An employment contract is not always terminated at the initiative of the employee or his boss. There are other reasons. One of the reasons for termination of employment is the death of an employee. This condition arises regardless of the will of the parties. Is there a special procedure for dismissal? Are any payments due to the family of a deceased employee?
What payments are due in connection with the death of an employee?
Regardless of the reason for which the employment contract is terminated, the employer is obliged to pay:
- wages for the time actually worked by this employee from the beginning of the month until the date of termination of the relationship, minus those funds that have already been paid (for example, an advance has already been paid for the first half of the month);
- compensation for vacation days which the deceased did not manage to use in the current working year;
- other benefits, which should be paid, but the authorities did not have time to do this due to sudden death. This could be disability benefits, “maternity” money, child care benefits, etc.;
- severance pay, if it is provided for by law or regulations of the enterprise.
In addition, relatives of a deceased employee may qualify to receive:
- social assistance for funeral. The amount of such benefits is established by regional authorities or specified in an employment contract (other local regulatory act);
- financial assistance from the administration of the enterprise. These funds are paid exclusively at the initiative of management. Their amount is prescribed in one of the local regulations. For example, in a collective agreement.
Important
All payments are made on application basis. Relatives of the deceased who have the right to his inheritance write an application addressed to the head.
Additional payments
These include financial assistance and funeral funds. Cash assistance is paid at the expense of the employer. Persons who have incurred the actual expenses of burying the deceased can apply for this money. These can be not only relatives, but also colleagues.
You must apply at your place of work.
Attention
In 2019, the fixed amount for burial is 5,701 rubles. But regional authorities can add more funds from the regional budget.
The employer has the same right. He may not limit himself to the amount prescribed by law, but indicate another - larger amount. These nuances must be specified in a collective agreement or other local regulatory act. In addition, in those areas where the regional coefficient is in effect, it must be taken into account when calculating the funeral benefit.
Important
When applying for compensation for funeral expenses, it is necessary to provide documents that confirm actual expenses. But you should hurry! The application must be written within 4 months from the date of death of the relative.
Relatives of the deceased employee can also count on receiving financial assistance. Making such a payment is not the employer’s responsibility, but his personal initiative. The amount can be negotiated personally with relatives or specified in a local document.
Who can receive payments and benefits
If a person died while in an official labor relationship, then all payments from management must be made to his immediate family. Such as:
- husband/wife;
- parents;
- children;
- persons who were actually dependent on the deceased. This is stated in Art. 141 Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
- other relatives if the deceased does not have first-degree heirs.
It is enough for the closest relatives to present documents confirming their relationship with the deceased. This could be a marriage or birth certificate, certificates from the registry office, or so on. But, if a dependent applies for money, then you need to present a court decision recognizing him as such.
What documents are needed
To receive funds, you must prepare a package of documents, which includes:
- passport of the citizen who applied for compensation;
- a copy of the document confirming the death of the employee. If he is declared dead by the court, then an extract from the court decision is required;
- a document that confirms the existence of family ties between the deceased employee and the one who wishes to receive funds;
- an application addressed to the manager with a request for payment.
Information
There is no unified application form, so it must be submitted in a free but written form. The paper is written addressed to the head of the enterprise where the deceased was officially employed.
Payment terms
All funds must be received within 7 days from the moment of application. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that this deadline is not violated.
The law does not prohibit the administration from issuing money to the applicant a little earlier, without waiting for the expiration of the 7-day period. An order to transfer funds may be issued as soon as documents are received from the applicant.
The latter, in turn, must also meet the deadlines for applying for money. Given exactly 4 months from the date of death to collect the necessary papers and apply for compensation and assistance from the employer. This period is prescribed in paragraph 2 of Art. 1183 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Payments in connection with the death of an employee: personal income tax and insurance premiums
All funds that the employer did not manage to pay to the employee before his death are included in the inheritance estate. This money will be inherited income. And the income that is transferred by inheritance is not subject to income tax. This is stated in paragraph 18 of Art. 217 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Additionally
The management of the enterprise does not have the obligation to transfer personal income tax to the budget as a tax agent. The situation is similar with insurance premiums. From the money that relatives receive, contributions to any fund will not be paid.
Conclusion
If relatives did not turn to the management of the company for money that their deceased relative did not manage to receive, this does not mean that the employer can keep it for himself. These amounts must be transferred to the notary's bank account so that he can include them in the inheritance estate.
