Home › Taxes › How to reduce piecework wages. The remuneration system: nuances and pitfalls. Mixed or piece-time form of remuneration

How to reduce piecework wages. The remuneration system: nuances and pitfalls. Mixed or piece-time form of remuneration

Today, many employers hire employees on a piece-rate basis.

This type of payment is no longer uncommon and, moreover, stimulates the employee himself to work well, because the more you do, the higher the salary.

Definition of the concept and procedure for regulating this issue in the Labor Code

The concept of piecework wages refers to a form of calculating employee wages, which directly depends on the amount of work performed. In the process of performing a certain work, its type is taken into account, as well as the conditions under which it was done.

This type of payment is clearly regulated Article 135 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This article contains clear rules for determining a worker’s payment for a certain amount of work.

Moreover, piecework wages may contain various options.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Piece wages, as another form of employee remuneration, have its advantages and disadvantages.

Main advantages it is generally accepted:

interest in the work of the employee himself (this is due to the fact that the employee understands that it depends only on him what salary he will receive at the end of the month);
self-realization. The employee is not afraid to take full responsibility;
the employee initially knows how much money he can get for performing this or that work;
wages directly depend on the quality of the work (both a reduction in the amount of payment for poor-quality work and an increase for excellent quality and fast deadlines may be provided);
this form of payment helps the company achieve certain heights in its activities, since employees do their work conscientiously;
independent formation of wages by the employee (the employee, having calculated the estimated work plan, can determine his preliminary salary amount).

Regarding shortcomings of this form of payment, the following are considered more significant:

a significant decrease in the quality of products, since the employee is mostly interested in volume;
deterioration in the quality of maintenance of production equipment, which leads to its malfunctions and, as a consequence, capital investments;
possible disruption in the technological process;
complete disregard for safety rules;
significant excess consumption of raw materials.

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Species

Piecework wages can be of several types. Let's consider each of them separately.

Simple

This type of piecework payment is quite simple. It lies in the fact that the employee knows about his payment even before the work begins.

The key points of this form of payment is a clearly established payment for the performance of a particular work based on the tariff rate, corresponding to a certain category of work (some work is simple, and some is very complex).

Piece-bonus

The essence of this type of payment is that in addition to payment for a certain type of work, the employee can receive a bonus. It can be awarded for high-quality performance of any work or for something else that is provided for in the contract with the employee.

As a rule, a bonus always stimulates an employee, which affects his future work. It is for this reason that the piecework-bonus form of payment is often found in our country.

Piece-progressive

Payment, which is made in this form, is usually calculated based on the results of single rates. When performing more work than is required by the norm, the employee has the right to receive payment for exceeding the plan.

It is worth noting that this form of payment can be introduced for a certain period, after which the usual piecework payment comes into force.

Piece-progressive payment can be introduced by the company's management, including the amount of the bonus for exceeding the norm.

Indirect piecework

The amount of indirect piecework wages lies in the fact that the amount of employees’ salaries is made dependent on the assessment of the work of the workers they serve.

As a rule, this type of payment is used for such employees as:

equipment adjusters;
Equipment repair mechanics.

Payroll calculation in this form often depends on the performance of a particular job. This is due to the fact that workers on this form of payment can perform different types of work every day, for which different remuneration is provided.

Chord

This system of paying an employee involves payment not for a specific job, but for the whole job. Its size directly depends on what kind of work the workers need to do in a certain period of time.

As a rule, this form of payment is used in those enterprises where continuous production is necessary. Such payment encourages employees to ensure continuity of the technological process.

Mixed or piece-time form of remuneration

This type of wage payment form is a synthesis of piecework and time-based wages.

What forms of remuneration exist are described in the following video lesson:

Registration procedure

In order to switch to piecework wages, the employer must first abolish the previous type of payment. After the prices that apply to piecework payment for performing a particular job are generated, the employee switches to this form of payment.

It is worth noting that without the consent of employees, independently transferring them to this form of payment is considered illegal. This is clearly regulated by Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

An exception to this is Article 74 of the Labor Code, which provides for the transfer of an employee to piecework payment only if the enterprise is unable to pay wages in another form. An example of this is the start of a procedure.

The nuances of drawing up an employment contract

Article 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation clearly indicates that when working on a piecework basis, he must first of all be familiar with the prices provided for in the contract.

At the same time, you should not forget that if an employee works using this form of payment, he must, like everyone else, receive a salary twice a month. If the payment schedule is violated, management faces criminal proceedings.

When drawing up an employment contract, the employee must make sure that it contains the conditions under which the work performed is accepted. As a rule, after accepting a job, a letter is issued, which is the reason for paying wages.

When signing an employment contract, you should make sure it contains:

prices for performing work;
the procedure for calculating wages when leaving;
actions of an employee in the presence of “downtime”.

The presence of such provisions in the employment contract will eliminate all further troubles in the event of conflict situations with the employer.

Procedure for paying for downtime

Many people confuse downtime with rest. However, this is far from the case. The fact is that downtime is always considered working time, so it has nothing to do with rest.

It doesn’t matter whether the downtime was a whole day or a few hours, the employee still must be at his workplace at that time.

