Employment contract with an accountant (fixed-term; with trial): form, sample 2021

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Published: 07/18/2016

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When hiring, one of the most important documents is the employment contract drawn up between the employer and employee.

This type of document can be indefinite in duration, i.e. without a specific end date or urgent, indicating the end date of cooperation between the parties.

Legislation
What is a fixed-term employment contract and when is it concluded?
Features of concluding an employment contract with the chief accountant

Employment contract with the chief accountant

An employment contract is concluded with the applicant at the very beginning of the employment relationship; cooperation begins with its signing, and before the document is drawn up, it is impossible to begin duties and talk about material or other responsibility. It is the employment contract that contains information about the rights, obligations, level of responsibility of the parties to the contract and confirmation in the form of signatures that the employer and employee agree with everything stated.

The same requirements apply to drawing up an employment agreement with the chief accountant as with other subordinates. Mandatory sections and paragraphs of the document are discussed in Art. 57 Labor Code.

Since the chief accountant is one of the key figures of the enterprise, the employment contract with him usually includes a clause on full financial responsibility. This point protects the employer from possible negligence, theft and any manipulation on the part of the new employee.

Working as an accountant in an organization can be the main job for an employee, or the chief accountant can work part-time if he successfully copes with all the responsibilities assigned to him. In this case, a note is made in the contract that the accountant has been hired for the position on a part-time basis.

Terms of the contract with the chief accountant

The employment contracts that employers sign with their employees must contain strictly defined conditions, but they are allowed to be supplemented depending on the position and specialty of the employee. When hiring a chief accountant, include in the contract additional conditions that do not contradict the requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Include similar conditions in the contract with the cashier, even though he is not a manager. The only exception is the trial period.

In addition, the code provides for a number of special conditions in such a contract. In particular, with the chief accountant, as well as with the manager, it is allowed to establish an increased probationary period: instead of three months - six. Such a document can be concluded for a specific period or agreed upon for an indefinite period.

It is advisable to include the following conditions in the employment contract:

probationary period when hiring (up to 6 months);
conditions for termination of TD (at the initiative of the employer and the specialist himself);
financial responsibility of the chief accountant (provided for by the job description);
the duration of the contract (in some cases when concluding a fixed-term contract).

It should be noted that, according to the provisions of Article 59 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, employers have the right to enter into trade agreements with employees for a limited period only in certain cases. A list of such situations is given in this article. The contract with the chief accountant is included in this list, which means that by agreement of the parties, the contract can be concluded for a certain period: with the voluntary consent of the future chief accountant and the absence of pressure from management in this matter. True, it is almost impossible to verify this fact, therefore, if the company’s policy includes hiring chief accountants for three years, no regulatory authorities will be able to prevent this.

Let us remind you about the test, or, as it is often called in everyday life, the probationary period, which is regulated by the norms of Article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. For all employees, the law allows testing of knowledge and skills within three months from the date of employment. For particularly important employees, which includes the chief accountant, this period is allowed to be doubled. Not only should such an initiative of the employer be written down in the TD, but also reinforced with an order.

As for financial liability, the position of chief accountant implies such responsibility by default, therefore the conclusion of a separate agreement on full financial liability for such a position is not provided for, but in the job description and in the contract such a condition must certainly be, as defined in part 2 of the article 243 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This is a very important condition, and it cannot be neglected, since the courts refuse to allow employers to recover losses that the organization suffered as a result of the dishonest activities of the chief accountant. The chances of recovering damages drop even more if liability is not properly documented.

The contract with the chief accountant should include a condition on non-disclosure of any confidential (commercial, technical and personal) information about the company's activities. This condition will make it possible to hold an official accountable if a secret is violated.

What is a fixed-term employment contract, and is it possible to conclude such an agreement with the chief accountant?

If the validity period of an employment contract is not specified in its text, it is automatically recognized as unlimited.

If the employer and the hired employee agree that their employment relationship will only last for a certain time, a fixed-term employment contract can be concluded between them. Its validity period is limited by the expiration date of the document specified in the document.

If the period of validity of a fixed-term contract has expired, but the employer does not dismiss the employee, the employment agreement becomes open-ended, and it is not possible to dismiss the employee on the basis of termination of its validity period.

Article 59 of the Labor Code allows the chief accountant to sign a fixed-term employment agreement. Its maximum validity period is 5 years. The law does not define any minimum terms of employment relations, which means that, if necessary, you can hire a chief accountant for 1-2 weeks in order to entrust him with any short-term work.

Formalization of financial liability

The grounds for the application of full financial liability and the form of inclusion of clauses about it in the employment contract are established by the labor legislation of Russia for a certain list of persons. The circumstances of applying the provisions on full financial liability to employees are strictly outlined in Art. 242–244 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Persons to whom these conditions apply are required to bear financial responsibility and, if necessary, compensate for damage caused as a result of their actions.

