Independent assessment of qualifications: from July 1 only in a new way

Who makes the decision to send an employee for qualification assessment?

In general, employers are interested in qualified personnel. Therefore, it will be he who will decide whether exams are needed for his current or potential employees, determine the range of positions to be assessed, and issue referrals for the exam. But a specialist can pass this test on his own initiative and bring the employer a completed document confirming his qualifications. For example, this may be beneficial for those who do not have a specialized education, but have relevant experience and skills.

Negative decision on the exam

If an officially employed employee does not pass the exam, then the employer should not rush to fire him. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for such grounds for dismissal. More compelling reasons will be required (clause 3, part 1, article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If the employee fulfills all his duties, then failing the exam will not be a sufficient reason for dismissal.

When an applicant for a position fails the exam, the organization has no right to hire him. Otherwise, the law will be violated, because the employer must follow the requirements of professional standards. What should a leader do? Refuse a candidate to hire.

In case of violation of its duties, the employer may be brought to administrative liability (Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Therefore, we should not forget that the qualification assessment system gives participants not only rights, but also burdens.

Is an employee required to take an exam, or can he refuse?

An independent assessment of qualifications is voluntary for both the employer and the employee. To send an employee to an exam, the employer must obtain his written consent. Any disciplinary sanctions cannot be applied to an employee for refusing to conduct an assessment. And by the way, fire him if he fails the exam, too.

This is confirmed by the Ministry of Labor.

NOTE! In some cases, the presence of appropriate qualifications and its compliance with professional standards is a condition for employees to perform certain types of activities. These cases are provided for by special laws or regulations (for more details, see Part 4 of Article 196 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For such workers (auditors, teachers, doctors, etc.) an assessment is required.

Concept

To assess the qualifications of a subordinate, the creation of specialized centers is envisaged. They will be the ones who will be able to confirm and identify discrepancies between the level of his training and the stated requirements.

What is meant by independent assessment? So, an independent assessment of professional qualifications is a special procedure during which the skills of a specialist (applicant) are compared with the existing standard, which is regulated by law. Requirements for the employee are made according to the profession in which he wants to confirm his competence. Such an assessment is not carried out by the employer or within the institution itself. This is done by a specialized center for assessing professional qualifications .

How to obtain an independent qualification assessment

First of all, the decision to evaluate employees must be enshrined in the LNA, collective or labor agreement. You also need to outline the range of positions and professions to be assessed (this can be in the same LNA or a separate administrative document). As we said above, it is necessary to obtain written consent from the employee himself to conduct the examination. It is compiled in any form.

A written agreement on conducting the assessment must be concluded with the selected CSC.

The employee must write an application for an independent assessment and sign the accompanying consent to the processing of personal data. The form is in the order of the Ministry of Labor dated December 2, 2016 No. 706n. He submits this application to the CSC along with a copy of his passport and other documents that are required depending on the professional standard.

The CSC will review the documents within 10 days and agree with the employer on the date, place and time of the exam. After this, you can issue the appropriate order.

Such an order is issued in free form indicating:

• Full name and position of the employee;
• the professional standard to which it must comply;
• place, date and time of the exam.

The same order gives an order to the accounting department to pay for the CSC service and provide the employee with the guarantees provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation during the exam (we will talk about them below).

The employee and the responsible accountant are familiarized with the order.

Based on the exam results, the employee will receive:

• certificate of qualification, if the exam is passed;
• conclusion on passing the exam with recommendations, if not.

A copy of the relevant document must be sent to the employee’s personal file. If the exam is not passed, the employee can prepare and try again. If you disagree with the exam results, you can appeal them.

Innovations in the law

The procedure for independent assessment of the qualifications of employees and applicants for vacancies is prescribed in Federal Law No. 238-FZ of July 3, 2016. The assessment itself is carried out by special organizations that have permission to do so - qualification assessment centers (QACs). They do this in the form of an exam according to the rules approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 16, 2021 No. 1204.

Federal Law No. 238-FZ of July 3, 2021 “On independent assessment of qualifications” is aimed at regulating how to conduct qualification assessments of the skills of employees of various institutions. Let us immediately note that the law does not apply to persons in public service.

This law explains:

• how exactly the assessment should be carried out, what the procedure and criteria are;
• what is the basis for the assessment (we are talking not only about legal, but also organizational issues);
• who participates in such an assessment, what freedoms they are endowed with, and what is their immediate responsibilities.

It is the law on independent assessment of employee qualifications (hereinafter also referred to as NCA) that establishes the form for conducting such testing of employees’ knowledge and skills. Thus, legislators have obligated workers to take specialized exams, based on the results of which a decision will be made on their professional suitability. The regulations have yet to be approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Where should employers contact if they have questions related to conducting NOC?

By Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 29, 2016 No. 2042-r “On the center for professional training, retraining and advanced training of workers,” the autonomous non-profit organization “National Agency for the Development of Qualifications” (hereinafter referred to as the National agency).

The said order recommended that the National Agency create a management committee of a basic center for professional training, retraining and advanced training of workers with the participation of representatives of employers' associations, trade union associations, authorities and interested organizations.

So, if employers have questions about the application of professional standards and sending employees to the NOC, they can contact the National Agency for methodological support and advice.

For your information:

Previously, by Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 8, 2014 No. 1987-r (as amended on November 26, 2015), the Agency for the Development of Professional Communities and Workforce “WorldSkills Russia” was recognized as a base center. However, supporting employers on issues of professional standards and qualification assessment was not part of its functions.

Let us remind you that the Ministry of Labor also has the right to give official explanations on the application of professional standards (Part 3 of Article 195.3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If the opinions of the National Agency and the Ministry of Labor do not coincide, priority should be given to the recommendations of the Ministry of Labor.

For your information:

The explanations of the Ministry of Labor on the issue of the application of professional standards by employers were given in Letter No. 14-2/OOG-6465 dated 07/06/2016.

Methods, algorithms and results

The most popular:

1. Certification
   . It's a bit like a comprehensive exam. For this purpose, an independent commission is assembled, which comprehensively evaluates business qualities, professional competencies and skills. Typically, pregnant women and those working for less than a year are not subjected to the procedure.
2. Knowledge tests
   . Considered key; however, testing may be biased if the tests themselves are confusing, outdated, or not appropriate to the level of the person being assessed. For example, in one of the companies the system administrator maintained a network of a server and 40 computers. In addition, his responsibilities included maintaining the postal north and production equipment. Based on the results of formal testing, the employee was not suitable for the position held. In fact, he perfectly coped with the assigned tasks and ensured the normal operation of the company’s equipment.

To solve this difficulty, he suggests that organizations develop knowledge tests for their employees or independent examination of existing tests.

If the test is made in compliance with the technology (which we teach and which we ourselves follow during development) - then its results can be trusted.

Testing can be carried out either separately or as part of certification.

1. MBO (Management By Objectives)
   is a foreign method that involves analyzing the work performed, time and effort spent. Personal results and achievements over a certain period are taken into account, and for a group of employees, the share of efforts of each of them.
2. RM (Performance management).
   The method also takes into account the employee’s method of obtaining results, the employee’s potential and growth, and the employee’s involvement in the company’s processes.

Results are usually assessed on a four-point scale. An “excellent” rating means that the employee fully meets the requirements. A recommendation for promotion of an employee may be possible. A “good” rating is given for minor deviations from ideal compliance. Personnel decisions are left to the discretion of management. Typically, an employee is considered qualified and remains in his position if he completes about 80% of the assigned tasks.

A “satisfactory” grade is given if there are deficiencies in the completion of assignments that require elimination. Typically, an already registered employee is sent for advanced training. It is advisable to check all the factors that affect labor productivity.

An “unsatisfactory” rating is given when an employee does not meet the professional or business qualities of the position. There are serious violations in the performance of the task, and his labor productivity is low. In this case, the employee needs additional training.

conclusions

Let's return briefly to the beginning of the article. In business, the issue of lack of adequate staff training is very acute. Although close attention to the qualifications of workers does not a priori solve the issue of shortage of qualified personnel, it does allow you to quickly see “who is who.” Since interviews usually do not determine skills, CSCs have become the optimal solution for determining employee qualifications. On the one hand, they perform the function of an independent arbiter in the prevention of a number of labor disputes. On the other hand, employees finally had the opportunity to learn the truth about themselves.

However, the voluntary nature of learning competencies is not explicitly stated in the legislation, and this creates a field for certain manipulations. Adding to the complexity is the confusing situation with industry assessment standards. We can only hope that it will be resolved soon. Moreover, in most areas of activity such regulations are successfully applied, albeit at the level of professional communities. Perhaps, due to the above reasons, workers do not yet feel strong changes in the labor market.

According to a number of business analysts, companies should review their management structure, staffing, and general approaches to operations approximately every 5 years. This is where employee qualification analysis comes in – an important tool in analyzing an organization’s performance. It clarifies the current situation, the so-called. starting point. And management plans further activities based on the data received.