Why is it difficult to refuse and accept refusal?

Because it's unpleasant. It is unpleasant to be rejected and it is difficult to say no, especially when it is not easy to explain why “no”. The choice of some people over others is by default subjective and often inexplicable, as I already wrote about in the Case about the subjectivity of the hiring decision. Therefore, those who refuse and receive refusals, I believe, will find this material useful and interesting.

When can an applicant expect to be rejected?

You should count on rejection if you've spent time on the interview. It doesn’t matter whether it was a Skype interview or you met in person, spending time, gas and money to get to where the employer or recruiter decided to “look” at you.

Even if the employer preferred other candidates, basic politeness requires thanking the person who took the time to participate in the competition for the time spent traveling and/or interviewing.

When you shouldn't expect an answer from your employer

If your participation in the competition for a vacant position was limited to three clicks of the mouse when sending your resume, then it’s hardly worth reproaching the employer for the lack of a negative response. Although there are many other reasons why an applicant who has applied for a vacancy does not receive an invitation to an interview or a refusal on his resume.

Why applicants are not rejected based on their resume?

Firstly, the recruiter spends only 5–10 seconds on the initial review of the resume. It is unlikely that he will be ready to spend time sending a “rejection” message if he views several dozen or hundreds of resumes a day

Secondly, sometimes you can understand whether an applicant is interesting or not immediately, but only after all the responses have been reviewed - everything is known by comparison.

Thirdly, the formal compliance of the applicant with the stated requirements makes the refusal unfounded.

Fourthly, sometimes the resume sent as a response does not meet the employer’s requirements so much that the refusal becomes meaningless.

Fifthly, the recruiter can see most of the information from the resume in the response feed, so he may not even open “uninteresting” resumes - from the information visible to him, he has already drawn the conclusion that the applicant is “uninteresting.” The applicant's response is displayed unreviewed - there is no reason to refuse.

Why is an applicant rejected on a resume?

If the applicant does not meet the requirements stated in the job description, the answer is obvious - the recruiter took the time to refuse. Although in 99% of cases, employers do not waste time rejecting applicants who obviously do not meet the requirements.

If the applicant meets the requirements stated in the job description, then there is no use in guessing as to the reason for the refusal. There can be an unlimited number of reasons - from the applicant’s failure to meet requirements that the employer did not indicate in the job description, to inept handling of the “refuse” button.

The last version seems very plausible after someone is sent a refusal in response to an application, and then invited to an interview after finding a resume in the database of the same site.

9 ways to refuse an applicant

It is not difficult to correctly refuse an applicant. In most cases, you can limit yourself to one polite phrase:

"Hello, ****! I’m sorry, I have to disappoint you, but for now we (our management/our client/employer) have settled on other candidates.

Thank you for your interest in our company and vacancy and the time spent on the interview.

Good luck!"

There are many ways to convey such a message to the addressee.

Method 1 - phone call. Easy and fast, but emotionally difficult. There is little pleasure in communicating a refusal to someone who is waiting and hoping.

Method 2 - email. Quickly, easily and effectively, it is enough to forward a ready-made message to a new recipient, indicating his name in the message.

Method 3 - SMS message, which can be sent from both your phone and your computer. The best way to reach job seekers who don't use email.

Method 4 - a message that can be sent using instant messengers like Viber. Suitable for job seekers who use instant messengers more often than email.

Method 5 - message from your personal account on the job search website. Conveniently, a refusal in the form of a standard refusal message, set by default, is perceived as formal, although no one is stopping you from replacing the standard text with any other one.

Method 6 - “call back”. At the end of the interview, the applicant may be told: “We plan to make a decision regarding your candidacy no later than Wednesday of next week. You can find out about it by contacting me after this date."

Method 7 - “hour X”. The applicant is told: “We will consider your candidacy within three days. If we decide to invite you to an interview with a manager, we will contact you no later than the end of this week. If there is no call or letter from us, it will mean that we have settled on other candidates.”

Method 8 - motivated refusal with “saving face”. It's no secret that an employer's decision to hire or reject 40-70% has nothing to do with the applicant's ability to do the job he wanted to get. It is often almost impossible to clearly explain the reasons for the refusal of a manager who “liked” another candidate more. But sometimes explanations cannot be avoided.

