Why don't they pay quarterly bonuses? Disputes regarding non-payment, reduction and late payment of bonuses. What to do if the bonus is not paid

upon dismissal, they did not pay me a bonus; they calculated it based on the official salary, which is very small. is there anything I can do? payment of bonus upon dismissal at will Collapse Victoria Dymova Support employee Pravoved.ru Similar questions have already been considered, try looking here:

  • Is it right that I was not paid a bonus if I am on maternity leave?
  • What to do if the employer has not paid the bonus for the month and the bonus for the quarter?

Lawyers' answers (2)

  • All legal services in Moscow Cancellation of a disciplinary sanction order Moscow from RUB 3,000. Challenging records in work book Moscow from 15,000 rub.

What to do when the required bonus is not paid?

In this document, in particular, it was stated that bonuses to employees are assigned if the employer has financial capabilities and are issued by order of the head of the organization on a monthly basis (Appeal determination dated September 20, 2013 N 33-4262/2013). The court of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug refused to satisfy the employee’s demands for payment of a bonus and pointed out that the provisions of the Unified Recommendations for the Establishment of Remuneration Systems for Employees of State and Municipal Institutions for 2014, establishing, in particular, the dependence of employee salaries on their qualifications and the complexity of the work performed , quantity and quality of labor expended; The employer's provision of equal pay for work of equal value when establishing the amount of incentive payments does not exclude the possibility of canceling the bonus or reducing it.

How not to pay bonuses to employees in 2018

Important

But this is not always possible. Labor legislation does not provide as disciplinary action deprivation of bonuses (deprivation of bonuses). It is possible to deprive a bonus or reduce its size if an employee commits a disciplinary offense only if this basis provided for in the local act of the employer. Bonuses for part-time workers The Supreme Court of the Komi Republic satisfied the demands for the recovery of a bonus for an employee who performed the duties of a part-time social teacher.


At the same time, the court indicated that the payment of the bonus should depend on the results of work, not only of the main employees, but also of part-time workers, since part-time work is independent work and for it the employee must receive a full salary, including a bonus.

When can an employer not pay a bonus?

They must be weighty enough and carefully justified by the employer in order to serve as a legitimate reason for changing the conditions stated in the employment contract. But even in this case, changes are not introduced simultaneously. The employee must be notified of their introduction at least two months in advance, during which the previous payment conditions remain in effect.

Info

Also, the employee retains the right to disagree with the innovation, in which case he must be offered another job in the company. If there is no other work or the employee does not agree to do it, then he is fired with a two-week severance pay. If the payment of a bonus is not specifically indicated in the employment contract, but is regulated by the bonus provision, and the employer decides to change it, then the employee must also be notified of the introduction of its new version at least two months in advance.

What to do if the bonus is not paid?

But in practice, this tool is used quite often as the simplest and most proven method of material incentives for staff. An employee who is just getting a job must clearly understand what components his salary will consist of, and if there is a bonus part, the terms of its payment. For example, a salary may consist of a salary of 40,000 rubles, or it may be divided into two equal parts: a salary of 20,000 and a bonus of 20,000 - essentially the same 40,000.

However, in the first case, the employee is guaranteed to receive this amount, regardless of performance indicators, availability disciplinary violations and so on. (the main thing is to be present at the workplace every day as scheduled), but in the second situation everything is not so clear: the payment of the bonus may or may not take place. To determine this point, you need to carefully study the conditions and procedure for paying bonuses.

Bonus was not paid upon dismissal - what to do?

  1. comment,
  2. rebuke
  3. or, as the most severe sanction, dismissal in cases established by law.

As you can see, it will not be possible to be held accountable in the form of deprivation of a bonus for a disciplinary offense! An employer cannot independently expand legislation and establish its own liability measures. Payment procedure As for the procedure for paying bonuses, the employer has complete freedom. If a clause appears in the bonus document stating that if the employee has a disciplinary sanction during the reporting period, the bonus amount is reduced by half, or even not paid at all, then in such conditions the absence of the bonus part or its reduction will already be justified.


In other words, employees will have the same incentive to do their work well and efficiently, avoiding disciplinary violations.

Legal advice: what to do if you haven’t paid the premium

The audit body indicated that incentive payments were made to employees for fulfilling their direct job responsibilities(Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District dated June 9, 2014 in case No. A11-3916/2013). If you need samples of regulatory documents, you can access the module " Regulations preschool educational institution information system"Directory". It contains instructions, templates and expert experience. Details here.
How to automate the payment process in an institution? To do this, it is convenient to use the free demo version of the “Contour.Salary” program. You can download the program here.

