Valid reasons for absenteeismare not clearly defined by law. Therefore, the question posed in the title of the article is asked at least once in a lifetime by every working person. Let's try to find the answer.

What is a stroll

You can't go to work without a good reason. Every worker knows this. Absence from work is fraught with: at least - an explanation with the authorities, as a maximum - dismissal for absenteeism "under the article." Absenteeism, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation tells us (Article 81, Part 1, Clause 6, Sub-Item “a”), is the absence from the workplace without good reason for more than 4 hours in a row. Moreover, if in your employment contract a specific workplace is not specified, then it is impossible to consider that you are truant, being not where you usually work, but on the territory of the organization.

Dismissal for absenteeism must be preceded by a written explanation of the employee. If the employer considers the reasons for absence from the workplace indicated by the employee to be disrespectful, then he may be fired. If the latter does not agree with such a dismissal, he can go to court. The court will decide whether the reasons for the absence from work were valid or not. So, whether there was absenteeism on the part of the employee or not.

The snag is that the law does not contain a clear list of valid reasons for absence from work. An analysis of labor legislation allows us to single out several groups of such reasons.

Subjective good reasons

Subjective reasons are inextricably linked with the personality of the employee.

First of all, it is a disease. In this case, the evidence of a justified absence from the workplace will be:

a certificate from a doctor about a visit;
an entry in the outpatient card on admission;
sick leave.

Periodic medical examinations of certain categories of workers (Article 213 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) are a good reason. A valid reason is the illness of the child. Here everything is exactly the same as with the illness of an adult, only the sick leave will be issued not in an adult, but in a children's clinic.

An employee cannot be dismissed for absence from the workplace in connection with participation in a court session as a plaintiff, juror, witness, victim, defendant in a case. The same applies to absence from work due to being in investigating authorities in order to participate in investigative actions. In this case, the supporting document is a subpoena to the court or to the investigator (interrogating officer). The same category of valid reasons includes calls to the police, work as a member of the election commission.

Justified is the absence from work in connection with the elimination of any communal accident at the place of residence of the employee. However scheduled inspections housing and communal organizations are not sufficient grounds for absenteeism.

Don't know your rights?

Objective good reasons

Objective reasons that make it impossible to appear at work are circumstances of various force majeure. It can be weather conditions, and emergency situations on the road, and man-made accidents or disasters, and military operations.

If the employer in these cases does not agree that the absence from work occurred due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee, and it comes to dismissal, then, as the analysis shows judicial practice in cases like these, the reinstatement case is likely to be decided in favor of the worker.

With a trip to court, the main thing is not to delay. Labor law for filing statement of claim a month gives the court about reinstatement at work (Article 392 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Valid reasons for the application

There are a number of circumstances under which an employee has the right not to come to work. But the employer should be aware of this. Therefore, the employee must write an application for granting him days off.

Maria Soboleva

How to skip work without unpleasant consequences?

How to skip work - well, admit it, such a question at least sometimes arises even for the most disciplined employee. We understand that this is not good, but we are not robots and we can afford not to come to the workplace once. That's just a valid and convincing reason to come up with.

How to skip work and not get fired

If you are lucky enough to have loyal management, then almost any excuse will do as an excuse for a missed work day.

In general, for absenteeism under strict bosses, any employee may well be threatened with dismissal. At best, a reprimand or a fine. So you have to think in advance how to skip work without consequences.

Absence from work — the most valid reasons

An additional day of rest, or time off, you can ask your superiors in advance for working overtime or on weekends. He will not be paid, but walking relatively legally is quite realistic. Notice of your intention to take time off must be given in writing.

Another option for not showing up for work for a good reason is to donate blood. Do a good deed in the morning and the whole day is at your disposal. This, of course, is not for everyone. Not everyone can become a donor for health reasons, and many of us are afraid of the procedure.

If you still decide on this option, fill out a certificate at the donor center and an official explanation of your unwillingness to work today will be provided.

