Work on weekends and holidays: how to apply and pay

What is a day off from a legal point of view?

Olga Verbitskaya

Non-working holidays of the Russian Federation are defined by Article 112 of the Labor Code. These are January 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 - New Year holidays; January 7—Christmas Day; February 23 - Defender of the Fatherland Day; March 8—International Women's Day; May 1 - Spring and Labor Day; May 9 - Victory Day; June 12—Russia Day; November 4 is National Unity Day.

Weekends are a weekly uninterrupted rest , with a five-day working week - two days off, with a six-day working week - one day off. The general day off is Sunday.

It should be noted that for employees working in shift mode, days off are established by the shift schedule. And it is the involvement of workers on weekends, determined by the shift schedule, that requires registration of involvement in work on a weekend.

The procedure for attracting employees to work on weekends and non-working holidays is regulated by Art. 113 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. So, according to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, work on weekends and non-working holidays is prohibited in Russia. Involvement in work on weekends and non-working holidays is permitted only with the written consent of the employee to perform unforeseen work, the implementation of which affects the normal operation of the organization as a whole or its departments and branches.

When is consent required and when is it not?

Olga Verbitskaya

Cases of being hired to work on weekends and non-working holidays without the employee’s consent are stipulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This:

• preventing a catastrophe , industrial accident or eliminating the consequences of a catastrophe, industrial accident or natural disaster;
• prevention of accidents, destruction or damage to the employer’s property, state or municipal property;
• performing work the need for which is due to the introduction of a state of emergency or martial law, as well as urgent work in emergency circumstances, that is, in the event of a disaster or threat of disaster (fires, floods, famine, earthquakes, epidemics or epizootics) and in other cases threatening life or normal living conditions of all or part of the population.

In other cases, involvement in work on weekends and (or) non-working holidays is permitted only with the written consent of employees and taking into account the opinion of the trade union organization (if any).

Can an employee refuse to formalize consent?

The law prohibits forced time off from work on weekends. And the signing of such papers is considered a voluntary event.

Written statements are not made when a citizen refuses for specific reasons. It is enough to verbally inform management about this.

Dismissal or disciplinary sanctions after such decisions on the part of the employer are unacceptable. Otherwise, subordinates can defend their rights by turning to the courts and representatives of labor inspectorates.

Who should not be asked to work on a day off?

Olga Verbitskaya

Involvement of disabled people and women with children under three years of age to work on weekends and non-working days is allowed only on the condition that this is not prohibited for them due to health reasons , and they must be informed in writing of the right to refuse such work.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation strictly prohibits under 18 years of age to work on weekends or non-working holidays with the exception of creative workers in the media, cinematography organizations, television and video crews, theaters, theatrical and concert organizations, circuses and other persons participating in creation and (or) performance (exhibition) of works, in accordance with the lists of works, professions, positions of these workers, approved. Government of the Russian Federation.

Engagement in work on weekends and holidays with your consent

You may be required to work on weekends and holidays with your written consent (see sample at the end of the publication) if there is a need to carry out unforeseen work, on the urgent completion of which the normal functioning of the organization depends. In all other cases, in order to attract you to work on weekends and holidays, in addition to obtaining your written consent, the employer will be required to take into account the opinion of the elected body of the primary trade union organization, if one has been created (Part 2, 5 of Article 113 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

).

Employees who have entered into an employment contract for a period of up to two months may also be required to work on weekends and holidays. However, regardless of the circumstances that served as the reason for their involvement in work on weekends and holidays, such involvement is possible only on the basis of their written consent (Part 1 of Article 290 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

).

Note! If you are required to agree to such work to work on a weekend or holiday, the employer does not have the right to bring you to disciplinary liability for refusing to work on these days.

What documents need to be drawn up to work on a day off?

Tatiana Amelina

To document a work shift on a day off, you will almost always need to obtain written consent from the employee , and from certain categories of employees, written confirmation that they are familiar with the right to refuse to go to work outside of the work schedule. Sometimes, according to the law (Parts 2, 3, 5, 7 of Article 113 of the Labor Code), you will also need to obtain permission from the trade union.