Unfortunately, the list of grounds for termination of an employment contract also includes the death of an employee. Moreover, it is not as rare as it might seem at first glance. Employees of the personnel services of large enterprises, where the staff can number tens of thousands of people, from time to time are forced to draw up a lot of documents related to the termination of the employment contract, guided precisely by Article No. 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
On the one hand, this is just one of the situations provided for by the current legislation, on the other hand, it is a delicate topic when it is necessary to make payments to the relatives of the deceased, as well as draw up all the necessary documents as correctly as possible, taking into account all the nuances of this process.
Today, the Labor Code quite clearly defines the procedure for terminating the employment relationship between an employer and an employee in connection with the death of the latter.
Norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
Wording is of paramount importance in this situation. From a legal point of view a deceased person cannot be fired. Accordingly, it would be a grave mistake to record “dismissed due to death” in the employment record.
It would be correct to say: the employment contract was terminated due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties.
It is with this wording that Article No. 83 appears in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The situation discussed in the article is spelled out in paragraph 6 of part 1 of this article.
As in all other cases preceding the termination of an employment relationship, the employer is obliged to document this by issuing an appropriate order. Based on the general provisions of Art. 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee is obliged to familiarize himself with the contents of this order and confirm it in writing. Of course, in the presented case this is impossible to do. The law does not say anything about the fact that the order must be signed by relatives or other representatives of the deceased, so the column of the document that states that the employee is familiar with it remains empty.
What date is the dismissal order issued?
The document serving as a legal basis for termination of an employment contract under clause 6, part 1, article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is in accordance with Federal Law No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997 death certificate, which is issued by civil registry authorities.
This is an important nuance, meaning that oral or written messages from relatives of the deceased, internal affairs officers or medical workers. institutions cannot be considered a sufficient basis for starting the process of documenting the termination of an employment contract. Accordingly, the order regarding this cannot be dated earlier than that indicated on the death certificate.
As a rule, the personnel service receives an official document confirming the death of a person after some, often very long, time.
However, in the order itself, the employee’s last working day is recognized as the day preceding his death, or, if, for example, he died during the working day, this date should be considered the last working day.
For example, a person died on June 15, the relatives received a death certificate, which recorded this date, on June 30, and provided this document to the place of work of the deceased on September 5. In this case, the corresponding order should be dated September 5, however, in accordance with Art. 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation it must be reflected that the last day on which the employee performed his labor duties is June 14, if the person did not return to work the next day.
The same applies to the situation when an employee was declared dead by a decision of a judicial authority. The date of death in this case will coincide with the date the court decision enters into legal force, and the last working day will be the last day of his actual return to work.
Procedure for HR employees
There is a fairly clear algorithm for actions in such situations, which can only vary slightly depending on specific circumstances:
- First of all, the HR employee needs to obtain an official document (or a properly certified copy) indicating the death of the person. In addition to the actual certificate of the established form, issued by the civil registry office, this may be a decision of a judicial authority to establish the fact of death or recognize a person as dead. It is the data from this document that will be used to justify the termination of the employment contract under the circumstances provided for in paragraph 6 of part 1 of article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
- Next, the head of the organization in the relevant document orders to terminate the employment contract. The order must be dated on the day the personnel service received the document confirming the death of the employee. The order is issued according to the unified form No. T-8, which was approved by the State Statistics Committee on April 5, 2004. In general, this is a standard document, except for the absence of the employee’s signature indicating that he has read the order.
- The issued order must be properly registered in the instructions.
- Next, you need to make the necessary entry in the employee’s work book. In accordance with clause 17 of the rules for maintaining and storing labor records, which were approved by Government Decree (No. 255 of April 16, 2003), in the event of the occurrence of circumstances provided for in part one of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the necessary entry is made in the book with the obligatory indication of the paragraph this article, which served as a direct basis for termination of labor relations. At the same time, in the second column the date of death is indicated in accordance with the data from the document confirming this fact.
- An employee of the personnel department is required to make a copy of the employment record for storage in the archives of the enterprise.
- The work book must be issued to the relatives of the deceased. Relatives must present a document confirming the relationship (marriage certificate, passport, birth certificate, etc.). The HR department employee is required to make copies of these documents, certify them and file them in the personal file of the deceased. Also, at the request of relatives, the work report can be sent by registered mail with a mandatory list of the contents and notification of delivery to the recipient. In this case, an entry is made in the accounting book containing the details of the receipt received at the post office.
- It is necessary to make a full monetary settlement with the relatives of the deceased.
You can see the procedure for preparing this document in the 1C program in the following video:
Calculation and procedure for cash payments
This amount usually consists of two parts, although in some cases additional payments are possible:
- Firstly, these are the funds that must be paid to the resigning employee in the manner prescribed by law. This means monetary remuneration for work, taking into account all additional payments, bonuses, regional coefficients and other allowances.