Alibi will provide you with a certificate that you have visited a doctor, an entry in the outpatient card. You could become ill and you decided to urgently visit a doctor. But about his intention to apply for medical care you should notify your superiors on the day you are absent from work.

It will save you from troubles and a certificate of illness of a child or a relative who needs your help - escort to the hospital, care, supervision.

How else to skip work and not be fired: in case of an urgent call for a repair team to liquidate emergency- problems with gas supply, pipe break, sewer blockage.

And here is the setup plastic windows or the installation of front doors that made you skip work, a strict manager will obviously be angry. You will be able to convincingly talk with your superiors - you are lucky.

If you have the ability to get fake certificates, don't expect to get away with it. Once or twice the number may pass, but when you abuse it, the management can check the authenticity of the documents.

The reason for the absence - what to say

Walking, of course, is not good. But since this happens to almost everyone, consider the most popular reasons for absenteeism.

Most often, employees refer to poor health, and then there is a chance for a day or two to take a break from work.

For example, you caught a cold, and in order not to infect the team, you decided to heal at home. Look for the cause of a cold depending on the season - in the winter of an infection (he caught it from Yulia from the accounting department, picked it up in a crowded trolleybus), in the summer - air conditioning or a draft.

Or a terrible migraine broke out, which will not give you the opportunity to fully work. Or you have a toothache - you will urgently have to visit the dentist.

The version of your food poisoning sounds convincing, after all, this can easily happen to anyone. They ate something like this at a party or in a cafe - and this is the result. Sit at home for a day.

You need to call with a complaint about your poor health early in the morning - it’s more convincing, the voice of waking up will be more like a patient. In addition, you are very worried about your absence and warn about it in advance.

And you can simulate a cold by drawing water into your nose, the illusion of a runny nose will be provided. When you get back to work, keep pretending to be weak, take some pills. Play the role, so perishing until the end.

Skipped work - what to do

What to do if you skipped work - write an explanatory note, and even before you are asked to present it. Describe more convincingly the reasons and circumstances of your absenteeism, it is better if the note is supported by some papers (certificates, telegrams, letters).

For example, a telegram about the urgent arrival of relatives, but you must meet and accommodate them.

Those who work with clients can come up with a meeting with one of the respectable people as an excuse for their absenteeism: they played bowling (billiards, squash) and discussed the details of the future contract.

Sometimes it helps to get rid of the banal fiction that the husband (child, mother) took away both sets of keys and you could not close the apartment.

Women have a completely natural reason for skipping work - critical days.

Lack of transport, an accident, a natural disaster - these are quite good reasons for not appearing at your place labor activity. In order not to be late for work as a result of such force majeure, you decided not to come at all and work that day fully at another time.

Each person may have a personal need to miss a working day, but it is always better to negotiate with management and work out your hours later. Then there will be no need to puzzle over how to skip work. And a little respite will help you work with great enthusiasm later.

Take it, tell your friends!

✅ Good reasons for absenteeism

Reasons for missing work are divided into personal and dependent on external circumstances. Let's consider each of them separately.

📌 Options for personal reasons for missing work:

⚫ Reason #1 – Illness or Injury

The employee has the right not to appear at work if he feels unwell or was injured the day before. Of course, it is desirable to warn the authorities about this. Many people do not apply for a sick leave, so as not to lose their salary. In this case, to prove his illness, the employee must bring a certificate from the doctor confirming his illness and the date of admission.

⚫ Reason for absenteeism #2 - Medical examination

Quite often, in catering establishments, hospitals, shops, mandatory medical examinations that all employees must go through. In this case, they have the right not to appear at work on that day. If an employee missed a medical examination scheduled by the company and passed it on his own at another time, this is not considered a good reason.

⚫ #3 - Illness of children and close relatives

Parents have the right not to go to work because their child is sick. This is confirmed by a certificate from a doctor with a diagnosis and dates of admission. Also, an employee can take sick leave to care for sick family members, but then he will lose part of his salary.

