Almost every production enterprise in the process of work is forced to face downtime. They are represented by the suspension of the company for various reasons. The most common is simple due to the fault of the employer. It is important to understand how this process is properly formed, how specialists pay this period, and what difficulties the company may face.
The concept of downtime
Simple is represented by a special method of preserving jobs for workers in the process of suspending an enterprise for various reasons. This situation at work is considered unpleasant both for the employees themselves and for the management of the organization. The company is forced to face losses, and employees do not receive full salaries.
In Art. 72.2 TC provides the concept of downtime. It is represented by a temporary suspension of the enterprise. Typically, the causes are various problems that arise in the organization, technological process, technical equipment or economic field.
What causes downtime?
The most common downtime appears for such reasons:
- The fall in demand for manufactured products, and it can be sharp or gradual.
- Lack of components necessary for work.
- Production equipment becomes defective and unsuitable for further use.
- The economic difficulties encountered by the management of the company, therefore, significant obstacles are created for the full-fledged work of the company.
The process is certainly accompanied by a significant drop in the profit of the organization, therefore, the salary of employees is significantly reduced. If the cause is a breakdown of equipment, then the duty of the employee is timely notification of the management of the enterprise about this situation. If this is not done, then the employee may be held liable for the violation.
Who could be the culprit?
Downtime can affect both all employees and an individual employee. It can affect a specific department or the entire enterprise. There are many reasons for its occurrence, but the culprit may be:
- An employee of the enterprise who can steal equipment or materials, violate the discipline established at work. Also, experts often ignore the basic safety rules.
- Simple due to the fault of the employer also occurs quite often, moreover, this is usually associated with a change in the profile of the enterprise, with economic problems in the organization or violation of clauses of the contract drawn up between the company's management and employees.
- Circumstances that cannot be affected by the employee or the employer, and this includes the purchase of defective equipment, the economic crisis in the country, various natural disasters and catastrophes.
If the main cause of the downtime is equipment breakdown, then the company employee must notify the management in writing of the problem. If the authorities do not respond to this statement, and it is impossible to use the uncorrected units in the future, then a simple fault arises through the fault of the employer. In this case, employees should know what salary will be paid to them and how they should behave further in the enterprise. According to Art. 157 of TC, this situation indicates that the employee has dealt with his duties, so he will not be able to hold him accountable.
Types of Downtime
Depending on who is affected by the suspension of the production process, types of downtime are distinguished:
- Local, related to only one employee or several employees, for example, only one unit, which is controlled by two people, has broken down.
- Massive, on the basis of which the whole enterprise is fully affected, therefore, all full-time employees cannot cope with their duties.
The duration of a downtime due to the fault of the employer can be short-term, therefore the problem is usually solved within one work shift, and it can also be long, and often such a suspension of work can last from a couple of days to several weeks.
For what reasons is downtime due to the employer?
Most often, one has to face the fact that there is no work in the company due to various factors that are affected by management. Therefore, downtime due to the fault of the employer may be due to various reasons:
- Technological. This category includes a change in the production process, since it is required to produce other products or the direction of the enterprise is completely changing.
- Economic. These reasons are the lack of funds to continue working. Due to low demand for products, an economic crisis in the company may also occur.
- Organizational. They assume that the management of the enterprise cannot make important and correct decisions in a timely manner. In some cases, violations related to the organization of the labor process may occur.
- Technical The main reason may be that the company uses outdated equipment that cannot perform certain actions. This also includes regular unit breakdowns, software failures or lack of electricity for various reasons.
All these grounds are listed in Art. 72.2 TC, and they arise from the management of the company.
What rights and obligations are given to employees?
Each person working in a manufacturing enterprise must figure out how to behave properly when a job is stopped, how simple it is paid due to the fault of the employer, and what responsibilities the workers themselves have. Only with legal literacy can citizens protect their rights.
According to the Labor Code, simple due to the fault of the employer may be due to various reasons, but it is accompanied by the following points:
- during downtime, workers may not visit the place of work;
- in order not to be considered absenteeism from work, it is required to stipulate in advance with the employer the rules of conduct for employees during work stoppages;
- an order is issued by management stating the start of a downtime;
- employees should be ready to return to working time at any time, for which reason they are notified by the employer by phone or other means;
- if the employer demands that all employees write an application for leave, which may be paid or at their expense, then this is a violation, so citizens can complain to the labor inspectorate;
- the employer may offer specialists a transfer to another position and place of work, if the company has a free vacancy, but such a proposal should take into account the experience and qualifications of the employee;
- only with the consent of the employee himself can he be transferred to a lower position.
If the management of the company realizes that the downtime will be long, then many employees can be temporarily transferred to another position. If there is fault of the employer at idle time, then employees can refuse such an offer. If they agree, then the process rules are taken into account:
- temporary transfer cannot be executed for a period exceeding one year;
- the consent of the translation specialist is required if the process is planned for a period of one month or more;
- it is not allowed that the salary be less than the average earnings paid to the employee at the same place of work.
