Compliance with the procedure for notifying an employee of the termination of a fixed-term employment contract

Term and conditions for termination of a fixed-term employment contract

Termination of a fixed-term employment contract is regulated by Article 79 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, according to which it is terminated upon expiration of its term.
But termination does not happen on its own - one of the parties needs to demand it. To do this, the employer needs to draw up a notice of dismissal of an employee under a fixed-term contract if he does not plan to continue the employment relationship with him. The employee must be notified at least three days before the expiration of the fixed-term employment contract. However, if the document is concluded for the duration of the duties of an absent employee, the employer is not obliged to warn of termination.

We are terminating cooperation under an open-ended contract

The list of grounds for termination of a working relationship is contained in Art. 77 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, the notice period for termination of the employment contract will differ depending on the reason for which the employee is fired. For example, if the staff is being reduced or the organization is being liquidated, these circumstances must be notified no later than 2 months before the date of actual dismissal. If an employee fails the test, he is informed of the termination of the contract no later than 3 calendar days before the last working day.

Form for notice of termination of an employment contract

If an employee refuses to sign for receipt of a document, the employer draws up a report to record such refusal. It is advisable to sign it in the presence of at least two witnesses. The act must also be registered in the notification register, so that in the event of litigation there is evidence of compliance with all legal requirements.

Features of dismissal of certain categories of employees

All common cases of termination of a fixed-term contract are described in Article 79 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (performing certain work, seasonal work, while performing the duties of an absent employee), but we will analyze the most complex ones.

In order to terminate the powers of the general director, it is necessary to warn him in writing at least three calendar days before dismissal. This document will be signed by one of the founders. Next, you need to organize a meeting of the company’s founders, at which a decision is made: to continue further relations with this person or not. The decision made is documented in a protocol.

A part-time worker who works under a fixed-term employment contract can be dismissed only after the expiration of the established period. The notification is drawn up three days before the end of the period.

Labor legislation protects the interests of pregnant women. If on the expiration date it happens that the employee is pregnant or has given birth to a child while on maternity leave, then the term of the agreement with her should be extended until the end of the leave, and then dismissed in the general manner. The last day of work will be the last day of vacation. We also warn you three days before the end. If a woman’s pregnancy is resolved unfavorably (miscarriage, abortion), then the employer is obliged to terminate the agreement upon completion of the pregnancy within a week after he learned of this fact. It is important to remember: you can fire a pregnant employee only if she is performing the duties of an absent employee and during pregnancy it is not possible to arrange a transfer with the woman’s consent to another job that she can perform. The employer is obliged to offer her all positions corresponding to her qualifications, as well as less paid ones. If the woman does not agree to the transfer, the employer dismisses her in accordance with the general procedure.

Rules for issuing a notification

The document does not have a standard form; its content is formed by the responsible person of the company. You can compose a notification on paper manually, or you can use the typewritten method by typing the text on a computer and then printing it on paper.

The paper version of the document is signed by the director of the company, and his signature can also replace the signature of the person vested with such right on the basis of a power of attorney or administrative document of the director. A notification may not be certified by a person who does not have the appropriate permission.

This is important to know: Contract agreement for design and survey work: sample 2021

The document will not be valid, and the dismissal, accordingly, will be considered unlawful.

Props	Explanations for filling
Employer information	General details of the company, possible registration on company letterhead
Information about the notified employee	The full name and position of the conscript for whom the notification paper is intended are entered in the right corner
Paper name	The name of the document is written at the top, the location does not matter, you can indicate it on the left or in the center
Notification title	The wording can be anything
Contacting an employee	In a polite form, at the beginning of the notification text, an appeal to the conscript is written, for example, “Dear Anna Sergeevna!”
Text	The content of the text must clearly explain to the addressee the reason for its writing. From the text, the employee must understand that he is being warned about dismissal due to the expiration of the term of the fixed-term agreement signed with him. A specific date is entered into the text when the period expires; accordingly, on this date the employee will be fired. So that the employee has no doubt that this is him, the number of the fixed-term contract and the date of its signing should be indicated.
Certification signature	The certifying signature of a representative of the organization, for example, a director, must be affixed.
Date and number	The completed document is registered in the accounting journal and given a number. The registration date and this number are entered in the notification form.
Introductory signature	You need to obtain a signature from the employee; the notified conscript can sign either on the notification form itself or on a special introductory sheet. The employee’s refusal to sign must be validated. If the notice is sent by mail, it is not necessary to obtain the employee’s signature. The fact that the notification procedure has been carried out will be confirmed by a receipt for sending the letter to the employee and a notification of its transfer to the addressee.

Sample notice of termination of a fixed-term contract:

What is a notice of termination of a service contract?

