What is the job of a remote worker? Employment contract with a remote worker: sample filling. Pros and cons of remote work

THIS ARTICLE IS A CHAPTER OF THE AVAR BOOK LABOR LAW OF RUSSIA

New law introduces serious changes to the Russian labor law. Now there is a legal opportunity to organize remote work of an employee at his home. Previously, the Labor Code provided for the so-called “work from home”, but the conditions for its application were very limited and in fact could not be applied in a situation where an employee was hired to work remotely at home or in another place remote from the office. The old rules on home work, which are still in force, regulate the situation in which a worker performs duties related to the production of consumer and craft goods from materials and using tools of the employer or purchased at the expense of the worker. Thus, these rules could not be applied to regulate the labor of various categories of workers. In Russia, there was an urgent need to regulate the remote work of such categories of workers as IT specialists, sales representatives, consultants, translators, etc. The changes provide an opportunity to legally consolidate relationships with such employees.

According to the new law, remote work is the performance of job duties outside the location of the employer, its branch, representative office or other place under the control of the employer. The new law indicates the need to organize communication through the use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, to perform work and interact with the employer. An important provision of the new law is the provision that the presence of a remote worker does not entail the obligation of the employer to register a separate structural unit for these purposes.

Teleworking regulations provide opportunities for more flexible work regulation. For example, they allow for special conditions termination of the employment contract.

Below we will describe in more detail the innovations about teleworking and briefly name the close modes of work at home and shift work, as well as the ability to conclude civil law contracts instead of employment contracts.

remote work

The President of the Russian Federation signed the Federal Law on Amendments to the Labor Code, introducing a new chapter on remote work. It entered into force on April 8, 2013.

Remote work is understood as the performance of labor duties outside the location of the employer, its branch, representative office or other place under the control of the employer.

A necessary condition for remote work is the use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, to perform work and interact with the employer.

An important point of the new law is the provision that the presence of a remote worker does not entail the obligation of the employer to register a separate structural unit for these purposes. This conclusion can be drawn from the provision of the legislation that a separate structural unit must be registered with the tax authorities if the employer organizes stationary jobs in a geographical area remote from its location (Articles 81.1 and 11.2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) at a time when under remote worker stationary workplace not organized. The regulation of the work of remote workers has some peculiarities. Enhanced qualified electronic signatures. However, this provision becomes binding only by agreement of the parties. If such an agreement has not been reached, the parties may use the paper form of documents (Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

At the conclusion of the contract, the condition on remote work must be included in labor contract with an employee. The agreement may provide additional condition on the obligation of a remote worker to use equipment, software and hardware, information security tools and other means provided or recommended by the employer in the performance of his duties.

The employment contract must provide for the following conditions:

Procedures and conditions for the use of equipment, software and hardware, information security tools and other means provided or recommended by the employer;

Procedures and conditions for reporting on the work performed;

Conditions for compensation for the use of equipment, software and hardware, information security tools and other means belonging to the employee;

Rules for compensation of other costs that an employee incurs in connection with the performance of remote work.

The employer's obligations to ensure safe conditions and labor protection for remote workers are limited. Unless otherwise provided by the employment contract on remote work, the mode of working time and rest time of the remote worker is established by him at his own discretion.

An employment contract and agreements on changing the terms of an employment contract may be concluded by exchanging electronic documents. In this case, the location of the employer is indicated as the place of conclusion of the employment contract on remote work, agreements on changing the terms of the employment contract on remote work. The employer, no later than three calendar days from the date of conclusion of the employment contract, is obliged to send to the remote worker by mail by registered mail with notification, a duly executed copy of this employment contract on paper. Sending documents presented at the conclusion of an employment contract in accordance with Art. 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is carried out by sending copies of them in electronic documents. However, at the request of the employer, the applicant is obliged to send him by registered mail with notification notarized copies of these documents on paper.

