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Basis for reduction of salary. Reduction of wages and salaries at the initiative of the employer. Terms of payment of wages

Does the employer have the right to reduce wages? Salary is one of the main conditions employment contract, therefore, its decrease in unilaterally legal only under the conditions specified in the legislation and in compliance with the necessary procedure.

Reduction of wages initiated by the employer

Can the employer unilaterally reduce the salary without asking the employee's consent? He can do this, but only in the cases specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The main reason why an employer can reduce wages without agreeing with the employee is indicated in article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This is a change in the organizational or technological order in the organization.

These changes include:

  • making changes to the regulation on remuneration in the organization in full;
  • the change technological processes in production due to the introduction of new equipment;
  • changes in working conditions as a result of a special assessment of working conditions;
  • reorganization of the enterprise;
  • reducing the number of responsibilities without making changes to the work function.

This is only a rough list of specific conditions. In each case, there may be a reason, but it must comply with the law.

The employer must justify the fact that the changes resulting in a decrease in wages were necessary.

The procedure for changing wages at the initiative of the employer

To downgrade wages it was not legal enough to comply with the conditions specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, you need to correctly carry out the change procedure. It includes next steps:

  1. justification of the need for technological or organizational processes;
  2. development of all necessary documentation, taking into account the upcoming changes;
  3. familiarization of the employee with the upcoming changes at least two months before the entry into force of the new working conditions;
  4. must be familiarized in writing: by writing a notification to the employee, acquaint the employee against signature with the new regulation on remuneration, or job description;
  5. conclude with an employee additional agreement to the employment contract.

An employee of the organization has the right to refuse the conditions offered to him, in this case, the administration of the enterprise must offer him other available vacancies. If there are no others or the employee refuses, then the employment contract with him is terminated.

Change by agreement of the parties

If the parties have come to an agreement on all the issues and the employee agrees to a change in wages downward, then a lengthy warning procedure can be avoided and changes to the employment contract can be made by agreement of the parties.

In this case, everything is formalized much easier. An agreement is concluded between the employee and the employer, which indicates that the parties have agreed to amend the essential terms and conditions in the employment contract.

Then a supplementary agreement to the employment contract is signed.

Consequences of an illegal decrease in wages

In the event of an unjustified reduction in wages, it may be invalidated, and sanctions imposed on the manager.

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in case of violation labor legislation To official the following types of liability can be applied:

  • material;
  • disciplinary;
  • administrative;
  • criminal.

In the case of illegal decline, it is possible to apply only two types: disciplinary and administrative. Since a decrease in wages, unlike non-payment or delay, does not imply material compensation. With regard to criminal liability, there is no corpus delicti in the case of an illegal reduction in wages.

If you have any questions, you can ask our duty lawyer online for Labor Law or call our toll-free number.

The economic situation forces the management of many companies to think about reducing the salaries of employees. How legal it can be to reduce wages at the initiative of the employer, in what cases it is possible and how to apply, read our article

In this article, you will learn:

Is it legal to reduce wages at the initiative of the employer

Reducing wages at the initiative of the employer is a last resort in a difficult financial situation in the company. But all the conditions on which an employee is accepted are spelled out in his contract and other documents, so you can't just change salaries. An employment contract is a bilateral agreement, as an employee cannot change the working regime for himself, and the employer cannot unilaterally reduce wages.

Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation determines that it is possible to change the essential conditions of an employment contract only with a mutual, written agreement between the parties. However, not every employee will agree to voluntarily change wages downward. And the employer also cannot dismiss for refusal to sign the agreement.

In practice, most workers have not only a constant part of their earnings - salary, but also a variable - bonuses and other payments and allowances. Often employers simply stop paying the second part, but this is also illegal. If the bonus condition is spelled out in the contract, changing it again requires the consent of the worker.