Firstly, the applicant may persistently ask “why was they refused?”, secondly, someone who has spent several hours meeting with the employer has the right to more than a monosyllabic refusal.

Lying, of course, is not good, but to justify the refusal it is worth citing external reasons that have nothing to do with the knowledge, skills and work experience of the applicant. This will “save the face” of your company and will help the applicant survive the refusal without being offended by the employer’s subjectivity and thoughts about “what I did wrong” and “why I didn’t apply.” Circumstances simply turned out to be such that the decision was made in favor of another candidate.

Here are examples of such explanations:

• “We decided to hire an employee who had previously worked in a similar position for our competitor.”
• “We decided to hire the applicant who was recommended to us by our partners.”
• “The management decided to move an employee already working in the company to this position.”
• “We gave preference to the applicant recommended by our company employees.”

Method 9 - refusal during the interview. Sometimes, when during the interview it turns out that the experience, knowledge and skills of the applicant obviously do not meet the requirements specified in the job description, you should immediately say so.

“The specified requirements are mandatory, so we are unlikely to be able to make you an offer. I’m very sorry that you wasted your time...”

If the reason for the refusal is not obvious, then it is better to refrain from refusing.

There are many ways to refuse, but in most cases employers do not bother to use them. Let's try to figure out why.

Why applicants are not rejected after an interview

Reason 1. It is not customary to refuse. Almost no one believes in the veracity of the phrase “We will contact you (even if the result is negative)” - neither those who pronounce it, nor those to whom it is spoken. It is believed that you can say this phrase and not bother yourself with a refusal. Therefore, those rare employers who value applicants' time spent on interviews are guaranteed positive treatment and respect.

Reason 2. There is no time and/or the company does not allow refusals to be sent to applicants if there is another job. A recruiter can be seriously overloaded, and management evaluates the quality of his work by the number of employees hired, and not by the number of refusals sent. Therefore, refusals to applicants, as a rule, are in last place on the list of priority tasks. Company management most often does not think about the fact that refusals have a positive impact on the employer’s image, and does not require the recruiter to do this work.

Reason 3. It is impossible to explain the reason for the refusal. The integral “like” rating will always be decisive when choosing an employee. Sometimes selection specialists prefer not to answer the applicant, avoiding the question “Why was I rejected?”

Reason 4. I want to watch “someone else” or lengthy consideration of candidates for a vacant position. It happens that the employer is not ready to make an offer to the applicant, but he is also not ready to refuse - in case he can’t find anyone better. The state of uncertainty drags on for such a long period of time that a refusal in a month and a half will look strange. Therefore, no one thinks about refusal anymore.

Reason 5. It is not known who should refuse. The recruiters sent the applicant to the client, who then makes the decision himself. Given that one party wants to receive money for the order, and the other wants the final candidate for money, such insignificant details as who, how and when will respond to rejected applicants are almost never discussed. The employer believes that he paid money for the final candidate, and the rest does not concern him; the recruiter does not go into the details of the decision.

Reason 6. Waiting for a candidate who has already been offered a job to start working. The situation when an applicant who has received and accepted an offer never appears with a new employer is not uncommon. An employer who has not received a new employee, but has rejected the “spare” participants in the competition, is forced to start the search from scratch. Therefore, to be on the safe side, the refusal to applicants may be delayed, and then they may simply forget about it.

The list of reasons is not exhaustive... anything can happen.

Denis Karandashev

From July 2015, employers must begin to comply with a new rule - within seven days they must explain to a potential employee why they refused to hire him and conclude an employment contract. Previously, the Labor Code did not set any deadlines for such a refusal, although it required reporting the reason for the refusal. The law, which amends the corresponding article of the Labor Code - 64th, was signed by President Putin on July 1. Employers will be held administratively liable for failure to comply with the new requirements, the law says.

These amendments were proposed by the State Duma, and the government supported them. The goal of the initiative is to protect the rights of workers. Many workers felt that their rights were violated if, after an interview, they had to wait weeks for a letter or call from their employers, but there was no response.

