Order on transfer from remote work to main work. Employment contract with a remote worker

This method of avoiding conflict dismissal may be suitable for an employer in different situations: as an alternative to staff reduction when workplace it is too expensive and the task is to reduce personnel costs; when an employee is efficient and talented, but his relationship with the team is not going well, and I would not want to lose such a valuable specialist; when an employee has “served” in the company for quite a long time, and due to previous merits or for some other reason, the company cannot part with him. In such situations, the solution may be remote work with the exchange of work information via the Internet and other means of communication. It has now become quite popular for employees to combine work on the employer’s premises with work at home. At the same time quite a large number of people, especially in big cities I would like to work like this all the time, but for representatives of creative professions this is a common pattern.

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When this method is suitable: the company does not want a conflict-ridden employee to be in the office all the time, but at the same time is ready to cooperate remotely.
What to do in advance: find out whether the specifics of the employee’s activity allow it to be performed remotely.
The main argument in a conversation with an employee: the employee will be able to plan his own work time, not waste money and time on travel, while he will remain a full-time employee of the company.

This method of avoiding conflictual dismissal may be suitable for an employer in different situations: as an alternative to staff reduction, when a workplace is too expensive and the task is to reduce personnel costs; when an employee is efficient and talented, but his relationship with the team is not going well, and I would not want to lose such a valuable specialist; when an employee has “served” in the company for quite a long time, and due to previous merits or for some other reason, the company cannot part with him. In such situations, the solution may be remote work with the exchange of work information via the Internet and other means of communication. It has now become quite popular for employees to combine work on the employer’s premises with work at home. At the same time, quite a large number of people, especially in big cities, would like to work this way all the time, and for representatives of creative professions this is a common scheme.

The benefits for workers are obvious: no need to waste time traveling to work and back; there is an opportunity to independently organize your working time; colleagues do not distract from the production process.

For an employer, the attractive features of remote work are primarily related to savings on wages and office space.

What to do in advance

Check whether it is possible to perform work in this position remotely. Remote work is suitable for ordinary employees, but it is unlikely to suit a top manager or other big boss. If an employee functions as a manager, designer, or works in the field of computer technology, then, as a rule, interaction with the employer remotely does not pose a big problem. However, if the employee is a lawyer or accountant, it will obviously be more difficult to make the work completely remote. However, it is possible. To do this, you need to understand how to redistribute responsibilities so that the employee can perform them without being in the office every day. For example, if an employee is involved in the preparation and endorsement of contracts, then, obviously, he will send the contracts themselves by mail, and the endorsement will also be in the form of an electronic message or using special computer programs.

Determine the functionality of the employee. The employee will definitely ask what he will actually be doing at home. Therefore, it is important to outline the specific range of responsibilities that are assigned to him, so that he does not feel that he is being sent into some kind of home exile. And, of course, it will be necessary to draw up a new job description.

Assess the need to use an electronic signature. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the exchange of work results with a remote worker occurs using documents signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature. However, its use is the right of the parties. The need for its use arises due to the fact that, theoretically, the employee and employer may be in different cities and never meet physically. In addition, this signature serves as proof of sending documents from one addressee to another. But at the same time, the use of devices that allow you to draw up documents using an electronic signature will require certain financial costs. At the same time, the parties can do without using such a signature, but then there is a risk that in the event of some operational misunderstandings they will not be able to clearly confirm their position. Therefore, before starting a conversation with an employee, you should understand whether it will be used this technology at work or not.

Consider the procedure for interaction with the employee. Besides general scheme interaction between employee and employer, the procedure for sending tasks and obtaining work results, it is important to understand how the employer will control the work process of a remote employee. It will be necessary to establish a list of means of communication and the time when the employee and employer can contact each other. For example, stipulate in advance that from 09.00 to 18.00 the employee is available by phone, e-mail and on Skype, but from 13.00 to 14.00 he has a lunch break.
Communication by email also has its own nuances. Firstly, it is worth stipulating specific addresses for such mail in the employment contract so that the employee has no doubt about where to look for the employer’s tasks. Secondly, checking such mail must be specified as one of the employee's duties. This will allow the employer to protect himself from possible abuses by the employee in the form of evasion of receiving official assignments. Thirdly, you need to decide on the circle of people who have the right to give tasks to an employee in order to avoid unpleasant situations when the employee performed a task that his immediate supervisor did not give him. And finally, fourthly, it is better to resolve in advance the issues of who pays for Internet services and how the interaction between the employee and the employer will take place if this type communication was unavailable due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties.

