The practical algorithm for an HR specialist begins with the proper presentation of the document.

The employee must be provided with the document for familiarization, it should be explained exactly which document is proposed to be signed, and they should be offered to put a signature of familiarization or receipt of a copy.

If the employee refuses, it is advisable not to enter into an oral dispute, but to draw up an act of refusal to sign. The act should indicate the date, time, and place of its compilation; the full name of the document that the employee was offered to sign; the method of presenting the document; the content of the refusal; the employee’s explanation, if they provided one; the persons present during the refusal. The act is signed by no fewer than three persons who confirm the fact of refusal. If the employee refuses to sign the act itself, this is also recorded in the act.

If the document concerns a disciplinary sanction, the HR specialist must separately comply with the requirements of Article 149 of the Labor Code. Before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must demand written explanations from the employee, consider the circumstances of the misconduct, its degree of severity, and the employee’s previous work.

The sanction itself is announced in an order and communicated to the employee against receipt. In case of refusal to sign, the act confirms only the fact of familiarization or refusal of familiarization, but does not eliminate the employer’s obligation to follow the entire procedure for applying the sanction.