What is certification? What is personnel certification
Often, employees dismissed based on the results of certification are reinstated in their jobs through the courts. How to properly conduct employee certification to prevent this, read the article.
From the article you will learn:
Certification of employees is an assessment of the compliance of the professional level of personnel with their positions. According to the law, this procedure must ensure that positions are filled with competent employees. But the staff is wary of such an assessment, as they are afraid of dismissals, demotions and salary cuts. In addition, employers often forget to regulate various aspects of this procedure, so the majority of disputes related to certification are won by employees.
Find out more about the features of personnel certification.
Please note: employee certification is not related tocertification of workplaces.The latter was carried out as part of an assessmentworking conditionsand workplace certification. Currentlycertification of workplaces at the enterprisereplaced by a special assessment of working conditions.
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The procedure for preparing for certification of employees
Certification of employees in private sector companies is not regulated by current legislation. There is only an article in the Labor Code that allows the dismissal of an employee due to inadequate qualifications confirmed during certification.
The employer has the right to establish the procedure for certification of employees independently. This can be done in a local regulatory act, for example, in the Certification Regulations. It is adopted taking into account the opinion of the trade union, if it has been created in the company.
Mandatory information that must be in the Certification Regulations:
- what are the tasks and goals of certification;
- How often is certification of employees organized;
- in what order is the certification commission formed;
- what is the procedure for preparing and conducting certification;
- what decisions the certification commission has the right to make and in what order;
- how certification results are presented.
Note! The company independently determines the frequency of certification. This is due to production conditions. For certain categories of employees, the frequency may be different. For example, the Regulations can stipulate that managers (deputy general directors, heads of departments, divisions, divisions) are subject to certification once every two years, the rest - once every three years.
The certification regulations are approved with a stamp or put into effect by order of the head of the organization. Before the start of certification, employees must be familiarized with the local act against signature. New employees are introduced to the policy before signing employment contract(Part three of Article 68 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Preparation of documents for certification
Before the start of certification, for example, two weeks before it, reviews of employees subject to evaluation are submitted to the certification commission. They can be presented in the form of a presentation. In the review (submission), the immediate supervisor writes how the employee performed his job duties during the certification period. The review usually contains the following information:
surname, name, patronymic of the employee;
the name of the position he occupies at the time of certification and the day on which he was appointed to this position;
list of job responsibilities performed by the employee;
a reasonable assessment of the specialist’s business qualities and the results of his work during the certification period (attached are reports on the work performed or information on unfulfilled assignments, if available).
Simultaneously with the reviews, the HR department submits to the certification commission copies of documents on education, advanced training, job descriptions, extracts from the work book and other documents necessary for evaluating the employee. Each employee being certified must also be familiarized with the presented materials in advance (for example, a week before certification). This way he will be able to submit for consideration additional information about his professional activities for the specified period, which, in his opinion, may affect the results of the certification. If an employee is not familiarized with the review and other documents, he may claim a violation of the certification procedure.
Important: the law provides for mandatory carrying out certification of employees of certain categories: civil servants (Article 48 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2004 No. 79-FZ), teachers (part ten of Article 332 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) and so on. In this case, the procedure is established by the relevant legislative acts.
Read answers to seven popular questions about certification
Certification of employees: procedure
After the necessary preparatory work has been completed, the company proceeds directly to the certification procedure. It is carried out at a meeting of the certification commission in the presence of the person being certified.
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Based on the results of certification employees make a decision on each person being certified. It may not be related to dismissal. For example, an employee remains in his current position or is offered a promotion. In addition, the employee can be certified, but under conditions. For example, indicate the wording “corresponds to the condition of advanced training” or “corresponds to the position held (or work performed) subject to the recommendations of the certification commission with re-certification in a year.” On the certification sheet, members of the commission can write their recommendations to the employee.
How to summarize the results of employee certification
After the employee certification is completed, all materials must be transferred to the general director. The latter, within the period established by the Regulations, must make appropriate decisions based on its results. For example:
leave the employee at his current job,
offer the employee another job,
send for advanced training,
The procedure for certification of employees assumes that the personnel service reflects the decision of the commission in a personal card in form No. T-2 - makes an entry in section IV “Certification”.
How to formalize dismissal based on certification results
If an employee, due to insufficient qualifications, is found by the decision of the certification commission to be unsuitable for the position held (or the work performed), the employer has the right to dismiss him. The basis will be paragraph 3 of part one of Article 81 of the Labor Code.
Important! Dismissal based on the results of certification occurs at the initiative of the employer. Therefore, you cannot fire an employee while he is on vacation or sick leave.
Before dismissal, the employer must first offer the employee available vacancies. These are both vacant positions that correspond to the employee’s qualifications, as well as vacant lower-level positions or lower-paid work. The main thing is that the employee can perform work taking into account his state of health (part three of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). It is safer to notify about the availability of vacancies or their absence in writing.
Note! Make an entry about the reason for dismissal in the work book in strict accordance with the wording of the Labor Code. Certify the record with the seal of the organization and two signatures: the person responsible for maintaining work records in the organization, and the employee. When you issue a work book to an employee, ask him to sign a personal card and a book for recording the movement of work books.
