Innovations In Homel Region: Important Public Sector Employees Prohibited From Resigning Without Executive Committees’ Permission

Is serfdom coming back?

State structures of the Homel region received updated instructions on the procedure for dismissal and personnel transfers of workers. “Staffing” standards were developed in 2022–2023. Now local authorities require state-owned enterprises and organizations to strictly comply with them.

The documents that were at the disposal of Flagstaff say, in particular, that chairmen of district executive committees must coordinate all early terminations of labor relations with employees holding civil servant positions in government organizations. These are the most in-demand positions. These are, for example, leadership positions in agricultural enterprises, healthcare and educational institutions, utilities, construction, transport and other enterprises.

District executive committees are supposed to approve resignations by agreement of the parties and transfers of employees holding such positions, as well as “termination of employment relations with young specialists due to discreditable circumstances of dismissal, if other disciplinary measures and influence cannot be applied taking into account the severity of the disciplinary offense committed.”

This means that the heads of organizations, before dismissing an employee by agreement of the parties, are obliged to contact the district executive committee with a request to approve the resignation, having previously selected a candidate to fill the position of the dismissed specialist and attaching biographical certificates for both employees.

Separate instructions were also developed for district executive committees. The chairmen were given a weekly “personnel day.” After receiving a petition from an organization to approve a resignation of an employee, the district executive committee is obliged to consider it within seven days.

The documents state that “the issue of approving a resignation is considered by a commission with the obligatory participation of the deputy chairman of the executive committee in charge of the relevant industry.”