A fixed-term employment contract is concluded for a certain period of time. For its use, the employer must have good reason, otherwise he may be held liable for violation of the rights of workers. The reasons for concluding a fixed-term employment contract may be different, but they must be confirmed by official documents. A direct employee hired on the basis of this agreement must be notified in advance that his work will be temporary. The term of work is agreed between the two parties in advance.
Highlights
A fixed-term contract is represented by a standard labor contract, but its duration is not unlimited. It directly indicates the period during which the employee will work in the company. In this case, the citizen retains all his standard labor rights. The basic rules for compiling this document are given in Art. 58 shopping mall.
The parties to this contract are hired specialists and the director of the company. The main difference between a fixed-term agreement and a standard agreement is the availability of a clause on the limited duration of this document. After this period, the employment relationship is terminated, which the employee must be notified in advance.
The maximum amount of such a contract is 5 years. It is not allowed to renegotiate a fixed-term contract with one employee several times in a row, since if a long-term cooperation is necessary, an unlimited contract should be applied.
Conditions
To conclude such an agreement, certain conditions must be satisfied. The employer is responsible for their observance. The conditions for concluding a fixed-term employment contract are as follows:
· necessarily the document spells out its validity;
· an agreement is concluded only on the condition that it is impossible to use the standard contract;
· The reason for choosing this contract is indicated.
If these conditions are not met, then the employee can go to court to protect his rights and interests. Therefore, the employer must ensure that the basic requirements of the law are respected. Particular attention is paid to the reason for concluding a fixed-term employment contract, since it must be reasonable, documented and significant. Otherwise, the director of the organization will have to face not only administrative, but even criminal liability.
In what cases is the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract allowed?
The employer must know exactly when to use this agreement. All grounds are given in Art. 59 shopping mall. The main reasons for concluding a fixed-term employment contract include:
· the employee must cope with temporary work that does not require spending more than two months;
· any seasonal work needs to be carried out, and after the end of the season the need for the services of a specific specialist will not arise;
· due to specific climatic conditions, a citizen can work only in certain months of the year;
· the employee is required only for sending on one business trip, during which he will be sent to another country;
· Specialists are needed solely to eliminate the consequences of any accident that has occurred in the workplace;
· the nature of the work performed by a citizen differs from the direction of the entire company;
· A fixed-term contract is often offered to employees who continue to study at the university on a full-time basis;
· the activity is represented by the implementation of public works;
· such an agreement is often applied when hiring creative staff;
· this contract is used by various companies working in the field of entertainment and the media;
· the employee was sent to the company from the employment center to implement temporary work.
All the grounds for applying such an agreement are given in PP No. 252. Regardless of the chosen reason for concluding a fixed-term employment contract, the employer must have documentary evidence of the need.
Can I use a contract when hiring a pensioner?
By law, it is not allowed to use an urgent agreement when hiring a pensioner. The old age of the employee is not a reason to use this contract. Under such conditions, the decision of the employer may be appealed to the labor inspectorate or court.
Therefore, the employer must be responsible in choosing the reasons for concluding a fixed-term employment contract. An example is the situation when an elderly citizen appealed to the court, with whom, without good reason, the head of the company concluded an urgent agreement. However, he referred to the decision of the Constitutional Court No. 378. The court sided with the plaintiff, therefore, brought to justice the owner of the company, as well as a standard contract was drawn up with the pensioner.
How is it?
The conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract is considered a fairly simple and standard process. To do this, the following actions are implemented:
· initially, the optimal reasons are determined for which the head of the enterprise really has the right to use such an agreement;
· then begins the search for an employee who meets the requirements of the employer;
· the future employee is notified that a fixed-term contract will be drawn up with him;
· a document is compiled containing the main important information about the planned cooperation;
· The contract is signed by the employee and the head of the company.
Be sure to include information on the duration of the agreement in the document. Until the expiration of this period, the contract must be stored in the company in a standard way. After the termination of cooperation, the contract is transferred to the company's archive.
Rules for determining the term
In the case of the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract, it is important to determine in advance the term of its validity. The following points are taken into account:
· there are no restrictions on the minimum period, but if the work will be completed in just a few days, it is advisable to use a contract;
· maximum term contract for five years;
· it is allowed to prescribe a general validity period, which depends on how quickly the employee copes with his labor duties, and you can also specify the exact date;
· after the specified date or event, the contract is automatically terminated;
· if the registered event does not occur, then the contract becomes unlimited, for example, if the employee, to whose place another person was temporarily invited, resigned from the company.
If a woman who works on the basis of an urgent agreement becomes pregnant, then the employer must extend this contract until the end of pregnancy.
Is a trial period set?
The peculiarities of concluding a fixed-term employment contract include some difficulties with using a trial period. Therefore, the following rules are taken into account by the employer:
· if an employee is hired to carry out seasonal work, the probationary period may not exceed two weeks;
· if the service life does not exceed six months, then the test can last only 14 days;
· There is no trial period for temporary work that lasts less than two months.
Usually, Russian employers generally prefer not to use the test for temporary workers.
Renewal Rules
If the employee was not able to cope with the tasks in a timely manner, then the contract can be extended. But at the same time, the total amount of time during which a citizen works under a fixed-term contract cannot exceed five years.
The employer must issue an extension to this agreement.
Responsibility for Violations
The employer must, when hiring temporary workers, take into account the numerous requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract with various violations may become the basis for holding the director of the company and other officials liable.
Employers are held accountable by specialists from the labor inspectorate or prosecutor's office. For this, the following types of punishments may be imposed:
· the direct company pays a fine of 50 to 100 thousand rubles;
· officials who are the director of the company or heads of different departments pay fines of 10 to 20 thousand rubles if there is evidence of various violations on their part;
· if the employer is an individual entrepreneur, then for him the fine is from 5 to 10 thousand rubles.
Such fines are used only for the initial detection of an offense, and if repeated violations are detected, more stringent measures of influence can be used. They are fined up to 200 thousand rubles, and officials may be deprived of the right to hold senior positions for up to three years. For individual entrepreneurs, the fine may increase to 40 thousand rubles. Therefore, it is in the interest of direct employers to strictly follow the basic requirements of the law.
Conclusion
A fixed-term contract can be drawn up by employers only if there are good reasons. Otherwise, the application of such an agreement would be a gross violation of the law. Company executives use this contract when hiring employees who are engaged in temporary or seasonal work.
If necessary, such an agreement may be extended or replaced by a perpetual contract.