In the event that the conditions of bonuses are stipulated by the Regulations on Bonuses, its change does not require the consent of the staff and can be less painful. To make adjustments, it is enough to issue an order and familiarize the team with the new edition of the LNA.

note

The law requires a novice to be paid the same amount as an experienced employee during the trial period. The executives disagree. You can understand them: the recruit is just learning to work, and has not yet yielded results. How to take into account the interests of business and not break the law? In the magazine "Handbook of the personnel officer"

Grounds for reduction of salary

There are several ways to lower an employee's salary. Are they legal? Yes, if they are properly formatted.

The first case is the terms of change agreed by the parties. Such a reduction is made out on the basis of an additional agreement to the employment contract. The legislators did not provide for any special nuances for such an innovation, only an agreement (Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Second option more complex and can only be applied in a limited number of cases. Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation assumes a reduction in the employee's salary at the initiative of the employer in connection with a change in the organizational or technological working conditions.

note

New conditions must be confirmed by documents. The impact of the crisis or the drop in demand cannot be tied under Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

A change in organizational or technological conditions may be associated with:

  • the purchase of new equipment that requires less human intervention; the use of new technologies;
  • changes in the types of products;
  • improving workflow and location;
  • application of new technical regulations;
  • organizational restructuring of the company, reorganization, merger, etc .;
  • the introduction of forms of labor organization;
  • changes in work and rest regimes.

In other cases, it is illegal to refer to this article.

Design and possible options

Each of the presented ways out of the situation provides for its own procedure for registration and, accordingly, terms. The less staff can influence new order, the more complicated the procedure.

By agreement of the parties

A decrease in the employee's income by agreement between the parties is the easiest to register and can come into force from now on. The main difficulty is reaching a consensus with the staff. After that, an additional agreement to the employment contract is drawn up, in 2 copies, on each of which the parties affix their signatures.

Reduction or non-payment of premiums

The use of such a tool as cutting the variable part of earnings can be used when reducing wages at the initiative of the employer only in the absence of prescribed conditions in the contract. That is, if the conditions of bonuses are fully described in the contract, then non-payment will be a violation.

Whereas the description of the conditions in the LNA gives the employer a number of possibilities. It is necessary to prepare a draft of changes to the Regulations on bonuses and approve it by order of the head.

In the absence of this Regulation and the appointment of a bonus by the monthly publication of an order, the employer will not have to do anything at all.

note

To establish wages for an employee, you need to decide how much to pay him, in what form, where and in what time frame. The answers to some of these questions should be indicated in the employment contract, others can be enshrined in a local act or collective agreement and refer to them in the employment contract. Magazine .

Unpaid leave

The use of such a tool as administrative leave at the initiative of the company would be illegal. Unpaid leave is completely the employee's decision, and the employer has no right to persuade and, moreover, to coerce to this.

The lack of work due to the fault of the enterprise should be formalized as simple and paid in the amount of ⅔ of the average earnings.

Shortening of the working day

Shortening the working day or week is one of the most commonly used methods when organizational and technological conditions change. The registration of such a procedure should begin with the issuance of an order on a new mode of operation. It takes place no later than 2 months before the expected date.

After the decision is made, all workers subject to the reform must be notified of the change in salary downward. Such a document is drawn up in writing; it is necessary to obtain confirmation of familiarization from the employee.

A notice of a reduction in salary (a sample will be given below) is handed to the employee in person or by mail. If the employee refuses to continue working in the new conditions, he is dismissed under clause 7 of Art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Amendments to the employment contract

After notification of the change in salary, the HR department must prepare a document with new conditions - an additional agreement to labor contract... There is no need to re-print the entire agreement. The agreement indicates only the clauses that are subject to change and the date from which it begins to operate.

The signing of the agreement can be made both immediately after notification of the reduction in salary, and on the day when it becomes effective. The document must be executed in writing in two copies.