Conversation with an employee

State the purpose of the conversation. When starting a conversation with an employee about transferring him to remote work, you should first prepare a rationale for such a decision. The employer can go two ways. The first is to start the conversation with the fact that a conflict has arisen between the parties, the existence of which no one denies, and transferring to remote work could be an excellent solution to the current situation.

The second is to justify the need for this employee to work from home by circumstances that do not depend on the will of the employer, but are imposed by higher management. For example, in order to reduce the cost of maintaining jobs.

Each of these options has its pros and cons. If the employee and employer do not deny the presence of hostility between them, then the conversation can be structured as a search for a way to solve this problem. This option is suitable when the conflict is at the stage of escalation, and there is no point in hiding it. Your openness and understanding of the employee’s problems will earn him respect and encourage him to engage in conversation. And, conversely, describing to an employee non-existent reasons that, in your opinion, require a change in his type of employment, may cause rejection and become an obstacle to constructive dialogue. Especially if he understands from whom the initiative for such changes comes. If the employee and the employer do not enter into open confrontation and the conflict they have is of a veiled nature, then in a conversation with the employee it is possible to justify the need to change the type of employment objective reasons. In particular, you can explain to the employee that the company wants to optimize office space and transfer individual workers to remote work. Such a message will be more favorably received by the employee, since it does not have a direct connection with his personality. It can be separately emphasized that the transfer to remote work will also affect other employees of the company. Relevant management orders can be shown or mentioned.

Describe the benefits of telecommuting. At first, the employee may not be at all happy about the prospect of moving from the office to work in own apartment. Therefore, it is very important to explain what benefits he receives by working from home: in addition to the fact that he will no longer have to spend time and money on traveling to and from work, no one will anymore directly control the process of his work. Only the result of his work will become important. And this despite the fact that without leaving home, the employee will receive exactly the same salary, bonus, vacation pay, sick leave and all other payments. In general, you will retain all the benefits of a full-time employee and will not lose anything.

True, not all companies follow this path. Some are developing different social packages for office and home workers. If this is the situation in the organization, the employee needs to be informed about this, but in the conversation, place special emphasis on the advantages of homework, increased free time, lack of control, etc. And here it is important not to overdo it, because the introduction of the employee being misled about working conditions can work against the employer. For example, the employee will refuse to sign an agreement with new terms or will interrupt negotiations. This means that instead of a quiet alternative to dismissal, we will get a classic labor conflict, which we initially wanted to avoid.

Explain how the transfer to remote work will be documented. It is better to immediately record verbal agreements reached with the employee in writing. However, until recently, remote work as such did not exist in the legal sense, so there are a number of practical issues.

A remote worker can be a person who has entered into an employment contract for remote work. Obviously, a standard employment contract was previously concluded with the employee you want to transfer to this type of employment. The question arises: is it necessary to conclude a new employment contract with the employee, or can a provision for remote employment be included in the existing agreement between the employee and the employer? If we follow the literal reading of Art. 312.1 Labor Code RF, then work under the old contract will not be remote. Therefore, it would be more correct to terminate the old employment contract and enter into a new one - on remote work. For the employer, this option is more profitable, as it will allow you to start remote relationships “from scratch” and establish new working conditions. But a proposal to terminate the current employment contract may be incorrectly perceived by the employee as an attempt to fire him, even despite your promise to immediately conclude a remote work agreement. A way out of this situation could be the simultaneous registration of all necessary documents. That is, invite the employee to sign a dismissal order and immediately conclude an agreement on remote work.

You can even suggest that the employee first enter into a remote work agreement and then terminate the previous agreement.

On the other hand, an employee may flatly refuse to enter into a new contract and demand that a transfer to remote work be formalized by amending the existing contract. Formally, the law does not prohibit doing exactly this. After all, even before the amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on remote work, this form of employment was theoretically possible. However, after changes were made to remote work in the Labor Code, a completely clear and precise statement appeared that remote work should be formalized in a separate agreement. If the employer follows the employee’s lead and simply makes changes to the current employment contract, this will lead to the fact that in the event of an emergency conflict situation the employee can easily prove that his work was not formally remote. This will deprive the employer of the opportunity to use additional grounds for dismissal that could have been provided for in the employment contract for remote work.