Notifying the counterparty of termination of the contract is a civilized way to terminate cooperation.
You can terminate the contract for the provision of services ahead of schedule by mutual agreement of the parties, on the initiative of one of them, or by a court decision. In any case, the initiator of the break should first notify the counterparty by sending him a proposal to terminate cooperation. If you do not notify, the other party will have the right to demand compensation for damages and legal costs in court.

Notice of termination of a contract for the provision of services (DOU) or application for termination of a contract for the provision of services is a legally significant message - Art. 165.1 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This written request to the counterparty serves as the basis for termination of rights and obligations and determines the moment of occurrence of legal consequences.

Objectives of this document:

Inform the recipient (performer or customer) of your decision to terminate the contract early, either in full or in part.
Terminate an agreement that is about to expire - if, in the absence of objections, the agreement remains in force on the same terms.
Terminate contractual relations if you renounce the pre-employment agreement unilaterally - mutual obligations terminate from the moment the counterparty receives a notification letter (Article 450.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
You can follow the pre-trial procedure - you can submit a demand to the court to terminate the contract only after receiving the counterparty’s refusal to your proposal or not receiving a response from him on time (Article 452 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This notice is often called a pre-trial claim.

That. a notice of termination of a contract can act as a proposal to terminate cooperation, as a document confirming a unilateral refusal of the contract, or as a mandatory attachment to a statement of claim if it is necessary to terminate the agreement in court.

Important! A notice (application) of termination of a preschool educational institution and a notice of unilateral refusal of a preschool educational institution are documents similar in form, but different in content. The first contains only a proposal to terminate cooperation, while the second states the fact of refusal to fulfill the contract.

What are the grounds for sending a notice of termination of a service agreement?

Both the customer and the contractor have the right to terminate the contract for the provision of services ahead of schedule. This can be done at any time and regardless of whether the contractor/customer has begun to fulfill his obligations or not. The only requirement is to notify the counterparty in writing of your decision.

The grounds for early termination of the preschool educational institution are provided for in Chapter. 39 Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Ch. 3 Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1.

You have the right to refuse it at any stage of the execution of the contract for the provision of paid services, even without good reason (i.e., unmotivated), but only on condition of payment - Art. 782 Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

Costs actually incurred by the contractor.
The customer's losses and lost profits.

You can terminate the contract without any sanctions if:

This possibility was provided for by the agreement itself.
You have lost interest in continuing cooperation, and the other party does not mind ending the contractual relationship.
Further execution of the agreement is impossible due to a significant change in circumstances.
The counterparty committed a significant violation of the contract.

Important! Regardless of whether your decision to terminate further cooperation is motivated or not, it is definitely necessary to notify the counterparty, and for this you should prepare a notification letter, the so-called. "notice of termination".

What is the procedure for notifying the counterparty of termination of the contract?

In order to properly notify the counterparty of your intentions, it is necessary to study the contents of the service agreement - it may contain a condition on the method of notifying the parties upon termination, the form of notification and the timing of sending the letter. If such conditions exist, they must be met.

An example of such wording: “Either party has the right to terminate the contract unilaterally by notifying the other party by email 14 calendar days before the date of termination.” This means that a notification letter should be sent to the counterparty by e-mail no later than 2 weeks before the planned termination of obligations.

If the conditions of notification are not specified in the preschool educational institution or are absent, then adhere to the following procedure:

Draw up a notice of termination of the contract for the provision of services (a sample is given above) in 2 copies. Indicate in it the main points of termination of the contract so that they can be further discussed with the counterparty and included in the termination agreement.
Register the letter in the outgoing documentation and assign it a registration number.
Send 1 copy of the document to the counterparty or hand it to a representative, securing a mark of receipt of the notification on your copy.
If financial issues remain unresolved, send a reconciliation report along with the notification.
Expect a response to your request within the period specified in the notification or within 30 days from the date it was sent.
Upon receipt of consent, draw up an agreement to terminate the contract and present it to the counterparty for signature. From the moment the agreement is signed, the obligations cease.
In case of unilateral refusal, obligations terminate from the moment the message is delivered to the addressee.
If the counterparty refuses to terminate the relationship or if there is no response from him on time, prepare a statement of claim to the court. In this situation, the contract will have to be terminated in court, and the notification letter will act as evidence of proper notification to the second party - documents about its sending will need to be attached to the claim.

How to correctly write a notice of termination of a contract

The notice of termination of the preschool educational institution is drawn up in free form, taking into account the norms of office work.
The legislation does not impose clear requirements for the preparation of a notice (application) for the termination of a contract for the provision of services and there is no unified form established for it. Therefore, as a rule, a written appeal to the counterparty is drawn up in free form. In this case, the letter must be literate, concise, legally correct and comply with business ethics standards.