The list of positions to which the principle of full financial responsibility applies is fixed in Resolution of the Ministry of Labor No. 85 of December 31, 2002. There is no position of accountant or chief accountant here.

If the company's management, without the consent of the accountant or chief accountant, enters sections on full financial liability into the document, then it is acting illegally. And it is also not allowed to approve an agreement on liability as an annex to the main agreement without the consent of the accountant.

The approval of an agreement on liability with an accountant, including the person to whom full bookkeeping is delegated, even with his consent, is also called into question in legal practice.

The Perm Regional Court in its cassation ruling in case No. 33–174 and the Salekhard City Court in its ruling in case No. 2–1670/2017 came to the conclusion that it is impossible to interpret the norm of Art. 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on holding persons holding these positions financially liable for damage caused.

The only exception to the application of the provision on full liability is allowed for the chief accountant. For this purpose, provisions on financial liability may be included in the contract. They can also be used for accountants of small firms if there is no position of chief accountant (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 52 of November 16, 2006).

Fixed-term employment contract with the chief accountant: period of labor relations

It is permissible to conclude an employment contract with the chief accountant exclusively for those periods of time established by the Labor Code, namely:

For a period of indefinite duration (indefinite employment contract).
For a certain period of time - the period cannot exceed 5 years (unless the case is considered exceptional according to the Labor Code).
For a limited period of time (fixed-term employment contract). The conclusion of such an agreement is allowed only in certain cases, subject to certain conditions.

Duration of the employment contract

Depending on the duration of the labor relationship, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation differs:

employment contracts for an indefinite period;
fixed-term contracts signed for a specific period not exceeding five years (Article 59 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The conditions for drawing up an agreement with an accountant and with a chief accountant regarding their urgency or indefiniteness are determined by different laws. To sign a fixed-term contract with a simple accountant or head of the accounting department, the same grounds apply as for other professions. These grounds are set out in Part 2 of Art. 59 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The following reasons are considered unconditional grounds for concluding a fixed-term contract:

temporary absence of the main employee;
seasonal or temporary work;
work abroad;
work performed in a special manner and beyond the scope of the main activity of the enterprise;
activities related to a temporary increase in the volume of work;
work during internship or training;
temporary election support activities;
assumption of a temporary elected position;
work in the direction of the employment center;
alternative civil service.

If the listed circumstances are absent, then hiring an employee under a fixed-term contract is considered illegal. In Part 2 of Art. 59 there are also a number of legitimate reasons for hiring urgent work by agreement of the parties:

the employer is an individual entrepreneur;
employee - pensioner;
for health;
when working in the Far North, to prevent disasters and others;
in some cases for workers in creative professions.

The list of circumstances considered sufficient for drawing up fixed-term employment contracts by agreement of the parties is quite limited and going beyond it is illegal (Rostrud letter No. 6963-TZ dated December 18, 2008).

As for hiring a chief accountant, completely different legal rules apply. Since the chief accountant by his position belongs to the management team, the provisions of Art. 275 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, allowing the preparation of fixed-term employment contracts. True, if for a director the signing of a fixed-term contract is a mandatory condition for employment (Article 58 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), then for a chief accountant the contract can be either fixed-term or indefinite.

Whatever contract is concluded with the chief accountant - fixed-term or indefinite - you will have to work with full dedication

Common mistakes

Error: The employer forgot about the dismissal of the chief accountant after the expiration of the fixed-term contract, and then fired him on this basis 6 months later.

Comment: If the employer does not promptly initiate the dismissal of an employee hired under a fixed-term employment contract, the agreement becomes indefinite, and therefore in the future it is possible to dismiss the employee only on a general basis.

Error: The chief accountant, who wanted to get a part-time job, was denied a fixed-term employment contract, based on the belief that the law prohibits such an approach.

Comment: Part-time work is a sufficient basis for employment of a chief accountant under the terms of a fixed-term employment contract.

Answers to common questions about a fixed-term employment contract with a chief accountant

Question No. 1: The chief accountant, employed under a fixed-term employment contract, wrote a letter of resignation of his own free will, without having worked the entire term. Is it possible to force an employee to work for some time?

Answer: The law allows the chief accountant to be detained after writing a letter of resignation on his own initiative for up to 30 days, unlike other subordinates who are required to work for 14 days.

Question No. 2: Is it possible to conclude a fixed-term employment contract with the chief accountant in case he does not meet all the employer’s requirements?

Answer: To check whether the hired employee suits you, you are allowed to hire a chief accountant on a probationary period.
But it is also permitted to conclude a fixed-term contract if there are legal grounds for doing so. Rate the quality of the article. Your opinion is important to us: