Staffing table: how to prepare and approve it

Why a commercial company needs a staffing table

Even without a direct obligation, the document solves several problems every employer eventually faces.

• Redundancy. Dismissal under item 2, part 2, Art. 161 is possible only on a real change in headcount or staffing caused by changes in technology, organisation of production and work or a reduction in work volume. The employer bears the burden of proving the dismissal was lawful (Art. 174) — comparing the old and new staffing tables shows the position was actually abolished.
• Transfer instead of dismissal. In redundancy the employer must offer other work matching the employee's specialty and qualifications or, failing that, other available work (Art. 144). Vacancies are easiest to prove with a staffing table.
• Pay system. It is set by the employer in agreement with the trade union committee (Art. 249); salaries by position in the staffing table are its basis.
• Equal pay. The Code prohibits discrimination, including advantages unrelated to business qualities and results of work (Art. 4). Uniform salaries per position remove questions in inspections and disputes.
• Budgeting the payroll fund and controlling headcount.

What to include

There is no unified form for private companies, so the employer decides the structure. Position titles should match the job function in employment contracts: a mandatory term of the contract is work in a certain profession, specialty, qualification or position (Art. 104).

• name of the organisation, document number and date, period of validity;
• structural units in hierarchy;
• positions (professions) with qualification or grade;
• number of staff units, including fractions (0.5 of a post);
• salary or tariff rate;
• allowances, if set per position rather than individually;
• monthly payroll per position and in total;
• signature of the head and details of the approving order.

How to approve it

A staffing table is a local regulation — the Code distinguishes local regulations adopted in agreement with the trade union committee and those adopted by the employer alone (Art. 12). Local regulations may not worsen employees' position compared with the collective agreement (Art. 15).

If the law or collective agreement requires a matter to be agreed with the trade union committee, this is mandatory; the committee replies within twenty days, and if it stays silent the employer decides alone. If there is no committee, the employer informs the workforce in writing (Art. 15). Since the pay system is set in agreement with the committee (Art. 249), it is wise to run the salary part through this procedure.

• prepare a draft based on the organisational structure and payroll budget;
• if there is a trade union committee, submit the pay part for agreement;
• approve by order of the head with an effective date;
• inform the people responsible: HR, accounting, unit heads.

How to make changes

Changes are made by order: introducing a new position, removing a unit, changing a salary. For minor changes an amending order is enough; for restructuring it is easier to approve a new version in full.

Changing a current employee's salary changes the employment contract, as pay terms are a mandatory part of it (Art. 104). A new staffing table does not by itself change the contract: an addendum or the Labour Code procedure for changing working conditions is needed.

The staffing table in a redundancy

The redundancy sequence is built around two versions of the document — before and after.

• An order amending the staffing table stating the reason: changes in technology, organisation of production and work, reduced volume of work.
• At least two months ahead — information to the trade union committee about possible release and data in the Unified National Labour System for each employee with profession, qualification and pay (Art. 166).
• Written notice to employees against signature at least two months ahead (Art. 165).
• Offering vacancies under the new staffing table (Art. 144) and applying the preferential right to retain the job (Art. 167).
• For mass release — for example, cutting fifty or more employees within thirty calendar days — additional guarantees apply (Art. 98).

Typical errors

• A position is abolished, but a month later the same one appears under another name — a court may find the redundancy sham.
• Salaries in the staffing table differ from employment contracts and hiring orders.
• Changes are backdated without an order.
• No vacancies in the staffing table although people actually work in those roles under civil-law contracts.
• On a change of owner, staffing is changed before state registration of the transfer of ownership — Article 156 of the Labour Code prohibits this.