Assignment of director's job responsibilities during the vacation period

Who to assign responsibilities to?

The duties of a company director can be assigned to any employee of the enterprise who has a sufficient level of education and management skills. Most often, directors are replaced by their immediate deputies or middle managers of the company.

It is important that the director of the organization has complete trust in the replacement employee, since the transfer of responsibilities, even temporary, involves signing various kinds of documents, holding business meetings, working with employees, partners, customers and contractors of the company.

The order should be issued in advance, but only in relation to the employee who gave preliminary written consent to replace the director during his absence.

Who has the right to perform the functions of a manager?

The employee must meet the following requirements:

• enjoys the trust of the boss;
• has the appropriate knowledge and skills to manage the enterprise;
• agrees to temporarily replace;
• his level of education corresponds to that required for such a position.

Typically the duties are performed by:

• direct deputy;
• middle manager;
• chief accountant or engineer.

There are three possible ways:

1. If the enterprise is large, its structure provides for a position such as deputy manager. This employee’s employment contract initially stipulates this obligation. However, it is recommended to issue both a power of attorney and an order, and these documents are issued once and cover all cases when the boss is not at the workplace:
   during vacation;
2. sick leave;
3. business trips;
4. long absence for other reasons.
5. If the company is small, there is usually no deputy among its staff.
6. An employee acts on behalf of the manager while he is absent on the basis of a temporary transfer. Article 72.2 describes such relations, allowing transfer both with and without agreement.
7. A person who is not part of the staff is hired on a fixed-term contract. This method is applicable in case of long leave, for example, to care for a child.

What to pay attention to when drawing up an order

The order today does not have a standard unified template, so representatives of organizations and enterprises can write it in any form, based on their own vision of the document and needs. Some use a template developed and approved internally.

At the same time, regardless of which method is chosen, a number of certain information should be included in the order. This:

• number, place and date of creation of the document;
• the name of the organization in which it is published;
• the basis for its formation (for example, a reference to the number and date of the vacation order or vacation schedule)
• in the descriptive part, you need to enter the period during which the appointed person will perform the duties of the head of the enterprise, as well as a complete list of responsibilities assigned to the representative (if necessary, the powers of the deputy can be limited in the order);
• if an employee is given the right to sign, this must also be indicated, as well as whether he retains his job functions at this time in his main position;
• It is also necessary to note the order in which the increase in work will be compensated (it is better to write a specific figure).

If any additional documents are attached to the order, they must be noted in the main text as a separate paragraph.

When drawing up an order, it is important to ensure that it is written in compliance with the norms of office work and the preparation of administrative documentation, as well as the rules of the Russian language.

Who has the right to draw up a document

Internal company orders refer to administrative documentation that regulates a number of business issues, including personnel records. At the same time, despite the diversity of production processes, not all departments or even all employees can issue orders.

So, it is the HR department or, with a small staff, the HR inspector who is responsible for issuing vacation orders. They act on the basis of job descriptions or department regulations and are authorized to take such actions.

Other employees do not have the right to issue an order, regardless of their position, but can participate in the development of an administrative act or its approval. In particular, the chief accountant may be involved to determine the powers of the future I.O. in financial matters, the head of the personnel department and a lawyer, as well as a number of other specialists in developing a list of responsibilities.

If several persons are involved in preparing an order, a table is printed on the back of the document indicating the details of all employees and their signatures . But the table is required only if it is approved as an attribute of the form by the Instructions for the office management of the enterprise. If rules for office work and approval of personal forms have not been developed in the company, the norms of Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation No. 1 are used, which do not provide for a table.

Main nuances when placing an order

The law does not impose any special requirements on the content of the order assigning duties to the director during vacation, or on its execution. You can write it on an ordinary sheet of A5, A4 format or on company letterhead by hand (with a ballpoint pen of any dark color) or on a computer.

The document must comply with only one condition: it must be signed by the head of the enterprise or his authorized representative (in this case, the use of facsimile signatures, i.e. printed in any way, is not allowed). If the order is signed by a representative of the director, the document must indicate a link to the corresponding power of attorney or other document on the basis of which it acts.

You don’t have to certify the form with a seal, because from 2021, legal entities are exempt from the obligation to use stamped products in their work (unless such a norm is enshrined in the local regulations of the company).