Bonus was not paid

In addition, the court noted that the employer cannot arbitrarily exercise its right to assign bonuses to employees or not (Appeal ruling dated December 8, 2014 in case No. 33-5943/2014). Is it always legal to pay a bonus? When assigning incentive payments in budgetary institution there is a risk of being held accountable based on the results of an audit of the expenditure of budget funds. For example, GBOU medium vocational education In the Vladimir region “Vladimir Polytechnic College”, based on the results of the audit, a proposal was issued in which it was proposed to take measures within a certain period of time to eliminate the identified violations of the unreasonable expenditure of funds to pay incentive bonuses to the salaries of employees, compensate for the damage caused and bring the perpetrators to justice.

What to do if the bonus is not paid

Attention

In addition, the court noted that these recommendations also allow the employer, at his own discretion, to formulate a remuneration system and establish criteria for the appointment and payment of bonuses (Appeal ruling dated December 18, 2014 in case No. 33-206/2014, 2-66/2014) . Sometimes payment of the bonus is still the responsibility of the employer. For example, if the company’s internal document establishes a guaranteed payment for Women’s Day – March 8th.


In this case, the employer assumed the obligation to pay bonuses to company employees annually on a certain date, regardless of financial indicators company and on the performance of specific employees. The employee's demands for payment of the bonus were satisfied by the Sverdlovsk Regional Court.

What to do if you haven't paid your quarterly bonus?

These issues should be reflected in the internal local acts of the organization, for example, in the regulations on remuneration or in the regulations on employee incentives. In addition, questions about bonuses may also be reflected in the employment contract with a specific employee. However, when formulating these rules, the employer must not discriminate against any employee. Taking into account the norms of legislation on the right of an employer to independently determine the procedure for paying bonuses to employees, we can say that it directly depends on the employer how many justified claims it will receive from employees regarding the payment of bonuses. Properly formulated provisions of the company’s internal documents governing the issues of employee incentives will allow the employer to minimize conflict situations and take a winning position in court.
Did you feel the difference? This example clearly demonstrates the importance of how exactly the conditions for paying bonuses are spelled out in the documents. 3. Another significant point - in principle, the bonus cannot be deprived! Unfortunately, many people forget that by its nature this is not a guaranteed payment, but an incentive payment. To obtain it, you must comply with the conditions specified in the contract and local regulations.


If they are not fulfilled (for example, the employee has a penalty - see the previous example), then it is more correct to use the wording not “deprived of bonus”, but “premium not paid”, since the person did not earn it - did not ensure the fulfillment of the conditions necessary to receive bonuses . 4. So that the employer does not have to explain and prove every time why the bonus was not paid or was not paid in accordance with maximum size, bonus conditions must be transparent and understandable to staff.

The bonus is perhaps the most pleasant part of the income. Any money that is paid for conscientious work or special merit serves as excellent evidence that the employee is valuable and important to the organization. At the same time, it’s no secret that in many organizations the bonus can be significantly higher than the salary, which allows, not entirely honestly, but still saving on taxes.

However, what if the bonus is not paid? Does this mean that your work is not appreciated, or is it an indicator that the employer simply wants to deprive you of the earnings you deserve? We will tell you in our article about when you need to pay a bonus to an employee and what he should do if he has not received the money.

What can be considered a bonus?

A bonus can be considered any income that an employee receives for his work in excess of his salary. Bonuses (also sometimes called incentive payments) can be very different, but they all have one goal - to reward an employee for high-quality and conscientious work, compliance with labor standards, or simply long service.

At the same time, awards should be divided into several groups:

  • Bonuses to certain employees for their performance of work;
  • Premiums awarded for achieving any goals.
  • Premiums accrued on specific dates or periods: 13th salary, annual or semi-annual bonus, monthly bonus for the best employee, etc.

What bonuses can I claim?

In fact, practically none. Although bonus payments are equated to the employee’s earnings, the employer himself has the right to decide whether to pay the bonus or not. So even if you were, for example, the best employee of the year, the employer may not give you anything at all for this - this is his right.

However, there is an exception to this rule. Or rather, there are two exceptions: bonuses that are required to be paid according to the charter of the enterprise itself, as well as bonuses that were specified as mandatory (or bonuses for performing any work). Such bonuses are considered mandatory for payment, but some rules will also apply to them. For example, they can be reduced or even canceled in case of violations on the part of the employee, poor performance of their duties, or other actions that in one way or another indicate the employee’s incompetence.

What to do if you are refused?

So let's move on to main topic- you did your job conscientiously, but the employer refused to pay you the desired bonus. In this case, you have only three options:

  1. Resign yourself;
  2. discuss it with the employer himself;
  3. Determine the reason for the lack of payments and contact government services.

