Increasing wages by the percentage of inflation is law. How to calculate - indexing example

From Definition Constitutional Court dated June 17, 2010 No. 913-О-О:
"...indexing wages must be provided to all persons working under employment contract».

Remember the phrase of the Black Queen from “Alice Through the Looking Glass”: “Well, here, you know, you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place!”? It illustrates the situation with our salaries in conditions of inflation as accurately as possible: in order for salaries to remain at the same level and not depreciate, they must be regularly indexed.

However, in many companies, salary indexation is either not carried out at all, or is carried out so rarely that employees do not even remember the last time it happened. The question arises: are employers required to index wages and, if so, how often?

Indexation is mandatory, but it doesn’t make it any easier for workers

Salary indexation is one of the main state guarantees on employee remuneration Art. 130 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Two years ago, the Constitutional Court indicated that the employer is obliged to carry out indexation Definition of the Constitutional Court dated June 17, 2010 No. 913-О -О. This position is shared by Rostrud.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

Deputy Head Federal service on labor and employment

“An employer’s evasion of wage indexation due to rising consumer prices for goods and services may be regarded as a violation of labor legislation, in particular Art. 134 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And for violation of labor legislation, administrative liability may be applied to the employer.”

Indexing- one of the ways to protect the population... from inflation, which consists in the fact that the state and other entities [for example, employers]... increase the cash incomes... of citizens in accordance with rising prices... Thus, purchasing power is maintained population and average real incomes of people.

Modern economic dictionary

This is all good, of course. But we do not have a single indexing mechanism. The Labor Code only states that indexation is carried out Art. 134 Labor Code of the Russian Federation:

• V budgetary organizations - in the manner prescribed labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts. However, there is still no such order. Therefore, the salary of public sector employees different levels indexed only by special signal - by order or of the Government of the Russian Federation Government Order No. 957-r dated May 31, 2011, or the executive body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation see, for example, Resolution of the Governor of the Leningrad Region dated September 28, 2011 No. 90-pg or municipality a see, for example, Decree of the administration of the Skovorodinsky district of the Amur region dated May 18, 2011 No. 490;
• V commercial organizations- in the manner prescribed collective agreement, agreements, local regulations. But, firstly, not all companies have such documents. Secondly, even if they exist, the indexing order is not always established in them. This can mainly be boasted large companies, in respect of which industry agreements apply, where the obligation to index wages is directly stipulated see, for example, clause 3.8 of the Federal Industry Agreement on Construction and the Construction Materials Industry of the Russian Federation for 2011-2013. ; clause 3.2.4 of the Federal Industry Agreement on the Coal Industry of the Russian Federation for 2010-2012..

WE WARN THE MANAGER

If in the collective agreement or agreement there is a condition about indexing salaries, but it is not complied with, the labor inspectorate may fine you employer for 3000-5000 rubles. or issue a warning Art. 5.31, part 1 art. 23.12 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Even referring to a serious matter will not save you from responsibility. financial position companies.

It turns out that the indexation procedure (including its frequency) is entirely left to the discretion of the employer. And taking advantage of this, unscrupulous employers They may well stipulate in their local acts that indexation is carried out in the organization... once every 20 years. And what? Is there order? Eat. How often indexing is carried out is a personal matter for the organization. The labor inspectorate will no longer be able to find fault with the employer, and the workers will be left with nothing...

It also happens that organizations simply include in employment contracts a phrase like: “If there are financial opportunities, the Employee’s salary Maybe indexed in accordance with the orders (instructions) of the Employer.”

That is, it is prescribed right, and not the obligation of the employer to index the salaries of employees.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

YAKOVLEV Robert Andreevich

Main Researcher Institute of Labor and Social Insurance of the Ministry of Labor of Russia

“Because currently Labor Code does not stipulate the mechanism for indexing wages; in fact, it turns out that the decision to carry out indexation is left to employers. And most of them are not eager to do this.

Our businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, will definitely not part with their money voluntarily. Meanwhile, when inflation in European countries was as high as ours, it was the law that obliged businessmen to increase the salaries of their employees!”

In turn, Rostrud believes that if the indexation procedure is not provided for in the local regulations of the organization, then they need to be supplemented with relevant provisions and Letter of Rostrud dated April 19, 2010 No. 1073-6-1.

