Explanatory note (sample) about an error in work

Every employee who commits a misdemeanor must be given an opportunity by the employer to explain himself before imposing punishment. An explanatory note about an error in work (a sample is given in the article) is compiled by the employee within two days from the date of the request to write it.

Actions of the employer if the employee has committed a violation

The first thing an employer should do when a violation is found on the part of an employee is to record this violation.

As such a fixation, you can apply:

• decision of the commission (for example, when an employee committed a misconduct, the consequence of which was damage to company property);
• an act (for example, in case of refusal to undergo a medical examination);
• report from the head of the department (for example, in the case when his subordinate did not fulfill the plan).

The established procedure for applying punishment provides for the mandatory demand for explanations from the employee. For these purposes, the employer is obliged to ask the employee to write an explanatory note to him. Such a request is made in free form. It may not be drawn up in writing, for example, if the employee himself is ready to explain himself. But there are conflict situations. In such cases, the employer is advised to request explanations in writing.

If the employee refuses to explain, then after two days the management has the right to draw up an act about this. On the basis of an explanation or an act of non-explanation, management must issue an order for the application of a disciplinary sanction of their choice. This order must be announced to the violator against signature within three working days. These days do not include the absence of the worker. If the employee refuses to familiarize himself with the order and put his signature on the order, then the management should draw up an act about this.

Explanatory note on the fact of detected violations

The legislation does not establish the form of the employee's explanation of the violation committed by him. Explanatory requirements have not been established either. But, based on the essence of this document, it should reflect:

• data of the violator (Name, position);
• date of preparation of the document;
• the essence of the violation;
• the circumstances under which the violation was committed;
• reasons for the offence.

The explanatory note (we give a sample to this article) is drawn up in the first person in one copy. Since this document is drawn up by the employee, the employer does not have the right to dictate its text and insist on the inclusion of any circumstances in it.

Sample explanatory note

How to determine if there was a misdemeanor?

To identify a misdemeanor, you need to determine:

• whether the employee violated his labor duties;
• whether the employee is guilty of violating the rules.

In order for the employer and employee to clearly understand who is responsible for what, the work responsibilities of all employees must be described in detail. All hiring persons must be familiar with them. Labor obligations are fixed in the employment contract. In more detail, they can be reflected in the individual job description.

What measures can be taken?

If the employer, after receiving an explanatory note and according to the head of the violator, reveals that a disciplinary offense has indeed been committed, then disciplinary measures may be taken against the violator.

The following types of charges are provided:

• remark (the most lenient punishment);
• rebuke;
• dismissal (the most severe punishment).

The employer has the right to choose only one of the punishments. It is possible to dismiss an employee for misconduct only in the cases listed in

• An example of an explanatory note

How to write an explanatory note?

An explanatory note is a business document that is in the internal circulation of the organization. The content of the document involves an explanation of the causal relationship between an event, act or fact, usually of a negative nature, that has already happened. An explanatory note can be an accompaniment to the main document, then its contents will provide explanations of certain provisions of this document.

The purpose of the explanatory note is to clarify the situation by a person who is the main person in the events that have occurred, perhaps their culprit; the purpose of the explanatory note is to conduct an internal investigation into the causes of the incident, understand them, and draw the right conclusions.

In Art. 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the employer undertakes to demand the writing of an explanatory note from the employee in the event of an alleged disciplinary offense. The employee has the right to refuse to write an explanatory note, the law provides for this, the employer in this case has the right to apply a disciplinary sanction against the employee, without his explanatory note.

The form, the explanatory note template includes the required details:

• - name of company;
• - an indication of the official to whom the note is addressed, his full name;
• - name of the document - "Explanatory note";
• - date of compilation and registration number of the note;
• - title to the text ("Regarding ...", "About ...");
• — explanation text;
• - the compiler, his signature.

An example of an explanatory note

Dean of the Faculty of History and Philology Orlova N.I.
from a student of group 218 Ivleva G.P.