It is prohibited to dismiss the following employees due to unsatisfactory certification results (parts one, four, Article 261, Article 264 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):
pregnant;
a woman with a child under three years old;
a single mother raising a child under 14 years of age (a disabled child under 18 years of age), another employee raising a child under 14 years of age without a mother (a disabled child under 18 years of age);
a parent (guardian, trustee) who is the sole breadwinner of a child under three years of age in a family with three or more children under 14 years of age or a disabled child under 18 years of age, if the other parent does not work.
Thus, employee certification is carried out in order to assess their compliance with the positions held or the work performed. Based on its results, various personnel decisions can be made: from promoting an employee to his dismissal. In any case, it is important to follow the procedure to avoid ending up in court.
Employee certification as a process can be divided into three stages:
1. preparation of a local regulatory act;
2. carrying out certification;
3. implementation of the recommendations of the certification commission
Employee certification is a good way to identify the cause of failures in production. Some employers use certification as a tool to fire workers due to reluctance to make reductions. But in this case there is a high risk that the employer’s actions will be challenged. The main task of certification is to comprehensively assess the skill level of each employee.
Workers not subject to certification
The following employees will not qualify for certification:
— pregnant workers and women with children under 3 years of age;
- single mothers, fathers, guardians and trustees of children under 14 years of age (disabled children under 18 years of age);
— employees are the sole breadwinners of disabled children under 18 years of age;
— workers are the only breadwinners for a child under 3 years of age in a family with three or more young children. Provided that the other parent (other representative) does not work under an employment contract;
— other categories of employees at the discretion of the employer.
Timeframe for certification
Periodic certification is carried out every 2 or 3 years. For newcomers without experience or workers after a long absence from work due to illness, maternity leave, etc., a six-month or one-year moratorium on certification is possible.
Extraordinary certification is carried out for persistent violators or employees who
re-certification is recommended by the certification commission.
Preparation of a local regulatory act on the certification procedure.
The employer is obliged to follow the Soviet act establishing the certification of workers, but only if he operates in the industry that is named in the normative act.
Certification of employees in a commercial organization should begin with the development of a local act. For some categories of workers, there are regulations governing this issue, but most commercial companies have the right to independently determine the procedure for assessing the qualifications of personnel (Part 2 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In the event of a dispute, the norms of the local act will be examined by the court, and if the actual progress of the certification coincides with the rules established by the employer, then the employee’s accusations of violating the order will be considered groundless. Of course, for this the employer must adhere to the norms of the internal act.
When developing a local act, commercial organizations and enterprises in industry, construction, agriculture, transport and communications should adhere to the standards established by Resolution of the USSR State Committee for Science and Technology No. 470, USSR State Committee for Labor No. 267 of October 5, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 470/267). Of course, if the department has not issued a modern regulatory act. Such employers should not arrange certification more often than once every 3 or 5 years; it is also dangerous to certify newcomers who have not worked in the company for one year. Otherwise, the risk of employees challenging the certification results increases.
Commercial companies that operate in areas not named in the said resolution do not have such a strict framework when developing certification regulations. These companies have the right to provide for any frequency and procedure for checking the qualifications of personnel
The employee will not be able to challenge the dismissal if the certification was carried out according to the current regulations in the company, and not on the basis of Resolution No. 470/No. 267.
For certain categories of employees, in a local act, the employer can set different certification periods (for example, for some - annually, for others - once every 2-3 years), since there is no prohibition in the law. However, you first need to evaluate the labor costs and understand whether it is really justified.
For certain categories of employees, the employer has the right to provide special deadlines for certification, for example, for newly hired employees. It is possible that they should first be given time to pass the test (3 months), adapt to the team (about six months) and only then include them in the certification schedule. Accusing newcomers of superficial knowledge of technology and production processes is a recipe for demotivation. On the other hand, when hiring a citizen who has experience in a given position, the employer has the right to demand from him a certain level of knowledge and skills, which means that certification immediately after hiring on an equal basis with other employees is completely justified. Regardless of which approach the employer chooses, the provision on a special period for certification of newcomers must be enshrined in a local act.
Procedure for certification
Local regulations are developed by specialized departments (accounting, economic planning department, personnel service, etc.), the provisions are agreed upon by interested managers and legal counsel, and approved by the head of the organization. The director's signature on the act confirms its legitimacy.
The regulations, rules and charters signed by the head of the company apply to employees of the head office, branches and representative offices. Since a single act does not always take into account the specifics of local work, there is a need for independent provisions on the certification of employees of separate structural units. In this case, the powers of the head of the structural unit or branch should be properly formalized.
When developing regulations on a branch and issuing a power of attorney for its director, it is advisable to clearly state the right of the head of a structural unit to approve local regulations, including regulations on personnel certification.
The presence or absence of the director’s authority to approve a local act that is valid only in this division is the goal of close attention of the courts. And if there were no such powers, then regardless of the correctness of the entire procedure, the employee will be reinstated.