⚫ Reason #4 – Breakdown in the utility industry

This includes household accidents with water pipes, gas leaks, elevator breakdowns, fires, and electrical short circuits.

⚫ Reason #5 – Participation in a lawsuit

A person has the right not to go to work if he appears in court as a witness, juror, plaintiff or representative of the election commission.

⚫ Good Reason #6 – Wage Delay

An employee by law may not fulfill his labor obligations if the employer delays wages for more than 15 days. Such a strike may continue until the employee is paid at least part of the debt. But before absenteeism, the employee must notify the supervisor in writing about this.

📌 Reasons depending on external circumstances

Sometimes an employee may not come to work for reasons beyond his control. Natural disasters, road accidents and other force majeure circumstances:

Elevator failure
Car accident
Failure of the city transport system
Natural disasters
Epidemic in locality mandatory vaccination
Delay on a business trip, work trip due to plane or train delays
It is not possible to buy transport tickets

An employer cannot dismiss an employee for the above reasons if he brought documents with confirmation.

📌 Reasons for skipping, known in advance

It often happens that an employee can warn the employer in advance about his absence from work. For example, if a close relative of his has died, he plays a wedding or a child is born to him. In these cases, he is entitled to additional days off at his own expense. To receive them, the employee needs to write a statement in advance or, at least, notify the authorities by phone. By , the duration of this weekend should not exceed 5 days.

Above, we have listed all the good reasons for missing work. If the employee provides a certificate or documents confirming his absence, the employer does not have the right to dismiss him. Otherwise, the employee can sue the company. Therefore, before threatening dismissal, you need to carefully understand the details.

The legislation clearly interprets the term absenteeism, but does not contain grounds on which the reasons can be considered valid and will not make it possible to dismiss a “negligent” employee.

What is a walk?

The legislator interprets absenteeism as a long-term absence of an employee from the workplace without good reason. Time from 4 hours can be taken into account.

To minimize losses, the employer must take some preventive measures:

be sure to familiarize employees with the Rules of internal work schedule, in which it is necessary to display how and within what time frames the staff should report their absence so that the manager can timely redistribute the duties of the absent employee among other staff;
department head or other authorized person must have a list of employees who can replace each other;
the head of a department or other subdivision must have a reminder of what he must do if an employee is absent from the workplace without a good reason.

A sample memo for an employer:

In the absence of an employee, the manager is obliged to call back to his known phones, home or mobile;
Specify the reason for the absence;
Talk to the staff, possibly absent, communicated something to their colleagues, if this was the case, then it is better for the employees to state the information in writing;
The drawn up act should describe the measures taken to search for the truant;
Transfer of all documents to the personnel department.

Absence fixation

If an employee fails to appear, an act must be drawn up.

It is from a detailed statement of the fact of the absence of an employee at the workplace without a good reason that his future fate at this enterprise will depend. Perhaps the person just got sick or got into another difficult situation.

The act must be drawn up in front of witnesses, it is better to involve personnel from another unit so that in the future, the truant could not put pressure on his colleagues, or prove that the act was drawn up under pressure from the authorities.

The administration of the enterprise does not require immediate measures to search for an employee, however, if a person lives alone, the phones are not answered, then it is recommended to go to his house. If no one opens an apartment or house, then it is better to ask the neighbors when they last saw the person, if no one can provide any information, then the logical step would be to call the district police officer to open the dwelling.

If no measures to search for an absent employee have yielded any results, then it is recommended to draw up an act of his absence, almost every day. The letter code "НН" is entered in the report card, the person's digital code is 30.

It is these two documents that serve as evidence in court proceedings, so their execution should be approached carefully.

The process of finding out the reasons for the absence

An employee could get sick and not report it to his superiors.

If the truant showed up, presenting a sick leave, a certificate from a medical institution, then all the absence documents drawn up should not be destroyed.