Explanatory note

Regarding missing classes on October 22, 2011.
I, Ivleva Galina Petrovna, missed the school day on October 22 (3 classes and 1 practical seminar), due to the fact that my mother from the village of. Alexandrovka.
My mother has a heart disease, and she has to undergo examinations several times a year at the center of functional diagnostics, which is exactly what she came for this time. On October 22, 2011, she suddenly became ill, she began to choke, I called an ambulance for my mother.
The doctor gave my mother the injections she needed and told her that she needed to rest for the whole day. I decided not to go to classes, I stayed to observe the condition of my mother. The ambulance doctor Prosyannikov A.V., at my request, wrote a note that my mother needed observation. Attached is a note from the doctor. I ask you to consider a good reason for missing classes.

Student of group 218 Ivleva Ivleva G.P.

Sample explanatory note to school

An explanatory note to the school is drawn up in accordance with the usual requirements, only the parent of the student, or his official guardian, can write it, a similar note is written in the name of the director, it is necessary to indicate in the note the class your child goes to.

Director of Alexander secondary school No. 15 Nikitin S.A.
from Kotov A.A., father
a student of the 6th "A" class, Sergey Kotov.

Explanatory note

About skipping classes by Sergey Kotov on October 2, 2012.
On October 2, 2012, I, Kotov Alexey Aleksandrovich, together with my family - my wife and son Sergey, a student of the 6th "A" class, were driving from a summer cottage where we were harvesting. When we were about 5 kilometers from the city, my car stalled. I couldn't start the car so I had to call a tow truck. As a result of this incident, my son was 3 hours late for class. On this day, he had only 4 lessons, there was no point in going to classes. I called the class teacher Anna Petrovna Osipova and explained that my son had missed classes for a good reason.

Explanatory note on non-fulfillment of the plan

Sample explanatory note to tax

Head of the department of desk audits of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 2 of Artyom
Stafeeva A.O.
from the General Director of Yuzhnoye LLC Aleksandrov I.I.

Explanatory note

Regarding the claims of the tax inspectorate
I, Alexandrov Ivan Ivanovich, in response to the claims of the department of desk audits of the Federal Tax Service No. 2 about the late submission of reports, I explain that due to a serious illness of the accountant of Yuzhnoye LLC, in October 2010 I was forced to fill out and send quarterly reports on my own.
The report to the tax office was sent by me personally by registered mail, with notification, at the post office No. 3 of the city of Artyom on October 20, 2010, which does not contradict the existing legislation, the deadlines for sending the report were not violated by me. Perhaps the postal workers are to blame for the late report.
I am enclosing the postal receipts with the explanatory note, which indicate the time of sending the registered letter by me.

General
director of Yuzhnoye LLC Alexandrov Alexandrov I.I.

Explanatory note for being late

lieutenant colonel Pavlenko S.S.
from an employee of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a clerk of the combat department
Zaitseva O.P.

Explanatory note

Concerning being late for work on July 26, 2012
I, Zaitseva Olga Petrovna, on July 26, 2012, was 2 hours late for work. The fact is that this morning, during my journey to the bus stop, I became a witness and participant in an unpleasant incident. A ten-year-old girl walking in front of me was suddenly attacked by a stray dog ​​and bitten. I had to intervene in the situation, as the girl was very scared and crying, and her wound was bleeding. I took the girl to the nearest emergency room, called her parents at work, and then went to work. Please consider a valid reason for being late.

Sample explanatory note for absenteeism

Commander of military unit 55555
lieutenant colonel Pavlenko S.S.
from an employee of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a locksmith of the logistics department
Petrova O.S.

Explanatory note

Concerning absenteeism on 29 July 2010
I, Petrov Oleg Semyonovich, on July 29, 2010, could not go to work. The previous Sunday evening there were guests in my house, there were few snacks, and a lot of alcohol. I myself did not understand what had happened, only I woke up late in the evening with a terrible headache, and there were no guests in the house anymore. I decided to remove the dishes from the table and lie down a little more. When I next woke up, it was already late Monday morning. I realized that I was very late for work, my head and whole body still ached. I didn't go to work. I admit that I was wrong. This won't happen again.