During the certification, the following documents should be prepared:
1. Order to conduct certification
2. Certification schedule
3. Characteristics of the certified employee
4. Protocol of the certification commission
5. Attestation sheet
6. Order on the results of certification.
If an employee does not show up for certification, he can be subject to disciplinary action. However, it is impossible to dismiss an employee under clause 3, part 1, article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Some employees refuse certification, do not show up for inspection, or are significantly late for the inspection, despite timely notification of the date and time of its conduct. Such actions cannot be considered as a negative result of the certification and the employee’s qualifications cannot be recognized as insufficient. Moreover, there is no rush to dismiss him. In the event of a dispute, the employer will have to prove the certification and provide the court with documents with the conclusions of the certification commission on the employee’s business qualities (clause 31 of Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 No. 2; hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 2). Without a protocol with comments from members of the certification commission about the employee’s inadequacy for the position held by the employer, the employer will lose.
The behavior of an employee who was late for certification or missed it must be qualified as a violation of labor duties and subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the procedure. The punishment will be justified if the company has a local act establishing the employer’s right to conduct certification and establishing the employee’s obligation to participate in it. The employee’s signature on the familiarization sheet will confirm knowledge of the inspection procedure, and in the order with the certification schedule - awareness of its deadlines and start time. A similar obligation must be enshrined in the employment contract or, more simply, in the job description. And, of course, the employee’s failure to appear for certification must be recorded in the protocol.
Without a local act and the established obligation of the employee to participate in certification, the court may recognize the refusal of verification as lawful. In addition, a penalty cannot be applied to an employee if the failure to appear for certification is caused by a valid reason, confirmed, for example, by a sick leave certificate or a certificate from a doctor confirming outpatient treatment. He will challenge this punishment in court.
Missing certification may become another reason for an extraordinary certification, which means that the violator of discipline will not be able to delay the qualification test for several years, until the next periodic certification.
Certification can be regular (periodic) or extraordinary. The possibility of carrying out an extraordinary certification depends on whether the employer has provided for it in the relevant provision. In a local act, you can limit yourself to a reference to the decision of the head of the company or include in it the specific reasons that caused the extraordinary certification. For example, failure to fulfill production tasks, failure to meet deadlines or stages of work, or reduction in product quality.
Often, employers use extraordinary certification as a second chance for employees who have shown a low level of qualifications during periodic testing. This reason for certification also needs to be enshrined in a local act. The employer sets the deadline for it, depending on what shortcomings the employee needs to correct. The appointment of re-certification for such workers can be provided in a month or two.
Certification begins with an order from the manager. It sets out the certification schedule, the date of submission of documents for employee evaluation (including characteristics) and the composition of the certification commission (secretary, ordinary members and chairman).
In practice, many questions arise related to the work of the certification commission. For example, is it allowed to work on several specialized commissions, whose participants will be specialists in a specific topic (accounting, jurisprudence, personnel, etc.). Since this point is not regulated by law, the employer has the right to do what is more convenient for the company by enshrining such a possibility in a local act.
It is necessary to determine the qualitative composition of the certification commission, which will remove questions from workers about the competence of its members. Obviously, company employees who have work experience and practical skills in the relevant field will be able to evaluate the professionalism of an accountant or HR officer...
For companies with active trade unions, their representative is included in the commission (Part 3 of Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If the employer has complied with this requirement, the employee will not be able to prove a violation of the procedure.
Another difficulty with certification commissions arises in legal entities that are part of the holding. Deputy managers of the parent company often want to participate in the certification of key employees of subsidiaries.
To do this, the certification regulations must include a provision providing for the participation of independent experts in the certification commission. They are involved in cases where the employer does not have enough of its own resources to assess the employee’s qualifications, for example, if he has a narrow specialization or a rare profession. The courts do not see violations of the law in such conditions. The rule on including representatives of other organizations as independent experts on the commission is established, in particular, for civil servants.
The local act must specify the conditions for the formation of a commission from employees of other organizations. The employer has two options: to conclude an employment or civil contract (contract, provision of services) with the expert. If the company chooses an employment contract, then a fixed-term contract is concluded with a representative of the parent company for the certification period. Here you don’t even have to come up with a reason for a temporary employment relationship; it’s enough to refer to part-time work (paragraph 11, part 2, article 59 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
After registering a representative of the parent company as a member of the staff or concluding a civil contract, he is included by order into the certification commission.
It happens that a third party is allowed to participate in the certification informally. Despite the fact that neither his full name nor his signature will appear in the documents, this will give the certified employees the opportunity to challenge the commission’s decision, citing a violation of the certification procedure. Participation in a meeting of a person not mentioned in the order listing the members of the commission is a convenient reason to insist on his removal or demand that the certification be rescheduled.
Certification of employees is not a mandatory event; the employer has the right to use other tools to evaluate the qualifications of employees, but in this case the employee cannot be fired due to a lack of skills and knowledge.
In addition, an employer should be aware of the various consequences of not using performance appraisals. When the employee’s insufficient qualifications are revealed by certification, the employer will have legal grounds to dismiss him under clause 3, part 1, art. 81 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Other measures to assess professionalism do not provide such a right. Based on its results, the employer will receive an understanding of the employee’s level of knowledge and skills, but he has no right to terminate the employment contract with him due to incompatibility with the position held. The impossibility of dismissal without certification is indicated in paragraph 31 of Resolution No. 2. If the dismissal takes place, the employer will have to prove that the measures were a certification that allows parting with the employee on the employer’s initiative.
To record the questions and answers of the employee being certified, it is necessary to use an attestation sheet.