Unfortunately, most citizens choose the first option, not even suspecting that the bonus can sometimes be received in full or at least partially. Therefore, let's consider more decisive and effective options.

Peaceful settlement

The easiest way to get paid is just talk to your boss. He will be obliged to explain to you why you did not receive the bonus. Sometimes it happens that management does not issue money due to some misunderstanding or mistake. If you are not satisfied with the management’s response, then you can discuss with him further bonuses, the exact conditions for receiving them and other nuances. At the same time, you can discuss any types of bonuses, including optional ones. It will become very effective inclusion of additional bonuses and charges in employment contract. If management still refuses to pay you the money you deserve, then It’s worth thinking about whether you need a job where you are ignored and at the same time hinder your self-development and motivation?

Conflict resolution with the help of civil services

Second way to get due payments— In the absence of bonus payments that are guaranteed to you by law, employment contract or general provisions company work, you can contact the following services:

If contacting the Labor Inspectorate did not produce any result, then you have the right. However, this can only be done in one case - if the Labor Inspectorate confirmed the fact of the violation, but the employer ignored its decision. It is in this case that non-payment of the premium will be violation of your civil rights, not labor rights, and the prosecutor's office will be able to accept the complaint into action. The application to the prosecutor's office itself is completely similar to the complaint to the labor inspectorate, with one exception - in the title, in addition to the name of the department, you should add the full name and position of its head.

The last authority to which you should contact is the arbitration court. Its advantage is that court officials are ready to conduct an investigation with the participation of the applicant (plaintiff) himself, taking into account all individual characteristics. However, litigation is very lengthy, takes a lot of effort and money, and It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to work in the same place after them. And to win them

Summarize

Payment of bonuses is a very delicate, confusing and complex process from the point of view of the Labor Code. And if you are denied additional payments, then it’s worth fighting for them, but wisely. So before you get into an argument with your boss answer the following questions for yourself:

  1. What kind of bonus do you want to receive and is it possible to make demands?;
  2. Are you ready to attract civil services to your side?;
  3. Does it even make sense to compete for a prize?

In this case, it will be very useful to seek advice from a specialist. For example, it might help you .

When should bonuses be paid under the new wage law in 2016? This question worries many accountants now. The fact is that on October 3, 2016, a law came into force that introduced a deadline for the payment of wages - no later than 15 calendar days from the end of the period for which it was accrued. (Cm. " "). After the adoption of this law, information appeared in some media this kind: “legislators have banned paying bonuses to employees” or “they will be fined for paying bonuses.” But is this really so? How new law does it affect the payment of bonuses? What will change in the work of an accountant? Let's figure it out.

Introductory information

Federal Law No. 272-FZ dated June 3, 2016 comes into force on October 3, 2016. From this date will be valid new edition article 136 Labor Code, stipulating that the employer is obliged to issue employees wages no later than the 15th day of the month following the month worked. That is, all employers will be required to pay wages for October no later than November 15, 2016. If the salary payment day falls on a weekend or holiday, then the salary will need to be paid, as before, no later than the last working day before this weekend or holiday (Part 8 of Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

New version of Article 136 of the Labor Code: “Wages are paid at least every half month. The specific date for payment of wages is established by the internal rules labor regulations, collective agreement or employment contract no later than 15 calendar days from the end of the period for which it was accrued.”

When to pay premiums

Bonuses are incentive payments that employers can pay employees for conscientious performance labor responsibilities or achievement of certain labor indicators.
Bonuses may be included in wages (Part 1 of Article 129 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). To do this, bonuses must be provided for, for example, in a bonus clause or an employment contract. These documents stipulate, among other things, the bonus rules:

  • indicators for which the bonus is awarded;
  • the procedure for calculating the premium;
  • conditions under which a bonus is not awarded.

The bonus established in this way is an element of the remuneration system. And if so, then according to the new article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, from October 3, bonuses must also be paid no later than 15 calendar days from the end of the period for which bonuses are awarded. And this, indeed, can lead to certain problems. Let's look at everything in order.

What kind of awards are there?

Depending on the frequency of payment, the following types of bonuses are distinguished:

Moreover, depending on the grounds for payment, bonuses can also be divided into production and non-production.

Production bonuses

Monthly, quarterly and annual bonuses can be either production (for example, monthly bonuses that are part of the salary) or non-production (for example, monthly bonuses for employees with children). However, more often than not, the payment of these bonuses is inextricably linked with the labor results and achievements of employees. After all, few employers can afford to pay bonuses without taking into account performance results.

