Punishment for inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Application for personal insult in the workplace - sample

It's good when being at work is enjoyable. However, even a favorite job can be overshadowed by people who are not burdened with knowledge of etiquette. Clients, co-workers, partners, bosses - these are the main culprits when it comes to harassment in the workplace.

We will tell you in this article what to do, how to confront and react to a person at work.

Features of the crime

Many people, when confronted with abusers, threaten the offenders with criminal punishment. Such a threat can only be considered inertia.

Since 2012, the Criminal Code punishes only insulting a person in power. All others should contact the Administrative Code.

Concept and legal characteristics

Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses speaks of insult in general. The official situation of this offense is not considered in any separate section of the article.

What exactly can be considered an insult? Two things are important here:

• the offender seeks to humiliate the dignity and/or honor of his victim;
• the actions of the perpetrator are clothed in some indecent form, that is, they “do not suffer” from the ethics of words and/or actions.

Such an offense must have a perpetrator and an addressee. This can be explained with a simple example.

Let’s assume that a client came to the company’s office with complaints and contacted an available manager. The issue was considered, but it was not immediately possible to resolve the problem.

If a client swears obscenely without addressing anyone, this will not be an insult to anyone present. And if the addressee is a specific employee present, he may regard this as an insult. Of course, it is also important what exactly the offender says/does.

Here it is rational to turn to sociological research. They identified the offending factors empirically. The following may be considered offensive:

• all obscene or obscene expressions (usually swearing, swearing);
• various comparisons - for example, with animals or objects;
• unwanted, cynical touching;
• obscene gestures;
• movements that may result in clothing or part of it being torn off from the victim.

Read on to learn about the signs and articles for insulting a person (an employee) in the workplace.

Composition of the crime and qualifying characteristics

In this case, it is more correct to talk about the elements of the offense. The circumstances of this act have already been discussed in the previous section. It remains to add something important. Let’s imagine: a person is at work, and someone’s statement offends him. Has an offense taken place? Not really, since we are still talking about personal perception.

• Let’s say that employee Ekaterina was teased “Katyusha-piggy” as a child, after which she hated the specific diminutive form of her name. An uninitiated person can call an employee exactly that and thereby insult her. However, from the point of view of etiquette, we are talking here only about some familiarity; there is nothing obscene in the words of an involuntary offender.
• But if the interlocutor says something like “Katyusha, you (you) are such a badass,” then there is at least a comparison with a representative of the fauna. This behavior is consistent with one of the items in the list at the end of the previous section. Here we can talk about insult not only in terms of personal insult, but also from the point of view of generally accepted norms.

The second and third parts of Article 5.61 are devoted to qualified types of offenses, respectively. In one of them we are talking about a publicly committed insult, in the other - about allowing such an act. Now a little more detail.

Read below about what types of insult to a person (employee, colleague) in the workplace are defined by the Labor Code, the Code of Administrative Offences, and other regulations.

Types of insult

In Article 5.61 itself, the division of insult into types is extremely simple; the act may or may not be public. Considering the topic of insults at work, we will have to turn to the practical experience of lawyers.

• Perhaps the most common cases are when insults come from colleagues. On some large enterprises Such situations (with a certain amount of connivance) can arise daily and repeatedly.
• Insults from superiors towards subordinates are another large group of cases.
• Finally, a person at his workplace may be insulted by an outsider - for example, a client of a company, a buyer of a store.

When it comes to verbal abuse, how important is it whether it was obscene? This is an essential detail when preparing a criminal complaint. However, you can insult a person using words only in literary language, but the meaning will still be obscene.

Rules on this issue

In all cases of insult, Article 5.61 will have to be followed. Article 130 of the Criminal Code, which is still sometimes mentioned on various Internet resources, has not been in force for several years.

In addition, the dignity of the individual is protected Russian Constitution. This is stated in Article 21.

What to do?

The issue for Russia is quite complex. A huge number of people suffer abuse in their workplaces every day. Experts (psychologists, sociologists) note that this is currently the sad specificity of our country.

