Hello! In this article we will talk about delays in payment wages.

Today you will learn:

• What should be the terms of payment of wages;
• All about fines and penalties for failure to pay wages on time;
• What rights do employees have in a situation where their wages are delayed?

Unfortunately, in Russia, due to a weak economy, the current crisis and many other reasons, salaries are delayed quite often. And most workers take this for granted, believing that it is better to work and get paid someday later, and often even less than they should, than to defend their rights now. In order to explain how organizations should act and what an ordinary employee can do to get paid, we have prepared this material for you.

Deadlines for salary payments

Until recently, the timing of wage payments gave employers more opportunities and freedom in the volume and timing of wages. But since mid-2016 legislative framework has changed. Previously, each company was obliged to pay its employees money at least twice a month (possibly more).
Now “the difference between payments cannot be more than 15 days.” This means that it is no longer possible to issue salaries at the beginning (for example, 2-4) and at the end (28-30). This allows employees to better plan their expenses. At the same time, the amount of wages remained the same - advance payment (often 40%) and the remaining salary (often 60%).

The main regulatory act that can be referred to is the labor code.

But the organization must have its own local acts, which can regulate the following areas:

• The amount of wages;
• The procedure and amount of bonuses;
• Place of payment;
• Allowances for overtime, days off, etc.;
• Various bonuses for length of service.

Moreover, everything that is specified in these local acts within the organization cannot go against the laws, but if violated, it is interpreted in favor of the latter.

It should be borne in mind that if the day of payment of wages is a day off, then it must be paid before, and not after, as many employers practice. However, some of them indicate completely different payment terms.

In such cases, it should be remembered that anything that is a direct violation of the law (and rescheduling is such) is invalid, even within the framework of an employment contract.

It is worth noting that if less than 15 days have passed between one payroll payment and more than 15 days between another for the same reporting period, then this is considered a violation of labor legislation and is recognized as a fine. At the same time, the employer has the full right to pay wages strictly after 15 days, and again after 14 days.

Compensation for delayed wages

Compensation for delayed wages is the financial responsibility of the organization and the obligation that the company bears towards its employees.

The employer's financial liability does not depend on the reasons for the delays. If previously the company’s management could justify the failure to pay funds on time with compelling reasons, now there is no such method.

All responsibility for the risks of the company and, accordingly, affected employees falls entirely on the shoulders of the head of the organization.

The current formula for calculating the fine for delay:

Salary amount * 1/150 of the current refinancing rate,established by the Central Bank * Number of days of delay

At the same time, you need to keep in mind that the amount of overdue wages is taken in full, and not minus personal income tax (clause 4 of article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

We will calculate the amount of the fine that the employer will have to pay for a specific example:

PJSC Romashka delayed the salary for its employee from January 20. Let’s take the date of actual payment – ​​February 12. Payments are made on the 20th and 5th of each month. The employee's salary is 50 thousand rubles. 40% on the 20th and 60% on the 5th. The refinancing rate did not change during this period and amounted to 7.75%.

In this case:

• From January 20 to January 31 – 11 days at the rate of 20,000 rubles;
• From February 1 to February 12 – 11 days at the rate of 20,000 rubles;
• From February 5 to February 12 – 6 days at the rate of 30,000 rubles.

We calculate the amount of compensation:

• 20,000 * 1/150 * 7.75% * 22 = 228.80 rub. (from January 20 to February 12);
• 30,000 * 1/150 * 7.75% * 6 = 93.60 rub. (from February 5 to February 12).

The total amount of compensation that the employer will have to pay is:

228.80 + 93.60 = 322.40 rubles

The longer an employer goes without paying wages, the more debts they accumulate and the more workers' compensation they will have to pay. Of course, the amounts that the employer will pay to the employees will not be compared with the costs due to non-payment, but for violation of labor laws he will also have to answer to the Labor Inspectorate, and there the fines will be “no joke”.

Manager's responsibility for delayed wages

For a delay in paying wages to its employees, the head of the organization may be brought to administrative and criminal liability. Let us consider in what cases each type of punishment is applied.

Administrative responsibility

The Code of Administrative Violations (CAO RF) states that administrative liability is imposed on the guilty person - the head of the organization.

The fine for failure to pay wages to employees on time for a company will be 30-50 thousand rubles, for an official it will be 10-20 thousand rubles. If violated labor legislation For an individual entrepreneur, the fine for him will be from 1 to 5 thousand rubles. This is in cases where selfish intent on the part of the manager has not been proven.

