The signature is supposed to be in the inventory documents, if they say it was fired. When going on sick leave during an inventory, the financially responsible person refuses to sign the inventory report

“The most important things in our lives most often happen in our absence.”

Salman Rushdie

From time to time you have to face a situation where you need to take an inventory in the absence of the financially responsible person (MRP). This person could, say, get sick, go on vacation or go missing. How in this case to comply with the requirement of paragraph 2.8 of the Methodological Instructions for Inventory of Property and Financial Obligations, approved. By Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 13, 1995 N 49(Instructions) - “verification of the actual availability of property is carried out with the mandatory participation of financially responsible persons”? And what exactly are the consequences of non-compliance?

The answer to the second question is simpler. So, There is no administrative liability for violation of inventory rules. The closest compositions are in Art. 15.1, 15.11 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, but they are not suitable either.

Another possible problem is invalidity of inventory(more precisely, its results). The instructions name only one basis for declaring inventory results invalid - absence of at least one commission member during the inventory. Accordingly, all other violations of regulatory requirements during the inventory will, in the event of a legal dispute (and it is with an eye on this that we are scratching our heads here) will be assessed by the court in the aggregate according to the general rules of civil or arbitration proceedings. Depending on the number and significance of such violations, as well as on the presence of other evidence of damage by the employee (here! that’s all there was to it), this damage may or may not be considered proven.

In the absence of violations, the inventory results almost certainly provide evidence. Therefore, we return to the first question. Is it possible to somehow “take inventory” without MOL? The Guidelines themselves do not contain any clauses that would allow inventory to be carried out in the absence of the MOL. However, there is a clue - this is paragraph 6.3 of the Instructions on the procedure for applying in state trade the legislation regulating the financial liability of workers and employees for damage caused to an enterprise, institution, organization approved By order of the USSR Ministry of Trade dated August 19, 1982 No. 169. These instructions have not been canceled and are applied to the extent that they do not contradict current legislation. The note (!) to the specified paragraph of the Instructions stipulates that if, for health reasons or other reasons, an employee cannot personally transfer the valuables assigned to him, their transfer is carried out by a commission in the prescribed manner. You can breathe out.

Recommendations here could be: try to notify the MOL about the inventory, and if it is impossible for him to be present, make an appropriate note indicating the reasons for the absence in the report on the inventory results. If a shortage is expected and the cost of the issue is high, then to be on the safe side, you can invite an independent auditor to participate in the inventory.

Verification of the actual availability of property is carried out with the obligatory participation of financially responsible persons (clause 2.8 of the Methodological Instructions for Inventory). Carrying out an inventory in the absence of a financially responsible person is a violation of the inventory procedure.

If the financially responsible person cannot be present during the inventory for objective reasons (for example, in case of illness, family circumstances, etc.), then the inventory must be postponed to a later date, agreed with the employee.

If the financially responsible person refuses to participate in the inventory due to damage, then the organization needs to stock up on the necessary evidence, for example:

Send a notice (notification) to the financially responsible person about the time and place of the inventory. Such a notice may be an order to conduct an inventory with a note from the employee about familiarization (or an act on the refusal of the financially responsible person to familiarize himself with the order, or an act on the absence of the employee from the workplace during the period from the date of issue of the order to the start date of the inventory, etc.), a letter (telegram) addressed to the financially responsible person with notification of the time of the inventory and the consequences of his failure to appear in the form of carrying out the inventory without him. The presence of such a notice (notification) in a number of cases allows the courts to conclude that it is legal to recover from the employee the amount of damage identified by an inventory carried out without his participation, but with his proper notification;

Record the fact of the absence of a financially responsible person during the inventory, for example, draw up an act on his absence from the workplace indicating the relevant information in the timesheet;

Invite the financially responsible person to familiarize yourself with the results of the audit (Part 3 of Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). An invitation can be sent by letter (telegram) to the financially responsible person with acknowledgment of delivery;

Submit a request for a written explanation to establish the cause of the damage (if it is detected) (Part 2 of Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);

Draw up an act of refusal or evasion to provide an explanation (Part 2 of Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

For more information on the procedure for holding an employee financially liable, see the Guide to Personnel Issues.

For more information about evidence when resolving a dispute related to compensation for damage caused to the employer, see the Guide to Personnel Issues.

If the financially responsible person does not take any response actions, then the inventory is carried out without his participation in the general manner, taking into account the following features:

The inventory commission begins the audit without a receipt from the financially responsible person, as indicated in the inventory list (act) (the receipt from the financially responsible person must be provided to the commission on the basis of paragraph 3 of clause 2.4 of the Methodological Instructions for Inventory);

Inventory records (acts) and collation sheets indicate information about the absence of a signature of the financially responsible person who is evading the inventory.

If the inventory is caused by a change of financially responsible persons, in which the financially responsible person handing over the valuables avoids participating in the inventory, then at the end of the inventory the financially responsible person who accepted the valuables gives a receipt confirming the inspection of the property by the commission in his presence, about the absence to the members of the commission any claims and acceptance of the property listed in the inventory for safekeeping (clause 2.10 of the Inventory Guidelines).

Attached to the inventory documents are documents from the above list, confirming the evasion of the financially responsible person from participating in the inventory due to damage. The final decision on regulating differences detected by inventory and writing off shortages is made by the head of the organization (clause 5.4 of the Inventory Guidelines).

An employee who is a financially responsible person is absent from work without good reason for a long time. The employer decided to fire him for absenteeism.
In such a situation, how to accept and transfer material assets to another employee?

Carrying out an inventory of property is mandatory when changing financially responsible persons (paragraph 4, paragraph 2, article 13 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated July 12, 2013 No. 57-Z “On Accounting and Reporting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 57-Z)). Consequently, dismissal of a financially responsible person (including for absenteeism) is possible only if an inventory is carried out and the financially responsible person signs the relevant act. It follows from this that the employer needs to organize work in such a way that the inventory and acceptance and transfer of material assets from the dismissed employee are carried out immediately before the dismissal.

At the same time, the current legislation regulating the issues of inventory (Law No. 57-Z, Instructions for the inventory of assets and liabilities, approved by Resolution of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus dated November 30, 2007 No. 180 (hereinafter referred to as Instruction No. 180)), does not answer the question that must be undertaken by the employer in the event that the financially responsible person being dismissed does not appear to conduct an inventory. Moreover, according to the law, verification of the actual existence of assets and liabilities is carried out with the mandatory participation of financially responsible persons (clause 19 of Instruction No. 180). When checking the actual availability of assets and liabilities in the event of a change in financially responsible persons in the inventory records, the person accepting the values ​​signs for their receipt, and the person who handed them over signs for their delivery.

At the same time, in practice situations may arise when it is necessary to carry out an inventory, but the financially responsible person is not there to carry it out.
We believe that if an employee who is a financially responsible person does not go to work, incl. to carry out an inventory, the employer must, before his dismissal, create a commission for the acceptance and transfer of material assets and send this employee a notification letter inviting him to take part in the acceptance and transfer of material assets.

The letter must indicate the following information: the basis for the inventory (date, order number), the composition of the commission, the date, time, place of the inventory, as well as a warning to the employee that if the employee does not arrive (absence) to carry out the inventory, it will be carried out even in his absence.

In the event of an employee’s failure to appear for an inventory, in our opinion, the inventory commission must draw up an appropriate act, which reflects the fact of the non-appearance of the financially responsible person, as well as information about the notification of the employee about the inventory. The fact of the absence of a financially responsible person must also be reflected in the inventory records (acts). This must be done so that if an employee appeals the inventory results, there is confirmation that the employer is not at fault in terms of conducting the inventory in the absence of the financially responsible person.

It should be noted that if a financially responsible person is absent for an unexcused reason, then, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus, such an employee does not fulfill his duties, which must also be confirmed by documents (letters, acts, etc.).

Before conducting an inventory, the employer must appoint a new financially responsible person (if for some reason this has not been done earlier), who, in the presence of the inventory commission, will accept material assets for safekeeping and will participate in the inventory as a financially responsible person.

In order to avoid possible disputes regarding the legality of the inventory, further collection of shortages (damage), etc. in local acts regulating the rules for conducting inventory, which the employee becomes familiar with upon signature, and (or) in a written agreement on full financial responsibility, it is necessary to specify the cases and procedure for conducting inventory in the absence of the employee. One of such cases may be the refusal of the financially responsible person to participate in the inventory, long absence, etc. The same documents should stipulate issues of access to inventory items in the absence of an employee (transfer of keys to certain persons according to an act, etc.).

In September 2013, a watchman was hired by the organization. In the employment contract, in the column “Working time and rest time”, the beginning and end of the working day were indicated: “according to schedule.” In the period from April to October, the schedule included the start of the shift at 19:00, the end of the shift at 7:00. Since November 2013, the start and end times of the shift have been changed - from 17:00 to 9:00, respectively (at the same time, the duration of working hours per month has not increased).
Is this change in schedule a change in essential working conditions?
What to do if an employee refuses to sign in the “Has read the schedule” column?
Will dismissal for absenteeism be legal if an employee fails to show up for work in accordance with the new schedule?

Is. Draw up a corresponding act. Will not be.

Working hours - the procedure for the employer to distribute the norms established by the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code) for employees of the daily and weekly working time and rest time throughout the day, week, month and other calendar periods (Article 123 of the Labor Code).