A notification letter is drawn up in 2 copies, either manually on an A4 or A5 sheet, or typed on a computer and then printed. You can prepare it on company letterhead - this will save you from re-indicating similar details at the end of the document; it will only need to be certified by the signature of an authorized person.

If the notification form was agreed upon by the preschool educational institution, fill out the letter according to the sample provided in the appendix to the contract. If not, compose it in any form, taking into account the recommendations below.

On a note. If your organization has developed its own rules for the preparation of legally significant messages, which are recorded in local acts (for example, in the instructions for office work), follow them when preparing the notification.

What structure should the notification (statement) have?

The recommended notification structure includes the following parts:

Introductory part

In the upper right corner of the letter (1/3 of the page) information about the addressee is indicated: position of the responsible person, name of the organization (if the agreement is concluded with an individual or individual entrepreneur - only full name), address, contact information. You can take all these details from the contract.

For organizations, outgoing letters are subject to mandatory registration, so you should indicate the date and registration number of the document. Usually they are indicated on the left side of the form - opposite your details or just below. The registration number may include both letters and numbers.

Document's name

“Notice” is written in the center of the sheet, and the line below reflects the contents of this document: “on termination of the contract for the provision of (educational, legal, consulting, veterinary, etc.) services.”

Main part

Includes details (number and date of conclusion) and the subject of the contract, the name of each party (name and role under the contract), as well as other information that is essential for cooperation (for example, for an educational services contract, indicate the location of the training or the name of the teacher courses, etc.).

This is followed by a proposal to terminate the contract early by agreement of the parties. Your job is to clearly express your intention to leave the relationship. The wording should not be abstract, and the information should be understandable not only to the counterparty, but also to the court in the event of a dispute. Be sure to clarify whether this letter is a unilateral refusal of the transaction.

If you refuse the contract without justification (there is no significant violation), then you should write “I undertake to pay (cover) all losses/costs incurred in connection with the termination of the contract.” You have the right to set out your conditions and planned terms for the return of funds.

On a note. The cancellation of the contract comes into force at the moment when it was accepted by the counterparty, but payment can be made later. Those. you have the right to communicate your intention to make payment even after the actual termination of the contract.

If the termination of the DOU is carried out due to the guilty actions of the counterparty, you can demand in the notification the payment of fines, penalties and interest provided for in the contract.

Subject part

Here you can set out the circumstances or reasons due to which you decided to terminate the contractual relationship early. This item is not required, since the reason for the break can be any.

I recommend that if the counterparty fails to comply with the terms of the DOU, the notification should indicate:

List of violations.
A link to a clause of the agreement or to an article of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulating the party’s right to early termination of the agreement under the current circumstances.
List of documents confirming improper fulfillment of obligations by the counterparty.
Request for termination of the contract.
A warning about the intention to seek legal protection in the future.

To reduce the time it takes to prepare a document, use the example available for download - a sample notice of termination of a service agreement (DOC 17 KB).

Clarifying part

This is usually indicated here:

How long is a response to a notification from the counterparty expected?
The date of termination of the contractual relationship, i.e. date of termination of the contract.
If there are uncompleted paid or unpaid services provided, if the counterparty has equipment, materials or other objects - a requirement to return something or send acts or other documents.
List of attached documents - for example, agreement/receipts/acts/expert reports, etc.

Final part

The notice should be marked with the date the document was drawn up and signed:

Date of creation - indicated in Arabic numerals or in verbal-numeric form.
The notification is signed by the head of the organization initiating the termination of the contract. If you are not submitting the notification on letterhead, then indicate the name of the organization, the position of the authorized person, sign and provide its transcript (initials and surname). If the document is signed by a representative, indicate in the text the details of the power of attorney, on the basis of which he has the authority to terminate the agreement.
The notification is certified by the seal of the organization if this norm is established in local documents.

If necessary, the notification may contain other information - it all depends on the circumstances and reasons for termination of the contract for the provision of services, as well as on the content of the DOU.

What are the reasons for terminating the preschool educational institution?

The reasons for sending a notice of termination of a service agreement can be any.
You have the right not to state in the notice the reasons for early termination of a service agreement. And even for a unilateral refusal to comply with the pre-approval order, motivation is not needed. If you decide to notify the counterparty in order to be able to resume cooperation in the future, indicate the actual circumstances due to which you will not be able to continue to fulfill your obligations under the contract.

It can be:

Force majeure, emergency, etc.
Deterioration of financial situation.
Moving.
Liquidation of a company.
Disease.
Failure of third parties to fulfill obligations to you.
Failure of the counterparty to provide the necessary documents, permits, materials, equipment.

What are the notification requirements?