In this case, the organization can suffer much more seriously. If he does not pay his employees wages for several months, then he may be deprived of the right to do business for 3 months. The same applies to any form of legal entity.

It should be noted that suspension of work for any organization is an almost 100% guarantee of it. That is why the suspension of activities by the executive bodies will mean that the individual entrepreneur or legal entity will not be able to pay off its obligations, since it does not provide services or produce anything and will incur additional losses.

Criminal liability

This type of liability is invoked extremely rarely due to the fact that it is difficult to prove. According to Article 145 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, an employer may be held criminally liable for late payment of wages. In this case, the employer must not pay wages for 2 months for personal gain.

It is precisely because there is a postscript “for personal gain” that it can be very difficult to prove this fact. The investigation into the fact of non-payment will be carried out by the local prosecutor's office (individual entrepreneur). It conducts an independent investigation and, if there is sufficient evidence, the manager is held liable – imprisonment from 1 to 3 years and a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles.

Now let’s systematize the information received a little using a table:

Type of responsibility	Material	Administrative	Criminal
Impact on employee	Maximum. Brings compensation for non-payments depending on salaries	Minimum	Minimum
Impact on the organization	Leads to deterioration of the organization's reputation	Very strong. Can lead to the ruin of the company	Leads to a change in leadership and deterioration of the organization's reputation
What is regulated	Labor Code	Code of Administrative Offenses	Criminal Code
In whose favor are the payments	For the benefit of injured workers		In favor of government agencies

As we can observe, material compensation is the most beneficial for an ordinary employee who has suffered in a situation with delayed wages.

Thanks to this compensation, he has the opportunity to receive additional funds, which, of course, will not cover the financial difficulties arising due to the delay, but can somehow compensate for the wait.

In the other two cases, the dishonest manager will be held accountable and, most likely, fired, and the company's reputation will be tarnished.

Employees' rights when wages are delayed

If a situation of delayed wages arises, the employee can and must protect his rights by the following methods:

Pause your work. If the employer does not pay money for 15 days or more, then employees have the right to suspend their activities until the due amount is paid to them.

But it is necessary to notify the employer in writing of the suspension of work. This can be done in an official way by asking him to sign the second copy of the notice of suspension of work, and if the manager refuses, you can send a registered letter with notification upon receipt. In this case, you can stop working as soon as the employer receives this letter.

But you cannot stop working without written notice, as this may be regarded as failure to fulfill your official duties and cause dismissal.

At the same time, while not fulfilling his duties, the employee may be absent from the workplace, but wages will continue to be accrued according to the average salary. But you will need to go to work the next day after written notification from the employer of your readiness to pay off the arrears of wages.

These include:

• Military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, law enforcement agencies, firefighters and other employees responsible for the security and defense of the state;
• Civil servants of any profession;
• Workers who support the livelihoods of the population (energy companies, water and heat supply, emergency medical care, etc.).

Contact the labor inspectorate. Another option for an employee is to contact the Labor Inspectorate.

The application must clearly and clearly indicate the reason for which the employee is applying to this body, attach documents confirming non-payment of wages, if any, and preferably a copy of the employment contract. The appeal will be considered within 30 days. In special cases it will take another 30 days.

If during the inspection the inspection confirms the fact of non-payment cash, then she will send an order to the manager to pay wages, and will also conduct an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Contact the commission on labor disputes. An employee has the right to apply to an authorized body within the company for permission financial issues between the employee and employer parties.

If there is no commission, he has the right to apply for its collection no later than 10 days after the application. The labor dispute commission consists of an equal number of representatives of the employer and employee. An employee can appeal to the labor dispute commission within three months from the day he learned about the fact of non-payment of wages.

Such a dispute is considered within 10 days from the date of filing the application. If the monetary claims are justified, then the employer is internally obliged to pay the money. Within 10 days, the employer can appeal such a decision, but if he does not do this, he is obliged to make payments within 3 days after the expiration of the period for appeal.

If the decision was not executed within this period, then the employee must be issued a certificate with which he can apply to executive bodies for the purpose of forced collection of funds with the help of bailiffs.

Quit by at will within the application deadline. If the fact of non-payment of wages is officially established, then the employee has the full right to submit an application and, without working 2 weeks, resign on time.