The working time schedule determines the start and end time of the working day (shift), the time of lunch and other breaks, the sequence of alternating workers in shifts, working days and weekends. The working hours of employees are developed based on the working hours used by the employer. The working hours are determined by the internal labor regulations or the work schedule (shift). The work schedule (shifts) is approved by the employer in agreement with the trade union.

The established working hours are brought to the attention of each employee against signature no later than 1 month before it comes into force. Only this procedure for informing will make it possible, when appropriate circumstances arise, to prosecute an employee for violating labor discipline. The procedure for bringing to the attention of the employee the established working hours is not defined by regulations, but the employer should organize his work in such a way that in the event of a dispute it is always possible to present evidence to substantiate his position. If an employee refuses to sign for familiarization with the schedule, it is necessary to draw up a corresponding act (which must be signed by at least 3 persons, for example, a manager, accountant, human resources specialist).

When establishing a working time schedule, the employer is obliged to ensure compliance with the norms for the duration of working hours per week, provided for in Art. 112-114 Labor Code, as well as established by Art. 115, 315-317 Labor Code and other regulatory legal acts limiting the length of the working day (shift) for certain categories of workers.

The provision for working according to a work schedule (shift) must be contained in the employment contract with the employee, since this work schedule, as a rule, differs from the general regime established by the employer (clause 6 of part two of Article 19 of the Labor Code). In practice, however, the employment contract specifies approximately the following condition: “work in accordance with the work schedule (shifts).”

In connection with justified production, organizational or economic reasons, the employer has the right in the manner provided for in Art. 32 of the Labor Code, to change the essential working conditions of the employee when he continues to work in the same specialty, qualification or position specified in the employment contract (part one of Article 32 of the Labor Code).

Essential working conditions are the systems and amounts of remuneration, guarantees, working hours, category, name of profession, position, establishment or abolition of part-time work, combination of professions and other conditions established in accordance with the Labor Code.

Thus, a change in work mode (change in work schedule) refers to a change in essential working conditions.

The employer is obliged to notify the employee of changes in significant working conditions in writing no later than 1 month in advance.

If the employee refuses to continue working with changed essential working conditions, the employment contract is terminated under clause 5 of Art. 35 TK.

For refusal to continue work in connection with a change in significant working conditions, an employee cannot be subject to disciplinary action, because the right to such refusal is granted to the employee by law and refusal cannot be regarded as a violation of labor discipline. Therefore, in case of absence from work due to a change in essential working conditions (change in work schedule), this should be qualified as a refusal to continue work with changed essential working conditions.

Consequently, the employee is subject to dismissal under clause 5 of Art. 35 TK.

Is the inventory of surpluses identified during the inventory, signed by the financially responsible person, or the inventory inventory, a document confirming the fact that the property was taken into account?

After reviewing, we came to the following conclusion:

The legislation does not establish special rules for the transfer of surplus property identified during an inventory to a person, therefore the employer in this case is guided by the general rules applied by him when entrusting valuables to employees. The inventory list specified in the question, containing all the necessary signatures, can confirm the fact that the property listed in it has been accepted for safekeeping.

Rationale for the conclusion:

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not regulate the procedure for direct acceptance and transfer of property and other valuables to a financially responsible person with whom the employer has full financial responsibility.

In accordance with parts 1 and 2 of Art. 11 of Federal Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011 “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 402-FZ), assets and liabilities are subject to inventory. During the inventory, the actual presence of the relevant objects is revealed, which is compared with the data of the accounting registers.

The general procedure for conducting an inventory is the Methodological Instructions for the Inventory of Property and Liabilities, approved by Order No. 49 dated June 13, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions).

In accordance with clause 5.1 of the Instructions, discrepancies identified during the inventory between the actual availability of property and accounting data are reflected in the accounting accounts in the following order: property found to be in surplus is subject to capitalization at market value and at the same time credited to financial results with the subsequent establishment of the reasons for the occurrence surplus and the guilty parties (see also paragraph “a”, paragraph 29 of the Methodological guidelines for the accounting of inventories, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 28, 2001 N 119n, paragraph 36 of the Methodological guidelines for the accounting of fixed assets, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance Russia dated October 13, 2003 N 91n).

At the same time, the legislation does not establish special detailed rules for the transfer of surplus property identified during the inventory to the financially responsible person. In this regard, we believe that it should be carried out in accordance with the procedure for entrusting valuables adopted by the employer.

In accordance with part 1 of Art. 9 of Law N 402-FZ, each fact of economic life is subject to registration with a primary accounting document. Accounting is maintained on the basis of primary documents. The primary accounting document must be drawn up at the time of the transaction, and if this is not possible, immediately after its completion (Part 3 of Article 9 of Law No. 402-FZ). All forms of primary accounting documents are determined by the economic entity, and developed by the person entrusted with accounting (Part 4, Article 9 of Law No. 402-FZ).