Familiarization of the employee with documents related to work, including local regulations and orders of the employer, provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, can occur through the exchange of electronic documents. In addition, in cases where, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee has the right or obligation to apply to the employer with a statement, provide the employer with explanations or other information, the remote worker can do this in the form electronic document. By agreement of the parties, information about remote work is not entered in the work book, but employment history a person who first got a job is not issued.

The parties also have the right to conclude an employment contract on remote work without the use of electronic documents in the traditional manner. In this case, the contract indicates the place of actual conclusion of the contract. The applicant submits the original documents presented at the conclusion of the employment contract. In addition, in this case, the employer retains the obligation to issue a certificate of state pension insurance for a remote worker who is getting a job for the first time. The employee also has the right to demand the proper execution of the work book.

Remote work in some cases requires the proper execution of written documents, which are sent by registered mail with notification. The employer, even in the case of concluding an employment contract through the exchange of electronic documents, is obliged to send to the remote worker a duly executed copy of this employment contract on paper. To provide compulsory insurance coverage for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with motherhood, the remote worker sends the employer the originals of the necessary documents.

Upon termination of the employment contract, even if familiarization with the dismissal order is provided in the form of an electronic document, the employer, on the day of termination of this employment contract, is obliged to send to the remote worker a duly executed copy of the specified order on paper. In other cases, use paper media is optional.

The parties may provide in the employment contract for remote work (as well as when working at home) special conditions for terminating the employment contract, not limited to the relevant list of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Home work In addition to new provisions on remote work, the Labor Code contains rules on the so-called “home work” (Chapter 49 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). However, the conditions for its application are quite limited and in fact cannot be applied in a situation where an employee is hired to work remotely at home or in another place remote from the office. The Home Work Rules, which are still in force, govern the situation in which a worker performs duties related to the production of consumer and craft goods from materials and using tools of the employer or purchased at the expense of the worker. Thus, these rules could not be applied to regulate the labor of various categories of workers.

Home work is regulated by general rules; however, there are some peculiarities. The homeworker may involve members of his family in the work, but no labor relations between them and the "employer" does not arise (Article 310 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In an employment contract for the performance of work at home, the employer and employee agree on which of the parties provides the equipment and materials necessary for work. If the homeworker uses his own materials or equipment, the employer must pay compensation for their wear and tear.

An employment contract for home-based work must contain the procedure for paying the homeworker for the work performed.

When working at home, you must follow the rules of safety and health protection.

The norms of the legislation on home work provide for the need to specifically establish in the contract the grounds for its termination (Article 312 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Work on a rotational basis

Work on a rotational basis is a form of implementation of the labor process, when employees are at a considerable distance from their place of permanent residence and, due to geographical conditions, their daily return to their place of residence cannot be ensured (Chapter 47 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). This form of labor is used in cases where work is carried out in sparsely populated areas with severe natural conditions. Shift workers must return home at least once a month, and in exceptional cases - once every three months (Article 299 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

With this form of labor, working hours, days, rest periods, etc. are taken into account in a special order, which is called the summarized accounting of working hours (Article 300 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). When working on a rotational basis, all the time spent at a remote workplace is taken into account. In any case, the total working time must not exceed the normal number of working hours.

Civil law regulation of labor

An individual in Russia can provide services and perform work as under an employment contract, in which case relations with the employer are regulated by the rules labor law, and under a civil law contract in accordance with civil law.

The concept of a civil law contract is reduced to an agreement under which a company uses the services of an individual without the intention of concluding an employment contract with him. The main difference between a civil law contract and an employment contract is that the employee is not entitled to use the guarantees provided for by labor law (protection against unilateral cancellation of the contract, rules on working outside working hours, payment for sick leave and holidays), and is not subject to the rules of the internal work schedule customer.

Civil law contracts are used when a person is hired for temporary work on a project or occasionally performs extra work, which is usually not performed by employees of the organization. One of the most typical cases is the conclusion of a civil law contract with freelance translators.