For an employer, non-payment of wages causes very big problems both with employees and with the law. It is better to try to solve problems peacefully and look for funds for payments.

The employer’s only chance, if he sees that a delay is inevitable, is to ask employees not to leave the place and not to contact higher authorities. Otherwise, along with penalties and fines, the enterprise will begin to accumulate colossal debts, and if the authorized bodies decide to suspend the company’s activities for several years, this will mean complete ruin.

Go to court. To do this, you will need to write an application for a court order to the magistrate.

A court order is a writ of execution, according to which the employer will be obliged to pay money to his employee.

But if the amount of the employer’s debt to the employee is more than 500 thousand rubles, then the employee will be required to file a statement of claim in order to legally recover the required amount from the employer and conduct an investigation into this precedent.

Conclusion

Delay of wages is a very important and thorny issue, which often becomes a stumbling block between employers and their employees.

Of course, entrepreneurship is a risky activity, but it is not the employee who is responsible for these risks, but the employer. That is why, regardless of the reasons, payroll is a mandatory procedure on the part of any employer.

At the same time, simply paying out funds without accruing compensation is a direct violation of the law. But sometimes it is better for employees to put themselves in the position of an employer and give him the opportunity to pay without going to higher authorities, since this can serve as a reason for the complete ruin of the company and, as a result, not covering debts to its employees.

Salaries must be paid at least every half month. The specific date for payment of wages is established by internal labor regulations, a collective or labor agreement no later than 15 calendar days from the end of the period for which it was accrued (Part 6 of Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Failure to pay wages on time is not permitted and is a violation of labor laws.

There is no universal algorithm that can be applied in the event of a long delay in salary payment. Therefore, if agreement on the timing of debt repayment is not reached, you can use one of the methods presented below, or apply a set of measures.

Contact the employer with a demand to pay compensation for delayed wages

For violation deadline The employer must pay wages to the employee monetary compensation. Its amount from 10/03/2016 must be no less than 1/150 of the current key rate of the Bank of Russia (until 10/03/2016 the amount of compensation is no less than 1/300 of the Bank of Russia refinancing rate) of the amounts not paid on time for each day of delay, if collective, not established by an employment contract or local regulations larger size. Compensation is calculated for the entire time of salary delay (Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Clause 2, Article 2, Article 4 of the Law of July 3, 2016 N 272-FZ).

Reference. Refinancing rate (key rate)

From 01/01/2016, the refinancing rate of the Bank of Russia is equal to the value of the key rate of the Bank of Russia and from 10/30/2017 it is 8.25% ( Note Bank of Russia dated December 11, 2015 N 3894-U; Information Bank of Russia dated October 27, 2017).

The first day of delay is the day following the due date for payment of wages. The last day is the date of actual payment of wages. Compensation is calculated on amounts due to the employee after personal income tax has been withheld. The obligation to pay the specified monetary compensation arises regardless of the employer’s fault.

Example. Compensation calculation

Employees are paid:

— 21st day of the current month (40% of the total amount);

- 6th day of the month following the billing month (60% of the total amount).

Employees work a five-day work week.

Salaries for March and April 2017 were paid on May 15, 2017.

Let’s say an employee’s salary excluding personal income tax is 100,000 rubles.

Then the amount and number of days of delay in salary payment will be:

— 40,000 rub. for the first half of March - for 55 days (from 03/22/2017 to 05/15/2017);

— 60,000 rub. for the second half of March - for 39 days (from 04/07/2017 to 05/15/2017);

— 40,000 rub. for the first half of April - for 24 days (from 04/22/2017 to 05/15/2017);

— 60,000 rub. for the second half of April - for 10 days (from 05/06/2017 to 05/15/2017, taking into account that salaries are paid on the eve of a day off or non-working day holiday, if the date of its payment falls on the specified days ( part 8 art. 136 Labor Code of the Russian Federation)).

The refinancing rate and key rate from 09/19/2016 to 03/26/2017 was 10%, from 03/27/2017 to 05/01/2017 - 9.75%, from 05/02/2017 to 06/18/2017 - 9.25% ( Information Bank of Russia dated September 16, 2016; Information Bank of Russia dated March 24, 2017; Information Bank of Russia dated April 28, 2017).