However, we managed to find judgment, which states that if the conditions and procedure for indexation are not stipulated by collective or labor agreements or local acts, then the employer is not obliged to index salaries at all Cassation ruling of the Perm Regional Court dated August 10, 2011 No. 33-8127. At the same time, the court did not take into account the position of Rostrud, saying that its letter was not a normative act.

The question arises: can a labor inspector who comes to inspect based on a complaint from employees fine an employer who has not established an indexation procedure, due to which he long time does not index the salary? This is what the Rostrud specialist explained to us.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

Head of the Legal Department of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment

“I believe that in this situation the labor inspector has the right to issue an order to the employer obliging him to certain period make appropriate changes (additions) to local acts of the organization or to employment contracts.

If the order is not fulfilled by the appointed date, then the head of the organization and the employing organization may be fined for failure to comply with the labor inspector’s order under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses for violation of labor laws.”

It is possible that the labor inspectorate may also fine the company and its manager under Part 1 of Art. 19.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for failure to comply with an order within the prescribed period.

If the decision is made to index

Then the first thing you need to do is decide on the procedure for carrying it out and enshrine it in a local regulatory act, for example, in the regulations on the remuneration of employees. Let's see what should be written in it.

Which payments are indexed and which are not. For example, you can index salaries, but not index bonuses in a fixed amount. Also, no one is stopping the employer from setting a threshold amount within which employees’ incomes will be indexed in full. Here's how to phrase it:

2.2. The following employee payments are subject to indexation:
- salary within an amount not exceeding 20,000 rubles;
- tariff rates;
- piecework and time rates.

2.3 The following are not subject to indexation:
- part of the salary exceeding 20,000 rubles;
- additional payments, allowances, bonuses established in a fixed amount;
- earnings retained by dismissed employees for the period of employment.

A Rostrud specialist shared his opinion with us on what principle to adhere to when indexing additional payments, allowances and bonuses.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

“I believe that the aforementioned payments, set as a percentage of the salary, do not need to be indexed, since after indexation they will be calculated from the already indexed salary. These same payments, established in a fixed amount, should ideally be indexed along with the tariff part of the salary (salary, tariff rate) so that there is no real reduction in the level of wages.

However, employers other than budgetary sphere, independently determine which components of wages to index.”

Rostrud

Indexing frequency. It can be done at least every month. But it is more convenient to do this less often: quarterly, once every six months or annually.

3.1. Employee income is indexed once every six months in accordance with the indexation coefficient.

How to calculate the indexation coefficient. The Labor Code links indexation to the increase in consumer prices for goods and services and Art. 134 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. But in the absence of a unified indexation procedure, the employer is free to choose his own benchmark for indexation. The Rostrud specialist also agrees with this.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

“Based on the provisions of Art. 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer has the opportunity to provide in the relevant acts any procedure for indexing wages. Thus, the indexation value can be determined, in particular:

• <или>based on the officially established consumer price index for Russia or the region based on the results of a certain period (for example, a quarter, half a year, a year);
• <или>the amount of inflation recorded in the annual federal law on federal budget or the budget of the corresponding region see, for example, paragraph 1 of Art. 1 of the Law of the Kamchatka Territory of November 14, 2011 No. 676; clause 1 art. 1 of the Law of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic of December 30, 2011 No. 129-RZ; clause 1 art. 1 of the Law of the Astrakhan Region dated December 1, 2011 No. 97/2011-OZ;
• <или>growth living wage working-age population (across Russia or a specific region).”

Rostrud

Let's go over each of the listed indicators.

You will find all-Russian consumer price indices both by year and by month: Rosstat website→ Prices → Consumer prices Regional consumer price indices, both by year and by month, can be found on the websites of the territorial bodies of Rosstat. For example, indexes for Moscow can be found: Mosgorstat website→ Prices and tariffs → Operative information→ Consumer prices

1. Consumer price index is officially established both for the country as a whole and for a specific region. It is published monthly by Rosstat and its territorial bodies for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, respectively. Thus, in 2011, the consumer price index in Russia amounted to 106.1%.

2. Projected inflation rate in the Russian Federation, provided for, for example, by the Law on the Federal Budget for 2012 - no higher than 6% clause 1 art. 1 of the Law of November 30, 2011 No. 371-FZ.

