According to the rules of law, the income of workers must be paid on time and in full. The law establishes liability for late payment of wages. The article will talk about the procedure, timing and place of payment of monetary amounts, as well as about responsibility for the lack of payments.
When is a salary issued?
The Labor Code states the obligation of the employer to pay workers at least twice a month. In Russia, most citizens receive an advance no later than the 25th day, and during the period from the 1st to the 10th day they receive a salary. It will be illegal to pay salaries once a month. The exceptions are only some categories of civil servants - for example, representatives of the Ministry of Defense.
Another important rule concerns the timing of salary and advance payment. The period between these two payments should not be more than 15 days. The law does not say anything about the number of payments, and therefore employers can set any number. Some enterprises, for example, practice weekly payouts. In this kind of payroll, there will be nothing illegal.
The specific terms for the payment of salaries must be documented by a collective agreement, an agreement between the employer and the employee, a special tariff schedule, an organizational schedule, payment regulations and other agreements.
Payment Procedure
According to article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer must issue the employee a special pay sheet. This is a document that contains information about parts of wages, information about deductions, data on advance payments and more. A settlement sheet is issued monthly and no later than the settlement date.
If the salary issue date falls on a weekend or non-working day, then all money must be transferred to the employee the day before. Employers often practice issuing finance later than the deadline. Such an action is illegal. The same goes for vacation pay. The terms of payment of salaries in this case should be set three days before the start of legal rest. At the same time, a settlement slip should be issued.
Payment Methods
The employer is not limited by the laws in choosing the method by which it is possible to transfer wages to workers. Forms of payment are indicated in local acts - in bank documentation and employee contracts with management. The employee has the opportunity to switch to another form of calculation, if the system set by the employer does not suit him.
The main methods of obtaining finance is cash and electronic payment. Cash payment is not very convenient, and therefore it is used quite rarely. It is necessary to bear the costs of receiving, storing, transferring funds, paying clearing headquarters, etc. As a rule, cash settlement is practiced in small enterprises.
Another form of payment is a transfer to a bank card. This method is practiced by large organizations of a private or budget nature. The banking system is selected, an agreement is concluded with it. The employer organizes the issuance and replacement of salary cards, to which remuneration will be transferred.
On changing the terms of payment of wages
Are there any correct and not contradicting the law ways to change the terms for receiving a salary? The Labor Code does not prohibit employers from changing dates. It is only important to observe a number of requirements enshrined in the law. There should not be a break between advance payment and salary for more than 15 days. All employees must be notified in a timely manner of changes. If some of the working people are not satisfied with the change, they will have to think about reaching a compromise.
It is also worth noting that changing the terms of payment of salaries should not affect the periods of receipt of salaries and advance payments. All dates should be set so that there is no long time gap between receiving finances. Subject to all the rules and requirements, payment periods can be rescheduled an unlimited number of times. This is precisely the inconvenience: the employer has the right to change the payment dates too often, which will be inconvenient for working people.
Late payment
The timely receipt of monetary allowance for the implementation of labor functions is the constitutional right of each person. Section 37 of the country's main law states that it is possible to receive remuneration for work without any discrimination. It confirms the norm of the Constitution and provision 21 of the Russian Labor Code. This article provides liability for late payment of wages.
As of 2017, a delay in wages may be punishable by sanctions from different types of legal proceedings: disciplinary, material, administrative and criminal. Each type of liability will be described in detail below.
Disciplinary liability
Delay in wages is a form of improper performance of direct duties. It may be the fault of the delay as the leader himself, and his representatives. Disciplinary liability for late payment of wages is enshrined in article 192 of the Russian Labor Code.
First, the violation must be proved. The employer identifies the perpetrators, and then applies legal measures of influence. Sanctions in disciplinary liability can be reprimand, remark or even dismissal.
To prove the violation, a representative from an affected group of workers addresses the management with a special statement. The employer has only one week to consider the submitted document. Based on the results of the review, the applicant should be notified of the adoption of sanctions against the perpetrators. The maximum period of punishment will be one year from the date of its decision.