In the event that the management of the enterprise probably knows that the downtime will last for several days, they can allow the employee not to show up for work on these days.

This decision primarily works for the benefit of the enterprise, and only then the employee. The decision not to go to work during the downtime period must be accompanied by a corresponding order from management, otherwise it will be illegal.

Employees who work on a piece-rate basis must receive a tariff rate during the period of downtime, which must be specified in the employment contract in this regard.

Many business managers use a trick during downtime, asking their employees to register.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that employees are not obliged to follow management’s lead and take unpaid vacations, since they will still receive wages, albeit in a smaller amount.

Rules for calculating vacation pay

When working on a piece-rate basis, you don’t have to worry about how vacation pay will be calculated.

Firstly, this must be provided for in the employment contract.

Secondly, in the absence of this clause in the contract, there is a legislative framework that clearly regulates the procedure for calculating vacation pay for the piecework form of payment.

Vacation pay is calculated in the same way as with any other form of payment. That is, when calculating vacation pay, salary data for the last year is taken.

After this, the total income for the year should be divided by 12, then the resulting figure by 29.4.

When calculating, the resulting amount is multiplied by the number of days of the main vacation.

It is worth noting that each employee can calculate the amount of vacation pay in advance independently. To do this, just follow the above steps. This will allow you to plan your vacation in advance.

For information about the benefits of piecework wages, watch the following video:

Some appraisal and audit companies would like to switch to piecework payment for their employees - especially at a time when appraisers and auditors are experiencing problems. Trade Union lawyers answer these questions.

Question to the Trade Union lawyer:

How to switch to piecework wages in an organization? What documents must be signed? Do I need to keep track of working hours?

The lawyer answers:

With piecework wages, wages are calculated based on the piecework rates established by the employer for the production of a unit of product (work, service), and the quantity of products (work, services) that the employee produced (performed). In this case, the employer needs to establish not only piece rates, but also labor standards (production standards) (Article 160 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The employer, in accordance with part two of Art. 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is obliged to provide employees with work stipulated by the employment contract, that is, it is obliged to provide work in an amount not less than that established by production standards.
The procedure for remuneration for non-compliance with labor standards, depending on the reasons for such non-compliance, is determined by Art. 155 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. By virtue of Art. 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the conditions for remuneration of an employee must be contained in the employment contract. According to Art. 135 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee’s wages are established by an employment contract in accordance with the wage systems in force for a given employer.

In turn, remuneration systems are established by collective agreements, agreements, local regulations in accordance with labor legislation and other regulations containing labor law standards.

Thus, in order to switch to piecework payment, a local act of the employer or a collective agreement must cancel the previous one and approve a new system of remuneration - piecework, including production standards and piecework prices. In addition, the new remuneration system should be reflected in employment contracts with employees.

Changing the terms of an employment contract is allowed only by agreement of the parties to the employment contract, concluded in writing, with the exception of cases provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). As such an exception, Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides the employer with the right, on his own initiative, to change any terms of the employment contract with the employee, except for the labor function.

But this is not always possible, but only in cases where the previous terms of the employment contract cannot be maintained for reasons related to changes in organizational or technological working conditions. In Art. 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides only an approximate list of such reasons: changes in equipment and production technology, structural reorganization of production, other reasons. The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation supplemented this list with the improvement of jobs based on their certification (clause 21 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 17, 2004 No. 2 “On the application by the courts of the Russian Federation of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as Resolution of the Plenum No. 2).

However, based on this indicative list, it is quite possible to conclude that the law deals with circumstances that lead to such significant changes in the organization of labor of workers or the technology of the production process itself that the previous terms of employment contracts determined by the parties can no longer be objectively preserved .

In this case, the employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing no later than two months in advance not only of upcoming changes to the terms of the employment contract, but also of the reasons that necessitated such changes.

When changing the terms of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer, it is necessary to strictly follow the rules provided for in Art. 74 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation explained that an employer who unilaterally changes the terms of an employment contract determined by the parties is obliged to prove that this decision, firstly, was a consequence of changes in organizational or technological working conditions, and secondly, did not worsen the employee’s situation compared with the terms of the collective agreement, agreement (clause 21 of the Plenum Resolution No. 2).

In our opinion, it is difficult to find such organizational or technological changes that could lead to the impossibility of maintaining a time-based wage system and would force a switch to piecework payment. If the employer is not ready to justify that piecework wages are being introduced in connection with changes in organizational or technological working conditions, he should introduce this system only by agreement with the employees.

Depending on the method of changing the terms of the wage agreement, either an additional agreement to the employment contract between the employee and the employer is drawn up (Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), or in accordance with Art. 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, local regulatory act on changing the terms of the employment contract, notifications to employees and others specified in Art. 74 Labor Code of the Russian Federation documents.

The staffing table contains information about the remuneration of employees. Therefore, when employee salaries change, changes must be made to the staffing table.

Despite the fact that with a piece-rate form of remuneration, the amount of wages is determined based on the results of the work performed and does not depend directly on the number of hours actually worked, the duration of working time is limited by labor legislation (Chapters 15-16 of the Labor Code).