In fact, the opportunity to include in an employment contract on remote work additional grounds for dismissing an employee that cannot be fixed in a regular contract is big advantage for the employer. Of course, this does not mean that the employer can come up with any grounds for dismissal and terminate the employment contract at his own whim. Guarantees aimed at protecting the rights of workers have not been canceled. But, nevertheless, if the reasons for dismissal are justified (for example, violation of the procedure for transferring work results or prolonged absence from communication, or any other violation of the terms of a distance contract), then the dismissal will be recognized by the court as completely legal.

If the transfer is formalized as an amendment to the current employment contract, then it is not a fact that the labor inspectorate or the court will consider the dismissal due to additional conditions legal. After all, there is no rule in the code that would qualify amendments to an employment contract on working from home as a new agreement on remote work. That's why perfect option for the employer this means concluding a new contract. At the same time, the option of amending the existing contract is also possible. You just need to take into account the features that will need to be observed when designing such an option.

Documentation of the procedure

The procedure will depend on which option the employer and employee choose. documentation reached agreements.

Option 1. Concluding an employment contract for remote work

1. Ask the employee to write a resignation letter at will or by agreement of the parties. This is a technical point, because an employee in this situation cannot have two employment contracts at the same time (unless one of them is concluded for part-time work). This is necessary, first of all, in order to end regular employment relationships and start new ones - remote ones.
2. Prepare an order to dismiss the employee. The order is drawn up according to unified form T-8, approved. Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1.
3. Add to work book record of the employee's dismissal. Despite the fact that the employee will continue to work remotely, an entry about the termination of the old employment contract must be made in the work book. For the employer, this is a safer option than amending the work from home clause in the existing employment contract. The entry is certified by the signature of the employee and the HR department specialist, as well as the seal of the organization (clause 35 of the Rules, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2003 No. 225).
4. Issue a certificate of average earnings for 2 calendar years. Typically, this certificate is necessary for the employee to present it at a new place of work to calculate sick leave. In our case, the employee’s employer does not change. Nevertheless, such a certificate still needs to be drawn up and attached to the documents that are stored in the employee’s personal file in order to avoid claims from inspection authorities. The certificate is drawn up in the form approved. by order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated April 30, 2013 No. 182n.
5. Ask the employee to write an application for remote work. By general rule The application is not a mandatory document when applying for a job. However, it will not be superfluous to formalize it. It may serve as additional confirmation that the employee voluntarily agreed to work remotely.
6. Conclude an employment contract with the employee on remote work. The contract must necessarily indicate that the employee’s work function will be performed remotely.
7. Issue a hiring order. It is drawn up according to the unified form T-1, approved. Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1. In the column “Conditions of employment, nature of work” you must indicate “remote work”.
8. Make an entry in your work book about being hired for remote work. Since the Instructions for filling out work books do not contain a special rule for registering admission to remote work, a record of this, as a general rule, is made in accordance with clause 3.1 of this document.
9. Familiarize the employee with the new job description. This instruction should define the employee’s responsibilities, taking into account the specifics of remote work, the timing of the transfer of work results, the hours of communication sessions, etc.

Option 2. Amendments to the current employment contract

1. Ask the employee to write an application for transfer to remote work. This is not necessary, but will allow you to prove the voluntary expression of the employee’s will.
2. Conclude an agreement to the employment contract. In the agreement, indicate that from the agreed date the employee performs his work function remotely. It is also necessary to reflect the specific responsibilities of the employee, the timing of contact, and the procedure for transferring the results of work. No additional documents will be required.

You can exchange documents with a remote worker as follows: in electronic format using a qualified electronic signature, and traditional way– handing over documents in person or sending them by mail

What is the document for?

To transfer an employee from normal working conditions to remote work, you must receive an application from him. Based on it, the employer will prepare an additional agreement to the employment contract.

In what form is it compiled?

Position, full name employee, request for transfer, the reason why he needed such a transfer and the desired date, the period during which the employee wants to work remotely, his signature and date.