Liability in case of unreasonable reduction

In the event that the reduction in the salaries of employees was made in violation of the procedure or unreasonably, the employer will be liable:

  • material(Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The company will be obliged to reimburse the employee for the lost earnings;
  • disciplinary... Applies to the employee who is responsible for the paperwork on the change in salary. Such an employee may be reprimanded or reprimanded;
  • civil law... Compensation for moral and material damage. The amount and availability of compensation is determined by the court;
  • administrative... Liability arises in accordance with Art. 5.27 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation;
  • criminal (Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)... This measure of responsibility can only be imposed by the court and is applied extremely rarely, only in exceptional cases.

Wages, or rather the minimum wages, are established by the norms of the Federal Law throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

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The amount of wages should not be lower than the subsistence minimum established for the working population of the country.

In turn, living wage is a fluctuating value, which leads to fluctuations in the minimum wage and the possibility of various kinds of fraud on the part of employers seeking to reduce the wages of their employees.

What does the law say?

The amount of salary and the timing of its payment in the organization of which the employee is an employee are determined by the provisions of or.

According to Art. 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a decrease in the amount of wages is possible only when revising an employment contract during negotiations between an employee and an employer.

Normative base

The normative and legal side of the issue concerning the reduction of wages is the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, as well as labor and collective agreements concluded in organizations with each of the employees on a mandatory basis.

In addition, when reducing wages, it is recommended to contact Federal law No. 82-FZ "On the minimum wage" dated June 19, 2000.

This document will help to understand whether the employer is really violating the rights of workers by reducing wages, or whether the reduction in earnings is completely legal.

Is it legal?

Employees faced with a reduction in salary are most concerned about the legality of such actions on the part of the employer.

It should be noted that, unfortunately, the reductions in salary in most cases are still legal, provided that the employer follows certain types of procedures, the essence of which will be described below.

The salary can be reduced, as one, and all employees of the enterprise.

At the same time, these actions, if they are carried out in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and do not violate the rights of workers to a decent wage for their work, are considered completely legal.

Possible grounds and reasons

The reasons for changing wages downward are:

  • A real decrease in the company's income. In this case, in order to avoid a total reduction, the head of the organization has the right to suggest that employees agree to fulfill their job responsibilities for a lesser fee.
  • Demotion of an employee.
  • Reorganization of the enterprise. Changes in technical and organizational conditions performance of work can serve as the basis for reducing the salary of employees of the organization.

The employer is not entitled to reduce wages on his own initiative, without the presence of the grounds described above.

Before announcing a decrease in wages, the employer is obliged to indicate to employees the reasons for such actions.

He is obliged to do this at a collective meeting of employees, or in any other open and accessible way.

Agreement of the parties

Despite the fact that the initiative to reduce wages always comes from the employer, employees have the right not to agree to implement it.

To do this, it is enough to refuse to sign an agreement on amending the employment contract. The existence of such an agreement is a prerequisite lowering the salary.

By expressing his consent or disagreement with the current situation, the employee can radically change it for the better.

Employer's initiative

Any reduction in wages is always an initiative of the employer, supported by legislation.

If the employee does not agree with this initiative, or the indicated reasons for lowering the wages seem insignificant to him, he can do as described above and go to court.

Reducing the salary on the initiative of the employer, which is not supported by anything, is considered illegal.

On probation

The employer is not obliged to compensate part-time workers for arrears if the amount of wages did not reach the minimum level at the time.

In this case, the employer does not bear any responsibility.

In the event that it is a deliberate understatement of wages, the employer may face:

  • Material liability. Based on Art. 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to reimburse wages with interest in case of delay. The same rule applies to unlawfully reduced wages.
  • Disciplinary responsibility. An employer, if he is not the owner of the enterprise where the employee works, may face reprimand, reprimand, and even dismissal.
  • Civil law. An unscrupulous employer is obliged to compensate for moral and material harm caused to the employee. The amount of compensation is determined by the court.
  • Administrative responsibility. An unscrupulous employer faces a fine or warning, and the entrepreneur's activities may be suspended. Disqualification may be applied as a penalty. In this case, the amount of the fine cannot exceed 5 thousand rubles.
  • Criminal liability. Criminal liability for the employer comes in accordance with Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Criminal prosecution for non-payment of wages can take place in exceptional cases, usually a court decision is limited to a warning and a fine.

