Shortened working hours: when and for whom is it possible?

What is the difference between short-time and part-time work?

Labor legislation provides for 2 options for reducing workload by reducing the time spent on performing job functions:

• If the standard number of hours for a period (week) is reduced on the basis of legislative provisions as a result of classifying an employee or the circumstances in which he works as a special category, we are talking about reduced working hours (Article 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• If the employee and the employer have agreed with each other that this employee, due to some circumstances, spends less time on the labor process, this means that the employee will have part-time work (Article 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

From Art. 92 and 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following specific differences arise between the 2 types of special working time regime.

How work is organized on pre-holiday days according to the labor code

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the pre-holiday working day is no different from all other days of employment, except for a shorter duration. It doesn’t matter what position a specialist works in, what subject of the Russian Federation he lives in, or how much experience he has, employers of all legal forms and fields of activity are required to comply with the requirements of labor legislation. These standards apply to both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, provided that the latter hires employees under employment contracts.

Note! If the enterprise engages persons within the framework of civil legal relations, such citizens perform the scope of work in accordance with the norms of civil, and not labor legislation. Consequently, such individuals are not given a shortened pre-holiday day; they themselves decide how many hours to work.

As already mentioned, a short day before the holiday is provided to all employees, both those working at their main job and part-time workers, as well as those who work part-time or short-time. At the same time, an official reduction in the duration of employment cannot influence the procedure for settlements with personnel. That is, the employer does not have the right to reduce the salary for such a reduction in total work time, because the person is not absent from work, but enjoys legal labor rights established by the requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The nuances of paying for a short pre-holiday day:

• With an hourly wage system - in this case, the employee receives earnings based on the actual time worked. Therefore, a short hour will not be paid, and this is not considered a violation on the part of the employer.
• According to the salary system of remuneration - a short day before a holiday is subject to payment in full, without any reduction in the amount of earnings.
• With a piece-rate wage system, as well as an hourly system, this technique involves calculating earnings based on the actual volume of work or products produced. This means that a reduction in working hours on a pre-holiday day does not affect the amount of remuneration paid to piece workers.
• If you are employed on reduced terms or on a part-time basis, the salary for a short pre-holiday day is not subject to reduction.

Note! If the organization operates continuously and employees work as usual, that is, without shortening pre-holiday days, such time of employment is recognized as overtime and is subject to payment at a minimum of double the amount. The exact procedure for calculating compensation and the list of positions of persons who cannot be granted shortened days before holidays are approved by the manager in the internal document flow of the enterprise.

What regime does the order to reduce working hours apply to?

How to name the order correctly depends on the employer’s goals:

• If the order is issued to comply with the requirements of Art. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, then it will really be an order on reduced working hours . Moreover, its role will be complementary to the main order of registration (read about it below).
• If an employer wants to reduce the working time of its employees in pursuit of its own economic goals, we must talk about part-time work.

It should be noted that the employer is also limited by Art. 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which lists a closed list of cases when, in principle, it is permissible to reduce the duration of working hours and payment for it at the initiative of the employer.

Grounds for suspension of work due to a pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic refers to force majeure circumstances that led to business downtime, since it arose regardless of the actions of the employee or employer. Downtime in this case interferes with production activities.

Borders with many countries around the world are closed for the quarantine period. For international flight workers, this circumstance is an obstacle that prevents them from performing their job duties. Therefore, it is advisable to suspend the operation of the enterprise.

If employees can carry out not only international, but also regional transportation, then registration of downtime will not be required. Since there is no ban on moving between Russian cities.

Who is entitled to reduced working hours under Art. 92 Labor Code of the Russian Federation

The standard amount of time allocated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation for a worker to perform work duties during the week is considered to be 40 hours. All permissible deviations from the general rule are specifically considered by legislators, including the regime of reduced working hours.

According to Art. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, reduced working hours are established :

• for the age group up to 16 years - 24 hours;
• persons from 16 to 18 years old - 35 hours;
• disabled people of groups 1–2 - 35 hours;
• workers under the influence of negative factors - 36 hours.

Additionally in Art. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation considers the situation when an employee who has not reached the age of majority combines educational and work processes. In relation to such an employee, ½ of the standard established for this age category should be applied:

• up to 16 years old - 12 hours;
• from 16 to 18 years old - 17.5 hours.