When preparing a notification, it is advisable to adhere to the general requirements for document preparation - GOST R 7.0.97-2016:

If you are typing a letter on a computer, use free fonts Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman or Verdana, size 12 to 14.
If the letter is not issued on letterhead, then indicate your details under the addressee’s details (in the upper right corner of the sheet).
If the addressee is an individual or individual entrepreneur, the appeal is written in the dative case (i.e. “to whom”).
The addressee-organization in the letter is addressed in the nominative case (i.e. “who”), and the position of the person to whom the appeal is sent is indicated with a capital letter.
The addressee's initials are placed after the surname, but in the signature area the initials are indicated before the surname.
In the text of the notification, sentences that are overloaded with punctuation marks and difficult to understand should be avoided.
The letter is dated not on the day it was written, but on the day it was signed by the authorized person.
When specifying the date, a digital or verbal-numeric method and the “day-month-year” format are used - 08/09/2020 or August 9, 2020.
If the notice consists of several pages, then the second sheet (top center) should be numbered.
The notice is signed by the manager or a person authorized to sign.
The document must contain a transcript of the painting.
The signature is made with a ballpoint pen with blue or purple ink.
The organization's seal should not overlap the signature.
The notification letter should be recorded in the outgoing documentation log.

Arbitrage practice

If the termination procedure is not followed, the employee has the right to file a lawsuit to cancel the dismissal and recognize the contract as indefinite. Most likely, the court will side with him if the employer committed a significant violation. To avoid this, you need to remember some subtleties.

If the notice was not delivered to the dismissed employee due to the fault of the employer, then the contract becomes open-ended, and the employee receives the right to continue working in the company. When dismissal due to a reduction in the entire staff of the company, offering another appointment to the employee is a mandatory condition.

When laying off an employee working on a fixed-term contract, his mandatory calculation must include all standard payments similar to those paid when laying off employees with open-ended contracts.

If the contract period does not exceed two months, the standard reduction procedure does not apply to such employees.

If an employee with whom a fixed-term contract has been concluded becomes pregnant, the employer is obliged to extend the term of the agreement until the end of the pregnancy or until the end of maternity leave, provided that the woman wishes to take advantage of it.

At the same time, the woman has a counter obligation: every three months she must provide the employer with a document confirming the fact of pregnancy.

A fixed-term contract concluded for a period of more than 5 years is automatically recognized as unlimited. In case of disputes and mutual claims, both the employer and the employee can go to court . There are many reasons for litigation.

Notice of termination of employment relationship

Dispute No. 1. The company fired an employee whose fixed-term contract had expired. But the employer sent the notice later than three days before the dismissal, as required by law.

The court recognized that failure to comply with the notice period is a violation, but cannot be recognized as a basis for canceling the dismissal. The employee’s claim for reinstatement and recognition of the contract as indefinite was rejected (decision of the Moscow court in case No. 33-3252/2016).

Dispute No. 2. The employee received a notice of termination, which did not indicate the date and document number and the name of the organization, and was signed by the head of security and the head of the human resources department.

By court decision, the employee was reinstated in his position, since the notice of termination of the contract is in fact a document confirming the employer’s decision to dismiss the employee. The head of the HR department and the head of security are not authorized persons and cannot make such a decision. Therefore, the notification was declared invalid.

Recognition of the contract as unlimited

Dispute No. 1. An employee with whom an open-ended employment contract was concluded, under pressure from the employer, wrote a letter of resignation, and then entered into a fixed-term contract with the same employer, providing for the performance of the same duties as before, in the same position. Subsequently, the employee was dismissed with the reason “due to the expiration of the contract.”

The court to which the employee appealed ruled that the dismissal was illegal. The court decision states that an employment contract with a specified period can only be used if the cooperation between the employee and the employer cannot be established for an indefinite period.

In addition, coercion to conclude a fixed-term contract is the basis for recognizing the contract as unlimited-term, which was done by the court in this case (Determination of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Crimea in case No. 33−5422/2017).

Dispute No. 2. A fixed-term contract was concluded with the employee. According to the agreement, the employee was required to serve as acting CEO, and the completion date was specified as “until the appointment of the CEO.” Two years later, a new person was hired as the head of the company, and the employee was fired.

According to the definition of the Moscow Court No. 4g/8−4383 dated 06/07/2012, such an agreement cannot be considered urgent. This is due to the fact that the Labor Code does not provide for the wording “before appointment to a position” as a condition under which a fixed-term contract will end. The agreement was recognized as indefinite, the employer was forced to reinstate the dismissed employee in his position.

Dispute No. 3. The employee was hired as a replacement for an employee who went on maternity leave. The employment relationship was formalized in the form of a fixed-term contract. The maternity leaver, without leaving her vacation, wrote a statement and quit. The employee who replaced her was fired due to the expiration of her contract.

The dismissal was declared illegal by the court, since from the moment the main employee is dismissed, the fixed-term contract is converted into an indefinite one. The court explains this by saying that the dismissal of the maternity leaver made it impossible to complete the fixed-term contract.