This innovation puts employers in more difficult conditions, because compliance with the procedure will increase the cost of hiring employees, says Elena Kozhemyakina, managing partner of the law firm BLS. And it will be mainly the honest companies that comply with the laws that will suffer. “A week is too short a time to fill vacancies; even searching for an employee for an executive position takes at least two weeks, and in Moscow on average 14 days,” says Kozhemyakina. For example, when her company announces a competition for the position of lawyer, sometimes 500 resumes are received in response, about 20 people are invited for an interview, and only three or four people make it to the finals. The entire procedure takes about two months.

In addition, employers will likely become victims of manipulation by dishonest applicants who want to get a well-paid position but do not have the necessary qualifications, Kozhemyakina suggests. And since the personnel department will not be able to find formal reasons within a week, it will be forced to hire them and test newcomers during the probationary period. After all, Russian legislation prohibits unreasonable refusal to hire (due to inappropriate age, gender, etc.). The reason for refusal can only be unsuitable business qualities of the applicant. However, law-abiding companies have always tried to inform applicants of a refusal within three days. The code contains an article obliging employers to respond to requests to provide documents within three days, notes Dmitry Kofanov, labor law lawyer and CEO of NS Consulting.

However, the introduction of more stringent standards does not scare some employers. The new law will discipline employers and force them to make hiring decisions faster, suggests Ekaterina Egorova, general director of the New Peterhof Hotel in St. Petersburg. And the HR department will have more work. “Previously, as part of business ethics, we notified in writing all top managers and middle managers who contacted us about the refusal,” says Egorova. As for the reason for refusal, an experienced HR director will always find the right wording, she adds. It is enough to write that education, qualifications or work experience do not correspond to the job description for the position being sought. Sometimes job descriptions even stipulate the personal characteristics of the employee. For example, a hotel's instructions for waiters state that a person must have clear diction so that customers can understand him the first time. If a candidate does not have this quality, you don’t have to hire him, explains Egorova. Another positive aspect of the law, she continues, is that it can help defeat the so widespread in-laws in Russia - a situation where an employer is forced, at the request of friends, to hire a person with inappropriate qualifications. Once the law is passed, it will be easier to reject such candidates on official grounds.

A position has become vacant in the organization.

The old employee quit and someone else needs to be hired to replace him.

It would seem that the task could not be simpler.

The labor market is crowded with people wanting to find work.

Responses to the vacancy come in batches.

But how can you select the right candidate among this diversity and weed out all the others?

At the same time, it is correct and, most importantly, legal to refuse unwanted applicants.

So that no one would have the desire to go to court with complaints about an unreasonable refusal.

Employer's rights

The organization has freedom of choice in finding employees.

Each employer has the right to independently decide who to hire.

However, he is not obliged to hire people to fill vacant positions.

That is, the person quits, and the organization itself decides whether it is necessary to hire someone else in his place or whether it can make do with the remaining employees.

Any decision is legal.

There is no law that would oblige an employer to immediately fill any vacancies that arise.

Responsibility for hiring, transfer and dismissal always lies with the employer.

It may impose certain requirements on applicants: experience in a specific field, appropriate education, knowledge of languages. But only within the limits of the law.

It is best to write down any requirements in the job description.

In case of disputes or claims from candidates, you can always refer to it and justify your refusal with documents.

Applicants' rights

In some cases, the employer is simply obliged to register the applicant for a job:

• If employment centers send an unemployed person to a place under a quota to fill a vacancy.
• In case of election by competition.
• If there is a positive court decision on reinstatement ( Article 16 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The applicant has the right to demand a written explanation from the organization about the reasons for refusal to hire.

Prohibition of unlawful refusal of employment

Article 64 of the Labor Code provides applicants with certain guarantees and prohibits the employer from unreasonably refusing to conclude an employment contract.

Only the business qualities of a candidate are the object of study by HR managers when choosing an employee.

Gender, age, nationality, social status, property status have no effect.

Job portals often contain advertisements of this nature:

A woman under 30 years old with attractive appearance is required to work as a secretary.

A secretary must have certain skills in order to immediately perform her duties efficiently.