After this, the manager must issue an order to involve the employee in work on days off and familiarize the employee with it (Part 8 of Article 113 of the Labor Code). A sample order is given below:

How to draw up and formalize consent?

Consent to work on such days does not have a unified form or current standard. Therefore, an arbitrary version of the document or the development of a special template is allowed. The main thing is that the overall structure complies with the standards associated with office work. In terms of content, there are also some mandatory requirements.

The header should include the following items:

• Information regarding the compiler.
• Description of the addressee. You must indicate the name of the company along with the full name of the manager.

Then comes the main part, which may contain the following information:

1. Recording the very fact of consent to work on a certain appointed day. You cannot do without entering a specific date.
2. The employee specifically indicates that he is aware of the right to refuse to go to work on a day off.
3. It is important to write that the citizen has no contraindications. For example, for health reasons, or because of laws.

The employee’s signature is also considered a mandatory element. Otherwise, consent cannot receive official status.

As for registration, there are no serious requirements for it at the legislative level. To draw up the consent, you can use a regular white sheet with a suitable format. It is also permitted to use letterheads belonging to a specific organization.

We accept both printed and handwritten text.

Step-by-step algorithm for registering an employee’s work on a day off

Olga Verbitskaya

So, step-by-step instructions for getting involved in work on a day off:

1. The occurrence of unforeseen work , which may affect the normal functioning of the organization or individual entrepreneur, must be recorded by some kind of official document, for example: an internal memo from the head of a structural unit, a memo from an employee, etc., which determines the circle of employees who need to be involved in the work on weekends or non-working holidays.
2. Based on the above document, written consent is obtained to be hired to work on a day off or a non-working holiday, and if work is carried out on a day off or a non-working holiday, it is necessary to involve women with children under 3 years of age, or disabled people from For these employees, it is necessary to obtain a document confirming the absence of medical contraindications, obtain consent to work on a day off or a non-working holiday, as well as a document confirming that this category of employees is familiar with the right to refuse to work on a day off or a non-working holiday.
3. If there is a trade union organization, the employer sends information and receives a reasoned opinion on inviting employees to work on a weekend or non-working holiday.
4. Work on a weekend or non-working holiday must be paid double or, at the request of the employee, he may be given a day of rest. In this case, work on a weekend and (or) a non-working holiday must be paid in a single amount, and a day of rest is not subject to payment (Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In this regard, I recommend that the employer, before issuing an order, decide on compensation for work on a weekend or non-working holiday
5. An order is issued to attract workers on a day off or a non-working holiday, which the worker gets acquainted with under signature. This order must reflect: whether to pay double on a given day or, at the request of the employee, he will be given a day of rest.

Compensation for work on weekends and holidays

Work on a weekend or non-working holiday should be compensated as a general rule with increased pay for these days (Part 1 of Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

):

• for piece workers - at least at double piece rates;

• employees whose work is paid at daily and hourly tariff rates - in the amount of at least double the daily or hourly tariff rate;

• for employees receiving a salary - in the amount of no less than a single daily or hourly rate in excess of the salary, if work on a weekend or non-working holiday was carried out within the monthly norm of working time, and in the amount of not less than double the daily or hourly rate in excess of the salary, if the work was carried out in excess of the monthly working hours.

The amount of this compensation can be increased by a collective or labor agreement, local regulations for different categories of workers, based on objective differences in the conditions and nature of their activities (Article 149, Part 2 of Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

;
paragraph 10 of the Review of the practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation for the fourth quarter of 2019
).

Increased payment is made for hours actually worked on a weekend or non-working holiday. If only part of the working day (shift) falls on a weekend or non-working holiday, the hours actually worked on that day are paid at an increased rate (Part 3 of Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

).

In addition, at the request of an employee who worked on a day off or a non-working holiday, he may be given another day of rest. In this case, work on a day off or a non-working holiday is paid in a single amount, and a day of rest is not subject to additional payment (Part 4 of Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

;
section 5 Recommendations of Rostrud, approved.
Protocol No. 1 of 06/02/2014 ).

It should be noted that, on its own initiative, the employer cannot provide you with a day of rest in exchange for increased pay, since the day of rest is provided by agreement of the parties.