This is especially true in situations where the offender is the boss and the victim is a subordinate. Even if politeness of communication is prescribed in employment contract, this is not a guarantee of employee protection.

Sometimes people simply have no way to fight their offenders. However, if such an opportunity arises, it must be taken advantage of.

We will tell you further about how to write a complaint statement about being insulted by obscene language at work.

The following video will tell you what to do if you are insulted at work:

How to file a complaint?

Everything here is subject to the standards of statements of this kind. In a complaint about personal insult in the workplace, you must provide the following information:

• date and time of the offense;
• who allowed it;
• what exactly was done and how;
• request for action.

It is also advisable to specify the description of the offender’s actions. To do this, you need to indicate exactly why his words/actions were perceived as offensive.

Read below about where to go to report for harassment in the workplace.

Where should I submit it?

At many enterprises, polite treatment is provided for by various internal rules, employment contracts, and other documents.

• In this case, if the offender is a colleague, you can complain to one of the managers.
• If you cannot resolve a conflict within an enterprise, you need to contact representatives of the law. It is interesting that the Code of Administrative Offenses has Article 28.4, which directly states: cases under Article 5.61 are the responsibility of the prosecutor. So lawyers sometimes recommend filing an application with the prosecutor’s office.
• Or you can go straight to court. In this case, we will no longer be talking about a complaint, but about a statement of claim, but this in no way changes the essence of the matter. Indeed, in both cases, the offended person defends his rights.

In any case, the most important part of the case is the evidence. It is best if there are witnesses who are willing to testify. True, if the offender is the boss, you can’t always count on the testimony of eyewitnesses to the situation.

Other ways to prove an insult include recordings from office video cameras, especially if not only video is recorded, but also audio is recorded.

It is possible to prove verbal abuse if the victim had a voice recorder on at the time of the conversation. When submitting such evidence for consideration, lawyers recommend simultaneously attaching a transcript (however, if the sound recording is of good quality, there is no need for it).

Only high-quality and correctly collected evidence will help you win in such a case. Read below about the penalties for insulting someone in the workplace.

Punishment for harassment in the workplace

Since we are talking about an article of the Administrative Code, the responsibility will be administrative. There is only one punishment - .

What amount can we talk about? In this matter, everything depends on who committed the offense. Article 5.61 talks about three categories of people - citizens, officials and legal entities.

It is difficult to imagine that an employee of an enterprise would be insulted by a certain LLC.

• As for citizens, the fine for them ranges from one to five thousand rubles.
• For people in positions, the amounts are higher - from ten to fifty thousand rubles.

Judicial practice

Claims that relate specifically to “official” insults are still rare. Especially if the boss is at fault. Quite often you can hear about insulting a doctor in the workplace; articles and notes in the media are proof of this.

Practice shows that offended subordinates either tolerate inappropriate treatment or leave for another job. And conflicts between colleagues of approximately equal positions are resolved either independently or by filing complaints with managers.

The problem of offensive communication in work communities is enormous. To resolve it, it is necessary (first of all) to increase the level of culture of all people without exception. In this case, the majority of conflicts simply would not arise.

One of the types of violations of an employment contract is, which means that the employee did not perform or performed the work assigned to him incorrectly.

The ethics of business relations presupposes that a conversation between a boss and a subordinate should proceed in a purely official style, therefore no deviations from this norm, conversational style, slang or the use of obscene language are completely unacceptable.

However, if such a case does occur, then it is necessary to properly punish the employee who allowed himself to use offensive language.

There is a certain procedure for punishment for such an offense. This could be a reprimand, reprimand or dismissal.

Which method the employer chooses depends on the severity of the subordinate’s act and the business relationships formed in the company. If communication between the boss and the employee takes place within a friendly framework, implying the absence formal business style conversation even during working hours, then the situation with rudeness may not affect the reputation and labor activity employee and will only affect their personal relationships.

But this is rather an exception to the rule, and most often the employer suppresses the use of swearing with appropriate punishment.

Types of disciplinary sanctions

All features of disciplinary sanctions are described in Articles 192 and 193 Labor Code Russian Federation.

A reprimand is a more severe form of punishment.