But how will a person’s external data affect his work?

What if the candidate is 32 years old? Will he take calls worse than a 29-year-old job seeker or will he make coffee the wrong way?

Such advertisements have been illegal since 2013. The employee must be genderless and ageless.

Candidates cannot be selected based on their place of residence or marital status.

Over the past two years, litigation has arisen over discriminatory claims.

Often, based on complaints from applicants, the activities of organizations that submitted incorrect advertisements were checked, and the latter had to pay fines.

Let's consider the main features of the prohibitions that are enshrined in the labor code:

• Women cannot be denied employment because they are pregnant or have children. But at the same time, the applicant will have to find evidence that the potential employer knew about the woman’s special marital status. And the reason for the refusal lies not in business qualities, but in the presence of children or pregnancy.
• You cannot refuse an applicant invited in writing from another employer if he came to apply within one month after dismissal from his previous place.

Peculiarities of registration of refusal for candidates invited by transfer

Persons invited to work from another organization must be registered without fail. But there is one thing.

There is a statute of limitations on the invitation, after which all obligations of the employer towards the potential employee cease.

A person is given one month after dismissal to begin working in the organization that invited him.

After the deadline has expired, the employer has every right to refuse the candidate.

Even a valid reason is not a reason to increase the term.

Now hiring is not an obligation, but the right of the inviting party.

Let's look at an example:

Ivanova G.N. resigned on February 15 from Caspiy LLC at the invitation of Individual Entrepreneur Chebotarov.

But Ivanova did not come to the personnel department at the appointed time, and she did not appear in the following days.

She explained her non-appearance with good reasons (her son’s illness).

Although the employer wanted to put herself in Galina’s position, he could not hire her.

The vacant position was already filled by another candidate.

In this situation, the employer’s actions are legal.

He waited until the invitation expired and only then accepted the employee instead of Ivanova.

Despite good reasons, the woman herself is to blame for being left without work.

Legal actions of the employer

Considering that the Labor Code does not fully explain the concept of “unreasonable refusal to conclude an employment contract”, but only contains an approximate list of the most common reasons, dissatisfaction among candidates is widespread.

Even if the employer rejected an applicant because of his business qualities, which is legal, the latter, due to ignorance of the specifics of the law, may regard this as an element of discrimination.

But the knowledge and skills of applicants are not always relevant to the vacancy.

And the employer cannot hire everyone who wants to, even if they want to.

Example:

Maksimov A.V. successfully completed the entire selection procedure for the position.

Before signing the employment contract, he let it slip that he had a positive HIV status.

The director changed his mind about hiring him because he feared for his health and the psychological situation in the team.

But Maksimov turned out to be not timid and filed a lawsuit.

In this situation, the director of the company is wrong. It is unlawful to refuse a candidate because of his illness.

Of course, there are Rules for the Prevention of AIDS in Russia.

There is a list of positions for which people are accepted only after being tested for HIV infection.

But the director of the company did not ask for the List or check the positions.

It was more important for him to get rid of a candidate with a potentially dangerous disease.

You will probably be interested in looking at the mind map, which explains in detail the procedure for establishing a probationary period

Refusal due to the employee’s business qualities

The business qualities of applicants do not always meet the employer’s requirements, which are usually set out in job descriptions.

Refusal may be due to lack of necessary experience, lack of knowledge of a certain language, or insufficient qualifications.

Information about business qualities is primarily obtained from the applicant’s documents.

Diplomas contain information about a person’s education, specialization, and qualifications. The crusts make it possible to evaluate the category and degree.

The work record helps determine work experience.

QA specialists can conduct testing and questionnaires in order to more thoroughly study the business qualities of each applicant.

For example, to assess an applicant’s level of foreign language proficiency, HR managers ask some questions in English.

Cases of mandatory refusal:

Sometimes the applicant is completely satisfied with the employer and the latter is ready to hire him today. But the law is against it.

Consider these situations:

In certain types of work, the law restricts the use of female labor. This case cannot be considered as a method of discrimination. Here, concern for the woman’s health is more likely to be manifested.