Sample explanatory note of a cashier

Store Manager No. 8
Klimova N.P.
from the cashier of the industrial goods department
Panova O.V.

Explanatory note

Regarding the erroneously punched check on April 5, 2010
I, Popova Olga Vladimirovna, on April 5, 2010, mistakenly punched a cashier's check, discovered an error before removing the daily report with cancellation. It cannot be my fault for what happened, since I am very attentive to working with KKM. I think the reason for this is a malfunction in the operation of the cash register, since such errors are observed for several days in a row. I ask you to pay attention to the work of this KKM.

In the presence of a disciplinary or labor offense, the employer has the right to impose disciplinary punishment on the employee, but at the same time, he is obliged to request a written explanation of the situation from the violator. Based on the explanatory note drawn up by the employee, the employer can not only make a decision on punishing the employee, but also assess the severity of his misconduct.

Why is an explanatory note needed?

In the workflow, a lot of various documents are distinguished, among them is an explanatory note. It is used to explain the causes of certain situations, actions or facts. Paper is considered by law as a form of employee self-defense. And it is on the correctness of its compilation, the logic of the presentation of the facts that the subsequent decision of the leadership depends.

Often, an explanatory note is required in the following situations:

• various emergency situations affecting production;
• various violations of labor discipline;
• violation of production discipline;
• various disciplinary offenses;
• misdemeanors.

In particular, most explanatory notes are drawn up due to being late for work or absenteeism, failure to fulfill official obligations. Here is a sample letter of absence from work:

Design rules

Despite the fact that there is still no common unified form for compiling an explanatory note, a number of requirements are put forward for it by the rules of document management:

1. The document is drawn up on a sheet of A4 paper in both handwritten and printed versions.
2. When writing, a strictly business style of presentation of information is used. It is not allowed to use emotionally colored vocabulary when writing a document.
3. Mandatory absence of obscene and colloquial vocabulary.
4. Brief presentation of information. It is not necessary to write a poem on ten pages, rather briefly and to the point state the main points.
5. The document is always written in the first person.
6. In the presentation of the event, logic, a clear chronology, should be visible.
7. There are no final conclusions in the test of the explanatory note. That is, you should not write at the end of the document: "Based on the facts, I consider myself innocent of being late for work."

A correctly drawn up note, which indicates not only the facts that served as its writing, but also weighty arguments in favor of the employee, can mitigate the misconduct, therefore, help, if not to avoid punishment, then at least partially reduce the amount of the fine.

Required details

In the explanatory note, like any other document, a number of details must be indicated. These include:

• name of the organization, structural unit;
• addressee, often the head of the organization;
• the addresser, that is, the direct offender;
• name of the document type;
• registration number. Specified in the personnel department during registration;
• document text;
• date of writing;
• compiler's signature.

When taking into account all the listed details, after writing, a document will be obtained according to the following model:

Text composition

The text of the explanatory note consists of two parts:

1. The factual part, which sets out the facts that have become the reason for writing the document. For example: “June 23, 2016, I didn’t show up for work.”
2. Explanatory, which gives the reasons due to which the situation arose.

Features of dating

The note is dated by the date of its compilation, and not the commission of the offense itself, which is very important. This is due to the fact that within a month after the discovery of the misconduct, not counting the time that the employee was on vacation (on sick leave), it can be applied to him. A correct date of compilation serves as an indication of the date from which the report is kept.

The procedure for compiling a note

When writing any explanatory note, you can follow this order:

1. The position and name of the person to whom you are submitting an explanatory note are indicated in the upper right corner.
2. Under the addressee, the position and name of the compiler are indicated.
3. Below is the name of the document.
4. The main part sets out the facts that led to the situation.
5. At the end of the note is the date of the document and a personal signature.