Common mistake

Sometimes personnel officers forget that the employee’s application must contain a resolution from the head of the organization or his authorized person. An application without a resolution is considered unconsidered (clause 3.17 of GOST R 6.30-2003).

Additional agreement to the employment contract

Indicate in the additional agreement the employee’s working hours, based on the needs of the organization (Article 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). A remote worker has the right to distribute working time and rest time at his own discretion, unless otherwise provided by the employment contract (part one of Article 312.4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

What is the document for?

When an employee is transferred to remote work, his working conditions change, in particular, the place of work, working hours, etc. This means that it will be necessary to make changes to the employment contract by drawing up an additional agreement (Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In what form is it compiled?

In any written form in two copies.

What must be in the document

The name of the document, the date and place of its preparation, details of the employment contract to which the company and the employee are amending, clauses of the contract that will be changed, or the text of the new edition, the date on which the agreement will come into force, details of the parties.

Common mistake

Many employers, when transferring to remote work, enter into a new employment contract with an employee, having previously dismissed him. In fact, it is enough to conclude an additional agreement and issue an order.

Order on transfer to remote work

Register transfer orders in the Personnel Orders Register. If necessary, they will be easier to find

What is the document for?

Based on an additional agreement to the employment contract, the manager must issue an order (instruction) on the transfer to remote work.

In what form is it compiled?

In any written form.

What must be in the document

Name of employer, number and date of compilation, full name. transferred employee, date of transfer, signatures and transcript of signatures of the head of the organization (or other authorized person) and the employee.

Attention!

The employer is obliged to ensure the safety of remote workers: familiarize them with labor protection requirements, investigate and take into account accidents, pay contributions for mandatory social insurance from accidents (Article 312.3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

Common mistake

Some employers believe that information about transfer to remote work must be included in the work book. There is no need to do this.

Personal card

What is the document for?

After the order is issued, information about the transfer to remote work must be recorded in the employee’s personal card in the “Additional information” section.

In what form is it compiled?

According to the unified form No. T-2 or another sample approved by the organization.

What must be in the document

Information about the transfer, its date, details of the order and additional agreement to the employment contract on the basis of which the order was issued.

The time sheet confirms the employee’s presence at work, and is calculated on its basis. wage.

In what form is it compiled?

According to the unified form No. T-12 or T-13 or another sample approved by the organization. Distance workers are subject to general rules.

What must be in the document

Last names, initials, positions of employees, their personnel numbers, marks of attendance and absence from work, number of days and hours worked.

Common mistake

Many managers believe that all company employees cannot work remotely. This is wrong. The Labor Code does not limit the number of employees working under such conditions (Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The Kemerovo Regional Court came to this conclusion after considering a dispute about the legality of dismissing an employee for refusing to continue working due to a change in the terms of the employment contract (appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Kemerovo Regional Court dated May 18, 2017 in case No. 33-4529 /2017).

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The essence of the case was that an employment contract on remote work was concluded between the employee and the employer. Then the employer decided to unilaterally abandon the remote nature of work and move the employee’s workplace to the office at the location of the organization. These changes were justified by optimizing the load on structural units and officials enterprises. The employer also pointed out the need to organize operational interaction between structural divisions and employees. The employee was notified in advance about the upcoming changes in working conditions, but did not agree to continue working, which served as the basis for dismissal.

The employee believed that the employer did not have the right to unilaterally change the terms of his employment contract. In his opinion, the remote workplace has in fact been reduced.

But the court did not agree with the employee’s position and came to the conclusion that the employer’s actions were aimed at structural reorganization of production. And the specified basis gives the employer the right, on his own initiative, to change the terms of the employment contract (including conditions regarding the remote nature of work) ().

Economic conditions, especially during a crisis, often dictate to companies the need to reduce costs, including personnel costs. At the same time, personnel costs are not only wages, but also rent of premises, payment for electricity, heating and others. utility payments, costs of maintaining cleaners, other service personnel, etc. It is these costs that the introduction of remote work, which is regulated by Ch. 49.1 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Of course, this is only possible if the specific nature of the employees’ work allows it and the employer complies with the norms of labor legislation when registering remote work. Let's consider for whom and in what order the introduction of remote work is possible.