• The candidate is prohibited from holding the relevant position for a certain period of time. If there is a court decision, the employer can easily refuse the applicant, and this decision will be absolutely lawful.
• Failure of the candidate to comply with the requirements established by the labor code. For example, refusal to undergo a medical examination, which is mandatory for certain positions.

Not every applicant is worthy of a new position. It is important for an employer to correctly reject unsuitable candidates.

Without infringing on their rights, without harming their dignity, without creating a reason to go to court.

The main thing for the manager is to formulate the refusal legally.

Otherwise, litigation cannot be avoided, especially if the applicant is principled and knows how to defend his rights.

The desire to avoid an unpleasant conversation and ignore this need is a normal reaction.

But you shouldn't do this. The answer about the results of the interview is a manifestation of basic respect for the candidate.

He talks about the company culture. And building and maintaining a positive image of a company is many times more difficult than destroying it.

Interaction with each candidate should be in the nature of a partnership. After all, tomorrow the same applicant may well become a client of the company or recommend the company to his management as a reliable partner. And this is only if he has the most pleasant impressions of the company.

Any applicant and employee (current and former) can easily go online and leave a negative response about the company on specialized sites, which will not benefit the organization’s HR brand.

When should this be done?

To make life easier for yourself and the applicant, it is advisable to stipulate the response time at the end of the final interview.

This option is preferable and represents the company as a serious and reliable employer.

But The interviewer does not always know exactly when the decision will be made, because it may depend on several people.

In this case, it is better to explain this to the candidate and give an approximate time frame for announcing the decision.

Of course, you need to be careful and keep all your promises. If the phrase “We will call you within a week to give an answer about the results” is said, then these deadlines cannot be ignored. Even if the decision has not yet been made by the appointed time, you need to call and agree on other dates.

If there were no agreements, then It is better to report a negative decision as soon as it becomes known. The applicant is in a stressful situation due to the unknown and the need to wait, so there is no need to make him nervous further and take up his time.

A company that values ​​its reputation will definitely respond to the applicant within 2 weeks from the date of the last interview. Delaying a response and, even worse, its absence may not work in the company’s favor, because the effect of “word of mouth” on the labor market has not been canceled.

A situation often arises when already during the interview it becomes clear that the candidate is not suitable. In this case, the best option would be the phrase “If the decision is positive, we will call you within 2 days.”

This response will give the candidate a clear idea of ​​the method of communication and the timing of the response. Of course, if the candidate does not receive a call within 2 days, he will not wait any longer and will continue to look for a job.

Reasons for refusal

It is better to speak honestly about the reasons for refusal if they relate to professional qualities and work experience, but only if the candidate himself has asked to explain them.

This will give him the opportunity to analyze some points and work on himself.

If the candidate does not ask about the reasons, then they should not be mentioned.

There are a number of reasons that are better not to be voiced at all.:

1. If the reason is that a particular representative of the company simply did not subjectively like the candidate, but from a professional point of view and personal qualities he is suitable.
2. When the choice is made in favor of a candidate of a certain gender or age, all other things being equal. This is considered discrimination and is prohibited.
3. When a woman’s candidacy is rejected only because she has a child or fears that she will become pregnant and go on maternity leave. This is also discrimination.

In these cases, you can answer that another candidate was more suitable for the company in terms of his professional qualities and experience, or that he worked in a company in the same field of activity. If the applicant does not pass the test task, he is informed about this directly. You may need to clarify questions that are answered incorrectly.

If the applicant considers the reasons for the refusal unconvincing and his rights violated, he has the opportunity to send a written request to the employer to explain the reasons.

Amendments to the Labor Code introduced in 2015 obligated the employer to report in writing the reasons for the refusal within 7 days of receiving such a request. Later, with these documents, the applicant may well go to court. Therefore, the employer needs to be careful and careful when formulating the reasons for refusal.

How to inform the candidate?

There are several options for contacting the candidate to inform him of the refusal. In this section of the article we will look at how to properly refuse an applicant after an interview, examples:

Letter by mail

This opt-out option is rarely used today. It may only be necessary if the applicant has neither a phone number nor an email address, which makes it impossible to contact him.