Monthly bonuses

Most employers pay monthly bonuses based on the results of the month already worked. However, before issuing a bonus order, management needs some time to evaluate the performance of this month: for example, it is necessary to analyze sales reports and (or) compare statistical data with previous periods. And only after the analysis, make a decision about who is entitled to a monthly bonus and who is not.

It turns out that there are only a few January working days left to evaluate the results of work for the whole year, to calculate and pay bonuses and employers. How to make it in time?

Non-production bonuses

Wages are, first of all, remuneration for work (Article 129 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). However, non-production bonuses (for example, monthly bonuses for employees with children) are not associated with labor successes employees. Accordingly, they are not considered part of the salary. Therefore, non-production bonus provisions new article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation do not apply. Non-production bonuses can be paid within any period specified by local regulations or an employment contract.

Violation of deadlines: consequences

The law coming into force on October 3, 2016 significantly tightens the employer’s liability for failure to comply with wage payment deadlines. In particular, from October 3, 2016, the amount of monetary compensation for delayed wages will increase. From this date, the amount of interest for the delay will be determined based on 1/150 of the Central Bank key rate for each day of delay.
Also, from this date, administrative fines for late payment of earnings have been increased. For organizations, the amount of the fine can reach: for a primary violation - 50,000 rubles, for a repeated violation - 100,000 rubles.

Solutions options

Official clarifications or recommendations government agencies Unfortunately, there is no word yet on what employers can do in this situation. We do not rule out that by the time the new law comes into force (by October 3), such clarifications will appear. But for now we don’t have them, let’s try to evaluate a few ourselves possible options actions of employers.

Transfer of bonuses

Let’s assume that the employer does not have time to pay the monthly bonus for October by November 16, 2016. In this case, theoretically, the bonus for October can be issued later - in December 2016, along with the salary for November. However, in the order not to pay the bonus, it should be called the November bonus. And then everyone will be happy: the employee will receive a well-deserved bonus, and the employer, at least formally, will not violate the requirements of the new Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in terms of meeting deadlines.

With quarterly bonuses it is more difficult. You can postpone the payment of bonuses for the 3rd quarter of 2016, for example, to January 2017 (when the bonus will be paid for the year). Thus, the quarterly bonus for 9 months of 2016 can be “veiled” in the annual bonus. But then employees will receive their bonus for the quarter with a significant delay. Many people may not like this. Another option is to pay the bonus for 9 months not in October, but in November (along with salary). But then the bonus will need to be posted as a monthly bonus for October.
As for the annual bonus for 2016, if you do not have time to pay it before January 15, then, theoretically, you can make the payment along with the payment of the monthly bonus for January (that is, in February 2017).

With such transfers, premiums will always have to be called premiums for other periods. This is, at a minimum, very inconvenient for accounting. Moreover, the legislation will be observed only formally. And it is possible that such an approach will be revealed during inspection by labor inspectorates.

Material aid

An employer has the right to provide an employee (or a member of his family) with financial assistance. If financial assistance is provided to employees in connection with some event (for example, in connection with the birth of children), then such payment is not part of earnings, since it is not related to work. Accordingly, financial assistance can be provided to employees without taking into account the deadlines determined by Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (as amended, applicable from October 3, 2016).

However, constantly paying financial assistance instead of bonuses (for example, monthly) is quite strange and, moreover, dangerous. The fact is that if you constantly provide financial assistance with a certain frequency, then inspectors may regard such payments as part of your earnings. And, accordingly, bring the employer to the above responsibility. Moreover, financial assistance is a fixed payment. And bonuses can often be of different sizes.

please tell me if the following phrase exists in the employment contract: For the performance of the duties provided for in this Agreement, the Employee is established:? official salary in the amount of _____ ruble 00 kopecks;? other incentive payments in accordance with the “Regulations on remuneration”, “Regulations on bonuses and financial incentives employees.” With this wording, are we always obliged to pay a bonus?

Answer

Answer to the question:

This condition of the employment contract should be considered in its entirety and local regulations organizations.

From the text of the employment contract it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion about the mandatory payment of bonuses. On the one hand, the wording of the contract sets incentive payments. On the other hand, there is no mention of the mandatory nature of such payments.

Therefore, in this situation, you should also refer to the Regulations on remuneration and the Regulations on bonuses.

In this regard, we recommend using unambiguous language, from which it follows that the organization obliged whether to pay incentive payments to the employee or the payment of bonuses remains at the discretion of the employer “ in addition, the employee can bonuses and other incentive payments will be paid in accordance with the Regulations on bonuses and material incentives".

