The employer does not pay wages, what should I do? What to do if you haven’t made a payment upon dismissal? What to do: wages are paid

Salaries must be paid at least every six months.

Delay in salary for more than 15 days is a violation of the law.

Provided that the salary is white and the labor relations are official.

Once these two weeks have passed, you can claim compensation and/or suspend work.

Calculation of compensation for delayed wages

For violation of salary deadlines, the employer is primarily liable in rubles.

The employee must receive compensation for each day of delay in wages, regardless of whether the employer is at fault or not.

Calculate compensation and contact management with a request (preferably in writing) to issue a salary. Justify your demand with Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

To calculate compensation, the following formula is used:

(debt - personal income tax) × 1/150 of the Central Bank key rate × number of days of delay

Compensation may be greater than the amount received according to the formula if this is provided for in a collective or labor agreement and other local acts.

Suspension of work

If the company's management pursues a policy of “no money, but you hold on,” you have the right not to work. The argument is Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

You'll have to write here. You need to attach to it:

  • Documents confirming that you work in this company (employment contract, employment order, work book, etc.).
  • Documents on the amount of salary.
  • Documents indicating non-payment of earnings (payslips, bank statements, etc., calculation of debt and compensation).

However, you are not obligated to continue working for the debtor company. If the fact of non-payment of wages is established, you can do so at any time, without working for two weeks.

Any employed employee must be paid wages twice a month. Deviation from the schedule, even for one day, is unacceptable - in such a situation the employer is punished. But what to do if money is not issued for weeks or months?

Compensation for delayed wages

The company's liability to its employees for complete non-payment or partial delay of wages and other monetary payments can be administrative, material and even criminal.

Administrative responsibility

Regulated by the Code of Administrative Offences. According to Article 5.27, a warning or a fine may be imposed:

  • for officials and private employers - from 2 thousand rubles. up to 5 thousand rubles;
  • for legal entities - from 50 thousand rubles. up to 80 thousand rubles

Repeated violations will result in a fine of 10 thousand rubles. up to 20 thousand rubles and from 50 thousand rubles. up to 70 thousand rubles respectively. Officials may be disqualified for a period of 12 to 36 months.

Financial responsibility

Based on Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, we can say that:

  • the employer's liability arises the day after non-payment of payments due to the employee;
  • the obligation of material compensation appears regardless of whether the employer is at fault in the situation;
  • The law covers not only wages themselves, but also compensation for vacation, sick leave or dismissal payments;
  • if the funds have not been paid to the employee at all, then the employing company is obliged to add to its debt for each full day of delay an amount equal to 1/150 of the current key rate (currently 9.25%);
  • if payment was incomplete, then the calculation is made based on the remaining debt.

Let's assume that the amount unpaid to the employee is 100 thousand rubles, and the delay period is 45 days.

1/150 key rate = 0.061% (1/150 x 9.25%)

For one day, the employer owes the employee 61 rubles (100 thousand rubles x 0.061%), which means that in 45 days the financial compensation will be 2,745 rubles.

Criminal liability

Regulated by Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The employer's liability arises in the event of complete or partial (less than half of what is due) non-payment of amounts due to the employee for personal or selfish commercial reasons.

If an employee has not received full salary or other payments for more than 3 months, then a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles may be imposed on the head of the company. or within the limits of his salary (or other income) for a period of up to 12 months. It is also possible to be prohibited from holding specific positions for a period of up to 1 year. Punishment can also be established in the form of forced labor for a period of up to 2 years or imprisonment for a period of up to 1 year.

If an employee fails to pay the funds due to him completely for more than 2 months, a fine to the manager may be issued in the amount of 100 thousand rubles. up to 500 thousand rubles or in the amount of other three-year income. A ban on holding positions, correctional labor or imprisonment may be imposed for a period of up to 36 months.

Where to go if you don't get paid

Before going to human rights defenders, it is recommended to talk with your superiors and try to resolve the issue. If there is no result, then you can defend your interests in the labor inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or in court.

Application to labor protection authorities

An appeal to the State Labor Inspectorate (SIT), in accordance with the law regulating the rules for processing civil appeals, is anonymous. The application is drawn up in free form with the obligatory indication of:


Based on the results of consideration of the appeal, the State Tax Inspectorate may send the employer a notice of the need to immediately settle payments with employees, as well as notify law enforcement agencies about the situation.