By virtue of part four of Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to keep records of the working time actually worked by each employee. This rule does not make any exceptions, therefore it is mandatory for application in the case of piecework wages.

To record the time actually worked and (or) not worked by each employee of the organization, the “Working time sheet” (form No. T-13), as well as the “Working time sheet and calculation of wages” (form No. T-12), is used. approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation dated January 5, 2004 No. 1 “On approval of unified forms of primary accounting documentation for labor accounting and its payment.” Keeping time sheets under any wage system is carried out according to the same rules.

I am sure that for most Russian entrepreneurs the question: deal or no deal is not worth it. Of course it's a deal! In a society where money rules, it cannot be any other way. Money is the most powerful incentive. And if you create a direct relationship: the result is money, then you will get the most effective enterprise model.

Indeed, piecework wages have many advantages for the enterprise:

Firstly, Every worker understands that the more he works, the higher his salary. Therefore, if he needs money, and, as we know, there is never too much money, he will literally “die” at the machine, only in order to get as much of this coveted material well-being as possible. And natural human greed, fueled, or one might even say inflamed, by the media, pushes the employee more than ever to give his best, as they say, “to the fullest.”

Secondly, the deal allows the employer to completely protect itself from lazy or unproductive workers. If an employee does nothing, then he earns nothing. He doesn't have to pay for work he didn't do. And the share of wages in the cost of a unit of production is always constant. The risk of paying for employee idleness is reduced to zero - the employer pays only for those employee actions that led to the desired result.

Thirdly, the transaction, as a rule, is accompanied by full financial responsibility of the employee for the results of his work. In other words, all risks of possible product defects are borne by the employee. Through a system of fines, it fully compensates the employer for all losses incurred by the latter due to the employee’s negligence. And this is fair, although not always legal.

Fourthly, the full financial responsibility of the employee forces him to treat raw materials and materials more rationally, monitor the consumption of materials and fall within the established norms of technological waste. The employer, in turn, can, and, as a rule, takes advantage of this, to save on the quality of the material. Making candy out of “shit” is the main responsibility of a transaction worker.

Fifthly, the employee treats the tools and equipment entrusted to him more carefully, since the maximum amount of work that the employee can “squeeze” out of them depends on their condition. Often, an employee is forced to make or buy various devices and tools at his own expense to increase his productivity. For the employer, this is another cost saving item.

Sixth, since the employee himself is interested in as much work as possible, the deal allows the employer to reduce the costs of maintaining the structures that control the employee. Indeed, why force an employee to do more and constantly monitor him so that he does not shirk from work, if he himself is eager to “go into battle” - just have time to “throw” work at him. In addition, the transaction leads to the creation at the enterprise of an internal, hyper-competitive environment among employees for the most profitable work, which further encourages them to do as quickly, more and better as possible, and creates additional leverage for the employer to manage, or rather manipulate, employees. What else does an employer need?

Seventh, the transaction implies almost no costs on the part of the employer for training and advanced training of employees. They pay more for skilled labor, and since workers strive for more earnings, they themselves are interested in improving their qualifications. “Training,” as a rule, occurs by observing older comrades and getting your own “bumps,” since no one will teach themselves to their competitors. Here, as in natural selection, the strongest survive, and this leads to an increase in the overall efficiency of the enterprise.

And finally, workers who go to work solely for money view it as inevitable, wasted time, and an obligatory payment for subsequent pleasures. Working time is not associated with a full life, therefore their requirements for the surrounding reality during this period are minimal. They do not need to create additional comfortable working conditions. You can get by with the minimum necessary set of essential amenities. They are of little interest in the “working” atmosphere in the team, since everyone is for himself. Yes, and everyone arranges their own workplace - there is no time for ergonomics, the main thing is that it allows for maximum volume. With a minimum of costs - maximum results.

Complete advantages for both the employer and the employee. But while listing the advantages, one cannot fail to note the disadvantages. When there is a transaction, there is only one - it cannot always be applied.

So, let's summarize. The deal is:

strong motivation and, consequently, high productivity;
high quality of products without additional costs for its maintenance;
reducing to zero the risks of increasing production costs due to the laziness and carelessness of individual workers;
reducing costs for monitoring productivity and material consumption; no costs for training and creating a comfortable environment for workers.

This is what most Russian entrepreneurs think. But…

If you have worked in real operating enterprises with their problems, achievements, successes and failures, you must have noticed that all the above arguments often work exactly the opposite.

Let me make a reservation right away that piecework wages can be justified if the following conditions are simultaneously met: the work is low-skilled, the number of operations is limited, the work is temporary, or the employer is not concerned about high staff turnover. If all three conditions are met at your enterprise, then you can use the deal. But even in this case, this will not be the most effective solution.

The only thing that justifies managers who rely on piecework wages is their inability or unwillingness to use stronger, but at the same time more troublesome and complex, methods of motivating their employees.

But first things first.

We all dream of living well, we all strive for material well-being, and for this, as we know, we need money. Lots of money. A lot of money. And from all sides we are constantly being told and proven that success and wealth are two inseparable things. And happiness, which, as you know, even though you can’t buy it with money, is somehow not so bright without a material base, and is short-lived. About “paradise in a hut” - this is not about us at all. How can one not resist and not become greedy, self-interested, mercantile, in the good sense of these words. This is a very strong motivation. This is exactly what any manager needs from his employees.