Thus, the daily compensation amount is calculated for the period:

- from 03/22/2017 to 03/26/2017 (5 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate equal to 10%;

- from 03/27/2017 to 05/01/2017 (36 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate equal to 9.75%;

- from 04/07/2017 to 05/01/2017 (25 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate equal to 9.75%;

- from 04/22/2017 to 05/01/2017 (10 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate equal to 9.75%;

- from 05/02/2017 to 05/15/2017 (14 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate equal to 9.25%;

- from 05/06/2017 to 05/15/2017 (10 days) - in the amount of 1/150 of the key rate equal to 9.25%.

The amount of compensation will be:

— for the first half of March 1,414 rubles. 66 kopecks ((40,000 x 0.1 / 150 x 5) + (40,000 x 0.0975 / 150 x 36) + (40,000 x 0.0925 / 150 x 14));

— for the second half of March 1,493 rubles. 00 kop. ((60,000 x 0.0975 / 150 x 25) + (60,000 x 0.0925 / 150 x 14));

— for the first half of April 605 rubles. 33 kopecks ((40,000 x 0.0975 / 150 x 10) + (40,000 x 0.0925 / 150 x 14));

— for the second half of April 370 rubles. 00 kop. (60,000 x 0.0925 / 150 x 10).

The final amount of compensation will be:

RUB 1,414 66 kopecks + 1,493 rub. 00 kop. + 605 rub. 33 kopecks + 370 rub. 00 kop. = 3,882 rub. 99 kopecks

Suspend work

If the payment of wages is delayed for more than 15 days, you have the right to suspend work for the entire period until the delayed amount is paid (Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The employer must be notified of the suspension of work in writing, having received evidence of the notification. For example, you can ask the employer to sign the second copy of the application for suspension of work. If the employer refuses to do this, the application can be sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. In this case, work can be suspended from the moment the employer receives the application. The time of suspension of work must be paid based on average earnings (Part 4 of Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Law dated December 30, 2015 N 434-FZ; Question 4 of the Review of Legislation and Judicial Practice of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, approved by the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 10. 2010).

During the period of suspension of work, you have the right to be absent from the workplace. In this case, you will need to return to work no later than the next working day after receiving written notification from the employer of readiness to pay the delayed wages on the day you return to work. In addition, interest must be paid for late payment of wages.

Some categories of workers do not have the right to suspend work. These include (Part 2 of Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

• employees and workers of bodies and organizations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other military, paramilitary and other formations and organizations in charge of ensuring the country's defense and state security, emergency rescue, search and rescue, fire-fighting work, work to prevent or eliminate natural disasters and emergency situations , law enforcement agencies;
• civil servants;
• employees of organizations directly serving special dangerous species production facilities, equipment;
• workers performing work directly related to the livelihoods of the population (energy supply, heating and heat supply, water supply, gas supply, communications, ambulance and emergency medical care stations). These include, for example, operators of a boiler house that supplies the population with heat energy (Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated March 2, 2006 N 60-O).

It is also not allowed to suspend work during periods of military or state of emergency.

Contact the labor dispute commission

You have the right to contact the employer and the representative body of employees with a proposal to create a labor dispute commission (LCC), which must be created within 10 days from an equal number of representatives of the employer and employees. An employee can file a statement of violation of rights with the CTS within three months from the day he learned about the non-payment of wages on time. The employee's application is subject to mandatory registration in the CCC, and the labor dispute must be considered within 10 calendar days from the date of filing the application. By general rule the dispute is considered in the presence of the employee. If the employee’s monetary demands are found to be justified, they are satisfied in full. Within three days from the date the CCC makes a decision on the merits of an individual labor dispute, copies of it must be sent to the employee and the employer. If the decision of the CCC has not been appealed, for which a 10-day period has been established, then it is subject to execution within three days after the expiration given period. If the decision of the CCC has not been executed, then the employee may be issued a certificate, which is an executive document. Within a three-month period from the date of issue of the certificate, it must be presented to the bailiff service for enforcement (Article 382, ​​Part 1, 2, Article 384, Art. 385, Part 2, 3, Article 387, Part. 3 art. 388, part 1, 3 art. 389 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Contact the labor inspectorate

You can send a complaint to the state labor inspectorate of your constituent entity of the Russian Federation. In the appeal, you must indicate the body to which it is sent (State Labor Inspectorate), your last name, first name, patronymic, and postal address for a response. It is recommended that you also include your phone number. Further in the application it is necessary to provide the full name of the organization indicating the form of ownership, address of actual location, full name. manager and administration contact details, if known to you. The appeal must briefly and clearly state the essence of the complaint, facts and circumstances. Indicate the period for which wages were not paid, the total amount of debt and other circumstances relevant to the case. If you do not want the source of the complaint to be disclosed during the inspection, in your application express your wish not to disclose information about the applicant. In this case, inspectors will be obliged not to disclose the source of the complaint to the employer (Article 358 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). At the end of the application you must put a personal signature and date.