Contacting the Prosecutor's Office and the police

If the employer does not comply with the instructions or the labor inspectorate refuses to protect the employee’s rights, the employee can file an appeal to the prosecutor’s office. In this case, you can complain against both the employer and the labor inspectorate employees. The statute of limitations on the issue is 12 months.

It is also possible to contact the police in order to bring the company's management to criminal liability.

Wages are not paid - what to do?

It is important to know that, according to Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee may, after notifying the employer in writing, not visit the place of work until the payment arrears are repaid. This right can be exercised starting from the 16th day of delay (there are exceptions, for example - civil servants, the full list is in the text of the law). Average earnings during the suspension of duties are maintained.

But, in addition to legal issues, there are several recommendations on how to “survive” the period of non-payment of wages with minimal losses:


An enterprise, when engaging hired personnel under an employment contract, must pay remuneration for the performance of labor functions within the time limits stipulated by local regulatory documents. If these dates are violated and employees do not receive their salaries on time, then appropriate measures may be taken against the business entity. Therefore, company employees must know what to do if they do not pay their salaries.

It is legally established that remuneration for work must be paid by the employer at least twice a month. At the same time, he must determine in his acts the exact dates of such payments. Companies can, if they have such an opportunity, pay remuneration more often than established by law.

When an employment agreement is concluded with a new employee, he must be provided with local regulations for review, which set out the procedure for calculating and paying wages.

In addition, legislators introduced deadlines by which wages must be paid. According to these standards, salary advances must be issued to employees working at the enterprise before the 30th of the month. And the final part is due for payment by the 15th day of the month following the workday for which the transfer is made.

The same acts enshrine a rule that stipulates that there should not be more than 15 days between paydays. The salary includes vacation pay, which has separate payment terms.

These amounts must be paid to employees three working days before they go on leave, or within the same period from the moment they submit their application for leave.

The employer makes benefits for the presented certificate of incapacity for work on the next day established for the transfer of wages.

When a termination occurs with an employee, the company's management must pay wages on his last working day if the payment is made in cash, or the next day if using non-cash payments.

Attention! Upon dismissal, conflict situations may arise, including regarding the amount of payments. Then the employer must transfer the undisputed part of the salary within the established time frame. The remaining part, after approval of its amount, must be paid to the dismissed employee within the time frame determined by a court decision or other document.

If these deadlines are violated, there will be a delay in remuneration for workers from their salaries.

Not paid or delayed

On the one hand, these two concepts are exactly the same. However, they should be distinguished.

It is believed that if there is a delay in wages, then the company administration can be held accountable after a certain period. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation determined this period to be 15 days.

In any case, it is impossible to delay the salaries of company employees, but the company will only be liable if the delay is more than 15 days.

That is, the employer will need to pay the debt and the compensation due for each day of delay, and administrative measures cannot be applied to him. Compensation is calculated based on 1/150 of the refinancing rate for each day of delay. If it is exceeded, the Code of Administrative Offenses will come into force with certain penalties.

It does not matter whether the company had valid reasons for delaying wages or not. If the period of non-payment exceeds the established period, then the management of the organization must be prepared for the established penalties.

It must be remembered that a delay in wages is also a failure to pay wages in full, but only partially.

Important! If a company does not pay wages for 2 months, then this is considered a serious offense. Responsibility for it is already established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

What to do if you don't get paid

The rules of law establish the right of an employee to apply to the relevant authorities for the restoration of his rights in the event of non-payment of wages.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation also establishes the right of an employee to suspend his work activity if his employer does not make payments of remuneration due for more than 15 days.

Where to go if you don't get paid

There are several authorities that you can contact regarding non-payment of earnings.

Employer

The first thing you need to do is contact your management. Since an employee, according to the Labor Code, has the right to self-defense, he can suspend his work if there is a delay of more than 15 days.

But for this it is necessary to issue a notification in writing. In addition, you can try to convey to management that if the debt is not repaid, an appeal will follow to the regulatory authorities.

Labor inspection

The second step is to contact the labor inspectorate. This body is vested with the right to monitor compliance with labor laws. When visiting the inspection in person, you must write a free-form statement outlining the facts about non-payment of wages.