When concluding a civil law contract, the parties are guided by the norms civil law which provide for the equality of the parties and freedom of contract. However, certain restrictions are imposed by the imperative norms of chapters 37 and 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, the parties are obliged to agree on the specific subject of the contract, which must be spelled out in detail in such a contract, indicating its scope and quality. In addition, it is necessary to indicate the date of completion of the work (for the contract paid provision services) and the date of commencement and completion of work (for a contract). A prerequisite is the determination of the price of the contract and the procedure for paying remuneration.

In most cases, the main reason for concluding a civil law contract is the desire of the parties to avoid the effect of labor law norms. However, in the event that a real labor relationship has developed between the parties, and the employee carries out labor activities in accordance with the labor schedule and on the territory of the employer, the employer bears the risk of the civil law contract being reclassified by the court into an employment contract in accordance with Art. 11 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. At present, there is a large arbitrage practice for the application of this article. As a rule, if there is evidence of an employment relationship, the court resolves such cases in favor of the employee.

When reclassifying relations, the courts take into account a set of criteria, among which the following can be distinguished:

1) Systematic renegotiation of civil law contracts or extension of their validity, for example, in the Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated August 28, 2008 N KA-A40 / 7019-08 in case N A40-59304 / 07-90-332.

2) Subordination of the employee to the internal labor regulations, for example, in the Decree of the FAS of the Moscow District dated 19.06.2009 N KA-A40 / 5330-09 in case N A40-66166 / 08-76-271 or the Decree of the FAS of the Moscow District of 13.11.2008 N КА-А40/10488-08 in case No. А40-59261/07-14-314.

3) Dates and frequency of payment of remuneration, for example, in the Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated June 19, 2009 N KA-A40 / 5330-09 in case N A40-66166 / 08-76-271.

4) The relationship of payment under the contract with the volume and frequency of work performed, for example, in the Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated 19.06.2009 N KA-A40 / 5330-09 in case N A40-66166 / 08-76-271.

Thus, despite the fact that civil law contracts are not the basis for the emergence of labor relations, in some cases they are able to regulate the performance of work by an individual who acts as an equal and independent party to the contract.

Civil law contracts may be concluded, among other things, with individual entrepreneurs. If such an entrepreneur provides services in accordance with his type of activity, the risk of re-qualifying the contract as an employment contract is significantly reduced.

The article will help you find out how to formalize an employment relationship with a remote employee at a remote job, whether a working mode is established for him and what is the procedure for dismissal.

Many citizens prefer to work from home, regardless of whether they have the opportunity to visit the workplace every day. Although telecommuters may perform the same work as on-site workers, their terms of employment differ from standard ones. We will tell you about how to formalize an employment relationship with a remote worker, what insurance payments are due to him and what is the procedure for dismissal in this article.

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general information

There are the following methods of remote work:

Remote work.
Home work.

Citizens working remotely are subject to the general norms of labor legislation. (part 3 Labor Code Russian Federation).

Features of labor relations with remote employees are regulated by the following regulations:

Labor Code of the Russian Federation, namely.
Law No. 63-FZ of 04/06/2011, which reflects information regarding the procedure for obtaining electronic digital signature and exchange of electronic documents between the employer and employees.

Remote workers should be included in the staff of the organization.

controlled by the employer.
The employee is there or should arrive there as needed.

Until the conclusion of an employment contract, the employer is obliged to familiarize the employee with various local acts:

Labor regulations.
Award Regulations.
Collective agreement, etc.

This procedure can be carried out through an electronic exchange between the employer and the employee who works remotely. Documents must be signed with an electronic signature.

This rule is confirmed by the following regulatory documents:

Labor Code of the Russian Federation, part 5 of article 312.1, part 5 of article 312.2.
Law No. 63-FZ of April 6, 2011, article 6.

Labor relations between these persons are formalized in accordance with the general rules under Article 68 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The registration process includes the following items:

Drawing up an employment contract.
Issuance of a job order.
Establishment of a personal card.
Making an entry in the work book.