Judicial practice allows us to say that in addition to the provisions on certification and the order on its appointment, the employer must have a certification schedule. If the certification schedule is approved by the order on its appointment, then there is no need to draw it up again. But it happens that in the order the manager indicates only the units being certified and the period of time during which the commission is to conduct the inspection. Then a schedule is necessary; in it, workers are assigned to specific dates. It would be a good idea to provide a separate column for employees to familiarize themselves with the schedule.
The specific date of certification is set by the employer. Any period can pass from the moment the employee familiarizes himself with the schedule before the start of the inspection, but it is most convenient to focus on the month period established by Resolution No. 470/267. The employer will have time to prepare materials for certification, and the employee will have time to prepare for the inspection.
Immediately before certification (2-3 days before), you need to announce the exact time and number of the office where the test will take place. Information is posted in the public domain (bulletin board, corporate website) and delivered to each employee personally against signature.
The commission evaluates the employee’s professionalism based on materials prepared by the immediate supervisor and personnel department employees. The package of documents includes an employee profile describing specific work achievements (failures) with details of orders for rewards, penalties, and an attestation sheet from the last inspection. In addition, you will need copies of diplomas, certificates and other educational documents, an extract from the work book (or certificate of experience), job descriptions, letters and reviews from contractors and clients, etc.
One or two weeks before certification, the employee is introduced to all documents against signature. If necessary, he will provide missing or contradictory information. In case of refusal, a report is drawn up that will help in court to refute the employee’s argument about omission of important information.
The purpose of the certification sheet is to collect in one document all the information regarding the current certification for a specific employee. It will be kept in your personal file. The protocol of the certification commission is also suitable for these purposes, but with a large number of employees, the protocol will turn into a multi-page document that is difficult to read. When developing your own form of certification sheet, you can take as a basis the form from Regulation No. 110, Resolution of the Board of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation dated January 15, 2007 No. 5p. The form must provide lines for the signatures of the employee and members of the commission.
In the minutes of the meeting of the certification commission, the secretary records the main points of the certification and the decisions made for each employee separately. If certification sheets are kept, a reference to them is made in the protocol. The main thing is to include in one of these documents information that allows you to evaluate the professionalism and qualifications of the employee. Without this, it will not be possible to prove the employee’s inadequacy for the position.
The forms of the protocol are given in the appendices to the orders of the Ministry of Justice of Russia dated 06.06.2005 No. 76, Rostechnadzor dated 01.29.2007 No. 37, State Fiscal Service of Russia dated 09.26.2014 No. 325. The employer can only modify them for himself and approve them by order or as an annex to a local act. Unlike the certification sheet, there is no need to familiarize the employee with the protocol, since it contains information about other employees. There is no point in accusing the employer of disclosing personal information. Moreover, the certification sheet contains more information and all members of the commission will also sign it.
The protocol indicates the number of votes “for” and “against” the employee. The required quorum depends on the conditions of the local act, but, as a rule, 2/3 of the votes of the total number of commission members is sufficient to make a final decision. Based on the results of the meeting, the commission will have to assess the employee’s qualifications and his suitability or non-compliance with the position held. It is important not to allow in the protocol, for example, the following phrases: “the employee is subject to dismissal,” “the commission decided to dismiss the employee.” The commission's task is to provide recommendations on the basis of which the manager will make the final decision.
Information from the protocol must be posted on the personal cards of the employees who participated in the certification. Section IV is intended for this purpose, in which a minimum of important information is indicated. There is no need to hand over certification documents to the employee, but if he requests a copy of the certification sheet or an extract from the protocol, then they must be issued (Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Implementation of proposals of the certification commission
The dismissal of an employee who has not passed certification can be formalized no later than two months from the date of completion of the work of the certification commission.
An order from the head of the organization on the certification results is needed to record the employer’s decision on the future fate of the certified employees in the company. The protocol of the certification commission is indicated as the basis. There is no need to include the names of all certification participants in the order. The order must list those employees who, in the opinion of the commission, are worthy of promotion, who need to improve their performance, and who should be fired.
Some workers cope with assignments and tests, while receiving the minimum acceptable scores. Then the commission makes an assessment “corresponding to the position held, subject to improvement of work with re-certification.” The employer has the right to send employees to an educational institution for advanced training or organize it independently and check it again after studying.
The order must clearly express the will of the head of the company for each employee whose qualifications the commission recognized as insufficient for the position held. That is, the manager will have to indicate whether the employee will continue to work in the company or should be fired. Pregnant women, women with children under 3 years of age and other family members listed in Part 4 of Art. are excluded from this list. 261 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
- the employee is suitable for the position held
- the employee corresponds to the position held and is worthy of promotion to a higher position;
- the employee corresponds to the position held, subject to improvement of work with re-certification
- the employee is not suitable for the position held.
The employer's next step is to offer the employee a vacant position (Part 3 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, it is impossible to unilaterally transfer an employee without his consent (Part 1 of Article 72.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, first, the terms of the new job are discussed verbally with the employee, and only if they agree to the transfer, an additional agreement and order are drawn up. In addition, you need to fill out a personal card and work book. The employee will undergo the next certification in a new position.