Which employees can work remotely

When working remotely, employees work (Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):
1) outside the location of the employer;
2) outside stationary workplaces under the control of the employer;
3) using information and telecommunication networks to perform labor functions and interact with the employer common use.

In other words, the employee does not perform work at the office workplace, but where it is convenient for him, and communicates with the employer via the Internet, telephone and other means.

As practice shows, these are primarily knowledge workers: programmers, translators, lawyers, journalists, consultants, web designers, interior designers, planners, etc.

Arbitrage practice. Sales representatives with a traveling nature of work can be classified as remote workers if they work in an area remote from the main office (see, for example, Decisions of the Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow dated 04/08/2015 in case No. 2-3076-15, Industrial District Court Smolensk dated December 24, 2013 in case No. 2-3161/2013).

How to set up remote work for employees

From point of view labor law the transition of employees to remote work will not constitute a transfer within the meaning of Art. 72.1 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The introduction of remote work for the same position in the same department will be considered as a change in the terms of the employment contract. Therefore, if employees who previously worked in the office agree to work remotely, then it is necessary to draw up appropriate additional agreements to the employment contracts (Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If employees do not agree with such changes, then it is possible to apply the procedure provided for in Art. 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (changes in the terms of the employment contract determined by the parties for reasons related to changes in organizational or technological working conditions), if there are appropriate grounds.

Making changes to an employment contract without the consent of the employee will be legal if there is a basis for this - an actual change in organizational or technological working conditions, and the procedure for making changes to the employment contract is followed.

Let us briefly recall the procedure for changing the terms of an employment contract without the employee’s consent:
1) make sure that there is an actual change in organizational or technological working conditions and document them, for example, issue orders on changes in the company, on changes in working conditions, on changes staffing table(Clause 21 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 N 2 “On the application by courts Russian Federation Labor Code of the Russian Federation", as well as the Appeal ruling of the Moscow Regional Court dated 07/09/2014 in case No. 33-13618/2014);
2) notify the employee about the changes and their reasons in writing no later than two months in advance (Appeal ruling of the Tula Regional Court dated April 2, 2015 in case No. 33-969);
3) offer in in writing other available work (Appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated October 28, 2014 in case No. 33-25052/2014);
4) in the absence of work or the employee refuses the offered work, dismiss him under clause 7, part 1, art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, while paying severance pay in the amount of two weeks’ average earnings (Article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

What changes should be made to the employment contract?

In order for an employee’s employment contract to become a contract for remote work, a number of changes must be made, some of which are mandatory, while others depend on the agreements of the parties to the employment contract.

1. We write down the conditions for remote work

First of all, we will add a clause to the employment contract stating that the employee is now working remotely (Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
The need for this is indicated by arbitrage practice(see, for example, the Decision of the Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow dated 04/08/2015 in case No. 2-3076/2015 ~ M-2190/2015). Formulation this condition in an additional agreement to the employment contract may be as follows.

Example 1. "1.4. This agreement is an employment contract for remote work, and the parties during the period of its validity build their relationships in accordance with its terms and the current legislation of the Russian Federation."

2. We make changes regarding the place of work

The condition of the employee’s place of work is prerequisite employment contract, based on Art. 57 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Most likely, the document indicates the location of the employer or his separate division. This condition should now be changed.
After all, the very concept of remote work, formulated in Art. 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, contains an indication that the employee must work outside the location of the employer. It is necessary, in our opinion, to emphasize this in the employment contract. Why else is it important to determine the location of the employee if it is different from the location of the company? To know whether it is necessary to pay the regional coefficient and percentage bonuses if the employee works in areas where such payments are mandatory.

Note. See the article “Opening branches in areas with a special climate: what a personnel officer needs to know” on p. 36 magazine N 9, 2014.

According to the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance of Russia in Letter dated August 1, 2013 N 03-03-06/1/30978, the place of work of a remote worker is his location. Therefore, as the place of work, you can indicate the employee’s home address or the city in which he will work. Let us give an example of the formulation of such a condition.

Example 2. "1.5. The employee performs the labor function specified in this employment contract outside the location of the Employer (remotely).
Workplace of the Employee: Yekaterinburg."

3. We determine the provisions affecting working hours (if necessary)

Unless otherwise provided by the employment contract, the working hours and rest hours of a remote worker are established by him at his own discretion (Article 312.4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, if previously the company limited the employee’s employment contract to a reference to internal labor regulations (ILR), now such a reference may mean that the employment contract with a remote worker does not contain specific working hours and therefore he can work at any time convenient for him.