- In addition, this may be other payments provided for by legislative acts or employment contract.
All of these amounts are paid exclusively to close relatives of the deceased, and only in their absence can settlements be made with relatives of the second and subsequent orders. Here you need to refer to the articles of the Family and Civil Code. It clearly states that this category includes spouse, children or parents of a citizen.
These persons must provide the accounting department of the enterprise where the deceased worked with documents confirming relationship and identification. If several eligible relatives are applying to receive money at once, it makes sense to turn to Article 1183 of the Civil Code. It states that payments similar to those in question should be received by family members who lived together with the citizen before his death, as well as disabled dependents, regardless of whether they lived together or not.
According to Art. 1114 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, interested parties can present their rights to receive these payments within 4 months.
If this does not happen, then all amounts are included in the general inheritance, and the measures provided for by the relevant articles of the Civil Code are applied to them.
Another approach to payment social benefits for funeral. Any person who financially provides for the funeral of the deceased can apply for it. In order to receive benefits, you must provide, in addition to the application and death certificate, any payment document established by law confirming the costs of the funeral rite. It is understood that this payment must be made on the day of application and provision of all necessary documents. However, you can apply for benefits only within six months from the date of death of the person.
In addition to the payments discussed, the employer can provide financial assistance to the relatives of a deceased employee.
Such payments may be provided for by a collective agreement or other regulations of the enterprise.
Finally, if certain deductions were made from the monetary remuneration of the deceased in accordance with a court decision in favor of third parties or the state (fines in criminal cases, fees for claims, alimony, etc.), then in this case the personnel service employee is obliged notify the bailiff in writing of the termination of the employment contract of the debtor employee.
Last modified: January 2020
Every manager sooner or later experiences a situation where an employee dies. Therefore, it becomes necessary to formalize the termination of the contract. Since this circumstance does not depend on the will of the parties, the dismissal procedure has its own characteristics. In the article we will look at the grounds for terminating an employment relationship, how to properly draw up dismissal documents, what date to sign the order, what to do with the work book, what payments are accrued and to whom they are paid.
Grounds for dismissal in case of death of an employee
The grounds for termination of an employment agreement are listed in Article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. One of them refers to circumstances that do not depend on the will of the employer and employee. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation is dedicated to them. The list of reasons why working relationships break down includes the death of an employee.
The fact of death is confirmed by the following documents:
- certificate issued by the civil registry office;
- a court decision by which an employee is declared dead;
- a court decision declaring an employee missing.
As a rule, relatives report a sad event. To initiate dismissal, you must provide one of the listed documents.
If a citizen died due to an accident at work, the employer conducts an internal investigation. The cause of death and the guilt of company employees are being established.
The procedure for dismissal due to the death of an employee
Let's consider how to formalize the dismissal of an employee due to death.
Step 1. Compiling an order
First of all, it is established what calendar date to dismiss the deceased employee. Usually the date of death and the date of termination of the contract are not the same. The last working day is the day preceding the negative event. The date of dismissal must coincide with the date of death of the employee. The order is issued upon receipt of supporting documents.
The order () must indicate the following information:
- document date;
- date of dismissal due to death;
- Full name of the employee;
- his position, the structural unit in which he worked;
- the reason for dismissal with reference to clause 6 of part 1 of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
- the basis for issuing the order (details of the death paper);
- manager's signature.
After signing the order, there is no need to introduce it to the relatives of the deceased.
According to Article 2 of the RF IC, members of the family of the deceased are the spouse, parents, adoptive parents, and children.
Step 2. Filling out the work book
The personnel employee reflects the fact of termination of the contract in the work book.
The “Work Information” section reflects the following data:
- serial number of the record;
- calendar date;
- the basis for termination of the agreement is dismissal due to the death of the employee;
- order details;
- position, full name and signature of the employee who made the entry.
Abbreviations and inaccuracies are not allowed.
Entry in the work book (sample):
The document is issued to the relatives of the deceased. To receive it you will need to present:
- certificate from the registry office on registration of the death of a citizen;
- passport of the applicant.
- paper confirming relationship with the deceased.
The document is issued against signature. He puts his signature on the receipt. An entry is made in the Accounting Book indicating that the documentation was issued against a receipt.
If relatives are in another city, then they must send a request indicating the address to which the document should be sent. It is sent by registered mail with notification and internal inventory. After the notice is returned with a note indicating receipt of the correspondence, it is stored in the employee’s personal file.
If no one comes for the document, it is stored until required.
Step 3. Filling out a personal card
Similar data is entered into the personal card. The “Signature” line remains empty.