Payment to employees during a shortened work week by force of law

Payment for such categories of employees differs from the payment procedure for employees whose workweek is reduced by agreement with the employer. If an employee’s working hours are reduced by force of law, then pay wages as for full working hours: the establishment of shortened working hours does not entail a reduction in wages.

An exception is workers under 18 years of age. As a rule, they are paid wages for the time actually worked or depending on output. However, it is important to check industry agreements as they may include an obligation to make additional payments up to full salary. For example, full payment is provided for minor employees of housing and communal services organizations (clause 6.8.4 of the Industry Tariff Agreement in Housing and Communal Services, approved by the All-Russian Industry Association of Employers on December 8, 2016).

Provisions of other laws specifying aspects of reduced working hours

In addition to those given in Art. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, reduced working hours are established for some other groups of workers. Instructions for reducing the temporary load are contained in other articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and federal laws.

The most common reduction in working hours is:

• For teachers and teachers - up to 36 hours a week (Article 333 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
• For medical workers - up to 39 hours a week (Article 350 of the Labor Code). At the same time, based on the position held and practical functionality, the maximum amount of working time for a physician can be specified. For this, an additional document is used - Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated February 14, 2003 No. 101. It approved the lists of medical supplies. specialties and functional characteristics for positions for which the time load is 30, 33 or 36 hours per week.
• Female workers in rural areas. In this case, the Resolution of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR “On improving the situation of women in rural areas” dated November 1, 1990 No. 298/3-1 is in effect, which is consistent with the norms declared by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 423). Women working in rural areas should be provided with a working week of 36 hours.
• Female workers working in northern regions and places with similar conditions. They are also provided with a reduction in the weekly workload by 4 hours compared to the general standard (Article 320 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Important! If an employee is entitled to reduced working hours by law, but in practice there is no reduction in time workload, the employee has the right to demand that the excessively worked time be considered as overtime and compensated accordingly.

For more information about compensation for labor in excess of the standard, see the article “How is overtime paid under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation?”

Procedure for registering a shortened working day

The regime of a specific person, different from the general regime of the company, requires individual registration. How to formalize a part-time work week or a shortened working day depends on the legislative establishment of restrictions or an agreement reached by the parties.

If the initiator of the regime is the legislator, then information about limited employment must be written down in a separate paragraph upon admission with reference to the regulatory legal act.

If the initiative belongs to the employee, then an additional agreement is drawn up based on the application.

The final stage is the publication of an order for the enterprise reflecting:

• grounds for part-time or reduced working hours;
• work schedule indicating the beginning and end of the work shift and technical and lunch breaks;
• establishing days off;
• period of limited employment;
• links to the document and copies of attachments (passports of minors, certificates of disabled people, an act of a specialized commission confirming the degree of harmfulness of conditions, an employee’s statement, etc.).

If the shortened day, according to the Labor Code, is a pre-holiday day, then no additional documents need to be completed.

Reducing working hours under negative working conditions

Negative working conditions mean the presence of factors in the workplace that pose risks to the health of workers. The presence of such circumstances may be:

• Provided for by separate industry laws (regulations) for the entire industry. For example, according to the Federal Law “On Work with Chemical Weapons” dated November 7, 2000 No. 136-FZ, reduced working hours are established for those employed in the military chemical industry. Based on the characteristics of the work functionality, their working week ranges from 24 to 36 hours.
• Defined in a specially developed List of Industries and Professions, where this determines the use of compensatory measures - reducing the working day and assigning additional vacation days. This List was formed in the joint resolution of the State Committee for Labor of the USSR and the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions dated October 25, 1974 No. 298/P-22, and was changed and supplemented until 1991. As amended in 1991, it continues to operate today.
• Established based on the results of a special assessment (or certification) of working conditions. At the same time: if certification was carried out (before 01/01/2014) and the presence of negative factors was identified at a specific workplace, they should be classified according to the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated 04/26/2011 No. 342n;
• if a special assessment of working conditions was carried out (after 01/01/2014), then the 3rd and 4th gradation of risks mentioned in Art. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, should be determined according to the Federal Law “On special assessment of working conditions” dated December 28, 2013 No. 426-FZ.

If the conditions at the workplace are considered harmful or dangerous according to the characteristics given above, then the employee working there should be given reduced working hours under the terms of Art. 92 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Learn more about assessing working conditions in the article “Procedure for assessing working conditions in the workplace (nuances).”