Attachments to the note

Often appendices are attached to the text of the explanatory note. These can be various kinds of certificates (for example, a certificate issued by a paramedic), acts (for example, an act drawn up by an emergency service during the repair of a water or gas pipeline), a relevant article from the media confirming the fact of an accident, damage to a highway, etc. .

The presence of these papers significantly affects the text of the explanatory note, confirming the facts set forth in it.

Examples of an explanatory note

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with typical examples of an explanatory note.

A note on dereliction of duty:

A note about being late for work:

An explanatory note is drawn up by an employee in the event of a disciplinary or labor violation and serves to protect the employee from the imposition of penalties or their mitigation. Compiled by the employee at the request of the employer on an A4 sheet by hand or in computer form.

If an employee commits any illegal actions at his workplace, or, conversely, is inactive, the employer may require him to provide written explanations of what is happening.

If an employee does not fulfill his immediate labor duties, violates labor discipline or the daily routine at the enterprise, then the employer has the right to apply a disciplinary sanction to such a negligent employee. But before that, he must request a written explanation from the employee, which will describe the grounds for the employee to commit such an act.

Explanatory notes should be written by hand. This confirms the authorship of the offending employee. As judicial practice shows, cases of refusal of authorship of official documents that were printed on a computer are quite large.

A written explanation is used when it is necessary to prove the validity of the reasons for what happened. Since before applying a disciplinary punishment to an employee, the employer must carefully understand what happened, the details are argued in the explanatory note.

Each explanatory note must detail all the details of the deed so that the employer can clearly understand whether the fault of his employee in what happened or not.
In addition, a note can also be exculpatory in nature, when an employee explains in detail to the employer that he is not guilty of what happened.

The law takes 2 working days to draw up a note. If during this period the note is not submitted to the employer, it will be necessary to draw up an act of non-submission. The presence or absence of a note in this case will not affect the application of a disciplinary sanction.

The employee is obliged to explain to the employer what caused the commission of this or that act. Circumstances may be of a different nature, but all of them lead to the following violations of labor discipline:

• being late for work. Reasons can be good or bad. But the employee must clearly describe them. The law does not specify which reasons are valid. This will be decided by the boss. But, for example, an injury on the way to work will be considered a good reason for being late;
• non-fulfillment by the employee of his immediate labor duties, or their fulfillment in an incomplete volume, which leads to a decrease in the performance of the department or other structural unit;
• absence from the workplace without good reason and without relevant documents;
• injury to an employee. The incident must be due to the negligence of the employee himself;
• the employee did not fulfill the assignment given to him by the employer or his immediate supervisor. At the same time, the issued order is not included in the main duties of this employee;
• the employee is present at the workplace in alcoholic, narcotic or toxic intoxication. This fact must be confirmed by a medical report. The fact that "he smells" is not proof. There are no valid reasons for such a violation, so the employee can only write an exculpatory explanatory note;
• the employee did not provide his immediate supervisor with reliable information about the state of production activities on the equipment entrusted to him;
• violation of the rules of life safety, which are provided for at this enterprise, and which are enshrined in the relevant regulatory act.

Only the employer or an authorized person who has the right to make decisions on the application of penalties can demand written explanations. Such an authorized person must be appointed to the position directly by the employer, or by the general meeting of the company's participants.

The employee has the right not to write an explanatory note at work, as it directly or indirectly confirms his guilt in the incident. But, as practice shows, if the employee refuses, the employer finds him guilty and applies a penalty to him, up to and including dismissal.
At the same time, the refusal to write an explanatory note to the manager must be in writing, otherwise the employer will not prove, in the event of a trial, that he demanded an explanation from the employee, but he did not provide them.

But it is better to write explanations, and state all the facts honestly. Then there is a possibility that the employer will "permeate" the problems of his subordinate and forgive him. As a result, no punishment will be applied.

An explanatory note is written by hand on a regular sheet of paper, or on the letterhead of the enterprise. It should include 2 parts:

• actual - this is a statement of the fact of being late;
• explanatory - here the employee explains why he was late. In this part of the document, the employee gives grounds and arguments that can justify (or at least explain) the fact of being late.