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The mode of work and rest of a remote employee

If possible, the remote worker sets the mode of operation independently. When work is required to be performed at a certain time, this rule is fixed in the employment contract or additional agreement.

Record example: “The employee's working hours are set from 10.00 to 19.00. Lunch break - from 14.00 to 15.00"

The procedure for granting annual and other holidays is fixed in the employment contract and is carried out in accordance with the general rules.

An example of an entry: "An employee is provided with an annual paid leave of 28 calendar days according to the vacation schedule."

Remote worker works when he wants, so he has no days off

The remote worker worked on the day off. How to pay for this if the employment contract provides for the establishment of working hours and rest periods at the discretion of the employee?

Labor legislation does not provide for a special procedure for granting rest days to remote workers for working on weekends. Since the employment contract does not define the mode of work and rest of such an employee (the employee determines the mode of work and rest at his own discretion), it is impossible to consider his work on a certain day.

The trip of a remote worker to the office by order of the employer is a business trip

By order of the employer, the remote worker comes to the office to perform their work duties. According to Rostrud specialists (letter No. PG/37458-6-1 dated January 24, 2020), such a trip should be considered as a business trip. This means that the employer is obliged to pay the employee travel expenses.

Exchange of documents in electronic form

An employee working remotely can contact the employer via email. For example, if he needs to convey any information or write a statement. Appeals are certified by an electronic signature.

For the exchange of documents electronic form both parties must have an enhanced qualified electronic signature issued in a specialized certification center.

If a remote worker needed copies of some working documents and did not indicate in the application that they can be transferred to electronic format, the employer must send them by certified mail with notification. Copies should be sent to the employee within 3 working days from the receipt of the request (part 8 of article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

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Insurance payments

A remote worker has the right to receive insurance payments (, maternity, etc.) in accordance with general grounds.

To receive these payments, you must send the employer by registered mail the original documents relevant to the case (disability certificate, certificates).

These rules are defined in parts 6, 7, 8 of article 312.1 of the Labor Code of Russia.

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Occupational Safety and Health

The direct obligations of the employer to protect and ensure non-hazardous criteria for the work of remote employees:

Follow the instructions of the State Labor Inspectorate.
Pay premiums for insurance of remote workers against occupational diseases and accidents.
Investigate employee accidents.
Investigate employee occupational diseases.
Familiarize employees with the requirements of labor protection when working with equipment.

The employer is not obliged to provide remote employees, training in the safe performance of work, unless this is stipulated in the employment contract.

There is no special assessment of working conditions for remote teleworkers

According to paragraph 3 of article 3 "Special assessment of working conditions" A special assessment of working conditions is not carried out in relation to the working conditions of homeworkers, remote workers and employees who have entered into labor relations with employers - individuals who are not individual entrepreneurs. In this regard, with regard to working conditions homeworkers and teleworkers - special assessment working conditions not carried out.

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Dismissing a Remote Employee

If an employee working remotely was issued, then it must be sent to the citizen's address on the day of dismissal. Before sending, you should obtain the consent of the employee to transfer documents in this way.

According to Article 84.1 and Part 6 of Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, if a citizen is present at the organization on the day of dismissal, then the work book is issued to him personally.

to the menu how to find a job in a crisis
An overview of the resources where you can find vacancies and work in Moscow in a crisis is given.

Remote employees working remotely is no longer a rarity today. Now it is far from always necessary to be in the office in order to fulfill your labor duties. Going towards progress, legislators have amended the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regarding remote workers (freelancers).

In the article below, we will figure out what are the features of accounting for relationships with remote workers, how to draw up an employment contract with them, a sample contract with a remote worker can be downloaded in this article below.

Who benefits from remote work?

Remote work is the dream of any employee, because it is possible at home, in a comfortable environment, to perform work duties and receive payment for them. No need to get up early in the morning, drive in any weather, stand in traffic jams, waste your time.