How to arrange a shortened working week at the initiative of the employer

A shortened work week requires a strict preparatory procedure. Each stage is documented in writing.

This is also important to know:
Pre-holiday day according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation: which days are considered holidays

So, to establish a part-time working regime at an enterprise, you need to:

1. Issue an order to the organization regarding upcoming changes in the work environment. The order must contain a systematic justification for the need for the declared changes; the structural divisions of the enterprise that will be affected by these innovations should be listed; the specific mode of operation during a shift, day or week is specified. In addition, the order must contain the start date of work in the new mode and the period for which it is introduced in the organization. The document must establish those responsible for notifying the team of employees. There is no strict form established by law for such an order, therefore the order for the enterprise is drawn up in free form, in the form that is usual for similar documents in a particular organization.
2. Notify employees. Each employee who will be affected by changes in the working regime must be notified about this 2 months before the upcoming changes. This is a very important stage in the transition to a new work arrangement, since failure to comply with this condition may lead to a judicial cancellation of the order on part-time work with the recovery of the difference in wages. Therefore, notification of changes must be in writing. Each employee must sign for the notice of change, indicating the date of receipt. If the employee does not want to sign the notice, you need to prepare a statement about this in the presence of 2 witnesses.
3. Inform the employment exchange. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 25 of the Law “On Employment in the Russian Federation” dated April 19, 1991 No. 1032-1, within 3 days from the date of making the decision to establish part-time work in the organization, you must notify the employment service about this. If the employment authorities are not notified within the period established by law, a fine is possible in accordance with administrative legislation.

How reduced working hours are established for a specific employee

Requirements to reduce working hours for certain groups of employees may be approved:

• at the industry level - industry/inter-industry agreements;
• at the enterprise - in the collective agreement and internal company regulations;
• for a specific employee - in the employment contract.

When an agreement is concluded with an employee to occupy a position for which a special work schedule is already provided, conditions regarding reduced working hours and compensatory measures (for example, additional vacation days) are immediately included in it.

If reduced working hours are established within the framework of existing labor agreements (for example, based on the results of a new special assessment of working conditions), all aspects related to the reduction of time must be included in additional work. agreement to the contract with the employee.

What risks might there be?

If you do not reduce the working week for employees who are required to do so by law, you face liability under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

• from 1 to 5 thousand rubles. — officials or individual entrepreneurs;
• from 30 to 50 thousand rubles. - legal entities.

If reduced working hours are not established for women working in the Far North or in rural areas, they will have to pay for overtime work as overtime - at double the rate (clause 13 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of January 28, 2014 No. 1).

If the conditions for reduced or part-time working hours are not specified or incorrectly reflected in the employment contract, the State Labor Inspectorate may bring administrative liability under clauses 4 and 5 of Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses:

• from 10 to 20 thousand rubles. — officials or individual entrepreneurs;
• from 50 to 100 thousand rubles. - legal entity.

How to extend shortened operating hours

Shortened working hours may be extended to the standard hours (40) specified in Art. 91 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, this requires simultaneous compliance with 3 conditions:

• there is the consent of the employee himself;
• the opportunity to do this is provided for in the collective agreement and/or industry regulations;
• the initial reduction in time is due to the circumstances set out in paragraph. 5 hours 1 tbsp. 92 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. negative factors that occur during work.

These hours added above the reduced standard should be considered overtime and additionally compensated to the employee. The procedure will be similar to the registration and recording of overtime hours.

Read additionally the article “When is it permissible to engage an employee to work overtime?”

Results

Reduced working hours are established for groups of employees and for jobs with characteristics that are specifically specified in regulations. It should not be confused with part-time work.

A shortened workweek in this case should be considered the same standard of time as a regular 40-hour workweek, and payment for it should be made on the same terms, without reduction due to shortened hours.
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

How to pay for part-time work

A part-time working week is paid in proportion to the time worked (Part 3 of Article 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
At the end of the month, it is necessary to calculate the cost of one hour of work in accordance with the monthly standard of hours and calculate the total amount of wages (salary) based on the number of hours worked. Example

The employee has a 36-hour work week. There are 176 working hours in a month. He worked 144 hours. The employee's salary is 30 thousand rubles.

The payment calculation will be as follows: 30 thousand rubles. / 176 × 144 = 24,545.45 rubles.

A reduction in working hours is not a basis for reducing the salary established for an employee upon hiring. Pay your salary within the time limits established by law.