The letter itself is drawn up by analogy with an electronic message and is printed on the organization’s letterhead. Such a letter must be sent with a notification in order to be sure that the addressee has received it.

Electronic message

Very often, an employee is perplexed by the seemingly simple need to write a letter after an interview refusing the applicant. Here is an example of such a letter:
Hello, Boris Ivanovich!

07/20/2016 You were interviewed for the vacant position of Logistics Manager. On behalf of 101 Million, thank you for your time. We highly appreciated your professional level and personal qualities. Unfortunately, this time the choice was made in favor of another candidate. We have saved your resume and will definitely return to it when a suitable vacancy appears in the company.

Best wishes,

Olga Larionova,

HR Manager at 101 Million LLC

A personal meeting

This method of reporting a negative answer is almost never used.

The exception is when during the interview it becomes clear that the candidate is categorically unsuitable.

In this situation, the interviewer often poorly restrains negative emotions and conveys unpleasant information to the applicant immediately and sometimes in a harsh manner.

If the reason for the interviewer’s reaction is the candidate’s dishonest behavior during the conversation, display of rudeness and disrespect, and other sharply negative aspects, then irritation and refusal are understandable and justified. But often in the case of good applicants, this behavior of the interviewer indicates his lack of professionalism.

Another situation that requires refusal at a meeting is the candidate’s appearance in the office on his own initiative. Sometimes applicants get tired of waiting and go to the company to get an answer themselves. Moreover, without warning.

Such a candidate must definitely take a few minutes, take him to the meeting room and inform him about the decision in a calm atmosphere. The conversation could go like this:

Interviewer: Thank you for spending time with our company and participating in the competition for the vacancy. Unfortunately, the decision was made in favor of another candidate, which we were going to inform you about today in a telephone conversation, but you got ahead of us and came yourself.

Candidate: Why didn’t I come?

Interviewer: You met most of the criteria and that is why you went through all stages of the selection, but you had to choose from five highly qualified specialists, including you. One of the applicants was more suitable for this specific position at this stage of the company’s development, since he has a specialized education.

But we have a personnel reserve program and your resume and test results will be stored with us. And the next time a suitable vacancy opens in the company, we will return to your candidacy, if this is relevant to you.

Phone call

The most popular way to communicate both a positive and negative decision is phone conversation.

Refusal to a candidate after an interview example:

Interviewer: Good afternoon, Marina Nikolaevna! Olga from "101 Million". I do not distract?

Candidate: No.

Interviewer: I'm glad. You were interviewed for the position of Senior Marketing Manager at our company. We highly appreciate your experience and personal qualities. But I have to report that the result of your candidacy this time is negative.

Candidate: What a pity. And why?

Interviewer: Knowledge of English is important for this position. The level of proficiency that you demonstrated during the conversation is insufficient. Therefore, the management decided to hire a candidate with an Upper-Intermediate level of English for the position.

Candidate: I see.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. It was very nice to talk with you! I am sure that a highly qualified specialist like you will very quickly find an excellent, interesting job!

Which way is better?

The choice of method depends on several factors. One of them is the level of the vacant position. Usually from 3 to 6 applicants participate in the competition.

Accordingly, you must contact each of the unsuitable applicants by phone in person.. In this case, of course, you will have to answer several not always pleasant questions, which you need to be prepared for.

An email refusal will help avoid questions from candidates and can be used in cases where a low- or mid-level specialist was selected.

The number of applicants interviewed in this case can be from 10 people and calling them all, simultaneously answering counter questions, is a labor-intensive process.

When composing an email or paper letter, you need to be careful in the wording. Refusal to an applicant after an interview must be justified solely by the applicant’s business qualities. The slightest hint of discrimination can trigger legal action against the company.

It is better not to indicate the reason for refusal at all in the letter.. Reasons need to be provided only if the candidate insists on justifying them.

Refusing is always difficult and unpleasant, but you should not neglect this aspect when working with applicants. This will help the company build a strong employer brand, which will have a positive impact on the overall image of the enterprise and its management.

Working in such a company is desirable for most candidates, and this will help in the future to easily attract the best of them. But talented employees are the main asset of a successful company.

