Office trips are an important part of the business life of many companies. However, sometimes employees refuse working travels, even if this is their direct duty. We understand what good and disrespectful reasons for the refusal exist, what responsibility the employee is for evasion and how to come to the agreement of the parties.
Rules for issuing a business trip in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
Article 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the employer can send the employee on a business trip Without his consentif this is provided for by the employment contract. But you can also refrain from traveling by law – for a good reason.
Who can refuse a business trip
The Labor Code allows you to send any employee on a business trip if it is on the state. High position, experience – all this does not affect the possibility of refusal. Nevertheless, there are groups of workers who cannot be sent on a business trip.
- Pregnant women. In this case, the journey is regarded as difficult working conditions, so it is forbidden to send such employees on a business trip, Even if they gave their consent. This is regulated by Article 359 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
- Minor employees. The work to which adolescents are involved should be easy – business trips do not belong to it (Article 268 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
- Disabled people, If they have medical indications.
- Foreign employeesunless otherwise agreed in the contract.
Who can be sent on a trip Only having received consent:
- employees with children under three years old;
- parents, alone raising children under five years old;
- workers with disabled family members;
- employees with children with disabilities.
Good reasons for refusing a business trip
The employee has the right to refrain from traveling, even if he is not included in any of the categories of employees who cannot be sent on business trips. The bases can be as follows:
- Family circumstances – Wedding, the birth of a child or the death of a relative.
- The presence of medical contraindications. For example, the disease at the time of the trip or a chronic disease. In order for the refusal to have a reason, the employee will need to provide the personnel department with a certificate from a doctor or sick leave.
- Lack of business traffic. If before the trip the employee was not given out funds (or issued not enough), the refusal of a business trip is legitimate.
The employee refused to make a business trip: what to do?
- To begin with, ask for an official statement and provide documents confirming the good reason for the refusal. It can be:
- sick leave;
- a certificate from a doctor indicating the disease, which is an obstacle to the trip;
- certificate of family member disease;
- a certificate of disability of a family member;
- marriage certificate;
- Other certificates for justifying the refusal.
- If there are no documents, try to clarify the question on an individual basis.
Sometimes you just need to talk with the employee and find out what scares him on the upcoming trip. It can be Fear of spending personal funds – Then you can convince the employee that he will be given money for travel expenses, including in case of unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, an employee can worry about uncomfortable conditions on a business trip. The solution to the problem is to give him the opportunity to choose. IN “Onetwotrip for business” The employee books tickets and a hotel on his own, focusing on his preferences, and you are putting on the budget restrictions. The service has more than 2 million hotels around the world and 800 airlines.
- If the conversation does not help, apply a disciplinary sanction.
An unreasonable refusal of business trip is a violation of labor discipline. Therefore, the employee can be held accountable at the discretion of the employer, if all opportunities to come to the agreement are exhausted. It can be a remark, reprimand or even dismissal. It is important to apply the penalty no later than one month from the moment of refusal.
The employee has the right to refuse a business trip if there are good reasons prescribed in the legislation. If a situation arises in which he evades a trip for other reasons, you should look for compromises and do everything so that official trips are perceived as a pleasant part of a business routine. How to avoid difficulties on a business trip, we wrote in this material.