Subject delays in payment of wages always relevant, in any economic and political situation. In 2016, amendments were made that tightened the punishment for late payment of salary! The article is relevant for 2018-2019!!

There will always be unscrupulous employers who try by any means to avoid paying the employee his hard earned money.

In this article I will tell you about ways to deal with them, and also show ways to resolve conflict situations.

The legislator has clearly defined the rules for calculating and paying employee wages, but often the employer is unwilling or unable to comply with the law. There are several ways to resolve the issue of salary payment. Let's look at them.


○ Wages are not paid or are delayed, what should I do?

The legislator has identified several possibilities for protecting the rights of employees in the event of non-payment or delay in payment of wages (Article 352 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

  • Self-defense.
  • Protection of employee rights by trade union organizations.
  • Contacting the labor inspectorate.
  • Judicial protection.

Supervision and control in the field of labor rights is also carried out by the Prosecutor's Office.

It is clear that the last two authorities (the court and the Prosecutor's Office) are an extreme method of protection, entailing not only the financial liability of the unscrupulous employer to the employee, but also administrative and even criminal liability for these violations.

If an employee chooses the path of self-defense, then he should take advantage of the rights granted by Art. 142, 379 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, namely, to suspend work for the entire period of delay in payments. To do this, two conditions must be met:

  • The delay is more than 15 days.
  • It is necessary to notify the employer in writing of the suspension of work, giving notice must be done either through the reception (or office) or through the mail - in this case it will be impossible to fire an employee for absenteeism.

It is worth remembering that in some situations:

Period of martial law or state of emergency, and for certain categories of workers:

  • Armed forces, emergency services forces, emergency rescue teams, firefighters, disaster relief workers, etc.
  • Law enforcement agencies.
  • Civil servants.
  • Employees of particularly dangerous facilities (power plants, for example).
  • Workers whose field of activity is related to the life support of citizens - energy companies, water and gas supply, ambulance and emergency services...

SUSPENSION OF WORK IS PROHIBITED!

If a trade union has been created in an organization, then its direct function is monitoring compliance with labor laws and protecting workers’ rights. An employee may contact the union in writing.

The application must describe the current situation in detail, accompanied by an employment contract. In the described case, the methods and measures of pressure on the employer are chosen by the trade union; you only need to give detailed explanations of the case and control the process.

It is no secret that in most cases a trade union is a “manual” organization of the employer. So you shouldn’t really count on their help.

Another thing is the State Labor Inspectorate (SIT), a state body for control and supervision of compliance with labor legislation. In case of violation of rights, the employee has the right to apply in writing to the specified government body.

Based on your application, the inspectorate will conduct a comprehensive inspection and request the necessary documents, both from the employer and from other organizations and government agencies (for example, the tax office or the bank servicing this company).

Based on the results of the inspection, a decision will be made according to which the unscrupulous employer may be brought to administrative responsibility and will be given an order to eliminate the identified violations. If a more serious offense is identified, the inspection material will be transferred to the Prosecutor's Office or court.

If the conflict situation is resolved before the intervention of the Prosecutor's Office or the court, the employee may go to work on the day of transfer of the resulting debt, without any consequences for yourself (by law).

○ Compensation and settlement for delayed wages.

In accordance with Art. 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation must be defined in the employment contract place and timing of salary payment. It also stipulates that it must be paid at least every 2 weeks.

Payment location- this is, as a rule, the employee’s workplace, and deadlines mean specific dates of each month. If the employer violates the deadlines for transferring wages, the employee has the right to monetary compensation for each day of delay.

As Art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, if there is a delay in the transfer of wages, as well as other mandatory payments (vacation pay, for example), the employer is liable regardless of his fault.

This norm establishes the employer’s obligation on payment of interest for each day of delay in payment. The legislator established the amount of compensation equal to 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of the calculation date.

An employment contract may establish a different amount, but it cannot be lower than that established by law.

Compensation = Salary arrears × Number of days of delay × 1/300 × Refinancing rate (0.0825).

It is worth remembering that advance payments and wages have different periods of delay, and so in each month, respectively, the above formula is applied to each of the amounts not paid on time, then all amounts are added up.

○ Employer's liability for delay.

The Criminal Code provides for quite serious sanctions against an employer who violates the terms of payment of wages.