Before it is applied, the employee must submit a written explanatory statement in which he describes in detail the situation that occurred.

The presence or absence of an explanatory note does not mean that punishment can be avoided. The decision must be made within a month, excluding vacation and sick days.

But even taking them into account, the employee must be punished within six months from the date of the offense; after this period, the penalty ceases to come into force. If the violation was committed by an employee involved in the field of finance, auditing, inspection, then the penalty must be applied within two weeks.

For a violation committed, an employee may be punished no more than one punishment. No later than three days from the issuance of the order on the violation, it must be signed by the person responsible for the incident, otherwise an act will be drawn up reflecting this event.

Disciplinary action is a great stress for every employee; it leaves an imprint on all future work activity.

However, if in the next 12 months the employee does not receive a second reprimand, then it is considered invalid and the fact of the reprimand is not recorded.

The documents required are similar to those that apply when reprimand. The violation is documented in an explanatory note, which must be provided by the employee within the prescribed period. Next, a report is drawn up describing what happened. With both forms of punishment, the employer has the right to deprive the employee of various bonuses, and can also fire him if this happens again.

The harshest punishment is. It will be applied if, even after a reprimand or reprimand, the employee systematically fails to fulfill his duties and does not pay off the disciplinary violation. An employee’s refusal to write an explanatory note is also a reason for the employer to terminate the contract.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not contain an article providing for dismissal for inappropriate behavior of an employee. But what should an employer do if due to boorish behavior, rude attitude or scandals of an employee suffer from clients, colleagues, in the end, it’s a common cause? This can be considered a violation labor discipline, for which the dismissal will already be lawful.

How to fire a boor by legal means So that later there are no problems with the consideration of the case in court, we will tell you in this article.

How to evaluate rudeness from the point of view of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

There are no special norms in the labor legislation of the Russian Federation that would require employees to “behave well” in the workplace. This is implied as if by itself. However, since rudeness involves a subjective assessment, it cannot be documented.

The character of an employee and his methods of communication are his own business as long as they do not conflict with the requirements of official documents, such as:

• job descriptions;
• employment contracts;
• internal regulations organizations;
• Law of the Russian Federation.

From the point of view labor legislation rude behavior, depending on its form and consequences, can be rightfully classified as:

• non-compliance with labor discipline, the rules of which are fixed in the internal policy of the company (Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
• non-performance or improper execution duties due to the fault of the employee (Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

IMPORTANT! A violation is considered such from a legal point of view if the corresponding norm was adopted in writing and the employee is familiar with it, which is recorded by his signature.

It matters in what area the rude person works and to whom his rudeness is addressed. For example, incomparable incorrect communication with clients in the service sector and dialogues between general workers.

Possible punishments for rudeness at work

Behavior that goes beyond accepted norms always entails consequences. The legal framework provides for three possible types of punishment that an employer has the right to apply to its employees:

• remark (oral);
• reprimand (with execution of an order);
• dismissal as the final disciplinary measure.

Part 5 art. 189 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows in certain situations to apply other sanctions to certain categories of personnel.

PLEASE NOTE! The degree of punishment must be adequate to the violation: thus, dismissal for a single manifestation of rudeness would be unlawful: from the point of view of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, one minor disciplinary offense is not yet a reason for dismissal from office.

Instructions for employers: how to fire a boor

To exclude the possibility of challenging the dismissal and the forced reinstatement of the rude person in his position, the employer is recommended to comply with all points, documenting each step:

1. Establish the normative behavior of employees in a local act, employment contract, job description, Regulations on internal labor regulations - document disciplinary norms.
2. Familiarize all staff with the rules of conduct for a personal visa.
3. If unacceptable behavior has led to an impact on the work process, it is necessary to draw up a report documenting the violation of the disciplinary norm. The basis may be a review dissatisfied client, information from the “complaint” book, a memo from the line manager, etc.
4. If you experience rudeness, abuse, scandal or other unacceptable behavior from an employee for the first time, you can limit yourself to a verbal remark (strict reprimand).
5. A written complaint or repeated incident of rudeness is grounds for disciplinary action (Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
6. The management must request an explanatory note from the offending employee. If he does not provide it within two days, a statement of refusal is drawn up, which is certified by two signatures.
7. Having written evidence of inappropriate behavior and the employee’s own explanations (or refusal of them), management issues a reprimand order. The culprit should be familiarized with the order, and his signature should be obtained. The refusal to sign is also documented in an act - this is evidence of the good faith of the employer who familiarized the employee with the order.