3. The cost of living determined for the Russian Federation as a whole by the Government quarterly on the basis of the consumer basket and Rosstat data, and for a specific region - in the manner prescribed by the relevant law of the subject of the Russian Federation pp. 1, 2 tbsp. 4 of the Law of October 24, 1997 No. 134-FZ.

You will find the cost of living in Russia and for a number of regions: section “Reference Information” of the ConsultantPlus system

So, for example, increase in the cost of living working-age population for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 amounted to:

• in Russia - 1.74% (RUB 6,827). Government Decree No. 613 dated June 19, 2012/ 6710 rub. Government Decree No. 247 dated March 28, 2012 x 100 – 100);
• in Moscow - 1.39% (RUB 10,490) Decree of the Moscow Government dated 06/05/2012 No. 258-PP/ 10,346 rub. Decree of the Moscow Government dated March 20, 2012 No. 94-PP x 100 – 100).

We repeat: all of the above values ​​are optional. In principle, for wage indexation, the employer can choose any other benchmark that takes into account the rising cost of living.

Actually indexing order. Here's how you can formulate it, linking indexation, for example, to the consumer price growth index for Russia as a whole:

3.2. The value of the indexation coefficient is calculated based on official data on the growth of the consumer price index in Russia for the previous half of the year.

3.3. The value of the indexation coefficient is calculated by the chief accountant at the end of the first month of the current half-year by multiplying the monthly consumer price growth indices for Russia for the previous half-year. In this case, official data from the Federal State Statistics Service on the level of inflation in Russia for the previous six months are used. The resulting coefficient is applied from January 1 and July 1.

When carrying out each indexation, it is advisable to issue an order signed by the manager, in which it is necessary to indicate specific meaning indexation coefficient and the date from which it is applied. The order will be the basis for the accounting department to accrue wages to employees in an increased amount. Here is a sample of it.

LLC "Trading company "Azimut""

ORDER No. 23
on wage indexation

Moscow

In order to ensure an increase in the level of real wages in accordance with Articles 130, 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the Regulations on the indexation of income of employees of Azimut Trading Company LLC

I ORDER:

2. Senior accountant M.I. Osechkina to calculate wages taking into account indexation from July 1, 2012.

Control over the implementation of this order is assigned to the chief accountant N.S. Maslova.

I have read the order:

Indexation = salary increase?

Is indexation of wages an increase and a change in the mandatory conditions of the employment contract on remuneration? Art. 57 Labor Code of the Russian Federation?

Rostrud believes that it is.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

“ Indexation of wages entails a change in its size or the size of its components (salary, bonuses, additional payments). Terms of remuneration (including the amount tariff rate or salary ( official salary)) of the employee are mandatory terms of the employment contract and must be included in it Art. 57 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, changes in wages are reflected in employment contracts with employees and Art. 72 Labor Code of the Russian Federation” .

Rostrud

But so that the employer does not have to prepare a huge number of documents before each indexation, it is possible to stipulate in the employment contract with each employee that the employee’s salary is a salary taking into account indexation. And also indicate that salary indexation is carried out in accordance with the Regulations on remuneration of employees of the organization.

4.3. The employee has a salary of 20,000 rubles, which is indexed once every six months in accordance with the Regulations on remuneration of Azimut Trading Company LLC dated 01.06.2005 No. 23-/06-11, with which the Employee was familiarized with before signing this labor contract agreement.

True, there is another point of view, according to which indexation of wages due to inflation is not an increase, because the real content of wages remains unchanged. In addition, the employer’s obligation to index employees’ wages in connection with rising consumer prices is expressly provided for in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, if you agree with this approach, then the indexation of wages, in particular salaries, cannot be taken into account when calculating average earnings for paying for business trips, vacation pay, etc. clause 16 of the Regulations, approved. Government Decree No. 922 dated December 24, 2007

It is with regret that we have to state that currently the obligation to index is of a declarative nature. However, in our opinion, periodic salary indexation is beneficial to the employer, if only because it significantly increases the motivation and loyalty of employees. After all, by indexing wages, the employer demonstrates to employees that he cares about them.

From the article you will learn how to index wages in 2019 in commercial companies. We have provided sample entries for different options, examples of salary calculation.