An example is the following situation:

An employee of LLC "Zvezda" Kuibyshev L.L. applied to the accounting department in connection with the difference he discovered between wages received in the last two months. In the accounting department, he received an answer that his salary was reduced due to a lack of financial resources at the enterprise. No one reacted to the employee's attempts to meet with the director and clarify the situation in a personal conversation.

As a result, this citizen was forced to go to court. By a court decision, the actions of the director of the enterprise were found unreasonable and illegal. The employee was returned his wages, and the employer was fined 3 thousand rubles.

Can an employee challenge an employer's decision?

The employer's decision to reduce wages cannot be taken unilaterally.

Before removing allowances and bonuses, the employer should consult with the employee.

If he did not do this, it makes sense to contact the trade union organization or the labor inspectorate to challenge such a decision. The last and final instance is the court.

An employee has the right to file a lawsuit against the employer in the event that:

  • the employer arbitrarily reduced the salary without bothering with explanations;
  • the employer made changes to the labor or collective agreement with which the employee does not agree;
  • the employer did not comply with the deadline for notifying employees of a decrease in earnings.

Arbitrage practice

When organizations face financial difficulties, managers begin to save on all costs, including the remuneration of their employees.

Many people are interested in the topic of whether the employer can reduce the salary and whether his actions are lawful.

Let's take a closer look at this in the current article.

Navigating the article

Where is the salary registered?

Each person should understand that payment for his work is regulated by an employment contract. It is concluded upon admission to the organization. The parties to the contract are: the employee and the employer.

Pay for work may be regulated by additional agreements, regulations and employer regulations. The employee must be familiarized with them when accepting to the company.

Usually, when a person gets a job at an enterprise, he does not delve into all the papers that are given to him to sign. The best option will immediately read them, and ask appropriate questions.

According to the employment contract, the employer undertakes to provide work to those who are hired by the company for a certain fee. The employee, on the basis of this document, undertakes to complete it at the appointed time.

The main obligation of the employer in such a relationship is to pay for work. There are several conditions of payment: according to the tariff or salary, they pay various bonuses, allowances, make incentives.

It should be understood that all these payments are indicated in employee contracts. The question involuntarily arises: can the employer unilaterally reduce the salary?

The organization itself does not have the right to amend the terms of the contract by law. They are entered only on the basis of an application from employees, that is, with the consent of both parties.

The organization is obliged to notify the employee in advance about all changes that are planned to be carried out. Notification is made no later than two months before the day of changes. This is usually done against a signature. Also, the notification can be sent by mail to the address of residence.

It happens that the employee does not want to make changes. Then the company is obliged to offer the person a different job in the same area. If he refuses, he is cut with severance pay.

Cases of reduction of wages


Let us examine in detail how to reduce wages.

A reduction in salary is permissible only when organizational and technical conditions change.

This is stated in Part 1 of Art. 74, art. 306 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

But the enterprise must have documentary evidence of this fact.

In addition, it is obliged to notify employees of this 2 months in advance.

Often people are interested in whether an employer can reduce wages with an open-ended employment contract. The type of document does not play a role here, the obligations of the employer and the rights of the employee are important. Such actions are illegal.

With this option, an additional agreement is concluded with the employee. New conditions are indicated here. A corresponding order is issued for the enterprise.

When a person refuses to reduce the salary, the organization is obliged to offer him another one in the same territory. At the same time, all vacancies that are available are offered.

If they are absent or the person refuses, the contract is terminated on the basis of clause 7 of part 1 of Art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The resigning person is paid severance pay.

The organization of part-time work can also lead to a decrease in wages. But such a regime can be resorted to when there is a threat of mass layoffs in order to preserve jobs.

