Inspectorate if you have irrefutable evidence of violations on the part of the employer. If formal evidence of the employer’s guilt is not found, the inspectors will also have no grounds for filing a claim.

How to file a claim for reinstatement in court?

The statute of limitations for cases in connection with dismissal is 1 month from the date of issuance of the order to terminate the employment contract or the day of receipt of the work book (Article 392 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In the statement of claim, the employee must describe in detail all the circumstances of the case and state why he considers his dismissal to be unfounded. It is better if it is drafted by an experienced lawyer who knows the peculiarities of considering such cases.

The application must be accompanied by evidence, which may include:

• Copies of administrative documents for hiring and dismissal;
• A copy of the work record;
• Employment contract;
• Job descriptions;
• Extracts from pay slips.

You can use data from work correspondence via email or audio recordings of conversations. The burden of proving guilt falls entirely on the shoulders of the plaintiff. However, if the decision is positive, the employee may be reinstated and the employer may be required to pay him the average salary for the entire period of forced absence. In addition, an illegally dismissed person has the right to demand compensation for moral damage and legal costs.

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Can an employer terminate without cause?

Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation contains a list of compelling reasons on which previously concluded employment relationships can be terminated. This may include:

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1. Complete liquidation of a legal entity or termination of activities by a citizen who is an individual entrepreneur. Of course, if a company goes out of business, employees simply have no choice but to quit.
2. However, it should be noted that employment relations with them must be terminated precisely because of liquidation. This basis is indicated in the citizen’s work book, as well as in other documents. If, when closing an organization, the manager asks employees to write letters of resignation of their own free will, such actions of the manager will be absolutely unlawful.
3. Reduction of staff by the employer. The director can indeed dismiss one or more employees on the basis of reduction, but in this case the procedure must fully comply with the established procedure. First of all, each employee must be warned in advance about dismissal - at least two months before his last day in this organization.
4. Another important nuance will be the offer of alternative vacancies to employers. If the boss has the opportunity to transfer the redundant employee to another position, he must use it.
5. Inconsistency between the employee’s qualifications and the position he occupies. It should be noted that the very fact of this discrepancy can be established and approved only after a special certification procedure.
6. Change of owner of the enterprise. In this case, the new management has the right to change the management team of the organization, including deputy directors, chief accountant, etc.
7. A violation committed by a materially responsible employee, which resulted in financial harm to the organization.
8. The adoption by an employee of a leadership position of a certain decision, which resulted in serious losses for the company or a deterioration in his current position.