Material liability
Liability can only be imputed to managers of enterprises through whose fault workers were not able to receive money at the scheduled time. Workers have the right to receive compensation from their employer and interest for late payment. Moreover, there is no dependence on the fact, due to which the delay occurred.
The employer must pay wages 15 days from the deadline for accrual. In this case, the exact date is set according to the norms of the local act. The organization’s internal routine should be determined, a special agreement drawn up. Otherwise, the employer will be assigned the material type of liability for untimely payment of wages.
What compensation can employees expect? Financial resources should not be subject to personal income tax and should be taken into account in tax expenses. Compensation should be taxed in the same manner as a full salary. Forfeit for late payment of wages will be charged in accordance with the rate of 1 to 150.
Criminal liability
The most severe penalties for late payment of wages can be applied to the guilty person in criminal proceedings. In this case, these are real crimes - usually financial ones. If the employer has delayed the salary due to personal interests or monetary reasons, then the following types of responsibility should be assigned:
- recovery of up to half a million rubles;
- arrest up to 3 years;
- a ban on the implementation of professional activities up to 5 years;
- forced labor for up to 3 years;
- fine equal to the average wage of workers for the last 3 years.
The type of sanction can be selected depending on the gravity of the crime committed. So, if the non-payment was partial, then the sanctions may not be so severe. Complete non-payment is considered to be the absence of wages for workers for 2 consecutive months.
Administrative responsibility
In the case of the initiation of administrative responsibility, everything is not so serious and scary than with criminal proceedings. In this case, the punishment is established for violation or failure to meet the terms of payment for labor activity.
What types of punishments can be imposed on the employer if he allows a slight delay in remuneration? Sanctions for untimely payment of wages will be determined in accordance with Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:
- For the establishment as a legal entity - a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles. In a repeated incident, up to 70 thousand rubles.
- For individuals and heads of legal entities - a warning or a fine of up to 5 thousand rubles. For a repeated offense, the size of the sanction can reach 20 thousand rubles. A ban on the performance of their professional duties up to 3 years is also possible.
Thus, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, fines are established mainly for late payment of wages.
Failure to perform professional duties
Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation discloses the failure of the employer to fulfill his professional duties as an offense or a crime. However, it is worth paying attention to an equally important article, which refers to employees. We are talking about the situation 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. According to this norm, the employee has the opportunity not to attend the workplace if the delay in wages is more than 15 days. The official worker must notify management of his intentions.
From the moment of receipt of wages, the worker returns to the workplace. All days of suspended work must be fully paid. It is also worth noting that failure to fulfill obligations is an extreme measure. So, if an employee does not go to work to protest because of unpaid vacation pay, the employer will be able to declare absenteeism.
Certain categories of workers do not at all have the ability to stop fulfilling their duties. This is evidenced by the Russian Labor Code.
Untimely payment of wages cannot be a reason for missing work for military, government employees, doctors, electricians, and other workers important to society. In the event of a martial law or a state of emergency, a ban on termination of duties will apply to all citizens.
Layoff payroll
According to article 140 of the Russian Labor Code, the day of payment of finances is the last working day for the person leaving. Non-payment is punishable. The law establishes the calculation of interest for late payment of wages. The employer pays the employee compensation equal to 1 in 300 of the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. As of 2017, it is 8.25% for each overdue day.
Upon dismissal, the employee must receive:
- actual salary - for the last days worked;
- salary No. 13 - proportional to the last months of payment (if similar is prescribed in the contract with the employer);
- severance pay benefit (upon liquidation or reorganization of a state);
- compensation for holidays that have not been used by the employee.
Thus, the salary upon dismissal is significantly different from the usual issuance of finance. The employer may have difficulties, as a result of which delays will appear.
Delayed salary upon dismissal
Untimely payment of monetary allowance to a retiring employee is regulated in a separate article of the Labor Code. According to norm 356, an employee has the right to apply to the labor inspectorate. However, before applying to such a "high" instance, it is worth contacting the employer himself with a corresponding complaint. 
The appeal to the management should include information about the applicant, the amount of payments and related problems. Claim can be considered within a month.