In the case when the absence of the employee at the workplace without a good reason was really present, then a written explanation should be required from him. If the truant refuses, it is recommended to draw up a written request and hand it over to him against signature.

Such evidence in court proceedings is much more effective than verbal explanations from the employer.

Notification of the need to explain the reasons for non-appearance is not regulated by any normative act, but must contain the details of the enterprise, the details of the truant, a request for a written explanation of the reasons for non-appearance within a specific time frame. As a rule, it does not take much time to compile an explanation, it can be 2 or 3 days.

If within the specified period, the employee has not submitted an explanation, then the employer is obliged to draw up an appropriate act.

If the employee refuses to explain in writing about his absence, he is not deprived of the right to apply disciplinary action including termination of the contract. This is written into the law.

What reasons can be valid?

Not all reasons are valid.

The administration of the enterprise can independently decide the "fate" of an individual employee, whether to consider a specific absenteeism as a day of absenteeism. If the staff did not have malicious intent and was honestly mistaken, then such an absence cannot be considered absenteeism.

The legislation provides for options when the employer is obliged not to recognize the absence as absenteeism in the following cases:

providing sick leave or an extract from a medical record;
performance by an employee of duties of a public and state nature, for example, if a particular employee is a member of an election commission;
if the employee is a donor.

In addition, if an employee could not get to work on time, or could not at all, due to freezing rain or a snowstorm, then no court will recognize such a reason as not valid.

A good reason for absence is also the appearance in court, or in tax authorities to testify, as a witness, or another person. Such confirmation is reflected in the decisions of the SMR.

A fire or short circuit in the house, incidents on the way to the workplace, other unforeseen life circumstances are also valid reasons and cannot be a reason for dismissal for absenteeism.

Regarding being late next vacation, the opinions of experts and courts are ambiguous. For the most part, dismissal for such a reason is recognized as legal, since the employee is obliged to plan his trips in such a way that possible unforeseen situations, a plane or train delay, and adverse weather conditions are taken into account.

If the employee decides to leave the workplace or does not appear at all, citing the fact that his computer is broken or there are no clients, it will certainly be interpreted as absenteeism.

What to do with a truant?

Absence can be subject to disciplinary action.

An employee is absent from the workplace without a good reason - a real reason to get rid of "unnecessary" staff. Although, in addition to dismissal, disciplinary punishment may be imposed, but no later than 1 month from the moment of the incident.

One offense can only be punished once. It is necessary to familiarize the employee against signature. If the employee does not want to sign, then the employer draws up an act.

It should be remembered that a truant has the right to go to court to protect his rights. In this case, the employee will have to be reinstated and paid the average wage for the period of forced downtime. To avoid such a situation, it is recommended to follow the procedure for collecting evidence and dismissal.

First of all, there must be a written confirmation of the absence of the employee at the workplace, these are absence certificates, memorandums, explanatory and other supporting documents. You should not draw up such documents retroactively, but draw up everything on the day of absenteeism.

Further registration of dismissal is carried out according to general rules. The employer is obliged to communicate his decision to the employee in writing, under an introductory signature. If, for some reason, it is not possible to personally acquaint the employee, then a corresponding mark is made on him.

The day of dismissal is considered the last working day, even if the truant was absent from the workplace. The labor service adheres to the position that the last working day that preceded absenteeism is the day of dismissal.

Under any circumstances employment history must be issued on the last working day, even if the contract is terminated due to absenteeism.

The imposition of a disciplinary sanction, including dismissal, cannot occur later than 1 month from the moment of the offense.

Regardless of the reasons for dismissal, the employer is obliged to make a full financial settlement with the employee on the day of his dismissal. In case when wage not listed on bank card, all accrued pay is deposited until the dismissed employee applies for its receipt.

Remember, you cannot fire a pregnant woman, even if she is a malicious truant.

Never fire a truant on the day of his absence, without a written explanation of the reasons for his absence.

You should find out why the employee is absent for a long time.