The order is printed in a single copy , but if necessary, additional copies can be made (for example, for submission to the personnel department and accounting department).

After completing the registration procedure, the order should be registered in the company’s internal documentation journal.

How to assign functions to another employee?

If a person goes on vacation, then his work responsibilities can be assigned to someone else. At the same time, you cannot simply verbally force another employee to perform additional functions of the absent one.

Each employee has a job description according to which he works. If he is assigned additional functions, he is not obliged to perform them unless an order to assign duties is issued.

The transfer of additional work is accompanied by a corresponding additional payment, which must be indicated in the order.

When choosing a replacement person, you should carefully consider his level of knowledge and experience. It is necessary to compare the required level of qualification with the actual one.

Some positions require special education, knowledge and experience.

For example, the chief accountant can be replaced by a manager and, in rare cases, another employee if he meets the necessary requirements.

An important point is that before transferring the responsibilities of an employee who is absent due to vacation to another, you must obtain written consent from the applicant for replacement.

An employee cannot be forced to perform the duties of another due to his absence.

The procedure for assigning functions during vacation should be voluntary.

To obtain consent, the person should be incentivized, for example, by additional pay or by providing time off in the future.

How to register for a period of temporary absence of the main employee?

If an employee not from the management team goes on vacation, then his work can be performed by another specialist of the appropriate level and similar level of training.

This can be an employee of the same or similar position, or from the same department as the absentee.

That is, the employee must fully understand the essence of the vacationer’s responsibilities, and must also agree with the assignment of additional functions to him.

It is better to obtain consent in writing to avoid conflicts in the future.

A substitute person can be required to perform the duties of a vacationer only if an order to this effect has been drawn up. At the same time, a procedure was carried out to become familiar with it against signature.

If there is no order, or there is no introductory signature on it, then forcing an employee to do work for another is not allowed.

The order for temporary replacement for the vacation period should indicate:

• place and date of compilation;
• reason for registration and document basis;
• an order to assign the duties of one employee to another for the period of leave (specific terms are indicated);
• an order to establish an additional payment for performing additional work;
• director's approval signature;
• introductory signature of the substitute.

If the selected person does not want to replace the employee and do his work, does not give consent and does not sign the order, then he cannot be forced to do this.

You need to choose another person.

Registration if the general director is absent

The head of the company performs specific functions that not every employee of the organization can cope with.

There are no legal requirements when selecting a replacement person. You do not need to have a certain level of education or extensive experience in management; you do not need special knowledge and skills.

However, it is in the interests of the general director himself to choose a temporary replacement in the most correct and competent manner, which will ensure the normal operation of the enterprise and minimize risks.

Typically, the authority of a manager is vested in his deputy or chief accountant. In this case, this person is assigned an additional payment for performing an increased amount of work.

The order conferring the powers of the director should indicate:

• who chooses the surrogate;
• what responsibilities are assigned to him;
• over what period of time they will have to be fulfilled;
• what additional pay and other privileges does the deputy receive?

The order is approved by the director, after which it is handed over to the replacement person for review. If he agrees, he signs.

It is also recommended to obtain a separate written consent from the deputy that he undertakes to perform the duties of the director who is absent during the vacation period.

When replacing the chief accountant

Great difficulty in assigning responsibilities arises when the chief accountant goes on vacation.
Such an employee has specific responsibilities that not everyone can handle. The person performing the functions of the chief accountant must have the necessary education and knowledge in the field of tax and accounting law.

Usually the chief accountant is replaced by the head of the company himself.

In rare cases, these functions are assigned to other employees, for example, an accountant.

In any case, the employee to whom the responsibilities of the chief accountant are transferred must agree with this. And for additional work you need to pay extra.

Download samples

Download a replacement order for the employee's vacation period - sample.

This is what the sample looks like:

Download the order assigning the duties of a director - sample.

This is what the sample looks like:

The director's right to sign documents while on vacation

An interesting point with the right to sign - sometimes it is transferred to the replacement, but sometimes the director does not want to transfer it, instead he intends to sign the documents himself, despite the fact that he is on vacation. Is this possible, and if the director is on vacation, then who signs the documents? The legislation does not prohibit continuing to perform duties during vacation, which means that the director’s powers remain with him to the extent that he wishes, and this will need to be reflected in the order.