Based on materials (“Electronic magazine “ABC of Law”, 2020)

What compensation is an employee entitled to for going to work on a day off?

Tatiana Amelina

For being called to work on a non-working day, the employee is offered the choice of at least double compensation or time off and single compensation. If the employment contract was concluded for 2 months or less, then the employee does not have the right to take time off (Parts 1, 4 of Article 153, Part 2 of Article 290 of the Labor Code).

This is the minimum amount of payment, it can be higher, according to the terms of the employment contract with the employee, a collective agreement or a separate regulatory act approved by the trade union in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 135, art. 149, part 1, 2 art. 153 TK.

In practice, the amount and type of compensation for work, in addition to the work schedule, is indicated either in the order for hiring or in the order for payment for work beyond the schedule.

Expecting to be needed outside of work hours is harmful to employee health

The need to constantly be in touch with the employer in anticipation of possible orders is harmful to the health and well-being of both the workers themselves and their family members. Employees cannot completely relax and disconnect from the work process and continue to check work emails and instant messengers even during non-working hours. The state of anticipation causes a feeling of constant anxiety and begins to interfere not only with fulfilling work duties, but also affects your personal life. American scientists came to this observation. The results of the study are reported by the Phys.org portal.

The study's authors say their work demonstrates that employees don't have to do work outside of work hours to experience harmful effects. The physical and psychological resources of workers are depleted by the feeling of anticipation

“Competition for jobs and the need for privacy present a dilemma for employees,” said study co-author William Becker of Virginia Tech. “Our research exposes the fact that flexible working often turns into endless work.”

At the same time, as the researchers note, employers may not understand how such an organizational culture factor as “being always in touch” affects employees. Therefore, a flexible schedule is presented as an advantage: it allows you to gain comfortable working conditions, a high degree of autonomy and self-control over the progress of work.

Scientists believe that employee recovery due to nervous tension can subsequently cost employers dearly. As a way to mitigate the adverse effects of flexible work, researchers suggest that employers eliminate the principle of long wait times for electronic communications assignments and set clear time boundaries. If this is not possible, set certain time limits when the employee must be on call. In addition, William Becker recommends that employers include a clause in job descriptions about the need to maintain contacts via email as a mandatory part of job responsibilities. A prior written agreement on working conditions will help reduce the employee's anxiety and increase the level of understanding on the part of his family members.

Scientists recommend that workers master the psychological practice of developing awareness in everyday life. It teaches you to control your emotions, control your thoughts and feelings, be able to relax, be in a state of presence, expand the boundaries of perception and take into account the interests of others. Mindfulness can reduce anxiety and help an employee participate fully in shared household activities during their free time, which will reduce the likelihood of conflict and strengthen family relationships.

“Employees today must navigate more complex work-family environments than ever before. Expecting employers to be available outside of working hours appears to increase workload as employees feel obligated to change roles during their non-working hours. Efforts to manage these expectations are now more important than ever, given our findings that these expectations also impact employees' families,” emphasizes William Becker.

Material provided by the “+1” project.

How to pay salaried employees for weekend work?

Tatiana Amelina

The amount of compensation depends on which type of compensation the employee chooses.

According to para. 1, 4 hours 1 tbsp. 153 of the Labor Code, if an employee chose increased pay without time off, then he will need to accrue the minimum:

• daily (hourly) rate in a single amount for the duration of work, if the work activity was within the monthly limit;
• double daily (hourly) rate for the duration of work, if the work activity was longer than the norm for the month.

If the employee chose time off as compensation, and the work on the day off did not go beyond the monthly norm, then the regular salary will need to be paid, without charges above the salary. If the work exceeds the monthly limit, then in addition to the rate, a single daily (hourly) salary is charged for each day (hour) of work. According to the law, time off is not paid.

Weekends on business trips

Victoria Khaidarova

In addition, in practice there are cases when employees have to carry out their work activities on weekends, which, for example, fall during a business trip.

Such work is paid at an increased rate, in accordance with the general rules of remuneration on weekends and holidays. In such a situation, the employer must issue an order to send an employee on a business trip that affects weekends in the form of a separate order. The order should also reflect the wording of the purpose of the business trip, indicating the dates.