The bonus, as a rule, has a fixed amount and is established for special titles, significant work experience and in other similar cases. When an employer sets, for example, a bonus for having an academic degree or for professional excellence, then he encourages the employee to improve his knowledge and skills. And having achieved a promotion professional level, the employer, as if indirectly, seeks to improve the quality of the employee’s work results as a whole. In this case, there is an element of employee stimulation.

The bonus payment is of an incentive nature and assumes that the employee achieves specific results in the performance of work (official) duties. The employer has the right to establish different conditions (criteria) for rewarding an employee, choosing quantitative or qualitative indicators for this, for example, the absence of disciplinary sanctions against the employee. In other words, the bonus rewards successful solution delivered production task. Unlike an allowance, a bonus payment is characterized by a direct connection between the specific result of an employee’s work and the incentive measure.

If the employer sets an increase or bonus without taking into account the specifics of such payments, then difficulties will arise in exercising the right to stimulate or reward employees. Thus, in one case, the employer first established an employee’s bonus for professional skills, and then removed it, justifying this by a decrease in production volume and the lack of full utilization of the workshop. The court of second instance ruled in favor of the employee, pointing out that there were no grounds for such actions by the employer, since the quality of work and qualifications of the employee, that is, the main criteria for assigning a bonus, have not changed. In addition, one employee lost payment, and not the entire team. As a result, the court declared the order to cancel the bonus for professional excellence illegal (appeal ruling of the Chelyabinsk Regional Court dated July 28, 2014 in case No. 11-6993/2014).

In the described situation, the employer made one main mistake. He deprived the employee of a bonus for professional excellence, guided, in fact, by the basis that is typical for refusing a bonus payment (failure to achieve certain amounts). It would be possible to avoid a controversial situation or justify the legality of the decision to deprive (reduce) payment by establishing a bonus instead of an allowance for professional excellence. In this case, the motive for assigning (non-assigning) a bonus would be the quality of work and the achievement (non-achievement) of certain production volumes.

Therefore, when establishing an incentive payment for an employee, it is recommended to choose the type that, in its specificity, is most suitable for achieving the desired effect in the labor process.

An employee can challenge non-payment of bonus due to dismissal

An employee will receive an annual bonus only if he worked during the reporting period

There will be no bonus if during this period an employment contract was concluded with him, but he did not actually go to work (decision of the Moscow City Court dated October 13, 2014 No. 4g/7-10336/14).

When implementing a bonus system, it is necessary to clearly determine the nature of payments: regular or one-time. This will make it possible to distinguish between mandatory bonuses included in the remuneration system and those left at the discretion of the employer. The size of the bonus can be set both in absolute value and as a percentage of salary

The director issues one-time bonuses on an individual basis and, as a rule, on particularly special occasions or in connection with a specific event or occasion (anniversary of an employee or company, birth of a child). Such payments are prescribed outside the remuneration system, as additional incentive measures left at the discretion of the employer.

Interest Ask

What will help justify the non-obligatory bonus?

Unambiguous wording that indicates the incentive nature of the payment and its dependence on the employee’s performance.
The employment contract clearly lists the payments included in the salary (salary and, possibly, personal allowance). It is not worth describing the specific procedure for calculating the bonus, but it is necessary to indicate that it is not part of the employee’s salary and is not part of his salary.
It is advisable to reflect in the local act that the bonus payment is not included in the remuneration system. In addition, it specifies its type (annual, current, etc.) and the cases in which the bonus is paid (completing a particularly urgent task, making rational proposals). It also wouldn’t hurt to have free Money for the purpose of personnel incentives. In general, the more carefully the cases and the procedure for calculating bonus payments are spelled out, the greater the chances of justifying manipulations with their amounts (appeal determinations,).

Regular bonuses are established as part of the remuneration system and are paid monthly, quarterly or at other intervals. The regular nature of the payments actually makes the bonus an integral part, an element of the employee’s salary (appeal ruling of the Chelyabinsk Regional Court dated March 19, 2015 in case No. 11-2995/2015). For example, this is typical for workers with a piece-rate wage system, for whom the bonus is obvious (like a salary) component wages. The formula for its calculation and labor standards are determined in a local act.

Along with monthly bonuses, employers reward employees with a thirteenth salary based on the performance of the entire company at the end of the year. But not everyone manages to get it. When an employee resigns before the end of the calendar year, then after termination labor relations employers consider themselves free from obligations and leave former employees no bonus payments.

Then the workers try to recover the money through the courts. There is an example of a decision where the court sided with the employer due to the conditions in the local act that are mandatory for the employee: six months of work experience and being on the company’s staff at the time of payment. The employer was also helped by the fact that the annual bonus was not part of the remuneration system and was not mandatory (decision of the Primorsky Regional Court dated January 14, 2015 in case No. 33-319). In another case, the employer lost the case, since the court literally interpreted the internal document, not finding in it any restrictions on the payment of bonuses to dismissed employees (ruling of the Yaroslavl Regional Court dated June 21, 2012 No. 33-3160/2012).