If the employee refuses to work in a reduced mode, he is dismissed on the basis of clause 2 of part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It says about downsizing. But the person is paid compensation.

Each company provides incentives. As a rule, these are various awards.


Often it is stated in the regulatory documents of enterprises that the employer is not obliged to pay bonuses.

It should be understood that when the organization has a time-based or piece-rate bonus wages, the employer is obliged to pay bonuses.

It is illegal to reduce or deny premiums in such situations.

Often, organizations, in order to save money, send their employees on vacation at their own expense.

Employees of enterprises, fearing dismissal, agree to such provocations. Such actions of the management are considered illegal.

A large number of enterprises impose penalties, which also contributes to a decrease in people's wages. This option is also used in the absence of premiums.

Penalties for being late and not doing work. These actions are also illegal. Article 192 of the Labor Code establishes certain types of penalties: reprimand, reprimand.

Expert opinion of a lawyer

The economic crisis in the country led to the fact that many enterprises began to carry out optimization in order to reduce costs. What tricks employers do not go to in order to deprive employees of due payments: instead of layoffs, they offer, or even insist, on dismissal according to on their own, which automatically deprives the employee of receiving severance pay; come up with various fines and even make "fake documents" in support of their illegal extortions; unwanted workers are forced to resign on their own, otherwise they will be fired “under the article,” and so on.

It is important to understand that the employer does not have the right to unilaterally decide what payment the employee will receive after signing the employment contract. The exact amount or procedure for remuneration is spelled out in this document and in local regulations enterprises. Bonus payments Is the reward of the employee for Good work... This is the only remuneration that can be reduced or canceled by the employer, and then only after the corresponding document has been drawn up. For example, it can be an order and a new regulation on bonuses approved by the management. In addition, a reduction or deprivation of the bonus threatens the guilty employee.

Wages and other payments due to the employee must be paid at least 2 times a month and strictly on the days specified in the employment contract. For violation of this requirement of the law, the employer faces not only administrative, but also criminal liability. The employer faces a similar liability if he insists on reducing the employee's wages for personal reasons or in violation of the requirements of the law. An employee is not required to sign an additional agreement to an employment contract that provides for a reduction in wages. Only in the case of a reduction in the number or staff at the enterprise, this can happen completely legally, if the employee agreed to be transferred to a lower-paid position.

About the statement of claim for the recovery of wages is presented in the video:

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Is it legal to reduce the wages of an employee at the initiative of the employer? The story of a labor dispute

I want to tell you a story about labor relations, with whom I recently had the opportunity to work as a lawyer. It can be useful for both people employed and businessmen acting as employers.

Life story

A woman - an administrative employee of one of the city general education schools, having gone to work after a summer vacation, began to fulfill her job responsibilities... Everything was as usual. There were no changes in the volume and conditions of her work. In general, day after day, ordinary working days went on. Having received a pay slip for September in early October, she was simply shocked when she learned that her wages had been unilaterally reduced by the employer, and not by any 5-10%, but by as much as 72.7%.

From the payroll it followed that she would now receive payment for her work not in the amount in which she calculated, based on the terms of the employment contract and the wages previously paid to her, but in a new amount calculated and established by the employer unilaterally.

Oral appeals to the head of the institution remained unanswered. The written appeal to the employer and to the district education department about the reasons for the changes that occurred remained unanswered on the merits. Formal replies were received that, they say, the financing of school employees is carried out at the expense of budgetary funds and due to the fact that the budgetary funding of the city's general education institutions as a whole has been reduced, the size of wages has also been reduced. At the same time, the question of why a notice of the upcoming change in wages was not given in advance and the reasons for such a change were not communicated was ignored. The question of how a decrease in budgetary funding of municipal educational institutions of the city automatically leads to a decrease in the wages of a particular employee was also ignored, especially since the employee's labor function and his working conditions remain unchanged.