Additionally, the translation must be formalized with official documents.
It is important to know what the amount of downtime is due to the fault of the employer if the employee refuses to be transferred to another position, therefore, simply does not perform any work duties.
What social guarantees are offered to employees?
Since downtime arose solely through the fault of the employer, then by all means all employees who are forced to suspend their work should know what social guarantees they can count on. This includes not only payment of downtime due to the fault of the employer in the prescribed amount, but also other obligations of the company:
- calculation and transfer of benefits, if the employee goes on sick leave, therefore, transfers a disability certificate to the place of work;
- registration of additional leave according to the standard scheme;
- downtime is necessarily included in the seniority of employees, so company employees may not worry that such a situation at the enterprise may negatively affect the size of their future pension;
- periods of suspension of work are not indicated in labor books;
- the right to arrange annual leave paid by the employer is reserved for specialists, and this does not affect how long the downtime lasts;
- all employees retain their jobs.
A significant minus is that downtime periods are not included in the length of service required for citizens to retire early. Additionally, downtime due to the fault of the employer of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation depends on the salary, but there will always be less than the average earnings for previous periods of work.
What actions are taken by the employer in the event of downtime?
Initially, the company’s management is notified that certain malfunctions have appeared. They can be associated with various reasons, but it can often be immediately established that the employer is the culprit. Therefore, actions are performed under such conditions:
- The culprit is identified, and if it is the company’s management, for example, a breakdown has occurred due to lack of maintenance of the unit or the use of outdated equipment, then all actions necessary to eliminate the breakdown or other causes of downtime are performed.
- An order is issued about the forced downtime, in which various significant information is entered. These include the date the work stopped. All employees who were left without the ability to perform their job duties are listed. The amount of the downtime payment due to the fault of the employer is indicated, and it is also indicated that there are no employees who are responsible for the process.
- All employees who cannot continue to work should become familiar with the received document.
Salary payment is based on information from Art. 157 shopping mall. Only after the issuance of the order is the start of downtime officially registered.
How is it drawn up correctly?
After the issuance of the order, additionally certain actions must be performed by the management of the company, for which the TC standards are taken into account. How to make a simple fault of the employer? For this, sequential actions are performed:
- An act is being formed. It indicates why a downtime arose.
- An administrative document is issued. It includes information about how long workers will not be able to begin their labor duties. It is indicated that employees should still come to work or may be at home until they are called by management.
- If necessary, an investigation is conducted to determine the exact reason for the shutdown .
- All measures are taken to eliminate damage or other problems that have occurred in the workplace.
If the employer requires employees to apply for leave, they can safely refuse to fulfill this order. Under pressure from the authorities, they may draw up a collective complaint to the labor inspectorate.
How to pay?
The benefits received by employees who do not fulfill their labor duties depend on who is responsible for such a situation in the enterprise.
How is the downtime due to the fault of the employer paid? Under such conditions, Art. 157 TC indicated that the payment is 2/3 of the average earnings of a specialist. If the culprit was not identified, therefore there were circumstances that employees or management could not influence, then payment is made in the amount of 2/3 of the salary. If the fault of a specific specialist is proved, then he does not receive a salary for the entire period of inactivity.
Due to the Labor Code, simple due to the fault of the employer is paid on the basis of the exact number of days during which specialists cannot begin their basic duties. There are often situations when it is required to make a calculation for a person who has not yet worked in the company for even one month. In this case, it will not be possible to determine the average earnings, therefore, data on its salary are taken into account.
Is tax levied?
All transfers represented by payment of downtime are employee income. For TC, a forced downtime due to the fault of the employer should be reflected in the company's documentation. Payment of employees is included in non-operating expenses of the enterprise.
Taxes and fees for employees are deducted from these amounts, so they are included in the standard salary of specialists.
What to do if there is no payment?
Many enterprises work with regular violations of the basic requirements of the law. According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, due to the fault of the employer, it must be paid correctly, but often workers have to face the fact that they are forced to go on unpaid leave or are simply not given a salary for all those days when they could not cope with their duties due to management .
This situation is a violation of the law, therefore, an initial complaint is drawn up in the name of the head of the company. If there is no reaction to this document, then you will have to contact the labor inspectorate. It is at all possible to recover non-pecuniary damage in court.
Thus, downtimes are considered unpleasant situations in any enterprise. They can occur due to the fault of employees or employers. In the latter case, all specialists must retain different social guarantees. The employer must correctly calculate the salary of employees during the suspension of work. It is required to correctly draw up a simple one, so a special order is issued and an investigation is being conducted. If the employer violates the requirements of the law, therefore does not pay workers downtime, does not correctly execute this period or unlawfully establishes the guilt of any specialist, this is the basis for writing a complaint to the labor inspectorate or filing a lawsuit.