Everything would be fine, but there is one “but” that spoils everything.

All people are lazy. All. There is nothing offensive here. This is the law of nature. Laziness is the engine of progress.

Hard work and even workaholism are one of the manifestations of the multifaceted properties of laziness: either unsettled personal life and an attempt to escape from complex everyday problems (instead of solving them) into the illusion of full employment in a less problematic job, which is the most common. Or a desire, even an obsession, to get rid of the piled-up work as soon as possible. But, as you know, work tends to “multiply” without ending. And in parallel with the first job, a second, third, etc. appears.

Thanks to laziness, each person has his own limit of value, but not consciously - at the subconscious level. And for every financially motivated person, a moment comes when the level of his material income becomes equal to his internal material needs, his internal self-esteem. At such a moment, further material motivation stops working, because... stumbles upon an insurmountable barrier of the body’s reluctance to strain once again to obtain extra material benefits.

But what about: “there is no such thing as extra money”? It doesn't happen. Who would refuse extra money if it falls from the sky without any additional stress? But if in order to get this extra money you need to make an effort, and not a small one, then every employee will prefer to rest once again. Let me remind you that we are talking only about material motivation.

I repeat, material motivation always has a limit. Of course, over time this “ceiling” grows for each prosperous employee, and falls for a disadvantaged one, but it is always there.

Moreover, often, after a worker’s income has reached the limit of its value, material well-being has the opposite effect: a worker with increased needs wants to receive more income for the same work than before. And not getting what he wants, he remains dissatisfied. “No matter how much you feed the wolf, he still looks into the forest.” This ends with his dismissal and transfer to another enterprise.

Piece-rate wages produce a noticeable effect only at the first moment of its implementation - productivity actually increases, sometimes significantly. But a person quickly gets used to everything, so what follows is stagnation and a drop in performance. And additional stimulants are required: deductions, fines or even bonuses, which are not always effective.

Of course, in a transaction, theoretically, the wage fund should directly depend on the volume of products produced. But in practice everything is not so simple.

Firstly, At any enterprise there are so-called office workers and management personnel who are paid on time or on salaries, and their work, although very important, is, in general, not directly tied to the volume of products produced by the enterprise.

Secondly, In the production itself there are a number of workers, mainly service personnel, who are not directly involved in the manufacture of products. Their work increases the costs of the enterprise without adding value to the product. Therefore, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, the less they work, the more profitable it is for the enterprise. And if they are on a deal, they will always find something to do with themselves, causing additional harm to the company.

Thirdly, It’s impossible to digitize everything, unless, of course, your company is digging a trench “from sunrise to fence.” There are always jobs, I would even say, there are always jobs, which for one reason or another are not included in the list of approved tariffs. And then the question arises: how to pay for them? This is usually achieved through negotiations with employees, searching for compromises, agreements on some ceiling amounts (i.e. taken “out of thin air”), often tied not to the results of the work performed, but to the time of its completion, because no one knows its exact volume.

Fourthly, Any new employee, no matter how highly qualified he is, cannot immediately and painlessly “merge” into his new working conditions. Each enterprise has its own characteristics, and it takes time to adapt to them. Therefore, for newly hired employees there is a period of entry into the new company (not to mention the probationary period), during which this employee, as a rule, is determined on a time-based wage, because at first his productivity will be extremely low, he will not earn anything and will simply quit after the first days of work. But even this period, which usually lasts one or two months, is often not sufficient to achieve the desired productivity. Moreover, no one teaches him or instructs him, because... all the “old” employees are on a deal, and there is no reason for them to waste their time on a newbie. Moreover, he is their competitor (but more on that below). And the new employee himself is forced to “flounder” in his problems and try to “swim out” on his own. Usually, a new employee quits immediately after receiving his first salary, calculated based on piecework, or a little earlier, having estimated what he can get in the end. Therefore, in enterprises with piecework wages there is a very high turnover among newly hired workers, and not only - simply, a lot of turnover.

Full financial liability, fines, and deductions are also an illusion of insurance for managers against unscrupulous employees, not to mention the illegality of such methods. Firstly, an employee’s wages can only in rare cases cover the damage caused by the manufacture of low-quality products. Secondly, any employee, and especially a good one, must have the right to make a mistake, so he will endure the extortions, considering them unfair, as long as his salary with these fines fits into his cost limit; in fact, the fines are already taken into account in his tariffs. As soon as the manager crosses this line, and this will definitely happen sooner or later, and the employee receives significantly less than he expected, he will either quit immediately or refuse to do difficult work with unpredictable risks next time. In any case, the company will lose a good employee for a certain type of work.

In general, with piecework wages, financial punishment practically does not work. An employee is connected to the company in which he works only with money, and when the manager breaks this thin thread, depriving him of his only attachment, the employee simply leaves for another company. Only the force of inertia and that very “known evil” in this company and the unknown in another forces individual workers to remain faithful to their enterprise. But this is rather an exception.