If the employee does not agree to the transfer, then his refusal must be recorded in writing. After this, a dismissal order is issued. The decision on the deadline for dismissal from the date of completion of certification should be enshrined in a local act. At the same time, it is worth stating that the specified period does not include the employee’s sickness and vacation time.
Upon dismissal under clause 3, part 1, art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, comply with the procedure provided for in Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (disciplinary action is not necessary. A negative certification result is not an employee’s misconduct, but an independent basis for termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer. At the same time, it is important that the dismissal takes place on the employee’s working day, and not during vacation or illness .
The most common mistakes employers make when conducting employee certification:
1. The company has not developed a local act regulating certification
2. The employer violated the deadline for notifying employees about certification
3. The commission entered into the protocol the employee’s incorrect answers
4.The manager decided to fire the employee only on the basis of negative reviews.
Employers, as well as employees, should pay special attention to the above errors in the event of a legal dispute.
Certification of employees for suitability for the position held is a procedure that allows the employer to assess the competence of employees and their professional level. In what cases can this procedure be performed? What is the procedure for conducting certification for suitability for the position held? We will consider these and other questions in our article. We will also tell you how to certify employees for suitability for the position held in 2019.
Existing legislation provides for mandatory certification for specialists in certain areas. Let us take a closer look at the existing legislative framework in this area.
Normative base
When determining the qualification level, a special commission of the employer must rely on existing professional standards. Employers must also use these standards in relation to employees to whom labor legislation applies special requirements. These specialties primarily include:
- teachers;
- medical workers;
- scientists;
- pilots;
- heads of federal unitary enterprises;
- specialists ensuring transport security;
- rescuers and firefighters;
- prosecutors;
- specialists in the field of industrial safety;
- specialists involved in the movement and securing of cargo;
- railway workers;
- civil government employees.
Thus, employers who have employees in the specified job profiles should take care in advance to establish the procedure for sending them for certification. As for employees of other specialties, the employer independently decides whether to send them for certification or not.
Let's see, for example, how the certification of cultural workers is going in 2019. Their certification is regulated by an industry document - Letter of the Ministry of Culture dated 02/08/2010 No. 7790-44/04-ПХ.
The procedure is carried out in accordance with the regulations on employee certification approved by the organization. You need to write in it:
- requirements for employees;
- categories of workers subject to certification;
- certification terms and frequency;
- grounds for certification;
- composition of the certification commission;
- rules for processing certification results.
To assign certification, the employer issues an order indicating the last name, first name, position, name of the unit in which the applicant works, the dates of certification, a list of documents submitted to the certification commission, and the names of the employees responsible for their preparation. The order must also indicate the composition of the certification commission.
The certification must be preceded by preparatory work organized by the heads of cultural institutions. At this time, the goals, conditions and forms of certification are explained to employees. Employees also get acquainted with the materials prepared for the commission.
Next, the certification commission examines the materials provided for each employee to determine suitability for the position held. Certification can be carried out by the employer in the form of written testing, interviews, exams, etc. The form of certification depends on the specifics of the subject’s work activity. For cultural workers, this could even be watching a performance in which the subject is involved.
Based on the results of the certification, the commission makes its decision.
Frequency of certification
The frequency of certification depends on local regulations adopted by the organization. However, in paragraphs 4 and 15 Resolutions of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR No. 470, State Committee for Labor of the USSR No. 267 of 10/05/1973 it is stated that the assessment should be carried out no more than once every 3 or 5 years for ordinary employees, and for managers - at least once every two years. We emphasize that this norm does not contradict the modern Labor Code, which means it can be applied in practice.
Purpose of certification
An employer may pursue different goals when deciding to conduct a background check on its employees. Often such measures are associated with the desire to fire an employee who cannot cope with his duties.
According to paragraphs 3 and 14 Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer can fire an employee if he is not suitable for the position held. This fact is determined through certification. If the test results confirm the employee's incompetence, the employer can use them as grounds for dismissal. Consequently, such an assessment can serve as a tool to confirm that the employer is right when dismissing an employee who cannot cope with his responsibilities. It is worth remembering that before dismissing such an employee, the employer must offer him another job that requires less qualifications. Some categories of workers are protected by the action Article 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This means that the employer cannot fire them even if they perform poorly on the test. For example, these include pregnant women, single mothers, mothers of children under three years of age, and so on.
For workers who were fired in accordance with paragraph 3 of part 1 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the opportunity to undergo certification in an independent center may become a ghostly hope for restoration. You shouldn’t rely too much on positive test results, since existing legislation does not require the employer to listen to the results of such checks. Moreover, the enterprise may have its own, more stringent, requirements for the qualifications of employees.
Quite often, the results of the assessment are used by employers as a basis for rewarding the employee for the success he has achieved. For example, this applies to medical workers who receive categories as a result of tests. Depending on this, wages are differentiated.
What is meant by the traditional employee certification system?
The traditional system is understood as a set of measures to prepare and conduct an assessment of the qualification level of an employee in accordance with the regulations on certification. In this case, the assessment is carried out by a specially created commission of the employer. The procedure for employee certification can be divided into several stages:
- Development of regulations on certification.
- Preparation, including developing a schedule, approving commission members, preparing documents and informing employees.
- Conducting the exam.
- Recording the progress of the assessment and summing up the results.
Let's look at some stages in more detail.
