Work discipline and employee's liability

Work discipline is the mandatory obligation of all employees to adhere to the rules of conduct established in accordance with internal labor regulations and employment agreement. Internal labor regulations shall be approved by the employer in agreement with employees' representative body (trade union committee).

An employee is obligated to duly perform their labor duties, comply with labor discipline and the terms of an employment agreement, timely and accurately fulfill the lawful orders of the employer and labor norms, and comply with the requirements for labor protection, safety, security and workplace sanitary requirements, and take care of employer's property. An employee must not commit actions that prevent other employees from performing their labor duties.

Suspension from work

An employer is obligated to suspend an employee from work in a number of specific cases:

• if required by state authorities in accordance with the law
• if an employee arrives at work or is found to be at work intoxicated by alcohol, narcotics, or toxic substances
• if an employee has not undergone training and testing of their knowledge and skills in labor protection
• if an employee has not had a mandatory medical examination
• if a medical report indicates the employee has contraindications that prevent them from performing the work
• if the employee does not use personal protective equipment when it is obligatory to do so

The suspension remains in force until the reason for the suspension has been eliminated. Suspension from work is typically unpaid. Suspended employees will receive average pay for the entire duration of suspension if the reason for the suspension was not related to the fault of the employee.

An employer must issue a formal order to suspend an employee. The order must indicate the reason that served as the basis for suspending the employee from work. The suspended employee must sign the order to indicate that he has read it.

Disciplinary action against employee

Disciplinary action shall be taken when an employee commits a disciplinary offense represented as unlawful failure to perform job duties or the improper performance of job duties. An employee may not be subject to disciplinary action if the employee was unable to carry out his job duties for reasons beyond his control.

For violation of labor discipline, the employer has the right to apply the following disciplinary sanctions to the employee:

• reprimand
• fine in the amount of not more than 30% of the average monthly salary
• termination of an employment agreement

See our article on employee dismissal.

Before applying a disciplinary action, a written explanation must be requested from the employee. The employer may still proceed with the disciplinary action if the employee refuses to provide an explanation. For each disciplinary offense, only one disciplinary action may be applied. The right to choose a disciplinary action belongs to the employer.

An employer must issue a formal order to impose a disciplinary sanction, indicating the reasons for applying the disciplinary sanction. The employee should sign the order to confirm that he has read it. An employee who was not familiarized with the order on disciplinary action shall be considered not to undergo a disciplinary action. The employee's refusal to familiarize himself with the order on the disciplinary action should be evidenced by witnesses in writing.

A disciplinary action should be applied immediately after the discovery of the offense, but not later than 1 month from the date of its discovery (excluding any periods when the employee was ill or on vacation).

Material liability of employee

An employee is required to compensate the employer for any direct actual damage he causes, including damage to the employer's property. The employee shall still be liable for the damage caused even if the employment contract ends after the damage occurs.

Before deciding to claim compensation from an employee, an employer must carry out an official investigation. The investigation should determine the extent of the damage and the reasons for the damage. The employer must also ask the employee for a written explanation about the cause of the damage. The employee will not be held materially liable if the damage was the result of force majeure, normal business risk, action under emergency or extreme necessity.

An employee is generally materially liable for damage up to the amount of his average monthly salary.

In certain circumstances, an employee shall be held fully liable. This means the employee shall be required to compensate the employer for the full amount of the damage. The employee bears full material liability in the following cases:

• deliberate (intentionally caused) damage
• damage caused in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication
• damage caused as a result of criminal offense determined by a court
• disclosure of commercial, trade or official secrets
• failure to ensure safety of property entrusted under an agreement on full material liability

The list of categories of workers with whom agreements on full material liability may be concluded must be determined in agreement between an employer and employees' representative body (trade union). An agreement on full material liability shall be invalid if it is concluded with an employee whose job duties do not include handling money, assets or inventory items.

If the amount of damage exceeds the employee's average monthly salary, or if 1 month has passed since the discovery of the damage, the employer must go to court to recover the compensation for damage. The employer may file a lawsuit in court no later than 1 year from the date the damage was discovered.