It is obvious that an employee who only needs money from the company, always money and nothing but money, is only interested in producing as much product as possible with the least amount of personal effort, the volume of which directly determines his earnings. This is achieved by constant violation of technology and exorbitant operation of equipment. He is only interested in the quality of the manufactured product until it is checked by the quality control department or transferred to another site; what happens next with his product is absolutely not important to the employee. And no punishment or convincing the employee that, for example, the condition of the equipment depends on its production, and, consequently, earnings, can change the situation. He is simply not paid directly for this work. He is paid only for the external result, with little control over the process of obtaining this result and, as a result, without representing the consequences either for the result itself or for the objects involved in this process. For an employee, only a limited list of operations with established tariffs is valuable, for which he goes to work. This list does not include maintenance of equipment, adherence to technology, improvement of product quality, or careful handling of company property.

Another problem with piecework wages is discipline. Because the employee seems to be interested in high productivity, it is believed that there is no special need to customize him. He must push himself. But, besides the fact that all workers are lazy, as we have already found out, few of them are inclined to self-discipline, and if you give them free rein, we will get a long build-up at the beginning of the month and a rush at the end before the closing of the reporting period for payroll calculation. It is clear that in such a situation there is no need to talk about any planning, rhythm of production, high productivity, product quality, careful attitude to equipment and tools. Even in a transaction, workers must be tightly managed.

But piecework wages give the worker a certain illusion of freedom. Because he is paid only for what he has done, and in this sense he does not owe the enterprise anything: if he did not do it, he did not receive it, then he believes that he has the right to determine for himself what and when he should do. And sometimes it is very difficult to overcome this situation.

In addition to labor discipline, determined by the internal labor regulations of the company, which, incl. determines the duration of daily work, the start and end time of work, and the time of breaks in work, etc., there is a concept: “production discipline”. It includes all aspects directly related to the production process: adherence to technology, fulfillment of approved deadlines and plans, etc. Every manager who counts his income must ensure that the employee completes the required amount of work within a strictly allocated working time interval . This is due not only to the company’s external obligations to its customers regarding the deadlines for fulfilling orders, which is also important, but also purely economic considerations.

The presence of an employee on the employer’s premises always has costs for the latter, even if the employee is not paid a salary. This includes cleaning the territory, security, lighting, ventilation, heating, etc., even labor protection. Therefore, a competent manager is always interested in ensuring that the employee does as much as possible in the strictly allotted time and does not overwork, even with piecework wages. I repeat, in a transaction, achieving this can sometimes be very difficult. Often, instead of properly organizing their working day and getting everything done, employees stay after working hours and go out to work on weekends. Employees are not paid for this time, but the company incurs additional costs. Many managers are forced to put up with this or increase the number of controllers. This is another paradox: the number of managers and supervisors with piecework wages increases compared to time-based wages.

But that's not the worst thing. The transaction requires accurate recording of all technological operations performed by the employee during the accounting period and recalculation of them into his salary. And this includes expensive software, and a whole staff of collectors of this information, accountants, accountants, etc. In addition, with each salary payment there will definitely be 10-15% of “cheated” employees, with each of whom someone must deal. To top it all off, add to this list of “servants” of the transaction also specialists who will constantly carry out timing and change existing tariff rates or set new ones when technological processes change. And this will definitely need to be done.

Another negative side of the deal is the fierce competition among workers within the team. Competition is only good between companies, but competition within a company is unacceptable. Some elements of competition and competition between employees are welcome, but competition should not be allowed.

The fundamental difference between “competition” and “competition”, as I mean by the meaning of these words, is that competition presupposes victory over an opponent according to established rules and by improving one’s own performance, and competition allows for any methods, incl. aimed at deteriorating the opponent’s performance until his complete destruction.

Therefore, competitions in a team, and even aimed at helping those lagging behind, only strengthen the corporate spirit, improve the business climate, and help improve the skills of employees. In general, they increase the status motivation of employees.

Competition breeds enemies within the team, reduces productivity, makes management dependent on production “stars,” increases staff turnover, and deteriorates the quality of products. There are cases when workers harm each other by secretly damaging a “competitor’s” product or breaking his tools. As a result, not only the competing workers themselves suffer, but also the enterprise.

Competition arises because nothing unites workers in a team; everyone is for himself. They are forced to fight, sometimes literally, for profitable orders, for new tools, for high-quality raw materials. In war, as we know, all means are good. It is also known that in war there are no casualties and destruction, and it is primarily the enterprise that suffers from this.

Business managers, most often, do not notice this competitive struggle, or pretend that they do not notice, because competition is good: the strong will survive, the weak will be strengthened. But even in a free market there are rules governing competition that limit monopolies. In an enterprise, if this is not stopped or at least not regulated, then as a result, just like in the market, everything is monopolized by a few employees, who dictate their terms to management. They are not interested in developing new technologies at the enterprise - why would they need an extra headache, nor in improving their own qualifications - it is easier not to allow other workers with higher qualifications than them into their sphere of interests. It is very difficult to fight these, because... in order to put them in their place, you first need to have an alternative to them in case they leave, but you cannot create an alternative - they will prevent this in every possible way.

Another statement that does not require much explanation: the deal creates temporary workers. An employee motivated only by money will leave the company as soon as he believes that he will be paid more elsewhere than here. Which is what often happens.