If there is a delay of more than two months, the fine is up to 120 thousand rubles, and in the event of severe consequences - up to five hundred thousand. Criminal liability is also assumed - from 2 to 5 years.

At the same time, a person who violates the rights of employees to receive wages on time may be deprived of the right to hold certain positions for a period of up to 3 years. So employers better not joke.

○ Sample notification.

The Notice of Termination of Work must be drawn up in 2 copies and submitted to the office or reception of the head of the organization. In case of refusal to accept documents, they should be sent by mail with a list of the contents and a notification of delivery.

After that suspension of work will be legal and justified and this will serve as evidence of the employee’s compliance with the law and protect himself from accusations of absenteeism.

General Director
LLC "Patriot"
V.V. Ivanov
From the chief engineer
S.A. Perepelkina

Notice of suspension of work
according to Employment Contract No. ___ dated _______

I notify you that, despite my repeated requests, your salary arrears have not been repaid as of today.

For this reason, I, ______________________, notify Patriot LLC of the suspension of my work for the entire period until the payment of arrears of wages.

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 142, 379 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, I have the right, by notifying you in writing, to suspend work until the debt is paid.

The period of delay in payment of my wages is from January 1, 20___ to February 15, 20__, which is ________ days.

Based on the above, I suspend work and consider it possible to resume the performance of my official duties after transferring the debt.

Please transfer the salary arrears in the amount of ______________ rubles to the following bank details:____________________________________________________________

Despite the fact that legislators often update legal acts, the state has created special institutions for the protection of workers' labor, which must inspect enterprises, all the same to their employees. Even the many ways to transfer salaries to employees does not save the situation. The company management's excuses can be whatever they want, but this is a violation. But few ordinary subordinates know that wages are one of the primary expense items for the enterprise.

What is commonly called delayed wages?

It is ignorance of their rights that often forces employees of a particular enterprise, institution or organization to simply endure long delays in wages and do nothing on their part. However, every employee, if he is already thinking about what to do when the employer does not pay wages, should know that he has all the rights to contact the necessary authorities. You just need to correctly understand when a delay in payments will be considered a violation by law, and when it will not.

So, based on Article 142 According to the Russian Labor Code, the permissible period when the management of an enterprise can delay the payment of wages to its subordinates is a period of no more than 15 days. Now almost all official relations regulated by labor legislation must be formalized by concluding an employment contract. This should always be done, so all business leaders know this. The employer's obligations clause in such an agreement always specifies the date when he must pay the advance to the employee, as well as his wages.

But even if there is no such contract (agreement), a contract can be concluded, a decree or order can be issued. Therefore, if any of these documents are available, the employee has the right to feel confident when he does not know where to turn if his salary is not paid. Because if you are unofficially employed, there is no point in contacting the Labor Inspectorate. You can only complain about the employer to the tax office and reveal the fact that the latter employs illegal workers. But then there is a big risk of losing your job completely.

What actions should the employee take?

When already 15 days have passed from the date on which, according to the employment agreement, you should have been paid for your work, you can already notify your employer in writing of a violation of the terms of the employment contract. You will have every right to suspend your work because one of the parties (your employer) has violated its obligations. Moreover, you can do this without any loss of your job.

In general, there are several main methods that an employee has the right to take in the event that he is not paid wages:

  1. Personally contact the employer and peacefully try to agree with him on the changed conditions. Inquire about the reasons for non-payment and how management can solve the problem.
  2. If the enterprise has a specially created commission for disputes between the workforce and management, you can file complaints there.
  3. If you cannot agree with your manager on the next payments, then you should warn him in writing that you will be suspending your work due to non-payment of earnings.
  4. Stop working until your wages are paid.
  5. In the event that wages are not paid even when employees have suspended their work, it makes sense for subordinates to contact the state inspection agency, which guards the protection of workers.

Pay attention! Not all employees can suspend their work. Those prohibited by law from doing so cannot stop working unless they are paid. This may include some medical workers, law enforcement officers, workers at hazardous facilities (for example, nuclear power plants) and other workers.

A subordinate can notify of the upcoming suspension of his labor process only after a half-month has passed. This should be done by submitting an application addressed to the director of the company where the employee is employed. Such a primary document simply indicates the reason and intention not to work until the due wages are paid. But it is better not to temporarily leave your workplace until you are sure that your application has been accepted through the office, it has an incoming number and you have been given a copy of it.