Regulations on employee certification: sample
The regulations on certification for compliance with the position held (2018) are drawn up by the employer - the management of the enterprise. The document should include the following sections:
- General information. It is necessary to outline the purpose of the event, determine the composition of those being certified, fix the frequency of the procedure and indicate the grounds for conducting an extraordinary certification (if necessary).
- Preparatory activities. This section must indicate the composition of the commission, which must include a chairman, secretary, and members. Each of them needs to register their powers, as well as indicate who has the right to vote and who does not. In addition, this section should indicate the certification schedule (list of employees undergoing inspection, date and location, time for submitting documents to the commission), the process of notifying employees about the procedure for signature, and the necessary personnel documents for submission to the commission.
- Procedure for certification. Includes determination of quorum, description of the verification procedure itself, decision-making mechanism, options for the commission’s decision, type of presentation of the results. It also stipulates the rights of an employee if he disagrees with the results of the certification.
- Final provisions. Contains information about where and how long to store certification documents.
The document in question belongs to the category of local regulations. It is developed in each organization and contains information about upcoming qualification assessments. Quite often, the Resolutions of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR No. 470 and the State Committee for Labor of the USSR No. 267 of 05.10.1973 are taken as the basis for the preparation of this document, since these norms do not contradict modern labor legislation.
After development, coordination and approval of the Regulations, all employees must be familiarized with it and signed. It is worth remembering that when drawing up the text of this document, all the details of the event should be outlined as clearly as possible. After all, careful attention at the development stage will allow the employer to protect his interests in the event of controversial situations. A sample provision is presented below (in abbreviated form. The full text is attached at the bottom of the article for download).
Preparation for certification
The procedure for preparing for this event is fixed in the regulations on certification. At this stage, it is necessary to determine the fundamental conditions for its implementation. Let's look at them below.
Composition of the commission
The certification commission for suitability for the position held is determined by the head of the organization. It should consist of a chairman, secretary and ordinary members. In this case, it is necessary to indicate who has the right to vote, as well as specify the powers of each member of the commission.
It is recommended that the commission consist of an odd number of participants. This will avoid having the same number of votes when making a decision. In addition, it is necessary to document whose vote will be decisive in resolving controversial situations. The composition of the commission is permanent, but it may change due to personnel changes or due to conflicts of interest.
The composition of the commission is permanent. Relocations or replacements are provided for in the event of a conflict of interest or personnel changes.
Test schedule
This document is approved by the employer annually. It must be prepared in advance so that those being certified have time to familiarize themselves. The schedule must contain:
- a list of employees;
- date, time and place of the examination;
- a list of persons from whom you can obtain the documents necessary to pass the test.
Notifying employees about upcoming certification
The notification can be drawn up in any convenient form. The most important thing is that the employer records the fact that the employee knows about the upcoming event. That is, familiarization with the certification notice is subject to signature. If the employee refuses, then a corresponding document is drawn up, which he must also sign. If an employee is sick, a letter is sent to their home with notification of receipt.
Preparation of necessary documents
The employer can independently provide a list of required documents. In this case, the employer himself determines the deadlines and the list of documents that must be submitted to the commission.
In some organizations, there is a requirement to provide a report on the work done for a specific period for consideration by the commission. For some professions, such documents are a portfolio.
Procedure for certification
The regulations necessarily contain a section regulating the certification of employees for suitability for the position held. First of all, the employer should determine in which case it is possible to postpone the test to another day. Usually the main condition is the presence of a quorum. That is, two thirds of the commission members must be present.
Certification of an employee for compliance with the position held (Labor Code of the Russian Federation) can only be carried out in the presence of the employee. Most organizations document the need to provide a welcoming environment. Members of the commission ask questions, and the employee answers them. Then the examinee leaves the room, and the commission remains to deliberate and make a decision. After this, the employee is invited to return, and the chairman of the commission announces the result.
As a result of passing the test, a decision may be made on suitability or non-suitability for the position held. If the employee meets the established requirements, he can apply for promotion. If the qualification level is insufficient, then three scenarios are possible: the employer can send you to study (to improve your qualifications), demote you or fire you.
If controversial situations arise, it is worth remembering that the entire survey and voting is recorded in the protocol.
Employee certification protocol: sample
The protocol is the main document that contains information about the examinee, as well as about the assessment process itself. It records the entire course of the survey, as well as its result. At the end, the employee must be familiarized with the protocol and signed. There is no unified form for this document, so it is developed by the employer independently and included in the certification regulations. Typically, the protocol is printed on company letterhead and contains the following information:
- document's name;
- date and number;
- location of the assessment;
- composition of the certification commission and list of invited workers;
- basic information about the person being certified - full name, position, department;
- a brief description of the answers to the exam questions;
- the final decision of the commission with a list of votes “for” and “against”.
The document is signed by all members of the commission, the last to sign is its head. The assessment results are entered into the employee’s certification sheet.
Sample protocol
Attestation sheet
The certification sheet also does not have a unified template, so it is drawn up in free form. In this case, the document must indicate:
- date of certification;
- employee details: full name, education, position in accordance with the staffing table, length of service in this position, total length of service;
- control questions that were asked during certification;
- answers on questions;
- test result;
- signatures of commission members;
- employee’s signature confirming familiarization with the document.