The situation is much more complicated when the employee is absent for a very long time, the employer fails to find out the reasons for the absence. It is recommended to call him periodically, preferably with witnesses and draw up an act.

Once a week you can send postal items to the truant's address of residence, with a request to explain the reasons for the absence.

The courts confirm the right of the administration to dismiss a person for absenteeism who was sent a notice home, which returned with a mark of delivery, or vice versa, the letter was returned due to the expiration of the storage period or the recipient refused written confirmation of delivery of the notice.

There may be a situation that an employee was imprisoned for 15 days for administrative offense. On the one hand, dissolve employment contract with a convicted or detainee is not possible, but this applies to criminal prosecution.

Administrative punishment is not a basis for retaining a job, as this is a different proceeding than criminal.

The practice of considering such court cases is ambiguous.

In summary, the dismissal of staff for absenteeism requires a clear written fixation and compliance with all the norms of the current legislation.

In this video, you will learn what to do if an employee does not get in touch.

Question form, write your

Today we have to find out the valid reasons for absence from work. In fact, this question is extremely important. Especially if you have been working in one place or another for a short time, but for some reason you need not to visit your place of work. Unfortunately, not everyone knows good reasons. And sometimes your rights can be violated. In addition, no conscientious employee wants to receive absenteeism. Therefore, let's try to understand what are the valid reasons for not showing up for work, how to prove them.

absenteeism

The first step is to figure out what truancy is. Maybe it's not so scary after all? Or your failure to appear is not capable of being regarded as absenteeism for one reason or another?

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, absenteeism is absenteeism from work without good reason. But at the same time, there is one small limitation that can save an employee from punishment. Which one? The thing is that they have the right to punish you only when the failure to appear lasts more than 4 hours in a row. Then, and only then, will it be considered absenteeism. The rest is nothing to be afraid of.

In addition, pay attention to the fact that absenteeism is not the absence of an employee for some time at the workplace, which is not the only one for him. And now it’s worth exploring the good reasons for being absent from work. When can you not be afraid of punishment from the leadership?

Disagreements

It is worth knowing exactly for what reasons you have the right not to come to work. After all, very often it turns out that the boss considers what is happening to you to be an insignificant circumstance. But in a detailed investigation, it turns out that you had a really good reason for being absent from the workplace. These are fairly common occurrences.

To play it safe once again, try to warn management that you will not come to work. And fix it somehow. If they want to fire you for absenteeism, you can use evidence that you have taken steps to notify the employer of your absence. Moreover, if you have already been fired, file a complaint with the court. You will be reinstated (if you had a good reason for being absent from work) and paid for this day. Nothing difficult, right? Only few people know under what circumstances absenteeism will not be considered as such.

Weather

Absence from work without a valid reason is grounds for your punishment. In fact, it is worthwhile to clearly understand when the employer really has the right to regard your absence as absenteeism. It has already been said that often the legal grounds and the opinion of the management in this matter do not coincide.

The list of good excuses for being away from work starts with inclement weather. That is, if for this reason you could not get to the workplace, then they have no right to impose any sanctions on you. Was there a hurricane? Biggest blizzard? Blizzard? Traffic jams or thick fog? There is no punishment for all this. Just try to notify your employer in advance of your absence. Often weather conditions are not, in the opinion of management, a really important reason that you are absent from the workplace for more than 4 hours in a row. So it's worth knowing your rights.

From vacation

The next scenario is not so common. The thing is that sometimes an employee, for one reason or another, cannot return on time from vacation. Often the weather is to blame. This item is considered a good reason for absence from work. So it will have to be taken into account by your superiors.

Of course, as in the previous case, try to warn the manager about delays. If this fails, just stock up on evidence that you really could not return home for reasons beyond your control and get to work. Otherwise, they may try to either punish you or fire you altogether. And then you have to resort to litigation. And they bring little pleasure to anyone.