When a citizen suspends his official activity, he may have rights to the following types of social protection:

  1. Has the right to be absent from his workplace.
  2. No one has the right to forcefully fire him.
  3. May take part in strikes that do not contradict the laws.
  4. For the entire period of suspended work, the subordinate retains his average earnings.
  5. May not work until the delayed amounts are paid in full.

How to protect yourself

The defense is organized by the article 234 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The employee’s right to refuse to perform his job duties will be a kind of self-defense and a fair reaction to violations by management. All these provisions are disclosed in the legal regulation of the federal level No. 434-FZ dated December 30, 2015. These provisions amend Article 142 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and protect the rights of workers. After the employee receives notification from his management that they are ready to pay him for everything, he can then begin his work duties if the employer agrees to continue cooperating with him.

Important! When the day for payment of remuneration to an employee falls on a calendar day off or a holiday, the employer is obliged to accrue wages on the eve of this time. He must pay vacation pay no later than 3 days before the first day of vacation.

Where to go if you don't get paid

If a worker does not know where to turn, if they have not been paid for half a month, then you can inquire about this at any law firm or ask a question online on the website of any legal consultant. Nowadays, many of these official portals have the opportunity to provide such consultation free of charge through consultants directly on the Internet page. There are several ways you can go if you haven’t been paid for more than 15 days, even after personal communication with management:

  1. Submitting an application to the commission on labor disputes created directly at the enterprise.
  2. You can complain to the State Labor Inspectorate.
  3. Filing a claim against the employer with the prosecutor's office at the place of residence and employment.
  4. Filing a claim in court - in the district court.

Important! When you submit an application to the commission created by the enterprise trade union, it should be considered within 10 days, but no longer than that. After the decision is made and the order issued by the commission, the employer is given a period of three days during which he is obliged to pay the entire debt to the employee (employees). If, nevertheless, the management is indifferent to such an order, then the commission will only have to make a certificate and issue it to the applicant. With such a paper, it will be easier for the employee to go to court, because he will be able to attach it to the claim.

The state structure of the administrative apparatus at the federal level contains such a body as the Labor Inspectorate (it is also called the State Labor Inspectorate). This body is designed to regulate all sorts of issues and conflicts that arise between the employer and employees. Therefore, as soon as a subordinate does not know what to do if he has not been paid his salary for more than a month or more than two weeks, he can immediately complain to the Inspectorate. This authority has the full right by law to fine enterprises and suspend their activities for not complying with the terms of labor agreements with workers.

The application that you will submit to the labor inspectorate should reflect the following important points:

  • full name of the organization and address where the paper is submitted;
  • details of the company (its codes, address, contact details) where the employee works who is not paid;
  • personal information of the applicant himself - the employee;
  • a statement of the essence, indicating all the deadlines, when and how much they were supposed to pay.

Labor Inspectorate is obliged to consider such an application no longer than 30 days. After the decision is made, the applicant employee receives an email notification that a decision has been made in his favor to recover the amount of wages from the employer.

Additional information: it is very important that such statements are always accompanied by documents from the accounting department that could confirm the employee’s complaint. At this stage, employers usually try to promptly pay the entire amount that is owed to the employee.

What does an employer face for delaying an employee’s earnings?

Violation of labor legislation by employers in relation to the payment of remuneration to their subordinates is punishable by law with a large fine, seizure (termination of permission) of licenses and suspension of business activities until a certain period.

The fines prescribed in such cases are as follows:

  • 1000-5000 rub. for officials;
  • 1000-5000 rub. for individual entrepreneurs (IP);
  • 30,000-50,000 rub. for a legal entity (company, enterprise, organization, institution, firm and other institutions of various legal forms of ownership).

In addition, the court may assign compensation in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate, which is taken from the entire accumulated unpaid amount of money. Therefore, as soon as you are puzzled by the question of where to complain, if you have not been paid your salary for a long time and you, for your part, have repeatedly appealed to the company management for this, do not wait any longer, file a complaint or claim with the Labor Inspectorate or the district court. It should be noted that all cases considered by the prosecutor's office take a very long time to be resolved. In fact, it is faster to act through the Labor Inspectorate.

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