IMPORTANT! The order should mention the troubles or damage caused by the employee’s rude behavior: loss of a client, disadvantages to the company’s reputation, damage production process etc.

8. An employee who has a valid disciplinary sanction has the right to be dismissed if he receives at least two more: not necessarily for rudeness, the offense can be anything that violates the requirements of regulations. Even a few delays are enough.
9. A repeated reprimand for rudeness is equated to repeated violations of labor discipline, which is a legal basis for saying goodbye to an unsuitable employee.

Don't forget about important nuances

The first thing a manager should remember when formalizing such a dismissal is the timing of the reprimand. A penalty can be imposed no later than a month after the violation is committed. If during this time the culprit went on vacation or sick leave, the terms are slightly delayed, but not longer than six months.

The second important circumstance is that punishment for an offense cannot be double. If you have reprimanded a brawler, he can no longer, for example, be deprived of bonuses, and vice versa. You also cannot fire an employee who has already been punished for misconduct in another way.

Boorish colleague: who is to blame and what to do

Often a situation arises where one employee engages in unacceptable behavior towards another colleague. The offended person asks for protection from his superiors, and when he doesn’t receive it, he quits. Is management to blame in this case?

From a universal point of view, it is possible, since the internal atmosphere is a consequence of the employer’s attitude. But from a legal position there are no grounds for the employer’s guilt. Guilt is a violation of certain legal norms. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not require the employer to provide the employee with comfortable psychological conditions for work.

The only exception is Art. 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on labor protection requirements. If rudeness directed at a specific employee causes health problems and this can be proven, the company may share responsibility for compensation for moral damage. In practice, such precedents are extremely rare in courts.

REFERENCE! It is easier to recover damages from the offender himself, but this is already the competence of the Civil Code.

When faced with rudeness from colleagues or superiors, it is not always worth using the letter of the Law to help. First, try to find the reason for such behavior, because understanding largely means stopping it in the future. Most often, rudeness towards other people is caused by:

• personal troubles of the offender;
• desire to assert oneself, envy;
• the desire to defend oneself, often even before an attack;
• thirst for attention.

There are several behavioral tactics that have proven themselves in such situations.

When colleagues are rude:

• ignoring – especially helps with the rudeness of “energy vampires” who simply lack attention;
• humor - cutting off the offender with a joke can be very effective;
• understanding - maybe you will feel sorry for the unfortunate rude person, looking at the situation through his eyes.

When the boss is rude:

• disconnect from the form, paying attention to the content of criticism;
• Under no circumstances should you respond with retaliatory abuse;
• self-respect - it usually does not allow another person to be rude to you;
• collective confrontation - if the boss is constantly rude to the staff, you can contact him with the whole team, because he will not punish or fire everyone.

Exemplary dismissal - not best way fight against rudeness, but if you have to use this powerful measure, it is better to do it correctly.

Svetlana Rumyantseva

Spending most of your life at work, you want mutual understanding and humanity in your relationships with your team. The desire is understandable, but not always feasible. Rudeness at work is not uncommon. Business ethics is not supported by all organizations. Getting personal and rude behavior affects the employee’s self-esteem, worries distract him from his work, and productivity drops.

What is the reason for rudeness and how to resist rude people? You will have to master methods of protecting and preventing inappropriate behavior in a team.

Signs of an unhealthy team

Rudeness at work in many cases is a consequence of poor management. People in a team unite into a single organism. The behavior of one employee affects the work of others. To respond to rudeness, determine the reason for its occurrence. You need to start with an analysis of the working climate.