We hope our materials allowed you to learn how to refuse an applicant after an interview and

Watch the video: refusing an applicant after an interview

A company may incur administrative, and its officials – even criminal liability for failure to provide an applicant for an open vacancy with a written explanation of the reasons for refusal to hire. A well-drafted refusal to hire will help avoid such liability.

There is a fairly high probability that a situation will arise when a rejected applicant for an open vacancy sends a request to explain the reasons for the refusal to hire. Previously, such a letter could be ignored, but on July 11, 2015, an amendment came into force, which obliges employers, no later than seven working days, to provide written explanations indicating the reasons for refusal to hire (as amended).

For failure to provide an applicant with a written refusal to hire, administrative liability is provided ():

• warning or imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles; for legal entities – from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles;
• in case of repeated violation - imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles or disqualification for a period of one to three years; for legal entities - from 50,000 to 70,000 rubles.

In addition, in addition to an administrative fine, officials are subject to criminal penalties for unreasonably refusing to hire a pregnant woman or a woman with children under three years of age (). This violation entails:

• imposition of a fine in the amount of up to 200,000 rubles or in the amount of wages or other income for a period of up to 18 months;
• or compulsory work for up to 360 hours.

Let's consider how an employer company can draw up a reasoned refusal to hire unsuitable applicants, what to look for when choosing a candidate, and in which cases the refusal will be lawful and in which it will be unreasonable.

Registration of refusal to hire

Failure cases can be divided into two categories:

• hiring is directly prohibited or limited by the legislation of the Russian Federation (see the section “What to remember when refusing a job” below);
• the applicant, due to his business qualities, does not meet the requirements established for an applicant for a specific position.

A company may face various situations in which it is necessary to refuse an applicant a job. For example, the documents submitted do not meet the requirements of the position; The work that a new employee will need to perform daily is contraindicated for him due to medical or age factors. It is also possible that at the time the applicant submitted a resume, the company had already made a decision in favor of another applicant who had responded earlier, and thus the reason for the refusal to hire was the lack of open vacancies.

In addition, the company may refuse to hire a candidate due to inconsistency of business qualities, the requirements for which are set out in the job description or other local regulations.

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, an employee’s business qualities include his ability to perform a certain job function, taking into account his existing professional qualifications (for example, the presence of a certain profession, specialty, qualifications), personal qualities (for example, health status, a certain level of education, experience work in a given specialty, in a given industry) ().

At the same time, the company has the right to present to the applicant other requirements that are not established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, but are mandatory for concluding an employment contract by virtue of a direct prescription of federal law, or that are necessary in addition to standard or typical professional qualification requirements due to the specifics of a particular job ( for example, knowledge of one or more foreign languages, ability to work on a computer) ().

Consequently, the company may indicate in the vacancy additional requirements for the position for which the applicant is applying.

However, in the event of labor disputes, it will be necessary to justify the need to establish a list of additional requirements. The list should reflect the characteristics of the functions of a particular position and the nature of the work. For example, an additional requirement that an applicant applying for the position of land surveyor have skills in specialized programs (for example, MapInfo or AutoCAD) may be due to the need to perform work that involves computer processing and correction of land survey information. In addition, the company has the right to require the applicant to have the necessary experience in the relevant field of activity or in a certain specialty (profession), specialized knowledge to perform daily work functions.

Thus, in order to prepare the most reasonable notice of refusal to hire, we recommend that you draw up detailed and up-to-date job descriptions that reflect the work in a specific organization. They must list the qualification requirements for the position and actual additional knowledge and skills.

Often, heads of personnel and production departments treat such an important document very formally. It is no secret that job descriptions are drawn up on the basis of templates, sometimes the only change in which is the name of the organization and the name of its leader. A detailed elaboration of functional responsibilities indicating a number of special skills, a certain level of education and work experience in the specialty will in the future allow the company to legally and reasonably refuse to hire an unsuitable candidate, and for the new employee to quickly get up to speed in the new place.

If the job descriptions do not contain the above requirements, then to justify the refusal of employment it is necessary to refer to the norms reflected in the legislative acts of the Russian Federation.