It is recommended to attach to your application a copy of the employment contract, as well as evidence of non-payment of wages, if available. The appeal can be submitted in person or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. In addition, the appeal can be submitted via the Internet in the form of an electronic document. As a general rule, an application is considered within 30 days from the date of its receipt, however, in exceptional cases, the period for consideration of an application can be extended to another 30 days.

If during the inspection the regulatory authorities establish that wages are being delayed, the employer will be issued an order to pay you wages, as well as interest for the delay. The inspectorate monitors the implementation of the order. In addition, they will consider the issue of bringing the perpetrators to justice (Article 360 ​​of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Parts 6, 7, Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation; Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; paragraph 86 - Administrative regulations, approved Order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated October 30, 2012 N 354n).

Go to court

In case of demands for the recovery of accrued but unpaid wages, you should apply within one year from the date of the established date for its payment with an application for a court order to the magistrate at the location of the employer, at your place of residence or at the place of execution of the employment contract - if the recovered the amount does not exceed 500 thousand rubles. In this case, the court order will be an executive document (Part 2 of Article 392 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Clause 1 of Part 1 of Article 23, Article 28, Part 6.3, Part 9 of Article 29, Article 121, Part. 1 Art. 123 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Pay attention!

If you file a statement of claim with such demands in court from 06/01/2016, it will be returned to you by the judge as subject to consideration in the order of writ proceedings ( clause 1.1 part 1 art. 135 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation; Art. 4 Law of March 2, 2016 N 45-FZ).

If it appears from the writ petition and the documents submitted that there is a dispute of law, the judge will deny your writ petition. In this case, and also if the amount of the stated claims exceeds 500 thousand rubles, you need to file a statement of claim (part 1 of article 121, clause 3 of part 3 of article 125 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

The court order must be issued within five days from the date of application to the court. In this case, the parties are not summoned to court, and no trial is held. After the court issues a court order, a copy of it is sent to the employer. He may submit his objections to the court, if any, within 10 days. If no objections are received within this period, the court issues a second copy of the court order, certified by the official seal, to present it for execution. Upon application, the order may be sent to a bailiff for execution. However, if the employer nevertheless submits objections within 10 days, the order will be cancelled. In this case, in the ruling to cancel the court order, the judge explains that the stated demand can be presented in the manner of claim proceedings (Article 126 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; paragraph 63 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 N 2).

Pay attention!

When going to court with claims arising from labor relations, employees are exempt from paying state fees and court costs ( Art. 393 Labor Code of the Russian Federation; pp. 1 clause 1 art. 333.36 Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Quit without early warning

If the fact of non-payment of wages is established, then you have the right to resign of your own free will at any time, without notifying the employer two weeks in advance. The employer will be obliged to terminate employment contract within the period specified in your application (Part 3 of Article 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Pay attention!

In addition to the above, you can report delays in salary payments by calling the hotline of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. All information received will be transferred to Rostrud and the prosecutor's office.

Useful information on the issue

Official website Federal service on labor and employment -www.onlineinspektsiya.rf

Official website of the State Labor Inspectorate in Moscow - https://git77.rostrud.ru/

Official website of the Bank of Russia - www.cbr.ru

Prepared based on the material

expert in labor law

Konstantinova K.V.

Sometimes the employer believes that the employee will not escape from him and is in no hurry to pay the due money. The problem is relevant for small cities with high level unemployment.

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But the law gives a citizen greater rights, which allow him to contact the control and supervisory authorities and demand payment of amounts forcibly.

To receive the required salary, you need to demand its payment first through a claim procedure, and if this does not help, then through administrative bodies and court.

General information

For the law, it does not matter whether the salary was not paid due to the fault of the employer or without it. The required amounts must be transferred to the employee at least twice a month.

Being even one day late provides the employee with the opportunity to fight for his right to timely payment. You can contact the employer directly or through a principal (legal representative).

If an employee fails to comply with legal requirements, the employer faces a significant fine, suspension of the enterprise, and even a prison sentence.