Arrest

What else could be a good reason for being absent from work? Examples of some scenarios for the development of events are already known to us. But, as a rule, the conversation does not end there. Generally, in Labor Code there is no clear list. So all responsibility for this question falls on the shoulders of the employer, not the employee. After all, it is he who will be punished and called to account if a citizen was fired for absenteeism, which in fact is not.

Among options development of events, one can also single out the arrest. If you are arrested for one reason or another, or you were detained by law enforcement officers as a witness, no one has the right to put you absenteeism. And even more so to punish in varying degrees. It is often easy to alert an employer that you have been arrested or called to testify as a witness.

Breakdowns

The next scenario is a breakdown of public transport. If you get to work, for example, by bus, then its malfunction may be included in the valid reasons for absence from work. In fact, this point requires special attention.

Why? It's one thing when we are talking about public transport that moves outside the city. Or to the city directly, for example from a village or village. That is long distance. When it is impossible to get to the workplace in any other way or wait for the next transport in time so as not to be late. Quite different - urban public transport, walking with a certain frequency.

In order for a breakdown to be considered a good reason, it is worth making every possible effort to arrive at the employer on time. Of course, try to warn your superiors about the incident. In such circumstances, no one will have the right to punish you and put absenteeism. After all, you are dealing with a good reason that does not depend on you and your desire.

Care

What else is worth paying attention to? Good reasons for being absent from work can vary. And few people know about them, because in fact, in the Labor Code Russian Federation there is no clear list of them. Each case has to be considered separately.

Thus, another good reason for being absent from work is caring for a needy/sick relative or child. If your help is urgently needed, no one has the right to count the absence from the workplace as absenteeism. After all, life circumstances can be different. So consider this factor. Often, employers try to impose certain punishments on him even when a citizen is caring for a sick and needy relative or child. It is illegal. Most likely, if you go to court, it will be on your side.

emergency work

Life is something that cannot be foreseen and predicted for sure. A variety of incidents and surprises can happen to everyone, no one is immune from this. So you have to constantly think about what could be good reasons for absenteeism. Why not fire an employee who did not show up for work?

We have already met with some points. But as already mentioned, there is no exact list anywhere. Each case is considered separately, and the employer is responsible for the punishment. The next scenario is nothing more than emergency repairs in the house / apartment of an employee. If a repairman comes, he should be provided with access to the dwelling. And at the same time, absence from work under such circumstances will not be considered absenteeism.

Here, too, there is one caveat - all repair emergency work should not be carried out at the request of a truant employee. In other words, we are talking only about forced measures. But if you yourself decide to call, say, a plumber at home, instead of going to work, then your absence will be regarded as absenteeism.

accidents

It is also worth paying attention to the fact that accidents are valid reasons for absence from the workplace. This is especially true for those who drive their own car, and also get to work in their own car.

Of course, if an accident occurs, it is worth warning someone about your absence. But you may not do this. Then you have to enlist evidence that you really did not skip, but could not arrive on time for work. Now this is not so difficult to do. So try to play it safe once again. And if you have a real opportunity to arrive on time, do it. Otherwise, you may be afraid of a certain punishment.

Treatment

What are good reasons for not showing up for work? There are a lot of them. But there is no clear list, as already mentioned. And it's unlikely he'll show up. So you will have to figure this out on your own.

In addition to the already listed options for the development of events, we can include in our list of good reasons for undergoing treatment, rehabilitation or visiting a doctor. Usually for this they take time off from work. But if you have not done this, it will be enough to show a referral to a doctor or a sick leave / outpatient card to prove your innocence. Sometimes a doctor can simply issue you a certificate stating that you really visited him or underwent one or another treatment. In this case, no one has the right to fire or somehow punish you. After all, it's illegal.

As you can see, there are many reasons. The issue of absenteeism and good reasons for absence from work, as a rule, has always been very acute. Indeed, in the modern legislation of the Russian Federation there is no clearly defined list possible causes, for which an employee is able to go unpunished if he is absent from work for more than 4 hours in a row.