If there are any additions or notes, they are also recorded on the certification sheet.
"HR service and personnel management of the enterprise", 2006, N 11
Personnel certification: how to conduct it without mistakes
Certification occupies its own special place in the personnel management system, although it is often confused with personnel assessment. Performance appraisals are just one method of assessment, but their results can have serious consequences for employees. If personnel assessment is the process of determining the effectiveness of employees in the implementation of the company’s tasks, then certification is a procedure for a systematic formal assessment of the compliance of the activities of a particular employee with the standard of performance in the position he occupies. The results of this procedure can be used in court to defend personnel decisions (for example, dismissal of an employee). But let's not talk about sad things... After all, first of all, certification is a real way to increase the efficiency of an enterprise's employees.
The term “certification” came to modern Russian companies from the Soviet past: as a separate block of work on organizing the work of employees, certification was introduced in 1973 by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of July 26, 1973 N 531 (as amended on February 21, 1986), and the Decree of the State Committee for Labor of the USSR and the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR dated October 5, 1973 N 267/470 approved the Regulations on the procedure for certification of management, engineering and technical workers and other specialists of enterprises and organizations of industry, construction, agriculture, transport and communications (hereinafter - Regulations 1973). The last changes were made to it in 1986, and at the moment it has not been canceled or declared invalid.
During the Soviet period, the economy was built on large state-owned enterprises with a workforce of thousands and tens of thousands of people. Today in Russia there are also many large companies in the real sector of the economy and the service sector, with an extensive management structure and branch network, for which the Soviet experience of conducting certification has become relevant. Even small companies with 50 - 100 employees planning to expand their business consider certification as a tool for increasing the efficiency of such a resource as personnel.
For whom is certification required?
It should be noted that our legislation does not oblige all employers, without exception, to conduct certification of their employees. Neither the Labor Code of the Russian Federation nor other normative legal acts of an industry-wide and mandatory nature establish that any employer must periodically check the suitability of its employees for the positions they occupy.
However, there are exceptions here. For example, in accordance with Art. 48 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2004 N 79-FZ “On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation”, in order to determine the suitability of the position being filled, certification of civil servants is carried out once every 3 years. And according to the Federal Law of November 14, 2002 N 161-FZ “On State and Municipal Unitary Enterprises,” the head of a unitary enterprise is subject to mandatory certification.
Mandatory certification is also established by special federal laws in relation to personnel of organizations of certain sectors of economic activity (certain categories of workers in the energy sector, transport sector, at hazardous production facilities, in the field of education and others).
In other cases, certification is not necessary, but if the management of the enterprise decided to carry out this procedure, then there are no obstacles to this. The only thing that the employer and his personnel service must do is to consolidate the certification system in the relevant local regulatory act, for example, in the regulation on the certification of the organization’s personnel. HR managers who have begun to develop a local regulation on certification need to know that the Russian Ministry of Labor clarifies in its clarifications: the local act must take into account the rules that were previously established by acts of the USSR, and it is also advisable to take into account the recommendations given for various industries by the relevant ministries.
Why is certification needed?
First of all, certification allows you to diagnose personnel, that is, obtain information about employees, identify “pain points”, moments that complicate the work of personnel, and solve these problems in a timely manner. During the certification process, an inventory of business competencies is carried out, which is necessary for the company to achieve its goals. We are talking about determining, through certification, the value of employees not only for the department (group), but also for the organization as a whole, the optimal placement of employees in places, and the most adequate application of the remuneration system.
If a particular employee has the necessary competencies for his position, he receives an appropriate salary; if they have “grown up,” the salary can also “grow up.” Employees who demonstrate the best results receive the highest assessment based on the results of certification and can become candidates for the personnel reserve. In turn, employees with an insufficient number of competencies, but in which the company is interested, can be offered a training and development program, that is, certification allows for more targeted training.
Certification allows you to make decisions related to:
Changes in the compensation package, which has specific material consequences for employees;
Development of the organization (aligning human resources with the plans of the organization);
Assessing the current activities (situation) of the entire organization and identifying operational problems;
Formation of the company's personnel reserve.
Carrying out certification
To carry out certification, an certification commission is created, headed by a chairman, which is divided into subcommittees to evaluate employees of a specific position or area of activity. If the purpose of the certification is to check the suitability of the position held and, based on its results, the dismissal of workers is possible, the certification commission must include a member of the commission from the corresponding elected trade union body (provided that there is a trade union). If the certification has other goals and its results do not include the possibility of dismissal (or other negative consequences for employees), then the inclusion of a trade union member in the certification commission is not necessary (for example, if the certification is carried out for the purpose of forming a personnel reserve, to increase wage categories and etc.).
It is important to know that from a legal point of view, certification of employees who have worked in their position for less than 1 year and pregnant women may be considered unlawful. Also, women who have children under 3 years of age and are on maternity leave are not subject to certification (their certification is carried out no earlier than a year after leaving leave).
When preparing certification, organizers need to determine which categories of employees will undergo it and with what frequency (usually certification is carried out once a year).