Legislative framework

The obligation to transfer wages at least once every 15 days is established in. The right to terminate work due to non-payment of wages is established in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation -.

The possibility of obtaining is established in Art. 136 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Issues of judicial practice in resolving disputes under labor law, including non-payment of wages, are established in Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 2, adopted in March 2004.

Delay of salary

The employer is obliged to pay not only wages, but the necessary compensation payments, vacation pay, and sick leave.

This means non-receipt of funds to the employee’s card or failure to issue them in cash.

For 1 day

If the payment of wages was delayed by 1 day, then the employee can already begin to fight for his rights. First, you should go to the accounting department and find out the reasons.

The period is indeed short, but this does not mean that employees should remain idle.

Protection begins with notifying the employer that employees are aware that they have not received funds and are not ready to put up with the current situation.

If the delay was solely for technical reasons and the money was paid, then the conflict is considered settled.

More than 15 days

Delay of wages for a period exceeding 15 days is considered a serious violation, which should not go unnoticed.

It is necessary to demand a meeting of the labor dispute commission. The commission includes representatives from employees, employers, trade union organization. The commission must make a decision on the dispute no later than 10 days after its convening.

The employee has the right to appeal to the commission within three months after the violation of his rights.

If the deadline has been missed good reasons, then it can be restored. The decision of the commission is made by a majority vote by secret ballot. It must be executed within three days after the expiration of ten days to appeal it.

If the decision of the CCC was not voluntarily executed by the employer, then the employee has the right, within one month, to apply to the commission for a certificate, which will have the force of an executive document.

Having received the certificate, the employee has the right to send it to the bailiffs and recover money from the employer through enforcement proceedings.

In practice, it is difficult to use the powers of the CCC, since the employer may not convene them for any reason and put pressure on the employee.

What to do?

Before figuring out where to go to get your due salary, you need to settle the dispute with the employer through negotiations.

If this does not lead to anything positive, then you need to contact the CTS. If it is impossible to resolve a dispute within the enterprise, it is necessary to seek help from control, supervisory and law enforcement agencies.

Where to complain?

An employee has the opportunity to contact the labor inspectorate at the location of the employer.

The institution controls the implementation of labor legislation, is authorized to conduct inspections, and bring the employer to administrative responsibility.

You can contact the prosecutor's office with a complaint about violation of labor rights. Most effective method protection of rights - going to court.

To the labor inspectorate

To contact the labor inspectorate, you need to write an application in which you should indicate:

• period of non-payment of wages;
• information that the employee tried to resolve the conflict through negotiations.

The labor inspectorate will advise you on issues of interest and help you draw up a statement of claim. The inspectorate conducts an inspection at the enterprise and requests the necessary documentation.

If violations on the part of the employer are revealed, he will be held administratively liable.

To the prosecutor's office

You can contact the prosecutor's office with a complaint at any stage of the conflict consideration.

The complaint should describe in detail the circumstances of the conflict and attach the necessary written documents.

The prosecutor's office conducts an inspection and, if violations are identified, will make recommendations to eliminate them.

If an employer refuses to pay an employee’s salary, the prosecutor has the right to file a claim in defense of persons who, for some valid reason, are unable to defend their rights in court on their own.

Going to court

If the salary is accrued but not paid, the employee has the right to apply to the magistrate with a court order. It is issued within five days after the application for extradition is submitted.

A court order is considered an executive document and can be presented to a bailiff.

If the salary is not paid and has not been accrued, then it is necessary to file a claim in the district court. The application is drawn up according to the rules of Art. 131-138 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The following must be attached to the claim:

• a copy of the employment contract;
• copies of documents confirming the existence of debt;
• copy work book and an order for employment;
• bank statements.

Accounting documents may be presented. The claim is not subject to state duty. At the court hearing, you can make a motion to call witnesses.

Employer's liability

The employer may incur administrative and criminal liability. The amount of the fine depends on the duration of non-payment and the amount of debt. The decision is made by the labor inspectorate or court.

A sentence by which the employer is sentenced criminal punishment, the court rules.

Responsibility for non-payment of wages- an important issue, since not all employers pay their employees on time. Responsibility for non-payment of wages may range from being required to pay minor late interest to imprisonment. Details in the article below.

Delay in payment of wages from the point of view of the law

In accordance with Article 142 Labor Code In Russia, wages to employees must be provided at least 2 times a month (every half month). The specific payment date is set by local regulations organization: labor or collective agreement, internal regulations.