How to index wages in 2019

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation requires commercial companies to increase wages in connection with rising consumer prices for goods and services (Article 134 of the Labor Code). The consumer price growth index is published by Rosstat on its website www.gks.ru in the “Official Statistics” section in the “Prices” subsection.

The Ministry of Labor believes that it is possible to focus on the inflation rate (letter dated December 24, 2018 No. 14-1/OOG-10305). For 2019 it is projected at 4.3 percent (Article 1 Federal Law dated November 29, 2018 No. 459-FZ).

A commercial company has the right to focus on any of the indicators or establish own order indexation, for example, focus on the financial indicators of your activities. Both the law and officials allow this (Article 134 of the Labor Code, letter of the Ministry of Labor dated December 24, 2018 No. 14-1/OOG-10305).

What is considered a violation of the indexation procedure in 2019

During the inspection, labor inspectors will consider that the company has violated the law if (letter of the Ministry of Labor dated December 26, 2017 No. 14-3/B-1135):

• did not establish conditions and procedures in local regulations;
• doesn't work at all.

For this, the company faces fines under Part 1 of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in the amount of up to 50 thousand rubles, and its director - up to 5 thousand rubles.

How to Design an Indexing Order

The most convenient way to install it is to install it in a local regulatory act. This is a one-sided document. It does not require the involvement of a union or other employee representatives in the development.

When developing a procedure, a commercial company has the right to take into account the specifics production activities, level of solvency and other significant factors. Officials confirm this (letter from the Ministry of Labor dated December 24, 2018 No. 14-1/OOG-10305). In diagram 1, see the provisions that should be reflected in order.

Scheme 1

Wage indexation in 2019 in commercial organizations

There are 4 options for how to index wages. This can be done depending on:

• consumer price index;
• inflation rate;
• living wage for the working population;
• financial indicators.

Option 1. Increase in consumer prices

Rosstat publishes on its website consumer price growth indices relative to the previous month and to December last year. Both indicators are federal (table below).

You have the right to state in the document that you are using the increase in consumer prices in your region. It can be viewed on the regional Rosstat website.

Let's look at how to do it using example 1.

Example No. 1

By staffing table employee salary - 27,000 rubles. per month. The procedure provides for quarterly salary increases taking into account consumer price increases of over 2 percent. In the fourth quarter it grew by 3.4 percent.

How to install, see sample 1.

Sample 1.

Option 2. Inflation

The procedure for indexing wages depending on the level of inflation can be set as shown in sample 2 below.
Sample 2.

Let's look at example 2.

Example 2

According to the staffing schedule, the employee’s salary is 27,000 rubles. per month. The procedure provides for an annual salary increase as of January 1 of each year. The projected inflation rate for 2019 is set at 4.3 percent.

Option 3. Living wage

The government determines the subsistence level of the working-age population quarterly for Russia as a whole or for a specific region. For example, this figure for the third quarter of 2018 is 11,310 rubles. (Order of the Ministry of Labor dated November 12, 2018 No. 695n), and for the second quarter of 2018 - 11,280 rubles. (Order of the Ministry of Labor dated August 24, 2018 No. 550n). Coefficient - 1.0027 (RUB 11,310: RUB 11,280).

Option 4. Financial indicators

The employer has the right to tie indexation to the achievement of financial performance indicators based on the results of work for a certain period. If a company does not achieve these targets, it may not pursue it. I agree with this approach and Supreme Court(Definition dated April 24, 2017 No. 18-KG17-10). How to apply depending on financial indicators, see sample 3.

Sample 3.

What documents to prepare in 2019

You have developed a procedure, approved it in a local act or included it in a collective agreement. To carry out the next promotion, issue an order. Familiarize employees with the order and sign it.

Based on the order, make changes to the staffing table.

Salary amount - required condition employment contract. Due to the fact that the terms of remuneration are changing, enter into additional agreements with employees to employment contracts. Indicate the new salary and allowance amounts.

Is annual salary indexation required? And in what order is wage indexation calculated?

From the article you will learn:

What is wage indexation?

Wage indexation is a procedure provided for by labor legislation. Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is devoted to these issues.

In fact, wage indexation represents an increase wages. That is, indexation ensures that the real content of wages corresponds to the increase in consumer prices for goods and services.