In our opinion, the presence of restrictive conditions in local acts and the non-payment of an annual bonus to a dismissed employee are illegal, because this violates Art. 132 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on the prohibition of discrimination when establishing wage conditions. In other words, the only criterion (whether the employee is fired or continues to work) for making a decision on his reward or refusal to pay is unacceptable.

That is why the courts do not take into account employers’ references to the right to dispose of bonuses at their own discretion. Thus, the Bryansk Regional Court included quarterly and annual bonuses in the wage system, considering them part of the employee’s salary. The court's arguments were as follows: bonuses are paid for work, that is, for the performance of labor duties, and they are related to performance results and the fulfillment of established indicators (appeal ruling dated 03/03/2015). Similar conclusions are contained in the appellate rulings of the Khabarovsk Regional Court.

Interest Ask

Can a newly appointed director cancel bonuses for individual employees?

Yes, it can, but only if there are compelling reasons. An unjustified decision will allow the employee to recover money.
In practice, a situation is possible when a newly appointed manager revises the lists of employees for bonuses drawn up by his predecessor and issues new order without the previously mentioned persons. But such a decision requires justification, not personal discretion.
In case of a dispute, you will have to prove that new director acted within the scope of authority, had the right to decide on non-payment or reduction of the previously approved bonus, and he had grounds for this. If there was no compelling reason, then the employer’s actions are considered illegal. These are exactly the consequences that awaited the company, whose new director considered the employee’s work insufficiently effective, and his - unworthy of monetary incentives (determination of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan dated 04/17/2014 No. 33-5420/2014, dated 05/29/2014).
This would not have happened if the new director had taken into account the rules of the local act and had not violated the procedure for calculating bonuses, and had also drawn up documents about violations committed during the performance of labor duties.

So, the provisions of the local act that exclude a dismissed employee from those entitled to an annual bonus are risky. Therefore, it is better not to use this opportunity to minimize financial expenses.

Complex financial position employer - a reason not to pay a bonus

Establishing a bonus for an employee does not in itself mean an unconditional obligation of the employer to pay it regularly. The employee will receive a bonus only when he fulfills all the conditions provided for by the local act. It is developed taking into account the following principles: non-discrimination, providing employees with equal opportunities to achieve good performance, etc.

A bonus, as a rule, presupposes the presence of two objective conditions: the basis for calculating the bonus and the financial capacity of the employer. Therefore, in the local act it is important to establish a direct connection between the implementation of the established bonus system and the financial and economic condition of the company. In case of financial difficulties, this will make it possible to reasonably suspend bonus payments (decision of the Moscow Regional Court dated December 25, 2012 No. 33-26159/2012). For example, a company's difficulty may be that it has debt or has reached a certain level of debt.

It is possible that financial difficulties are just beginning and further payment of bonuses calls into question the existence of the company. In such a situation, the refusal of a bonus or reduction in the amount of payments must be justified and supported (in case of a dispute) with supporting documents. In our opinion, a professional analysis and a forecast based on it of the expected economic situation in a company or a particular industry can have a very positive impact in the matter of proof. Such a document also prescribes a set of measures taken by the employer to overcome difficult situation. It is signed by an economist, deputy director for economic issues (another specialist), and approved by the head of the organization.

A difficult financial situation is not always specified in the local act as a criterion for non-payment of bonuses. Then you need to use the existing norms of internal documents. Thus, in one case, the employer won the dispute, since the basis for paying the bonus was a certain level of workload, complexity, quantity and quality of the employee’s work. But since this level decreased due to severe financial condition company (bankruptcy), the employer’s actions in not accruing bonuses were found by the court to be justified. At the same time, the court did not qualify the employer’s actions as deprivation of bonuses, but recognized the absence necessary conditions for payments provided for by a local act (determination of the Voronezh Regional Court dated August 28, 2014 No. 33-4148).

By the way

The bonus can not be set for all employees, but only for certain positions

In this case, you will need evidence confirming distinctive features labor of workers for whom a bonus is established, with references to the specifics of the labor process and other similar criteria.
The employer is free to establish a bonus wage system. He has the right to assign bonuses not to all company personnel, but to limit them to certain positions (professions) or categories of specialists.
In practice, conflicts arise with employees who are not entitled to a bonus according to the local act, but whose functionality, at first glance, is similar to those employees who are paid a bonus. For example, a sales manager and a manager for finding new clients. To avoid accusations of discrimination, when developing payment criteria, one must proceed from objective indicators of the complexity of work for a specific position, paying attention to Special attention on the volume and specificity of work responsibilities.
In case of a dispute, the presence (absence) of a difference between functional responsibilities those employees who are paid a bonus and those who do not receive it (appeal ruling of the Lipetsk Regional Court dated March 11, 2013 in case No. 33-609/2013).