Important: if payday falls on a weekend or holiday, payments must be made the day before. The presence of other conditions in the contract does not comply with the law, which means they are invalid.

The grounds for holding the employer liable for non-payment of wages arise from the 1st day of delay. And starting from the 16th day, paragraph 3 of Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows employees to suspend the performance of their official duties by notifying the employer in writing. This does not deprive the employee of the right to receive wages, including for the time during which he did not actually perform labor functions.

Employer's liability for non-payment (delay in payment) of wages

The right of workers to wages is protected at the legislative level. Therefore, for non-payment of wages, employers are subject to various penalties, including criminal penalties.

Financial responsibility

According to the provisions of Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employer who has delayed payment of wages is obliged to pay not only the resulting debt, but also monetary compensation, which is at least 1/300 of the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Russia of the unpaid amount for each day of delay, starting from the 1st .

Important: an employment or collective agreement may establish a different amount of compensation, but it should not be lower than that provided for by the Labor Code.

• salary - 20,000 rubles;
• payment delay period - 30 days;
• the refinancing rate in 2016 was 10.5% (1/300 = 0.035%).
• 0.035% of 20,000 = 7 rubles;
• 7 × 30 = 210 rubles.

Thus, taking into account the wage arrears, the employer must pay the employee money in the amount of 20,210 rubles, including wage arrears.

Financial liability for non-payment of wages occurs regardless of the reasons for the delay. Until 2006, the situation was different: the employer was exempt from paying interest for a number of circumstances. For example, in cases of employee refusal to receive wages or theft of funds. Current labor legislation provides financial liability regardless of the presence or absence of the employer’s fault.

Important: in accordance with paragraph 55 of the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia dated March 17, 2004, the employee has the right to demand indexation of the amount of wage arrears to the level of current inflation.

If the employer refuses to voluntarily repay the debt, as well as interest for late payment of wages, the only way to get your money back is to file a lawsuit in court.

Administrative responsibility

Non-payment or delay in payment of wages falls under Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia. Officials or individual entrepreneurs who violate workers' rights to wages will face a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles. The sanctions for legal entities are slightly higher - from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles.

The punishment is not too onerous, but in the event of a “recidivism”, that is, a repeated similar offense, individual entrepreneurs and officials will pay from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, while the latter may be deprived of the right to borrow leadership positions for a period of 1 to 3 years. Legal entities They will also lose a more serious amount - from 50,000 to 70,000 rubles.

An application to bring an employer to administrative liability must be submitted to the territorial division of the State Labor Inspectorate at the location of the enterprise. Another body authorized to impose a fine is the court.

Criminal liability

If an employer delays part of the salary for more than 3 months or the full salary for more than 2 months, he faces criminal liability and, as a result, imprisonment, the term of which in especially serious cases reaches 5 years.

Criminal liability for non-payment of wages (non-payment of wages under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia provides for liability for non-payment of wages for a long period of time. Thus, a partial delay of more than 3 months in accordance with Part 1 of Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for one of the following types of punishment for the head of an organization (including a branch or structural unit) or an individual entrepreneur:

• a fine of up to 120,000 rubles or in the amount of an annual salary (in some cases, an additional sanction may be applied - deprivation of the right to hold a certain position or engage in entrepreneurial activity within 1 year);
• forced labor or imprisonment for up to 1 year.

If the salary is not paid in full for more than 2 months, liability arises under Part 2 of Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, where the punishment is somewhat more severe:

• a fine from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of salary for 3 years (the period of job restrictions is increased to 3 years);
• forced labor or imprisonment for up to 3 years.

The most severe punishment awaits the employer if his failure to pay or delay in payment entailed serious consequences. We are talking, for example, about the suicide of an employee, the illness of his relatives, etc. - provided that a cause-and-effect relationship is established. That is, there must be irrefutable evidence that the employee took his own life precisely because he was not paid his salary.

Important: bringing an employer to criminal liability is possible only if he has selfish or any other personal interest that caused the delay in wages. For example, if it is proven that the manager allowed the misuse of funds intended to pay employees.

The investigation of criminal cases of crimes under Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is carried out by investigators of the Investigative Committee. Therefore, an application to bring the employer to criminal liability for non-payment of wages should be addressed to the territorial department of the Investigative Committee.

Another option is to contact the labor inspectorate, whose employees have the right to conduct an inspection and independently send the appropriate conclusion based on its results to the Investigative Committee or the prosecutor’s office.