Wage indexation in budgetary institutions carried out according to the rules established by law. The corresponding standards are established at the federal, regional or local level, depending on the subordination of the institution.

Download documents on the topic:

For employers - commercial organizations, the procedure carrying out indexation not regulated at the legislative level. The rule for them is that the procedure must be carried out in mandatory, that is, wage indexation is the responsibility of the employer . At the same time, the order of increase wages Each commercial organization installs it independently. To do this, she contributes the necessary conditions V collective agreement or local act.

Legislators have repeatedly addressed the topic of indexing and are considering bills that are intended to regulate this procedure in commercial organizations. Attention to this issue is due to the fact that many employers, without a specific mechanism for increasing wages, simply refuse this procedure. But to date, none of the bills have been approved. We will discuss the latest innovations on this topic below.

Let's pay attention again. The current legislation does not establish an indexation procedure for commercial organizations. The legislator establishes only the employer’s obligation to increase wages. The procedure, size and timing of indexation must be established by the employer in its local act.

Documentation of salary indexation

In order to document the indexing activities carried out in the organization, it is necessary to:

Let's look at each of these actions in more detail.

Indexation order

After you have entered necessary changes in the collective agreement, issue an order to increase wages. Familiarize your employees with it. The employee can put a signature confirming this in the document itself or in an appendix to it. Issue an order for wage indexation every time you carry it out.

Legislator's plans for mandatory indexation

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill according to which all employers will have to index employees' wages annually. Let's tell you in more detail.

According to the text of the project, indexation will need to be carried out annually for all workers, with the exception of those whose salary exceeds ten times the subsistence minimum, which is established for able-bodied citizens. It is proposed to equate the minimum increase factor with the consumer price growth index. Employers will have to establish the payroll procedure by local regulations.

You can read more about this bill.

Due to inflation, prices for goods and services increase every year, and if wages of the population remain at the same level, then the standard of living of people and their purchasing power may decrease. And this can negatively affect the entire economy as a whole. A logical question arises: is the employer obliged to index wages, and if so, in what documents should this be recorded? Our article will tell you about this.

General provisions

Laws Russian Federation guarantee citizens timely payment of wages and their periodic increase by indexing. Regulates labor Relations between a person and his employer Labor Code. Article of this document clearly states that state and municipal organizations must index salaries for public sector employees according to regulatory documents. Such indexing is often done as planned.

Private enterprises, in turn, index the wages of their employees, guided by the collective agreement, additional agreements or other acts of a local nature. At the same time, most commercial enterprises believe that, although the law of the country provides for mandatory indexation of wages, in practice it can be neglected. There were many difficulties in this issue, so the matter even reached the Constitutional Court. This court has said many times that indexing should be carried out by absolutely all organizations, regardless of whether they are public or private. After all, it is a legal guarantee for the residents of the country.

However, commercial organizations have the right to set themselves both the frequency and size of the increase, enshrining this in their internal acts. It turns out that the salary increase should apply to all workers who work in Russia under an employment contract (officially employed). And this applies to all organizations without exception.

The salary increase should apply to all workers who work in Russia under an employment contract.

Some nuances of indexing

If the company does not have regulations regarding the indexation of wages for their employees, then in 2017 penalties are provided for this. The employer will have to pay 30 thousand rubles. More Labour Inspectorate During inspections, you may notice that the frequency of indexations violates the required deadlines. This is a violation that inspectors will ask to correct. After all, salaries must be indexed at least once a year. It is possible to promote more often, it is not prohibited. Thus, the employer must index the salaries of its employees annually.

Indexation indicators should take into account the following factors:

• An official measure of annual inflation, expressed as a percentage.
• Consumer price index.

These two factors must be taken as a basis in order to correctly index wage fund. If the company does not have local regulations establishing salary increase standards, then the employee has the right to go to court. The court will not oblige the company to pay employees money for previous periods, but it will be able to oblige it to establish documents that will regulate the procedure and amount of indexation.

So, from the above we can draw some conclusions. Each organization must conduct indexation at least once a year. For lack of documentary evidence of indexation, the company faces a fine. However, the law does not say what exactly the increase should be, so the employer can set it himself, at his own discretion. Wage indexation is the responsibility of the employer. Every manager should know this in order to avoid problems with government authorities.