Entry in a personal card (sample):
What benefits do the family members of the deceased receive?
The procedure for dismissal due to the death of an employee includes the calculation of payments. Relatives are paid wages, sick leave benefits, and compensation for missed vacations.
Salary
Payment in connection with the death of an employee is carried out by the company's accounting department within 4 months from the date of his death. During this period, relatives must submit an application and a package of the same documentation as for obtaining a work book.
In the statement () you must indicate:
- company name, position and full name of the manager;
- Full name of the applicant, address, passport information, contact details;
- request to pay salary;
- account details;
- date and signature.
In addition to the salary, the accounting department must calculate compensation for unused vacation and all bonuses due to the deceased.
If relatives do not apply for payment before the end of 4 months, the amount due to them will be added to the inheritance.
Sick leave
In the event of death during illness, a certificate of incapacity for work is issued, which is closed on the day of the employee’s death. Relatives receive sick leave benefits.
To receive payment, family members of the deceased apply to his place of employment. Documents must be submitted before the end of the four-month period.
Funeral benefit
Relatives of the deceased have the right to apply for funeral benefits. To do this, you must submit an application () with the following attachment:
- invoices confirming funeral expenses;
- death certificates;
- papers on relationship with the deceased;
- passports of the applicant.
You must apply for payment before six months have passed from the date of the employee’s death. The benefit is issued by the employer through the Social Insurance Fund.
Are insurance premiums and personal income tax paid?
The law provides for a personal income tax benefit if the death of an employee occurs. Also, the employer does not pay insurance premiums.
The list of payments that are issued to relatives without taxes and mandatory payments includes:
- salary;
- compensation for unused vacation;
- sick leave benefit;
- funeral subsidy;
- financial assistance from the employer.
Personal income tax is not withheld from financial assistance if the relatives of the deceased who received it lived with him.
Let's sum it up
Thus, an order to dismiss a deceased employee is issued on the basis of a paper confirming his death. The work book is issued to family members of the former employee. They also have the right to receive a salary for him, sick leave benefits, and a funeral subsidy. Insurance premiums and personal income tax are not charged on the transferred payments.
Termination of an employment contract in connection with the death of an employee and the corresponding dismissal order in accordance with paragraph 6 of part 1 of Article 86 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are possible only if there is a death certificate or a court decision declaring him dead (Letter of Rostrud dated 09/05/2006 No. 1552-6).
Until this point, “absence for an unknown reason” must be recorded on the report card (code “NN” or “30”).
Possible death situations
Dismissal of an employee due to death - the actions of the company management in the matter of formalizing dismissal in such a tragic situation depend on where exactly everything happened. Let's consider the possible options:
- an employee dies outside of the workplace, during free (non-working) time, for example at home;
- an employee dies at work or on a business trip.
In the first case, if the event occurs during non-working hours, the reasons are determined without the participation of the enterprise management. Relatives must provide a death certificate to the place of work. This is followed by the standard procedure for dismissal in connection with the death of an employee 2020. If the death occurred at work, then an investigation is first carried out. Based on the results, the management of the enterprise is found guilty and held accountable, or a decision is made about non-involvement. The greatest difficulties arise if the tragedy occurs on a business trip. In this case, an investigation is also ordered.
Grounds for dismissal
Let's return to the issue of paperwork. The Labor Code states that dismissal of an employee due to death is possible only upon presentation of documents confirming death:
- death certificate obtained from the registry office;
- a court decision according to which a person is declared dead;
- a court decision in which a citizen is declared missing.
If an employee has relatives, they are the ones who provide the company with a death certificate. If a person is single, then to obtain a certificate, the employer will have to contact the registry office.
A citizen is declared dead by a court decision in the following cases:
- relatives filed a statement that they do not know about the person’s whereabouts for 1 year;
- there is no information about the citizen at the place of residence or registration for 5 years;
- if a person finds himself in circumstances that threaten his life (for example, a natural disaster), then by a court decision the citizen is declared dead after 6 months.
You have 1 month to appeal the court decision. During this time, another person may occupy the position, but the employment is considered temporary.
Drawing up an order for dismissal upon death of an employee
The corresponding document is drawn up according to the standard T-8 form. In such an order, they try not to use the word “dismiss”. As a rule, they write “terminate the employment relationship” and indicate the reason: “due to death.” There is no signature in the line “I have read the order”; relatives should not sign there either.
Sample letter of dismissal due to death
Dismissal due to the death of an employee: what date is the order issued?