In general, there is nothing surprising in what is described above. What you manage is what you get.

Piecework wages motivate only the volume of operations performed at a specific workplace. I repeat, a pure transaction is not aimed at increasing the volume of finished products produced by the enterprise as a whole, but only at irregular bursts of activity in local production areas. As a result, the transaction always increases the production cycle and generates huge production and warehouse inventories, incl. illiquid assets. The logic here is clear: every participant in piecework wages, including not only direct performers - workers, but also teams, sections, workshops, is only interested in producing as much profitable product as possible at his workplace, without caring at all about workload and needs of cooperation neighbors. Therefore, at certain moments, when “all the stars have aligned”, and this particular workplace is fully provided with orders, raw materials and semi-finished products, and free production capacity, there is a temporary increase in productivity, and the rest of the time there is sluggish activity waiting for the missing components of the production process. At the same time, every workplace is simply overwhelmed with incomplete orders.

In conclusion, I want to say that piecework wages can be made more effective. To do this, it is necessary to organize the work of the enterprise so that all employees are motivated towards the common goals of the enterprise. But time-based wages are better suited for this.

Hello! In this article we will talk about piecework wages.

Today you will learn:

What is piecework wages and where is it applied?
What types of piecework wages exist;
What are the prerequisites for transferring to piecework wages;
Advantages and disadvantages of this type of payment.

One of the most important aspects of organizing work activities in a company is the choice of the form of monetary remuneration for employees. We are most familiar with the time-based form, when salaries are calculated depending on the salary and the number of days worked. However, such a scheme is not suitable for many types of activities where it is extremely important for the employer to motivate the employee to improve performance, and also where it is possible to keep quantitative records of the work performed. Then another common form is used – piecework wages.

What is piecework wages?

Piece wages – This is a type of monetary remuneration for an employee where his earnings directly depend on the units of production he produces or on the volume of work performed, provided that the result of his work can be calculated and the quality can be tracked.

Download a sample piecework wage agreement

For most types of work, only one of two forms of payment is possible. For example, administrators, doctors, accountants, security guards, and teachers are on temporary duty. Piecework wages are typical for such professions as turner, welder, taxi driver, and member of a repair team.

However, there are often cases when, to further motivate an employee, an employer uses a calculation procedure that is characteristic of both forms. The employee is paid a monthly fixed salary, most often small but guaranteed, so that the employee has something to live on in case of the “off season”. In addition, the employee receives payment per unit produced or a percentage of sales.

Example. In many clothing or electronics stores, where sales volumes largely depend on the active work of the sales assistant, the company, in addition to the salary, may pay him a certain percentage of the cost of the goods sold. Owners have long come to the conclusion that using the carrot of a monetary reward is much more effective than threatening them with the stick of dismissal for being idle on the sales floor.

Concepts inextricably linked with the word “piecework”

Production rate - the number of units of products established by the company that must be manufactured within a certain time frame. Usually they talk about hourly, daily and monthly norms.

Tariff rate (salary) – minimum guaranteed monthly wage for a given skill level. Indicated in . The salary is only part of the salary, which, in addition to the salary, may include all kinds of bonuses and social benefits.

Price - this is the amount of earnings for one unit of work performed or products produced. It is calculated through the ratio of the tariff rate to the production rate.

Tariff schedule - tariffication of wages based on the complexity of the work and the qualifications of the employee. There are ranks or categories (for example, engineer of the first category or piece worker of the 5th category).

Calculation of piecework wages

Let us give two examples of such calculations.

Example 1. The daily rate of processing parts on a milling machine for a milling machine operator is 120 pieces. The daily rate for the tariff is 1200 rubles. In one month, the employee processed 2,400 parts.

The piece rate is calculated by dividing the daily tariff rate by the daily rate for parts:

R = 1200/120 = 10 rubles/pcs.

In this case, the monthly salary of the master will be:

Z = 10*2400 = 24000 rub.

Example 2. The calculation looks somewhat different when the standard determines not the number of products, but the time period.

The time limit for using the machine is set at 30 minutes per operation. The hourly tariff rate is 150 rubles. During the month, the employee performed 600 operations.

We calculate the piece rate:

R = 150*30/60 = 75 rubles/operation

Monthly earnings will be:

Z = 75*600=45000 rub.

Types of piecework wages for workers

The existence of several types of this payment is explained by the diverse specifics of existing work where piecework payment is used.