Filing a complaint to the police is also not prohibited - police officers are required to accept it and forward it according to jurisdiction, that is, to the Investigative Committee department at the place where the crime was committed.

What to do if your salary has not been paid

You can start defending your rights from the 1st day of delay. But first, it’s still worth asking the employer or the responsible accounting employee about the reasons for late payment of wages and the expected time frame for eliminating this violation. If a visit to the manager does not bring results, it is appropriate to take a number of measures (for more details, see What to do if wages are not paid (delayed)? Where to go? 2014-2015).

Contacting the labor inspectorate

The application to the inspection is drawn up in free form, but it must contain the following details and data:

• full name of the organization, as well as last names, first names and patronymics of the first manager and chief accountant (if the latter is absent - an accountant or other employee responsible for calculating and issuing wages);
• the name of your position and length of service at the enterprise;
• information about the amount of wages, the established date and method of payment, the exact time of delay in days.

Labor inspectors are required to conduct an inspection and make a conclusion about the presence or absence of a violation of workers’ rights to wages. There are several options below:

• sending an order to the employer to immediately repay wage arrears;
• notification to law enforcement agencies of identified violations (at the same time a notification may be sent to the tax office).

Suspension of work

After 15 days of delay, the employee has the right to suspend execution labor responsibilities up to full payment of wages. The main thing is not to forget to inform the employer about this in advance. in writing. Typically, notice of suspension of work is issued by a statement indicating the reasons for such a decision.

TIP: the application for suspension of work should be handed to the manager or secretary against signature. If for some reason this is impossible (for example, the boss refuses to sign), you need to use postal services by sending a registered letter with a mark of delivery to the addressee. Otherwise, it will be almost impossible to prove proper notice to the employer of the intention to suspend work.

Important: not all categories of employees have the right to suspend work due to non-payment of wages. In accordance with Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, this is prohibited:

• civil servants;
• employees whose job responsibilities ensure people's livelihoods (gas, electricity, water, heat supply, ambulance and emergency medical care, etc.);
• employees employed in particularly hazardous industries.

Going to court

Court proceedings are a fairly lengthy procedure, so it is better to combine filing a statement of claim with suspension of work. But first it’s worth finding out some nuances that are important for the outcome of the case:

1. Has the salary been accrued? For cases where there are no disputes about the existence of a salary debt, as well as its amount, a simplified procedure for proceedings is provided. That is, writs of execution can be issued almost immediately.
2. Is the non-payment of wages related to the withholding of part of it (especially relevant for partial delays). Maximum size deductions cannot exceed 50% of the total salary. In addition, in accordance with Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, deductions are made exclusively in the following cases:

• return of overpaid advance for travel expenses;
• return of overpaid amounts due to calculation errors;
• upon dismissal - upon payment of actual wages days not worked(except for dismissal due to staff reduction, change of owner or liquidation of the enterprise, conscription into the army, health status).

In addition, deductions can be made on the basis of a writ of execution received by the employer. Overpaid wages are not subject to return (except for cases where the employee’s guilt in committing unlawful actions is established in court).

Wages not paid upon dismissal: what to do

In accordance with Article 140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, wages and other amounts of money due to the employee must be paid directly on the day of dismissal.

Payments due

The employer is obliged to fully pay the employee upon dismissal:

• wages for all actually worked days of the previous month (as well as pay off wage arrears, if any);
• annual payment (13th salary), if provided for by a collective agreement, bonus regulations or other local act of the enterprise - in proportion to the time worked during the year preceding dismissal;
• compensation for unused vacations.

In addition, in accordance with Article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in the event of dismissal due to staff reduction or liquidation of the organization, the employee has the right to receive:

• severance pay in the amount of average monthly earnings;
• benefits for the period of employment - also in the amount of average monthly earnings (after 2 months after dismissal).

IMPORTANT! If an employee is registered as unemployed within 14 days from the date of dismissal (contacted the employment center), but was not employed, the benefit for the period of employment is paid within 3 months.

If the employer fails to provide all payments due, the dismissed employee has the right to take the same actions as an existing employee in the event of non-payment of wages.

However, before going to court or the prosecutor's office with a complaint against the actions of the employer, it is necessary to submit a claim to the latter demanding payment of all due amounts of money in full. Otherwise, there is a possibility of losing part of the payments if the employer claims that the employee himself did not appear to receive the payment.