Is it good for the employer?

Of course, it is also beneficial for the employer to have a remote worker. This significantly reduces the cost of personnel, the organization of the workplace, the purchase of equipment and furniture for it.

Features of remote work are that the employee and the employer can be located in different localities, cities and even countries. You can find a really competent specialist.

However, this brings with it a more responsible approach by the employer to finding suitable personnel. Not everyone will be able to provide the necessary performance at home.

Federal Law No. 60-FZ of April 5, 2013 introduced an additional chapter 49.1 into the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates the work of remote workers.

This chapter consolidates such concepts as “remote work” and “remote worker”.

Remote work is the performance of labor duties outside the location of the employer.

A remote worker independently provides himself with a workplace, and maintains contact with the employer using the phone, the Internet, and mail.

Employment contract with a remote worker

Chapter 49.1 of the Labor Code makes it possible to conclude an employment contract with a remote worker in electronic form.

The text of the employment contract must include the nature of remote work, that is, it must be indicated that the employee must perform his labor duties outside the territory of the employer.

According to Article 57, the address of the workplace must be indicated, this can be a home address or any other place where the remote employee plans to perform his labor duties.

Duration working week for remote workers is the same as for ordinary workers, that is, a 40-hour work week in the standard case. All deviations from the standard working week must be recorded in the contract.

What other information should be included in the employment contract:

Features of the labor schedule;
Providing resources for work. There are several options: the employee provides himself with everything, the employer provides the employee with his own resources, the employer pays the employee the cost of resources (payment for the purchase of a computer, office rent, payment cellular communication, the Internet, reimbursement of expenses for fuel and lubricants, depreciation of a car, computer and other equipment used to perform work duties);
Features of submitting reports on the work done to the employer (via phone, skype, email, in what form, with what frequency).

If you need to transfer working employees to remote work, then this can be done using registration additional agreement to the existing employment contract, which sets out the changes in the nature of work and the day from which these changes come into force.

If a remote worker needs to be sent to another locality to complete a task related to the organization’s activities (on a business trip), the employer draws up the same documents as in relation to sending ordinary workers on a business trip. About the design business trip read .

All travel expenses for remote workers are accounted for in the standard way.

- Article 312.1 of the Labor Code

The Labor Code contains the term "remote work". This is a regular job under an employment contract, only without reference to the employer's office.

Imagine there are two accountants. Maria works at the Zyablik company and goes to the office. She is an office worker. And Elena - she does the same thing, only from home. She is a remote worker.

There are no restrictions in the Labor Code on which employees can be hired for remote work and which ones are not. Therefore, if conditions allow, take anyone: an accountant, lawyer, marketer, sales manager.

Working conditions - as for office workers

According to the Labor Code, remote employees work as "full-time employees on a general basis." In practice, this means that the employer:

gives leave;
pays sick leave;
pays extra for overtime or work on holidays;
pays daily allowance and compensates expenses on a business trip;
investigates accidents that occurred during the working day. Suppose an employee fell in the office and broke his leg. The employer is obliged to find out the cause of the fall and, if the employer is at fault, to compensate for the damage. The same goes for the remote worker. An accountant works from home and falls while preparing a report - the employer finds out what happened;
gives equipment and programs for work or compensates if the employee has everything of his own. To work, you need a computer, a phone, a licensed Photoshop. If the employee has everything his own, the employer pays compensation.

The general rule is this: the employer does the same for a remote employee as for an office employee. If someone thought to save money on this, it will not work.

Without a work book, but with an electronic signature

The rules for registering a remote employee are almost the same as for an office employee. The list of documents is the same:

employee's personal documents. This is a passport, insurance certificate and education documents, if necessary;
working conditions documents. Usually, they include a job description, an instruction on labor protection, a regulation on personal data and trade secret;
labor contract;
The order of acceptance to work.

There are two differences compared to office workers. The first is a workbook. According to the Labor Code, the employer is not required to fill it out for a remote employee, only if he asks. A request is a statement by an employee with his signature.