It is also important to understand what exactly needs to be assessed, since the full certification procedure may include an assessment of the results of work, professional knowledge and skills of employees, and an assessment of their personality traits. Formally, the assessment of a person’s personal qualities and motivational sphere is not included in the subject of certification in its classical sense. However, modern market conditions dictate their own requirements, and based on this, more and more companies are including such an assessment in the certification system for a number of positions (specialties), where the personal and motivational sphere of employees is no less important than professional knowledge and skills. This applies, for example, to managers, employees of commercial services, etc., i.e. to those positions for which the human factor is very important, affecting the business of the company as a whole.
It is also necessary to develop:
Criteria for assessing labor results and the procedure for taking them into account;
Select those skills and personal qualities that are professionally important for each position (type of position) and build so-called success profiles;
Determine the procedure for conducting the assessment procedure itself, as well as procedures for providing information support for the work of the certification commission.
After this, you should select the appropriate diagnostic device (methods by which diagnostics will be carried out) and carry out trial operation of the developed certification system in one of the company’s divisions.
At the preparatory stage of certification, employees prepare reports on the implementation of their professional development plan and work plan. The materials are submitted to the secretary of the commission, who forms a table with employee ratings, which also includes the employee’s assessment by the immediate supervisor.
During the certification, the employee reads out his report on work and professional development plans. The assigned competency scores are discussed by the commission, and then summed up and checked against the position profile. The higher the final score for all competencies, the higher the professional level of the employee, which means he can qualify for a higher salary or be included in the personnel reserve.
The certification procedure requires significant labor and time costs, as well as an objective approach to solving problems. If an external expert opinion is needed during its implementation or there are not enough in-house specialists, then it would be justified to attract professional consultants from outside. The situation when the client sets the introductory conditions, and the consultants directly set up the certification system, has recently become very common.
Consultants can be approached for help as subject matter experts. They will tell you how best to solve a particular problem within the framework of this procedure, and will help train company employees so that they can build and implement a certification system on their own. External consultants may be invited to solve local problems within the framework of certification, for example, to organize and conduct professional testing of employees or expert opinions on individual competencies, to conduct a comprehensive study using the Assessment Center method.
Errors during certification
The main mistake can be made at the very first step - when choosing the purpose of the certification. If certification is carried out only for the purpose of staff reduction or to get rid of individual unwanted employees, then many of the advantages that it provides (increased labor efficiency, increased business indicators through competent personnel rotation and their targeted development) are reduced to nothing.
Low information support for the certification procedure can also affect the psychological climate of the team, especially if certification is carried out for the first time. It should be explained in detail to senior managers what information they will receive as a result of certification, how to use it and what problems can be solved with its help. Company employees can be warned about the certification a couple of months in advance so that they can prepare for this procedure, refresh their memory of the necessary information, and additionally read professional literature. And you shouldn’t be afraid of some tension in the team, because at this time people begin to work better, because... the upcoming certification serves as an additional incentive for them.
Another significant mistake when conducting certification is the use of only subjective methods in preliminary assessment procedures (expert assessment, “360 method”, etc.). It is advisable to use these methods in addition to assessing really measurable criteria: labor results, professional testing results, which are objective indicators.
It would also be a mistake not to use the certification results in further personnel work (training, rotation, work with the personnel reserve). The certification carried out cannot be considered the final event - they did a lot of work, ticked the box, fired someone, reduced the salary of someone... The results of the procedures carried out can and should be used to improve the quality of such a resource as personnel.
Certification results
As mentioned above, certification is also needed in order to make sound management decisions related to personnel management. In particular, based on the results of certification, a number of personnel decisions can be made on a legal basis (dismissal, demotion, transfer to another job).
The procedure for making a decision on the transfer of an employee, his dismissal, or on changing other essential terms of the employment contract should be detailed in the local regulations on personnel certification.
Otherwise, it becomes difficult to apply the relevant articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. If the order based on the results of certification instructs the personnel service to consider the issue of transferring an employee who is recognized as unsuitable for the position held, then the employee, in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a transfer to other vacant positions should be offered if there are any. As a rule, lower positions are offered. If the employee refuses the transfer (and in writing) or there are no vacant positions, then only in this case the employer can dismiss the employee under clause 3 of Part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
If an employee was dismissed on this basis and challenges the dismissal in court, then:
1) the conclusions of the certification commission about the employee’s business qualities will be assessed in conjunction with other evidence in the case;
2) the employer is obliged to provide evidence indicating that the employee refused to be transferred to another job or that the employer did not have the opportunity (for example, due to the lack of vacant positions or jobs) to transfer the employee with his consent to another job in the same organization;
3) if the dismissed employee is a member of a trade union, the employer will have to provide evidence that the certification commission during the certification, which served as the basis for the dismissal of the employee, included a representative from the relevant elected trade union body (Part 3 of Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) , and in addition, evidence that, in accordance with Art. 373 Labor Code of the Russian Federation:
The employer held additional consultations with the trade union body if the latter expressed disagreement with the proposed dismissal of the employee;
The one-month period for terminating the employment contract was observed, calculated from the day the employer received the motivated opinion of the elected trade union body (Article 373 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
To avoid such litigation, the employer must use approved language. The generally accepted assessments of employees based on the results of certification are the assessments “suitable for the position held” and “not suitable for the position held” (companies often use the wording “certified”, “suitable” and others, which is incorrect).