Let's look at its main types with examples:

Piece payment type	Characteristic	Example
Direct piecework	Salaries are calculated based on completed volumes using fixed piece rates established in accordance with the employee’s qualifications	The piece rate for a seamstress of the highest category is 50 rubles per shirt. In a month she sewed 600 shirts. Her piecework earnings for the month will be 30,000 rubles
Piece-bonus	Provides for the payment of bonuses for exceeding production standards established by the company. Indicators for bonuses can be improved labor productivity, product quality, reduction in the number of defective products, as well as money spent	The monthly production rate for leather shoe upper manufacturers is 100 units. The company purchases leather with a reserve, but at the same time has established a monthly collective bonus in the absence of damaged material
Indirect piecework	Used to pay workers who monitor the smooth operation of equipment. Thanks to them, essential workers are not idle due to equipment breakdowns. To calculate earnings, the indirect piece rate is multiplied by the number of units produced by the main workers	A master adjuster serves several workshops. The tariff rate of the master is 15,000 rubles per month. Over the course of a month, the workshop produced 2,000 units of product against a norm of 1,500 units. The indirect price will be the ratio of the foreman’s tariff rate to the workshop rate: 15000/1500=10 rubles/unit. The master’s salary will be: 10*2000=20000 rub.
Piece-progressive	A very motivating system, it is used to sharply increase production. Until the production rate is reached, calculations are carried out using fixed piece rates. When production exceeds standards, payment is made at increased prices	A turner turned 300 parts in a month at a rate of 250. According to the piece rate, he receives 80 rubles per part. If the plan is exceeded, each detail is paid in the amount of 100 rubles. The basic salary of a turner: 250 * 80 = 20,000 rubles. Taking into account exceeding the norm: 50*100=5000 rub. Total salary of a turner: 20000+5000=25000 rub.
Chord	It is used when payment is made not per unit, but per stage of work or for all work performed. The work order also indicates the start and end dates of the work. Used in construction, agriculture, and transport. Can be either individual or team	An agreement on interior house work is concluded with a team of finishers. All work is divided into stages (carrying out electrical wiring, plastering walls, laying floors, etc.). Each stage of work is accepted by a responsible person, who determines whether the work meets quality standards, after which a settlement is made with the team
Mixed	Mixing piecework and time-based wages. It is used when the employer is interested in the constant presence of an employee at the workplace, while his activity largely determines his work efficiency	A nail technician has a fixed salary for being in the salon at certain hours. He will receive this money, even if for the whole day, say, due to bad weather, not a single client comes to him. In this case, the master receives a percentage of the amount paid by the client for each work performed.

The procedure for transferring to piecework wages

An enterprise can switch to piecework wages if the necessary prerequisites are met:

Well-established accounting of manufactured products or services provided;
Presence of an uninterrupted supply of materials and everything necessary for work;
Effective quality tracking;
Developed logical tariff systems and local standards;
The ability to take into account quantitative data on the performance of each employee separately;
The existing need at this level of company development is to increase the level of production (sales) many times over.

The conditions for piecework wages are specified in individual and collective labor contracts, work acceptance certificates, work orders, as well as in the Regulations on remuneration. The latter is understood as a normative act that is valid only within the enterprise, which stipulates the procedure for calculating wages, the timing of payment of remuneration to employees, the rules for paying bonuses and allowances.

When approving such a document, the employer proceeds from the financial capabilities of his organization and also takes into account the norms of the Labor Code.

All important information should be specified in the Employment Agreement, preferably in as much detail as possible.

Advantages and disadvantages of piecework wages

If an employer transfers his workers to piecework, he must be prepared for some difficulties. However, the advantages of this form are also undeniable.

Let's look at them:

Advantages	Flaws
Possible sharp increase in production or sales volumes	Possible deterioration in product quality due to rush
Inspiration for the employee, he can feel like a “mini-entrepreneur” thanks to control of his own earnings	The need for stability of all conditions for optimal performance (materials, etc.)
Ability to track everyone's work individually	The employee’s reluctance to spend time on anything other than piece work (for example, cleaning the workplace, cleaning equipment)
The opportunity to arouse competitive passion among employees and increase the overall tone in the team	Possible disruption of process steps
With a team chord system, mutual assistance increases, since the entire team is interested in completing the work as quickly as possible	Possible violation of safety standards
An impetus for self-development, if an increase in output depends on the personal qualities of the employee	No savings in consumables

There is no ready answer as to what form of wages or what type of piecework will be best. Everything is very individual and, above all, depends on the type and conditions of the organization’s activities. The same system can work differently in two teams. It seems to us that only with experience, through trial and error, will the employer be able to develop the necessary monetary motivation scheme for his employees.

The remuneration system is a set of rules by which wages are calculated. It can establish a relationship between the measure of labor and remuneration for labor, or specific (salaries). Thus, there are three remuneration systems: tariff, non-tariff, mixed, and two main forms: piecework and time-based.

The conditions for remuneration of an employee are mandatory for inclusion in an employment contract by virtue of Art. 57 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Sample of filling out an employment contract regarding remuneration

Piece wage system

Piece wages are used when it is possible to take into account quantitative indicators of the result of labor and manage them by establishing production standards.

In order for the piecework wage system to operate effectively, the employer must provide conditions under which production depends entirely on the employee himself and is a decisive indicator of his work.

For example:

We believe that the employer has created safe working conditions, the equipment is in good condition, and all materials are available. The employer determined the amount of work that needs to be completed in a short time.

Salary:

The cost of an hour of work is established for different categories. The time for each operation and the rate of operations per hour are determined. Thus, the employee can work faster and earn more.

If the employer needs to increase volumes, then it is more rational to set a piece rate per unit of production. The more an employee does, the more he earns.

Thus, the employer gives the employee the opportunity to influence his earnings.

The wages of a piecework worker are calculated according to tariff rates or piece rates. Piece prices can be set both individually and for a team (group).