Rudeness flourishes where business ethics are forgotten. It’s easy to identify an unhealthy team. Its main features:

Indifference of employees to work, relationships among colleagues, events in the business life of the team. It is easy to say rudeness if a person does not respect and value colleagues, subordinates or superiors.
Nervousness and irritability. Appears in teams with ineffective organization of work and rest. and the rudeness comes out.
Envy of other people's successes. In a group of envious people and gossipers, whispers behind your back and obvious rudeness in your face are commonplace.
Rejection of new team members. Stagnation turns out to be a guarantor of stability. New employee is a headache and a harbinger of change. It’s easier to crush a newbie with rudeness.
Shifting responsibility. In case of trouble, team members blame each other, awakening aggression in their ranks.
Difficult relationship with the manager. The boss sets the vector business communication. If he is rude to his subordinates, then an unfavorable psychological situation will develop among the employees.

IN similar situation the only effective solution is treatment of the collective. You won’t be able to resist the crowd alone; it will demolish and crush the daredevil. If you value your job and position, you will have to accept animal laws and start strengthening your nervous system. When you have nothing to lose, act: transfer to another hotel, start looking for a new job.

Reasons for rudeness

Rudeness is rude, harsh and inappropriate behavior. Each person has his own evaluation criteria. An experienced warrior will accept a harsh remark as the norm, unlike a sensitive young lady. Before you commit rash acts, take a closer look at the rude person. Determine what hidden motives drive him.

Desire to stand out

A person suffering from attention deficit tries to win it in any way. It does not matter whether he receives support and approval, or is condemned by the team. Attention is the only goal of rude behavior.

Self-affirmation

Having humiliated a person with a rude statement, the boor tries. He perceives boorish dialogue as a battle for the right to be the strongest. Driving force This person has an inferiority complex.

Rudeness is an outlet for tension. The nervous system wears out, self-control weakens and negativity spills over onto others. One sharp attack is not worth close attention. But a person constantly poses a danger to the team.

Inflated self-esteem

Control yourself. Being rude in response to rudeness does not make you a hero. Consider it a test of endurance. Inhale and exhale slowly. Count to 10. Think of a delicious dinner and a loving spouse at home. Take a break from the irritating actions of the rude person. The solution will come by itself.

Speak only after a pause. Don't stop the boor. Let him speak out.

Focus on the situation. Hasty conclusions will work against you. There are no universal actions in the fight against rudeness. You'll have to think about it. Don't be afraid of procrastination. Make the pauses theatrical and exciting. Develop sensitivity. The more subtly you feel about a person, the more accurate the answer will be.

Don't forget to be positive. A smile is disarming.

Prevention: how to prevent boorish behavior of others at work

An effective prevention against boors will be confident behavior in society and the ability to present oneself.

Don't show insecurity

When a person believes in himself, he deprives the boor of the opportunity to hurt his feelings. Confident people rarely become targets for bullies. Learn to hide your shyness in front of your colleagues and boss.

Do not cross the boundaries of personal and business communication

Remember about social roles. By discussing your personal life at work, you reveal weak points. It's easier to offend you. This doesn't mean you can't build friendships with colleagues. You must differentiate the areas of communication and determine the measure. Excessive secrecy is just as dangerous as complete openness.

More professionalism

It is more difficult to offend a knowledgeable specialist than an incompetent one. If you are having difficulty completing work responsibilities, address them as soon as possible. Create an image of a competent specialist and valuable employee.

Respect the team

Remember the element of mass. By respecting the values ​​and rules of the team, you will take your rightful place among your colleagues and receive support in difficult situation. Rude people love white crows.

Whatever strategy you choose, keep humanity in your heart. Rude people are people too, no matter how bad they may seem.

21 March 2014, 15:25

Tell me what to do if you need to punish an employee for inappropriate behavior. Given: a memo from the head of the department and an explanatory note from the employee, which contradict each other. In total, we have words against words. I don’t know what to do in such a situation. It is necessary to punish, but how can we defend it later if the case goes to court? The problem is that inappropriate behavior was committed against the visitor, but he cannot really say anything, and he is not our employee.

