Please explain: Russians complain about delayed salaries
In Russia, the number of complaints about late or unpaid salaries increased by 37.4%, according to Rostrud data. The volume of overdue salary arrears also increased by 43.5%, and in February it increased 2.3 times compared to last year. Izvestia found out which areas are most at risk of being delayed or unpaid, which explains the difficulties employers have and what exactly to do if your salary is delayed.
Noticeable growth
In 2024, the territorial bodies of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment (Rostrud) received 18.4 thousand appeals from citizens related to wage arrears, which is 37.4% more than a year earlier, according to the agency's report.
The total salary arrears at the end of 2024 amounted to 508 million rubles.
Rostrud cited the suspension of payments for shipped products, the reallocation of resources to service loans, and a shortage of working capital among the main reasons.
Difficulties are recorded in construction, manufacturing, as well as in the production of electronics and in the field of transport.
— The civil engineering market is stagnating, and the pace of commissioning is decreasing. This is reflected in employees in the form of salary delays and layoffs. The situation is also difficult in the agricultural sector, where unstable exports, rising prices for loans and fuel are disrupting the financial flows of agricultural enterprises and depriving employees of stable payments," says Mikhail Merkulov, Director of the Organizational Development Practice at KSK Group.
Who is at risk
However, according to lawyers, not everything depends only on the field of employment. Employees of any companies with "gray" salaries paid in cash are at risk of experiencing salary delays. In such cases, it is difficult to prove anything. Also at risk are those who are registered under the GPH, and the self—employed, when the contractor and the customer are not in an employment relationship. As a result, there is no protection from the prosecutor's office and the labor inspectorate, and the risk of abuse by the employer is higher.
— Employees of regions with a small number of employers are also vulnerable. Businesses take advantage of the lack of alternative employers, exploiting the hopelessness of local workers. Small businesses are always at risk, unstable in nature and sensitive to economic downturn. The small business payroll accounts for a significant part of the costs, and the irregularity of their payments is almost the norm," Mikhail Merkulov points out.
According to him, a separate risk zone is formed by employees with a large share of the variable part of the monthly salary (bonuses). If the company's lawyers have correctly processed the variable part in their favor, then its payment (sometimes amounting to up to 70% of the total remuneration for work) is not the responsibility of the employer. A legal conflict and payment requirements usually lead to the loss of debt in the entire amount of the variable part.
Notify and warn
An employment contract is always the basis for recognizing the fact of an employment relationship between an employee and an employer. An employee is considered a less protected party in a relationship with an employer, therefore, the law provides the former with a wide range of opportunities to protect their rights, experts in the field of labor law emphasize.
— First of all, it is recommended that the employee send a claim to the employer indicating the fact of delayed or incomplete payment of wages, as well as establish a requirement for its payment. The employee also has the right to demand payment of monetary compensation (Part 1 of Article 236, part 1 of Article 237 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) and moral damage. In addition, an employee has the right to suspend work if the employer delays payment of wages for more than 15 days," says Anton Ivlev, lawyer, human rights activist for business in the field of education.
If the claim is ignored and the delay is more than 15 days, the employer must be notified in writing that he is suspending the work. The notification must be made in writing with a record of its receipt by the employer (a note of receipt, date, signature and seal of the organization).
— If the employer refuses to sign the documents, the employee has the right to send a notification by registered mail with an inventory of attachments — this will be the proper proof of the notification. Subject to proper notification, the employee has the right not to perform labor functions, not to come to the workplace, while the average salary will be accrued for the period of such suspension. The employer has no right to dismiss such an employee for absenteeism," the lawyer explains.
Inspection, Prosecutor's Office and court
If this doesn't work, it makes sense to switch to legal protection mechanisms that are quite harsh on companies and widely applied.
Thus, an employee has the right to file a complaint with the Labor Dispute Commission (CCC), the State Labor Inspectorate (GIT), the prosecutor's office and the court.
— At the same time, the employee is not limited in choosing a way to protect his rights and can apply them in combination. Thus, the employer risks attracting the attention of the GIT, the prosecutor's office and the courts at the same time, which is an additional tool for influencing an unscrupulous employer. After the fact of late payment of wages is established by one of the bodies to which the employee applied for protection of his rights, the employee has the right to resign without working, — Anton Ivlev draws attention.
How to act under a GPH contract
If an employee is registered under a civil law contract, it will be more difficult to protect themselves: in this case, the relationship is not an employment relationship and is not protected by labor law.
— Debt collection under GPH contracts is possible only in court, which requires careful collection of evidence and time. The consideration of a legal dispute takes from three months and generates additional expenses for the victim's legal services. Therefore, judicial debt collection must be carefully assessed from the point of view of economic feasibility (calculate the amount of debt plus additional costs and state duties against the amount of debt with interest), — says Mikhail Merkulov.
But even here it is quite possible to try to put pressure on the employer without going to court.
If the result of the work of an employee executed under a GPH contract is valuable to the employer, then retaining it until it is fully calculated may be quite effective, the lawyer advises.
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