Sometimes conflicts arise in this regard, because if the vacation is interpreted literally, then one might think that he should not sign documents during this time, and the signature would be invalid.

However, judicial practice shows: if the director has not delegated the right to sign to the person replacing him, then this right remains with him, that is, it will not be possible to challenge the order, citing the vacation of the person who signed it.

Another thing is that the right to sign was delegated in writing to a substitute person, but then the director signed the document himself. Then challenging the document will truly be a pointless exercise - the court can satisfy such a requirement on the basis that, by transferring powers during the vacation, the director himself lost them. However, if in the future the company continues to execute the signed document, then in the end it may not be declared invalid, since it was actually approved. In short, this issue is already controversial and the court’s decision will depend on the specific case.

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That is, if the director delegated the right to sign to another person, but signed the document himself, then problems may arise, and therefore it is advisable either not to transfer it, or not to sign the documents after that until returning to work.

How to draw up a vacation order for the CEO and who signs it

To register a manager's leave, the same forms of orders are used as for other employees. The most common is the unified T-6 form, but you can develop your own.

Read about how an order is issued on form T-6 in our materials:

• “Order for annual paid leave - sample and form”;
• .

Let us dwell on one important question that arises for everyone who draws up such a document for the first time. Vacation orders for ordinary employees are signed by the general director, but who endorses the vacation order for him? There are two options. If the decision to rest the general director was made by the general meeting, the order can be signed by its chairman (or another authorized person for these actions). If the decision is made by the director independently, he himself endorses the order (letter of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment dated March 11, 2009 No. 1143-TZ), and also signs in the field “I have read the order.”

A sample leave order for the CEO can be downloaded here.

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Appointment procedure

The official appointment depends on whether the previous manager has been officially fired.

First, a new employee is hired. His candidacy is approved as an acting person for a specific position and as a part-time acting general director. You can also transfer a current employee to the position of Acting General Director or appoint an existing Acting Employee under Article 60.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. formalize as additional job responsibilities.

Contents of the order

There are no legal requirements for the form and content of internal administrative and organizational documentation for the enterprise.

This provides the opportunity for employers to independently draw up an order in any form, taking into account the nuances and characteristics of the enterprise, as well as their own principles on the procedure for internal document flow. Since the position of the director is a responsible one, in the administrative document on the assignment of duties, it is necessary to provide for all possible nuances related to the implementation of job responsibilities.

General rules for preparing documentation at an enterprise

The document must include:

• name of the business entity where the order is created;
• information about the date of drawing up the document and the date the replacement person assumed the powers of the director;
• registration number, according to internal records of similar documentation;
• place of document preparation;
• the grounds for assigning duties, expressed in reference to the identification of the director’s vacation order, drawn up taking into account the vacation schedule for the enterprise;
• list of assigned responsibilities;
• limitation of powers;
• the time period for which the replacement is relevant;
• granting the right to sign;
• information about the need to perform basic job duties by a person during the period of replacement of the director;
• salary.

Nuances and design features

The procedure for drawing up internal administrative documentation for the enterprise, as well as its content, are not regulated by legal requirements. The document can be compiled in any form. It can be issued on a sheet of any format. It is possible to use company letterhead. The order can be written by hand or printed on a printer.

The only requirement for the documentation is that it must be signed by the head of the business entity or his representative who has the right to sign in accordance with the previously executed administrative document.

Facsimile signatures are not permitted. If the order is signed by a representative of the director, then the document must reflect identifying information about the basis of authority. Currently, the regulations governing the execution and accounting of document flow at enterprises do not imply the need to use stamp products in their work. This frees the manager from the need to certify his signature with a seal. It is worth noting that these legislative requirements can be canceled by the internal documentation of the enterprise regulating the execution of documents of a business entity.

The chief accountant is on vacation, the general is at work

However, not every legal entity has the organizational and financial capabilities to employ a deputy chief accountant. As a rule, the vast majority of organizations have only two management positions: general director and chief accountant. And if the latter is resting, then the general at this time, almost “automatically,” also has to perform his duties. This is formalized by an order approximately as follows (sample of the right to sign for the chief accountant during the director’s vacation):

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