Depending on the method of calculating payment in the piecework wage system, there are several forms:

Form of piecework wage system	Characteristic	Application
Direct piecework	Workers are paid at piece rates for the quantity of products produced by multiplying these indicators.	It is used in enterprises where the increase in output directly depends on the employee. Can be used in enterprises aimed at expanding production. This system does not sufficiently stimulate the employee to increase production volumes.
Piece-bonus	In addition to remuneration at basic rates, the employee is also paid a bonus for exceeding production standards and absence of defects	Used when expanding production, in enterprises focused on increasing production volume
Piece-progressive	For exceeding production standards, workers are paid at increased rates
Piece-regressive	Workers who exceed production standards are paid at reduced rates.	It is used in cases where it is unprofitable to increase production volumes when demand for manufactured products decreases.
Indirect piecework	Piece rates are set as a percentage of the main workers' earnings.	Applies to auxiliary workers whose earnings directly depend on the main workers and their implementation of the plan. Thus, a dependence is formed on the wages of an auxiliary worker on the results of his personal labor and the results of the labor of the main worker of the site he serves. For example, this type of system is installed by equipment adjusters.
Chord system	The total amount for a certain amount of work is established. The work is done by a team. Further, the distribution of this amount is made taking into account the labor participation coefficients of each worker.	Installed to reduce the time required to complete a production task.

Example 1

Individual piece rate for manufacturing 1 bolt = 5 rubles

A piecework worker produced 4,000 bolts in a month

Total monthly salary = 20,000 rubles.

Example 2

To carry out equipment repair work, a team of 10 people is involved: 1 foreman, 9 workers. The total cost of these works (according to orders) is 400,000 rubles

KTU (labor participation coefficient): foreman - 1.3; workers - 1.0

The standard time per month is 22 days. Everyone worked full hours.

Sum of KTU = 1*1.3 + 9*1.0=10.3

Foreman’s salary = 400,000: 10.3*1.3=50,485 rubles

Salary of 1 worker = 400,000: 10.3 * 1.0 = 38,835 rubles

So, from the above, the main elements of the piecework wage system are identified, without which its application is ineffective:

The enterprise must have established time, service, service time, i.e. . This is necessary to determine piece rates and estimate labor costs for specific types of work or operations.
The work should be differentiated by complexity. For this purpose, categories are introduced. The highest rank corresponds to a higher level of qualification of the employee. To determine the category, ETKS and professional standards are used.
Remuneration is differentiated by complexity using tariff rates, which are set per unit of time (hour, day, month) and piece rates - the amount of cash payment per unit of manufactured products (work performed).
Tariff rates by category are summarized in one table called. Tariff schedules are developed for piece workers and time workers separately.

In addition to the elements of labor regulation, you need to remember about some features of the legislation, which obliges the employer to provide certain guarantees for workers with piecework wages:

The salary of an employee who has worked a full month and fulfilled the labor standard should not be lower than the minimum wage established by federal laws and regional acts (Article , Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Interdigit difference ( Art. 150 Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Example: An employee works as a 6th category turner, he is assigned work of a lower qualification in the 4th category. These works are charged at lower rates. By virtue of Art. 150 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to pay the inter-category difference, that is, to pay for these works according to the 6th category.

An employee with piecework wages is paid additional remuneration for non-working holidays ( Art. 112 Labor Code of the Russian Federation), the amount of which and the procedure for its payment are established in the collective agreement or local regulations of the enterprise.

Transition from one remuneration system to another

Due to the fact that the terms of remuneration are , its change is possible only in accordance with Art. 74 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This procedure is very labor-intensive and responsible, as it may result in employees going to court. Therefore, it must be carried out in compliance with all labor legislation requirements.

The first thing you need to start with is this, which in turn entails a change in wages. One of the justification methods may be an order to change organizational or technological working conditions, which consist of changing the technology of work, changing the structure of the enterprise, changing production volumes, releasing new products, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the labor functions of workers remain unchanged, only the remuneration system changes.

After issuing such an order, it is necessary to notify the company’s employees about changes in the remuneration system two months before the “innovations” are put into effect. In this case, it is not necessary to wait for the expiration of the two-month period. An employee can agree to new terms of remuneration earlier. In this case, he must indicate in the notice the date from which he agrees to switch to the new salary. After this, the employer can draw up an additional agreement to the employment contract.

If an employee refuses to work under the new conditions and reflects this fact in the notice, then the employer is obliged to offer him another vacant position, incl. lower. But if the transfer is impossible due to the lack of vacant positions or the employee’s refusal from them, then he can be dismissed under clause 7 of part 1 Article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation(due to refusal to continue work due to a change in the terms of the employment contract determined by the parties) upon expiration of a two-month period from the moment of familiarization with the notice. In this case, the employer is obliged to pay the employee severance pay in the amount of two weeks' average earnings.

Please note that the employee must sign the notice and write his decision (agree/disagree) in it. If the employer sends a notification by email or some other method and does not receive the notification signed by the employee back, then it can be considered that the employee was not notified of the innovations. This may be the basis for going to court, the decision of which in this case will be in favor of the employee.

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