A violator of discipline can be deprived of a bonus if this is provided for by a local act

To deprive an unscrupulous employee of a bonus, it is not enough to document the fact of committing a disciplinary offense. It is necessary to include in the local act the commission of such an offense by an employee as a basis for deprivation of a bonus (determination of the Primorsky Regional Court dated April 15, 2014). In our opinion, non-payment of a bonus or a reduction in its size is lawful only when a disciplinary sanction has been applied to the employee in accordance with the law. Otherwise, deprivation of the bonus may be regarded as a disciplinary measure, which is not permitted by law (and part 4 of article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Correctly distribute the bonus fund

Among employees, criteria for determining the percentage of personal contribution (participation) will help. Then the unequal amount of the premium will be justified (appeal ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated October 22, 2014 No. 33-17283).

Therefore, if an employee has committed a disciplinary offense (he was late for work, refused to go on a business trip for no reason, or skipped work), then he must first be subject to disciplinary action and, on this basis, be deprived of his bonus. In this case, non-payment of the bonus cannot be considered as a disciplinary measure (definitions, decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated January 23, 2015 No. AKPI14-1384 Job description of a personnel officer - 2020: current requirements and functionality
There is not a single mention of job descriptions in the Labor Code. But HR officers simply need this optional document. In the magazine "Personnel Affairs" you will find the latest job description for a personnel officer, taking into account the requirements of the professional standard.


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  • In the Personnel Business magazine you will find an up-to-date plan on how to create a safe vacation schedule for 2020. The article contains all the innovations in laws and practice that now need to be taken into account. For you - ready-made solutions to situations that four out of five companies encounter when preparing a schedule.

  • Get ready, the Ministry of Labor is changing the Labor Code again. There are six amendments in total. Find out how the amendments will affect your work and what to do now so that the changes do not take you by surprise, you will learn from the article.
  • A dismissed employee must be fully accounted for before he leaves the organization permanently. This rule is spelled out in the Labor Code and, it would seem, there can be no exceptions. However, even a fired person can subsequently receive former employer, provided that he was eligible to receive quarterly or annual bonuses.

    Payment of a bonus after dismissal is a separate procedure that not only the employer, but also the dismissed person must know. When can you count on it, and when can you not? What period is taken to calculate it? What additional amounts can he expect? former employee?

    The procedure for terminating an employment relationship is strictly regulated. In general cases, when the initiator was the employer or the employee himself, dismissal is carried out in accordance with strictly in accordance with the established procedure. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides that, regardless of who initiated the termination of labor cooperation, the employer is obliged to make a full settlement with the employee. Full settlement means not only the accrual of mandatory amounts, but also. This procedure is legal, since after termination of the contract the parties cease all legal relations and the fact of non-payments or overpayments can only be proven in court.

    Upon termination of an employment agreement, the employer must:

    1. Accrue; - wages for the period worked, including mandatory additional payments; - bonuses stipulated by the contract; - compensation for.
    2. Subtract from the total calculated amounts: - income tax in the amount of 13%, - amounts withheld according to writs of execution, not more than the established monthly amount, - funds for work clothes, if the employee has lost it or does not want to return it, - other money withheld at the request of the employee from his salary.

    The difference between the accrued funds and the withheld funds must be given to the person being dismissed or transferred to bank card no later than the day of his dismissal.

    Right to receive a bonus

    Most organizations introduce regular system bonuses, when the bonus is allocated not according to the personal desire of management, but according to the results of work.

    Bonus systems are different; they can be calculated individually or collectively, issued monthly, quarterly or once a year.

    Be that as it may, only those employees who have labor agreements a clause on bonuses is prescribed or such a clause is established by other local regulations of the enterprise. But even the presence of an agreed clause nullifies the claims if, for example, the results of the work were unsatisfactory and there was no profit for the specified period.

    In addition to the profitability of the enterprise, it is also worth paying attention to exactly what wording is written in the documents. Many employers stipulate the conditions for calculating bonuses so cunningly that in some cases, upon dismissal, the employee automatically loses the right to receive them.

    Any employee of the organization has the right to a bonus, unless it is a collective and not an individual reward. A bonus based on work results is awarded to main employees, temporary employees, part-time employees, and even those who are on duty. In exceptional cases, financial incentives are not paid, for example, when employees are laid off due to lack of profitability of production.