Note. See the article "Features of establishing operating modes: practical advice" on page 20.

Thus, if an organization wants an employee to work remotely at specific hours, then this should be stated in the employment contract. For example, working days and working hours, or only working days, or those hours during which it is mandatory to work, and the employee can determine other working hours at his own discretion (example 3).

Example 3. "1.7. The employee is given the following working hours: 40 hours a week, five days work week with two days off (Saturday and Sunday). The employee independently determines and regulates his work and rest schedule from Monday to Friday within the framework of a 40-hour work week.”

4. We check whether the PVTR applies to the employee

Usually, the employment contract with the employee states that he is obliged to obey the PVTR and comply with the standards specified there. But not all points of the PVTR apply to a remote employee. For example, provisions on working hours (if the parties have agreed otherwise), labor protection on the employer’s premises, access control, smoking areas, etc. will not be relevant to it. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether all points of the PVTR apply to the employee. If not, then this should be indicated in the employment contract (example 4).

Example 4. "2.3. Internal labor regulations apply to the Employee to the extent that does not contradict the essence of the employment contract concluded with him."

5. We make changes regarding employee labor protection

According to Art. 3 of Federal Law No. 426-FZ of December 28, 2013 “On special assessment of working conditions”, special assessment of jobs for remote workers is not carried out. Therefore, the employer will not be able to reflect the working conditions at the workplace in the employment contract, although according to Art. 57 such an indication is mandatory. Perhaps in the future judicial practice will resolve this contradiction. At present, in our opinion, it is necessary to note in the employment contract that due to the failure to carry out a special assessment, working conditions are not determined.
Other obligations of the employer regarding labor protection do not apply to remote workers, with the exception of a rather limited number of requirements specified in Art. 312.3 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Namely:
- investigation of accidents;
- execution of government regulations;
- compulsory accident insurance;
- familiarizing remote workers with labor safety requirements when working with equipment and tools recommended or provided by the employer.
Let us give the wording of the conditions on how to change the clause of the employment contract regarding the employer’s provision of labor protection requirements.

Example 5. "2.9. The employer provides safe conditions and labor protection of the Employee to the extent provided for in paragraph. 17, 20 and 21 hours 2 tbsp. 212 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
2.10. Working conditions at the workplace are not determined in accordance with Art. 3 of the Federal Law of December 28, 2013 N 426-FZ "On special assessment of working conditions."

6. Add a paragraph about means of communication

Another important point- these are communications, because now they will be built differently with the employee, and this must be fixed in the employment contract (Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). A remote employee interacts with the company via email, by exchanging electronic documents, calls, conversations in instant messengers.
Moreover, an employment contract for remote work and agreements to change the terms of such an agreement determined by the parties can be concluded by exchanging electronic documents (Article 312.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). It is allowed to send personnel (orders, notifications, requirements, etc.) and other documents of the employer (for example, sheets of familiarization with local regulations) to the employee using electronic document exchange. And the employee, in turn, has the right to send applications to the company via the Internet. He can also submit the results of his work (reports, articles, consultations, projects), as well as other documents, by email.
Thus, the employee and the employer have the right to exchange electronic documents on almost any issue.

For your information. We list the cases in which it is necessary to submit documents in paper form:
1) to pay for sick leave and to provide benefits related to maternity, the employee sends the employer the original documents required by law by registered mail with notification (Part 7 of Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
2) if the employment contract was concluded by exchanging electronic documents, then no later than three calendar days the employer is obliged to send the employee a copy of the employment contract to on paper by mail by registered letter with notification (part 2 of article 312.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
3) if the dismissal of an employee was formalized in the form of an electronic document, then on the day of termination of the employment contract the employer is obliged to send the employee by registered mail with notification a copy of the dismissal order on paper (Part 2 of Article 312.5 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
4) the parties to the employment contract can agree that no entry will be made in the work book. If there is no such agreement, then the employee presents the work book in person or sends it by registered mail with notification (Part 7 of Article 312.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
5) when an employee submits an application for the issuance of duly certified copies of work-related documents, the employer no later than three working days from the date of submission said statement is obliged to send these copies to the remote worker by registered mail with notification (Part 8 of Article 312.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
6) at the request of the employer, the job candidate is obliged to send him by registered mail with notification notarized copies of documents required to be presented for work (Article 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), on paper (Part 3 of Article 312.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