For a long time, the employee tried to prove to the employer that the actions to reduce wages were unilaterally illegal and asked to pay him all the amounts required by law. All this "idiot" lasted four months and did not lead to anything positive. At the same time, all this time, the employer paid the employee a reduced salary.

In the end, realizing what to achieve due payments it will not work from the employer through negotiations, the employee turned to me for help.

Legal commentary on the situation

According to the provisions of Article 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the conditions of remuneration (including the size of the wage rate or salary (official salary) of the employee, additional payments, allowances and incentive payments) are conditions that must be included in the labor contract.

By general rule, established by article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a change determined by the parties the terms of the employment contract are allowed only by agreement of the parties to the employment contract. An agreement to amend the terms and conditions of an employment contract determined by the parties shall be concluded in writing.

The employer can change the amount of remuneration on his own initiative only in strictly defined cases and in the manner prescribed by law.

So, according to the provisions of Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in the case when, for reasons related to a change in organizational or technological working conditions (i.e., with a change in technology and production technology, structural reorganization of production, etc.), the conditions determined by the parties the labor contract cannot be saved, it is allowed to change them at the initiative of the employer, with the exception of changing the employee's labor function.

The employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing not later than two months in advance of the forthcoming changes in the terms of the employment contract determined by the parties, as well as the reasons that caused the need for such changes.

If the employee does not agree to work under the new conditions, then the employer is obliged to offer him in writing another job available to the employer as vacant post or a job corresponding to the qualifications of the employee, and a vacant lower position or lower-paid work that the employee can perform, taking into account his state of health. At the same time, the employer is obliged to offer the employee all the vacancies that meet the specified requirements that he has in the area. The employer is obliged to offer vacancies in other localities, if it is provided for by the collective agreement, agreements, labor contract.

In the absence of the specified work or refusal of the employee from the proposed work, the employment contract is terminated in accordance with paragraph 7 of the first part of Article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, taking into account the above norms of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation, it can be unambiguously concluded that if a change in the amount of wages is not associated with a change in organizational or technological working conditions (changes in technology and production technology, structural reorganization of production, other reasons), as well as if a change in the amount of wages is made on the initiative of the employer without notifying about the upcoming change two months in advance and without explaining the reasons for the corresponding change in the amount of remuneration, then the actions of the employer are illegal.

Litigation on labor dispute on the reduction of wages and its result

Together with my client, we initiated a lawsuit on the recognition of illegal actions of the employer to reduce wages, as well as on the recovery of unpaid wages and compensation for moral damage.

At the same time, a written opinion of the labor inspectorate was requested and received (which was submitted to the court) on the illegality of changing the terms of the employment contract by the employer unilaterally without prior notice to the employee about the upcoming changes and the reasons for such changes at least two months in advance.

The result of the trial is almost complete satisfaction of the claims. The court refused to recover only one municipal salary supplement, since the decision of the city administration, on the basis of which this supplement was paid to employees of all educational institutions of the city, was canceled shortly before this whole story.

All the arguments of the employer stated during the trial (including the argument that the reduction in the amount of wages was made not only in relation to the plaintiff, but also in relation to all employees of the institution), could not convince the court of the legality of the reduction in wages ...

Realizing the futility of challenging the decision made by the court of first instance, the employer did not file an appeal. After the court decision came into legal force, all the amounts awarded to the employee were paid by the employer according to the writ of execution presented by the employee.

The funniest thing is that a few years ago the described employee had an absolutely similar situation with the same employer (only the head of the institution was at that time another person) and then in court we also collected all the unpaid amounts from the employer in the same way. However, despite this, the employer, contrary to common sense, again stepped on the same "rake".

Notes to the employee and employer

The story described above happened in comprehensive school, but this is only one of many similar cases that take place as in budgetary institutions and commercial organizations.