    Bonus for a dismissed employee

    The right to bonuses is stipulated by a number of local documentation:

    1. Collective agreement.
    2. Regulations on remuneration.
    3. Regulations on bonuses.

    If bonus payments are specified in one of these documents, then the employee can count on receiving them, but subject to mandatory consideration of the conditions specified in the LLP.

    A monthly bonus is usually paid before dismissal, along with other compensation benefits. But even here there may be variations, if bonuses imply a monthly calculation of profit and the establishment of a percentage depending on the value of this indicator, then it is quite possible that the chief accountant upon dismissal will not be able to calculate it without having data.

    If quarterly and/or annual bonuses are provided, the law obliges the employer to make settlements even with those employees who were already dismissed earlier, because in fact they were directly related to the profit for the specified period.

    It should be borne in mind that the calculation of the amount of bonuses will be made based on the period worked, and not on the period of time for which they are provided.

    Annual, quarterly bonus

    Premium payments for a quarter or year are paid after the specified period. This is due to the need to prepare all documentation for the past period and calculate the possible percentage of incentives for well-coordinated work. Of course, this approach does not allow the specified amounts to be paid at , so they are paid in the same way as to main employees.

    The bonus amount is calculated as follows:

    1. The total premium percentage for the specified period is determined.
    2. The total income of the employee for the specified period is calculated.
    3. If the quarter or year was not fully worked, then only the number of months that were fully worked is paid.
    4. The payout percentage is multiplied by the actual income to obtain the incentive amount.
    5. Subtract from the resulting amount.

    However, such a calculation will not be final. The accrual of bonus amounts for the past period automatically increases income for the past year, which immediately affects the amount of compensation for unused vacation. Upon dismissal, the estimated amounts are calculated based on the funds actually earned over 12 months. When calculating quarterly or annual amounts, the previously taken income automatically increases, which makes the previously made calculation of compensation incorrect. For this reason, together with the calculation of the bonus, the employer is obliged to recalculate the amounts estimated compensation, and also subtract from the difference to the state budget.

    Reasons for refusal to pay

    If we operate with the norms of the Labor Code, then it is impossible to refuse to pay bonuses to a dismissed person. Labor legislation establishes only one limitation for such accrual - the correspondence of payment to time worked. In practice, obtaining quarterly or annual amounts is not so easy.

    The employer may refuse payment if:

    1. The collective agreement or bonus regulations establish that incentives are given only to those who have worked the entire required period. In this case, having worked only 11 months out of the year, the employee will be deprived of the right to receive bonuses.
    2. Payment of bonuses is specified in local documentation as stimulating. This fact implies that incentives are given for the period worked, but only to currently working employees, in order to stimulate their work processes.

    The reasons may not be documented. Therefore, each individual case of non-payment requires separate proceedings.

    Actions in case of refusal to pay a premium

    If a dismissed person is not paid a bonus, which, it would seem, he had the right to count on, he is obliged to fight for his rights.

    The outcome of the case will depend on his timely actions. , and failure to make payments relates specifically to this group of cases, are resolved in the Russian Federation in three instances:

    1. Labor Inspectorate.
    2. The prosecutor's office.
    3. Court.

    A dismissed citizen can apply to any of the three authorities, but it is better to start with the Labor Inspectorate, if only to confirm his rights to receive incentive amounts. The court will accept claims only if there is evidence of a violation, that is, the citizen will be required to provide a documentary basis for his demands, attach an employment contract and account statements, as well as other papers available in the case.

    If a violation is detected, the employer will be obliged not only to pay the bonus for the previous period, but also to charge compensation for late payment.

    Arbitrage practice

    The Krasnoglinsky District Court of Samara considered the case on the claim of a dismissed employee, with whom timely payments for quarterly bonuses were not made.

    The plaintiff made demands for the payment of a quarterly bonus to her, as well as the accrual of penalties for the delay in monetary incentives. Before the start of the court hearing, the employer paid bonuses in full, but without taking into account compensation amounts. The plaintiff adjusted her demands, declaring her desire to collect a penalty for issuing quarterly bills.

    The defendant presented local documents that indicated the organization’s procedure for paying quarterly incentives. They indicated that the bonus was calculated on the 15th day of the second month, which follows the quarter already worked. And the entire period until the end of the current quarter is allotted for the payment of quarterly accruals. This is what was done in relation to the fired person. Therefore, the defendant considered the demands for compensation to be unlawful.

    The court examined the case and found that a violation of legislative norms regarding the calculation and payment of bonuses had not been established, and therefore the plaintiff did not receive satisfaction for this segment of claims.

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