Answer

Very little information. What does inappropriate behavior mean? Do you have rules for communicating with clients or anything similar in your LNA? Rough treatment of the visitor, in a raised voice. And it seems that the information that was announced during the reception went beyond the boundaries of our organization.
As for the LNA, we also have internal labor regulations, which spell out in general terms the rules for treating citizens and colleagues. There is also a provision for working with personal data; everyone signed non-disclosure agreements. The only problem is how this fact can be proven.

Witnesses, acts, memos Please tell me whether disciplinary action can be taken against the manager structural unit for insult and slander against a subordinate. The manager’s job description contains a clause: “Compliance with moral and legal standards of professional communication.” I think not. Disciplinary action are applied for non-fulfillment or improper performance by the employee labor responsibilities. This is not observed here, but you can go to court if there is evidence of insult and slander. Personally, I think that it is enough for you to simply issue reprimands (orders) to both employees and enter them in your personal file. So in any case, you'll be on the safe side

Theoretically it is possible. Only I would write “compliance with moral and ethical standards” or better “norms business ethics».
Did he sign his official title? It would also be good to include compliance with business ethics standards in the PVTR, so as not to sort employees into who has what is written down in their job description. Now point by point.
In a situation where an employee has suffered moral and physical suffering resulting in health problems, the employer's liability is theoretically possible. According to Art. 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to comply with labor protection and occupational safety requirements. Occupational safety, you see, is also about preserving mental health employee. True, the health disorder must be confirmed medical documents. But even then it is difficult to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between rudeness and the resulting consequences in the form of, for example, a nervous breakdown. If compliance with business ethics standards is enshrined in the LNA, and the employee is familiar with it and signs for it, this becomes one of his job responsibilities. One of the mass of the main duties of an employee to observe labor discipline (Article 21 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) first of all means the obligation to comply with the established work schedule. It is the PVTR and job descriptions that make it possible to regard cases of rudeness as a violation of labor discipline and to bring the perpetrators to disciplinary liability. The main problem is proving such violations of labor regulations.
If the boor denies his guilt (and this most often happens), written statements of witnesses to what happened will be required. Quite often, for one reason or another, there are no witnesses to the incident. No wonder people are afraid. An employee can himself record facts of boorish behavior by recording, for example, on his phone. You can, for example, keep the received business paper with a boorish inscription. You can take photos or save SMS. Upon receipt of evidence, the employer draws up a report.

I also came across advice to document everything immediately after slander or insults were made. You need to write down the phrases said to the employee and ask two witnesses to the incident to sign. There must be a phrase stating that everything specified in the document took place.
If there is written confirmation of the misconduct, such as a client complaint, an entry in the log book, or a report from the immediate supervisor, this is also grounds for imposing a disciplinary sanction.
And then we demand an explanation. If he refuses to write, we draw up a statement of refusal with two signatures of the company’s employees. Based on evidence or written confirmation, we draw up an order for disciplinary action.

An employee may go to court regarding slander and insult.
1) or with a claim for protection of honor, dignity, business reputation and compensation for moral damage,
2) or with an application to accept a case of private prosecution for libel or insult.
These two methods of protection differ in the type of liability:
1) for a boor, liability may arise in the form of an obligation to pay a certain amount of money,
2) bringing him to criminal liability for committing a crime (slander or insult).

Art. 152 Civil Code of the Russian Federation:
1. A citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true.

Honor, personal dignity, business reputation relate to personal non-property rights.
“The features of personal non-property rights are the absence of material (property) content and the inextricable connection with the personality of the bearer, which predetermines the inalienability and non-transferability of these rights.”
Moral rights do not have a monetary value, but their violation by other persons can cause moral harm to a person (physical and moral suffering), and this can be compensated by a court decision in monetary terms.

Slander is the dissemination of knowingly false information that discredits the honor and dignity of another person or undermines his reputation (Article 129 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Insult is a humiliation of the honor and dignity of another person, expressed in an indecent form (Article 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Insult can be both in the form of a statement (this is understandable) and in the form of actions. The actions of a boss who threw a pen, folder, or any object at an employee, or threw documents at the employee’s feet, implying that he should collect them, can be regarded as humiliating.
Here.

Based on discussion materials from site visitors