It is necessary to keep in mind: in order for the exchange of electronic documents between a remote worker and the employer to be legal, the parties must use an enhanced qualified electronic signature (ES).
To use an electronic signature, you must obtain a qualified electronic signature verification key certificate ( the federal law dated 04/06/2011 N 63-FZ “On Electronic Signatures”, hereinafter referred to as the Law on Electronic Signatures). A qualified certificate is issued by an accredited certification center. Their list can be found on the website of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications (www.minsvyaz.ru).
At the same time, labor legislation does not provide for the employer’s obligation to pay for obtaining an employee’s electronic signature key certificate. Therefore, this issue is resolved exclusively by agreement of the parties to the employment contract.

Arbitrage practice. According to Art. 6 of the Law on Electronic Signatures, information in electronic form signed with a qualified electronic signature is recognized as an electronic document equivalent to a paper document signed with a handwritten signature. If there is no electronic signature, then it will be impossible to prove that the document came from the person referred to in the letter.
Thus, the company fired an employee and, when a dispute arose, indicated that it had received a scan of the resignation letter, but the employee reported that he had not sent such a scan. The court sided with the employee, since the original resignation letter was missing and an electronic signature was not used (Appeal ruling of the Omsk Regional Court dated January 22, 2014 N 33-187/2014).

If the parties do not use an electronic signature, then after exchanging electronic documents they will have to, as before, send the originals of all documents by mail.
Thus, in the employment contract it is necessary to note, firstly, the use of a public network, and secondly, to determine whether the parties use an electronic signature or agree to exchange original documents by mail (example 6).

Example 6. "2.15. The employee fulfills his labor functions, and also interacts with the Employer on issues related to their implementation, through public information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet. Interaction between the Employee and the Employer is carried out by exchanging electronic documents using an enhanced qualified electronic signature via the Internet."

7. We register changes regarding the provision of equipment (if necessary)

If an employer issues equipment to an employee (for example, a laptop, phone, car, programs, information security tools, etc.), then the procedure for use and the terms of provision of property and software must also be reflected in the employment contract (Article 312.3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
In this case, you can refer to the company’s local regulations if the procedure for providing property for remote workers does not differ from other employees. If there are differences, then it is better to include it in the employment contract of the remote employee (example 7).

Example 7. "3.4. An employee is provided with a cell phone within 1 day after being hired. The employee receives the phone personally upon hiring. The employee uses cellular telephone in accordance with the local regulations of the Employer."

8. We are making changes to compensation for the use of personal property and reimbursement of expenses (if necessary)

If the employer does not provide the teleworker with equipment, but recommends that he use certain equipment or the need to use it arises from the nature of the work, then the organization will be obliged to compensate the employee for the use of personal property to perform job responsibilities(Article 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, the company will have to reimburse expenses associated with business trips and business trips due to the traveling nature of the work (Article 168, 168.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
If the procedure for reimbursement of expenses and provision of compensation differs from reimbursement of expenses for other employees, then this must be indicated in the employment contract.

Arbitrage practice. Even if the employer does not provide for reimbursement of such expenses, the employee will in any case be subject to the provisions of labor legislation. And if the corresponding costs arise, he will be able to recover them from the employer (Decision of the Industrial District Court of Smolensk dated December 24, 2013 in case No. 2-3161/2013).

9. Add a condition for monitoring the employee

In addition, when introducing remote work for an employee, it is worth considering exactly how the employer will control him.

Example 8. An employee was hired to work remotely. The first month everything went well, he called every day, discussed work with his immediate supervisor, and after a month, when probation finished, gone. His phone was unreachable, he did not respond to emails, and letters were returned unreceived. The company began to check whether it was possible to fire an employee for absenteeism or for repeated failure to fulfill his duties in such a situation. It turned out that the employment contract with the employee did not take into account the specifics of remote work; it did not contain any provisions on the timing and procedure for reporting. That is, the employee had no obligation to communicate, respond by email, or receive letters, and, in fact, there was nothing to hold him accountable for.