Therefore, it is important for both parties to labor relations to remember that their relationship is regulated by law and if the requirements of the law are not complied with voluntarily, then the protection of the rights of the violated party (in my case, the rights of the employee) can be carried out in the manner prescribed by law by the court, labor inspectorate, prosecutor's office and etc.

Note to the employee Notes to the employer
  • If the amount of wages is reduced by the employer unilaterally, without written notice two months in advance about the upcoming change in the size of wages and the reasons for such a change, and also if the change in the amount of wages is in no way connected with a change in the organizational and technological working conditions, then there is every chance to collect judicially unpaid wages. In addition, you can collect additional sums of money- compensation for moral damage and monetary compensation for delayed payment of wages. In addition, it is possible to charge the employer with the costs incurred by the representative (lawyer / attorney). When applying to the court with a claim for the protection of violated rights, the employee is exempted from paying the state duty.
  • In addition to collecting all unpaid amounts (if the amount of wages has been unlawfully reduced by the employer), it is possible to bring the employer to administrative responsibility for a violation of labor legislation under article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Violation of labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts containing norms labor law), and if there are signs of corpus delicti, provided for in Article 145.1. Of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Failure to pay wages, pensions, scholarships, benefits and other payments), to criminal liability. To do this, it is necessary to apply with a written complaint about the actions of the employer to the labor inspectorate and the prosecutor's office.
  • In order to change the wages of an employee, it is necessary that there are grounds specified in Labor Code RF, and the employer had documentary evidence of the existence of such grounds, i.e. changes in organizational or technological working conditions.
  • The employee must be notified in writing about the upcoming change in wages and the reasons for such change, at least two months before the "X" hour. If the employee refuses to receive a notification about the upcoming change in the amount of wages and the reasons for such a change, it is necessary to draw up a commission act confirming the employee's refusal to receive a corresponding notification. Then you need to send a notification and a copy of the act to the employee by registered mail with a list of attachments.
  • In the event of a violation of the rights of an employee (regarding an illegally made reduction of wages), it is wiser to pay the employee the unlawfully underpaid wages on a voluntary basis, rather than to do it by a court decision with additional amounts awarded by the court as compensation for moral damage. monetary compensation for late payment of wages, reimbursement of legal costs, etc. Moreover, in addition to economic losses in such situations, there is a risk of bringing the employer to administrative / criminal liability provided for by the legislation and the occurrence of reputational / image losses.
  • If there were earlier litigations with employees that ended in favor of the employees, you need to take into account the previous experience of litigation so as not to step on the same "rake" again.

If a labor dispute has arisen, do you need to involve a lawyer to protect your rights and interests?

The question of whether or not it is necessary to involve a lawyer to protect their rights and interests in the course of a labor dispute, each of the parties to the dispute that has arisen decides for itself. Much depends on the complexity of the conflict and the "cost of the issue."

In a number of situations, the essence of the dispute between the parties to the employment relationship is so simple that it does not even require the advice of a lawyer. Both parties to the conflict, at the moment of its occurrence, immediately become clear who is right in the relevant situation, who is to blame and what needs to be done to resolve the dispute that has arisen.

In other cases, it happens that it is difficult to figure out "what's what" without the participation of a lawyer. In such situations, it makes sense for the interested party to invite a competent specialist for cooperation, who will explain how the position of each of the parties complies with the requirements of the law, and will tell you how best to act in the current circumstances. This is usually more productive than spending time and effort on independent attempts to understand all the intricacies of laws and regulations, as well as the peculiarities of their interpretation and practice of application by the courts.

It is also reasonable to use the help of a lawyer in cases where, despite the obviousness of the situation, one of the parties to the conflict (employee or employer) begins to insist on the correctness of its position, even though it clearly contradicts the requirements of the law and common sense... In such situations, a lawyer is needed in order to help competently protect the rights and interests of the injured party from the sudden “blindness and deafness” of the opponent.

P.S.
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***
Sincerely,
Dudin Alexey
lawyer and business consultant
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