What to remember when being rejected for a job

Concluding an employment contract with a specific job seeker is a right, not an obligation, of the company. does not contain rules that oblige vacant positions to be filled immediately as they arise. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation indicates that the employer has the right to independently, under his own responsibility, make personnel decisions for the purposes of effective economic activity and rational property management ((hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 2)).

Thus, the company can freely select candidates for the position that best suit the job characteristics by drawing up a detailed job description for it.

At the same time, HR specialists and heads of organizations first of all need to pay attention to whether the candidate falls into the category of persons whom the legislation of the Russian Federation prohibits from hiring.

Thus, legislation prohibits or restricts admission to an open vacancy:

• persons under 16 years of age (except for performing light labor that does not harm their health, in their free time from receiving basic general education and without prejudice to the development of the educational program) ( , ; , );
• persons under 18 years of age to be involved in part-time work (), to work on a rotational basis (); to work in harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions, in underground work, as well as work, the performance of which may harm their health and moral development (gambling business, work in night cabarets and clubs, production, transportation and trade in alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, narcotic and other toxic drugs, erotic materials); to work associated with carrying and moving heavy loads that exceed the maximum standards established for them ();
• persons under 18 years of age to work with narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as activities related to the circulation of precursors (approved);
• persons under 18 years of age for work related to the direct maintenance or use of monetary, commodity valuables or other property, requiring the conclusion of a written agreement on full liability ();
• women to perform work related to lifting and manually moving weights exceeding the maximum permissible norms (; decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 02/06/1993 No. 105);
• women for work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions, as well as for underground work (with the exception of non-physical work or work on sanitary and consumer services) ( ; );
• part-time workers if they apply for a job as the head of an organization in the absence of permission from the authorized body or the owner of the organization at the main place of work ();
• part-time workers if they are applying for a job related (like their main activity) to driving vehicles or controlling the movement of vehicles ();
• persons without documents necessary for employment in accordance with the requirements of labor legislation ();
• persons applying for a job with harmful, difficult or dangerous working conditions for a part-time position, but who have not provided the documents necessary for employment in accordance with the requirements of labor legislation (), as well as a certificate about the nature and conditions of work on the main place of work ( , );
• foreign citizens who have not provided a work permit (with the exception of certain categories of persons ((hereinafter referred to as Law No. 115-FZ)));
• persons who have not passed the mandatory medical examination for work: in organizations of the food industry, public catering, trade, in medical and preventive care and children's institutions; in organizations with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions; related to traffic ( , ); in the regions of the Far North and equivalent areas ();
• persons under 18 years of age and who have not passed a mandatory medical examination (,);
• disqualified persons for work as the head of an organization, medical or pharmaceutical personnel ();
• foreign citizens temporarily staying in Russia to work as a chief accountant or another position in which the employee is responsible for maintaining accounting records ().

If the above categories are not among applicants, then the next condition is the availability of the package of mandatory and additional documents required for the position, established by law.

If all documents are in order and available, then the applicant’s business qualities and his ability to efficiently and effectively solve the tasks assigned to him throughout the entire period of work are considered.

Of course, the company itself decides which of the candidates being considered is most suitable, taking into account formal and informal requirements, internal rules and its corporate culture. However, in this case, it is imperative to be guided by the provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation and be prepared to explain the legality and validity of the refusal to conclude an employment contract.

In addition, there are reasons for which it is prohibited to refuse employment.

Thus, an employer will violate current legislation if it refuses an applicant for an open vacancy for one of the following reasons:

• discriminatory nature of motives not related to business qualities (gender; age; property, family, social and official status; place of residence (including the presence or absence of registration at the place of residence or stay); race; skin color; nationality; language; origin ; attitude to religion; beliefs; membership or non-membership in public associations or any social groups) ();
• women for reasons related to pregnancy or the presence of children ();
• persons invited to work in writing by way of transfer from another employer, within one month from the date of dismissal from their previous place of work (Part 4 of Article 64 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

  Please note that the requirements that are so often found in job advertisements regarding the age of the employee, as well as the presence of permanent or temporary registration in the city where the vacancy is open, are reasons of a discriminatory nature (Article 64 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;).

  Elena Ermilova , HR specialist at Acsour