The date of termination of the contract is considered to be the date indicated in the presented death document. On the day the order is issued, the employer needs to accrue all amounts due to the employee before dismissal, including compensation for unused vacation (Articles 84.1, 140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
If the employee was liable for military service and was registered with the military, the employer will have to notify the relevant government authorities of the fact of death.
Dismissal due to death: entry in the work book
The entry in column 3 “Work information” for dismissal due to the death of an employee (entry in the labor record 2020) is formulated in accordance with Art. 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and clause 5.4.
Payments to the family of a deceased employee
Family members (spouse, children, parents, adoptive parents, adopted children) of an employee who lived together, as well as dependent persons on the date of dismissal, regardless of the fact of cohabitation (Article 141 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Article 2 of the Family Code), have the right to receive both salary and all additional payments (social insurance benefits, compensation for harm caused to life or health, other amounts due).
Simultaneously with making a settlement in connection with dismissal due to the death of an employee, the employer issues a work book to the employee’s relatives or persons entitled to it. Must be signed. However, this can only be done upon presentation of a written application and documents confirming the relationship (Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated July 16, 2009 No. 20-15/3/073541).
Relatives can apply for payments within four months from the date of opening of the inheritance. The employer is obliged to make payments no later than a week from the date of submission of the relevant documents. If the request is not received within four months, these amounts are included in the inheritance and are inherited on the general basis established by the Civil Code (clauses 2, 3).
Payments due to family members of a deceased employee (death of an employee - registration of dismissal), regardless of their amount, are not subject to personal income tax (clause 18). Accordingly, the employer does not have the obligation to calculate and withhold tax from these amounts (clauses 1, 2).
Dismissal of a deceased employee
Step-by-step instruction:
- Relatives of the deceased provide supporting documents.
- The HR employee prepares the appropriate order for the dismissal of the deceased employee.
- A notice of dismissal is drawn up indicating the document giving grounds for dismissal.
- The management of the company signs the order, puts a stamp, and registers the document.
- Registration of a calculation certificate.
- Registration of a personal citizen card.
- Entry in the work book.
The reason for the termination of the employment relationship between a person working in a company and management may be force majeure circumstances. When a dismissal is formalized due to the death of an employee, the premature death of the employee is considered one of these reasons. No matter how sad the reason for terminating an employment contract may be, it is very important to know how to formalize it correctly.
What date should be included in the order when dismissing due to the death of an employee?
Since such situations do not occur very often at an enterprise, sometimes QA specialists do not know how to prepare all the necessary documents without errors and what to include in them.
The following raises many questions: what exactly should be the date of dismissal in connection with the death of an employee, and when is it necessary to draw up a management order in this regard.
Due to the fact that a company employee dies, all documents for registration of his dismissal must be brought to the company by his relatives and friends. This often requires a fairly significant period of time.
However, the personnel officer must not forget that the reason for this kind of dismissal can only be a death certificate, and until he sees a copy of it, relying only on conversations and rumors, it is not worth drawing up documents for termination. Indeed, in such a situation it is very easy to get into trouble and reflect an invalid fact.
If the death of a person is recognized in connection with his long unknown absence, then the reason for terminating the contract with him is the corresponding court decision.
Attention! It is imperative to remember that if a dismissal is made due to the death of an employee, then its date is indicated by the date of death of the person, which is indicated on the certificate.
Since this date may fall on weekends and holidays, the date of premature death is still set. However, the order according to which this event is drawn up must be dated to the time the relatives contacted the company with all the documents. These dates do not coincide quite often.
If you dismiss an employee who died prematurely by the date of submission of supporting documents, it turns out that the company worked with the deceased person. And this is contrary to current legal norms.
A special rule applies to recognizing a person as missing. Only a judge can recognize him as such if a period of five years has passed or the worker’s disappearance was in circumstances that exclude him from the possibility of remaining alive.
This decision of the judge, according to the law, must come into force. The day of dismissal in such a situation will be considered the date the judge’s ruling comes into force.
Compensation payments
When an enterprise terminates a contract with an employee due to his death, his earnings do not disappear. All wages earned but not paid out must be transferred to his close relatives. They are recognized as a spouse, children, parents.
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the payment of the remaining salary is made within one week from the date of application by the relatives of the deceased. If the company's managers do not meet the allotted time, they will have to pay compensation for the delay, which is calculated in the amount of 1/150 of the current rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, based on each day of delay.
Payments to the Pension Fund, compulsory medical insurance and personal income tax from the salary of a deceased employee in 2019
If at the time of the employee’s death his wages for the time worked, as well as compensation for unused vacation, remain unpaid, then these amounts are received by relatives by right of inheritance. Is it necessary in this case to calculate and withhold personal income tax from these amounts and make contributions to funds?