Another difference in paperwork is it is not necessary to meet to sign documents. There are two ways to do this. The first is through the Russian Post or courier. The employer sends two copies of the employment contract and documents on working conditions, the employee signs and sends one copy back. So he shows that he has seen everything and agrees with everything.

Another way to take on remote work is to remotely sign documents. But here, as always, there is a catch. There are companies that believe that remotely is when an employee receives an employment contract by e-mail, prints, signs, scans and sends a scan by mail. This is not the case for remote work.

How to get an electronic signature

To hire a remote employee, he and the employer must sign an employment contract, and the employee must show that he has seen documents on working conditions. For example, the job description and the provision on trade secrets. To do this, you will need an electronic signature of the employee.

An electronic signature, or ES, is a replacement for a handwritten signature for electronic documents. She confirms that it was Maria Mashkina who signed the contract, and not someone else. Obtaining an electronic signature can take a week and three thousand rubles.

There is no indication in the Labor Code who pays for obtaining a signature and who does it in general. Usually the employer does this for the employee: he hires ten employees, pays ten signatures. At the same time, it is impossible to force an employee to sign at his own expense.

If an employee signs an email signature, a paper version of the contract is still needed. In this case, the employer sends the contract by registered mail. Sending three calendar days from the date of signing.

My advice is to sign the contract at a meeting or through an electronic signature. According to the law, an employee is not entitled to work without signed documents, and it takes time to send them. There is still a risk that the employee will forget to send a copy of the documents, the employer will forget about it, and the company will be left without documents.

Remote format of work

In an employment contract, the employer and the employee agree on everything: how much the employee works, how he receives tasks and reports on what equipment he will use.

An employment contract for a remote employee is not much different from a regular one. I'll talk about the features. The first thing that should be in the contract is the format of the work. It seems obvious, but I have seen employment contracts where the word “remote” was not there, although it was about remote work. Suitable phrase:

The employee works remotely. The start date for remote work is November 21, 2018.

If the contract does not contain a work format, labor inspectorate questions may arise as to why the employee is in another city or works from home.

Place of work or place of conclusion of the contract

According to the labor code, the place of work is required condition contracts. You can write the home address of the employee or any other where he happens to be.

The number of vacation days and the salary supplement depend on the region of work. The place of work for remote employees is the location, as the Ministry of Finance says in its letter and the Labor Code.

Accountant Maria works from home, home in Yakutsk. Her vacation is 52 days:

28 days - mandatory vacation,

24 days extra for work in the Far North.

If an employee changes the city, for example, he lives either in Moscow or in Yakutsk, it is not clear how to count vacation and additional pay. To avoid disputes with an employee, I suggest writing not “place of work”, but “place of conclusion of the contract”. Such a place may be the city where the employer sits.

Reasons for dismissal

A remote employee can be fired in the same way as an office employee if he violates the working conditions.

Can an employee be fired for absenteeism?

Secretary Elena was supposed to work for five days, but skipped three of them. The Labor Code calls this "failure to perform labor duties." For violation, the company has the right to dismiss under the article, this is the 81st article, the sixth paragraph, subparagraph "A".

In practice, you won’t be able to get fired for one absenteeism, but for several absenteeism, yes.

In order to have evidence of a violation of the conditions, I advise you to prescribe the main conditions in the contract. For a remote worker, this is:

schedule and hours of work. I recommend to install total duration working hours - 40 hours a week;
what hours the employee is in touch and how it shows that he is in touch. In the contract, we write that the employee answers in a telegram at least once an hour, except for lunch. On Mondays, planning. If the employee did not get in touch without warning, this may be regarded as absenteeism.
how an employee receives tasks. For example, “The manager of the employee sends work tasks and the necessary information to complete them by e-mail [email protected]»;
how it reports.“The employee sends the results of the work to the employer’s email [email protected]. The deadline is in the service assignment”;
additional reasons for dismissal. For example, “if an employee does not complete tasks on time and he does not have a good reason, the employer has the right to issue a reprimand followed by termination of the contract. A list of good reasons is in Appendix No. 1.
equipment and compensation. In the contract, write what the employee will need for work, he buys the necessary things himself or at the expense of the employer. Example wording: “The employee uses his own office equipment for work. The employer pays the employee compensation for the use of office equipment in the amount of 1000 rubles per month. The deadline is the 10th of each month.