In accordance with clause 2.6 of the Instructions, property identified as a result of the inventory is reflected in the inventories. Clause 2.10 of the Instructions establishes that inventory records are signed by all members of the inventory commission and financially responsible persons. At the end of the inventory, the financially responsible persons give a receipt confirming that the commission has checked the property in their presence, that there are no claims against the members of the commission, and that the property listed in the inventory has been accepted for safekeeping. When checking the actual availability of property in the event of a change of financially responsible persons, the one who accepted the property shall sign the receipt of the property, and the one who handed over the property shall sign for the delivery of this property. Since the Instructions do not contain other documents confirming the acceptance by the financially responsible person of the property (its surplus), we believe that the inventory list can be used for such purposes.

Prepared answer:

Expert of the Legal Consulting Service GARANT

Volkova Olga

Response quality control:

Reviewer of the Legal Consulting Service GARANT

professional accountant Rodyushkin Sergey

As follows from paragraph 1 of Art. 12 of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 129-FZ), the procedure and timing of the inventory are determined by the head of the organization, except for cases when the inventory is mandatory.

The general procedure for conducting an inventory is established by the Methodological Instructions for the Inventory of Property and Financial Liabilities, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 13, 1995 No. 49 (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions). In accordance with the provisions of the Instructions, when carrying out activities to inventory property, the presence of a financially responsible person is mandatory (see, for example, clauses 2.4, 2.8, 2.10 of the Instructions).

Consequently, as a general rule, inventory can only be carried out in the presence of a financially responsible person. This is confirmed by the explanations of the Russian Ministry of Finance (see letter dated July 15, 2008 No. 07-05-12/16).

If the specifics of the organization’s activities do not allow the termination of operations with valuables entrusted to the financially responsible person, then during the absence of such a person, the valuables can be transferred to another employee. Moreover, if an employee works in the relevant division of the organization, whose job responsibilities include replacing the functions of a person with whom an agreement on full individual financial responsibility has been concluded, and this is confirmed by the relevant job description, then the organization has the right to conclude an agreement on full individual financial responsibility with such an employee.

If the job description of the employee (receiving material assets) does not provide for the obligation to fill the position during the absence of the financially responsible person, then it is necessary:

• by order of the manager, make appropriate changes to the employee’s job description - establish the obligation to replace the functions of the financially responsible person during his absence;
• familiarize the employee with the order;
• conclude an agreement with the employee on full individual financial responsibility.

By virtue of paragraph 2 of Art. 12 of Law No. 129-FZ, when changing materially responsible persons in an organization, an inventory must be carried out. The law will not determine what exactly should be meant by changing financially responsible persons. However, it seems that the actual (even temporary) replacement of a financially responsible person (change in the composition of such persons), even in the case of illness of the “main” employee, should be assessed as a change of financially responsible person.

At the same time, in practice, situations often arise when the financially responsible person cannot be present during the inventory of property for health reasons or other reasons, and an inventory of property must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation.

In our opinion, in such cases, an inventory can be carried out by the relevant commission without the participation of the financially responsible person in the manner established by the head of the organization. For this purpose, it is advisable for the employer to develop a local regulatory act (Article 8 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) that defines the procedure for accepting and transferring cases when changing financially responsible persons. The fundamental possibility of conducting an inventory in the absence of a financially responsible person is confirmed, in particular, by the provisions of some legal acts.

1. Clause 6.3 of the “Instructions...”, approved by order of the USSR Ministry of Trade dated August 19, 1982 No. 169, prescribes that if, for health reasons or other reasons, the employee cannot personally transfer the valuables assigned to him, transfer the valuables by commission in the established manner order (this normative act has not been repealed and is valid to the extent that does not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation). In our opinion, this rule is of a general nature and can be applied by analogy not only in trade.

2. Clause 4.2 of the Instructions on the procedure for recording and storing precious metals, precious stones, products made from them and maintaining records during their production, use and circulation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 29, 2001 No. 68n, establishes that in the absence of a financially responsible person, opening premises in which precious metals are stored is carried out on commission with the permission of the head of the organization, with the drawing up of an act.

3. According to paragraph 1 of Art. 6 of Law No. 129-FZ, the heads of organizations bear responsibility for organizing accounting in organizations and complying with the law when carrying out business operations. Consequently, if conducting an inventory in accordance with current legislation is mandatory, then the manager’s decision to conduct it will be completely justified. In this case, the head of the organization can establish a special procedure for the work of the inventory commission, including personally supervising its work.