The details of the tasks performed, who reports to whom and in what format reports can be written in the job description or in the employment contract. My advice is to describe all this in as much detail as possible. Otherwise, there is a risk that the employee cannot be fired, even if he does not actually work.

Employee Consent

The employer has the right to transfer the employee to remote work. This can be done at the initiative of the company or employee.

Employer offer. If the transfer is an initiative of the employer, he informs about it two months in advance. There is a notification for this: from such and such a date, we offer to switch to remote work. The notice must be handed over personally and ask the employee to sign that he saw the offer and agrees with everything.

Work that the employer is obliged to offer - Article 74 of the Labor Code

The employee has the right to refuse the remote work format. Let's say we are talking about Maria's accountant. If the employer wants the accountant to work remotely, but Maria is against it, he has two options:

agree with Maria and allow her to work in the office;
refuse and fire Maria.

You can't just get fired. First, the employer offers free vacancies. There are many rules, but here's the main thing: you have to offer literally all available vacancies. For example, a doctor financial director and cleaners. That's all right.

Can be fired if an employee refuses a new job - Labor Code

If an employee refuses offers, the employer has the right to dismiss him, the right is given by the seventh paragraph of the 77th article of the Labor Code. He says that the company changed the working conditions, offered other vacancies, but the employee refused.

Employee proposal. An employee can ask to be transferred to remote work. To do this, he writes a statement and talks about the reason.

Usually, an employee's request is related to the fact that it is difficult to get to work or you want to go to another city, you have a child, or you need to take care of elderly relatives. The employer is under no obligation to agree to the employee's request. Therefore, even if the employee really wants, and the employer is against it, the employee will have to go to the office or quit.

Remote workers usually incur certain costs associated with the performance of their work duties. Including - and in connection with the use of personal property for these purposes. Can an employer reimburse an employee for such expenses? What problems arise in this case? If we turn to articles 188 and 310 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, then we can conclude that the parties to the employment contract have every right to independently determine the procedure for reimbursement of such employee expenses. Moreover, the amount of compensation must correspond to the degree of depreciation of the property owned by the employee. The Government of the Russian Federation in its own way makes one exception to this rule: this is the depreciation of an employee's car. If the parties to the employment contract decide to fix in this document other grounds for reimbursement of the employee’s expenses, then in accordance with the letters and the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 11.04.13 No. attention!) with differentiation of the degree of wear and tear for the use of property for labor and personal purposes. Thus, the tax authorities get certain opportunities to challenge such compensations. Those expenses of an employee that are difficult to differentiate according to their goals can become controversial: to separate depreciation as a result of the use of property for personal needs from depreciation in the performance of his professional duties by the owner. For example, any employee can use Internet access both for personal purposes and for professional activity. And the proportion of its use for certain needs can be difficult to establish and, accordingly, questions arise regarding the payment of such expenses.

"Remoteness" and "isolation" - is it the same thing?

For tax purposes, it may matter where the employee works, can the place where he performs his labor duties be considered a separate division of the enterprise? By general rule a remote workplace cannot be considered a structural unit. fixes the requirements that apply to a stationary workplace. When remote work there is no fixed location. And if there is no workplace, then, therefore, there is no separate place of work. The same, but in other words, is also stated in clause 2 of article 11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It says that the activities of the organization should be carried out in a separate unit. The work of an individual homeworker does not meet this definition. But there is one exception, which follows from the letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia (dated May 23, 2013 No. 03-02-07/1/18299 and dated March 18, 13 No. judicial practice: implementation location labor activity on remote access (homework) may in some cases be recognized separate subdivision organizations, if the employer creates stationary jobs for such employees for a period of at least a month.

Homeworker in the office - is it a business trip?

An employee performing his duties remotely visited in connection with the performance labor function your employer's office. Is it possible to say that he is on a business trip and, accordingly, pay him travel expenses? The Ministry of Finance of Russia repeatedly (see letters dated 08/01/13 No. 03-03-06/1/30978, 08/08/13 No. 03-03-06/1/31945, dated 04.14.14 No. 03-03-06/1/ 16788) gave a legal interpretation of articles,, and 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. These documents explicitly state that all guarantees of labor legislation, including those related to the employee's stay on a business trip, including reimbursement of expenses incurred by him in connection with the trip, such as travel and accommodation, as well as daily allowances, also apply to those who performs their labor function remotely, remotely, with a home-based way of performing the duties enshrined in the employment contract. At the same time, there is a conflict of labor legislation that arises when interpreting the provisions of Art. 209 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The tax authorities sometimes consider that, since the workplace of a homeworker may be considered the place of his residence (and for those who work remotely, the place of work may not appear in the employment contract at all), that the payment of expenses in connection with the trip to the head office and living in foreign locality can be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 188 of the Labor Code, but not as payment for the expenses of a seconded employee. In cases where the place of remote work and the location of the head office coincide within one locality- such a point of view, most likely, will be supported in a controversial case by the court.

How to correctly account for the results of remote work as expenses in the form of a salary

There are two polar points of view on this matter, since there is a certain competition between the norms of labor and tax legislation. Let us designate both positions that can become the basis for resolving disputes in judicial order. One of the key principles of labor law is the prohibition of discrimination certain categories workers. That is, remote employees of the organization cannot be required to do what is prohibited in relation to office workers. And the features of the working conditions of workers "at a distance" are enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Going beyond these limits will mean discrimination.

Article 312 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. General provisions(extract) Remote work is the performance of a labor function determined by an employment contract outside the location of the employer, its branch, representative office, or other separate structural unit(including those located in another locality), outside a stationary workplace, territory or facility directly or indirectly under the control of the employer, provided that it is used to perform this labor function and to interact between the employer and the employee on issues related to its implementation, information - public telecommunications networks, including the Internet. Remote workers are persons who have concluded an employment contract for remote work. Remote workers are subject to labor legislation and other acts containing labor law norms, taking into account the specifics established by this chapter. If this chapter provides for the interaction of a remote worker or a person entering remote work and an employer by exchanging electronic documents, enhanced qualified electronic signatures of a remote worker or a person entering remote work and the employer are used in the manner prescribed by federal laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation. Each of the parties to the specified exchange is obliged to send in the form of an electronic document confirmation of receipt of an electronic document from the other party within the period specified by the employment contract on remote work.

The general rule states that the proof of the costs incurred by the employer for the remuneration of employees are the relevant provisions of employment contracts and job descriptions. Consequently - no additional reports, other evidence of the employee's performance of his labor duties. There is also judicial practice on this matter (see, for example, the decision of the Federal Arbitration Court of the North-Western District dated April 17, 2013 No. A13-6626 / 2012). At the same time, clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that expenses (including those for paying salaries) need to be documented. In relation to office workers, such confirmation is the data personnel records, including how much time is actually worked out by a person. And established in Art. 312.4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the right to independently determine the working hours for those who work remotely does not at all cancel the employer's obligations to record the hours actually worked. Since there is no relevant data for "remote workers" - please, provide other evidence. No discrimination, but only a forced reflection of the specifics of this kind of labor relations. One of the ways to solve this problem is to fix the methods of accounting for hours worked directly in the employment contract. As such methods, you can use printouts of control telephone conversations. This is not a troublesome business, but it will help save the employer from unnecessary disputes with the tax authorities in the future.

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