Employee bonuses: registration, depreciation, common mistakes

What is included in the concept of “premium”

According to the law, the salary of an employee of an organization can consist of several parts: salary, various types of allowances, compensation and incentive payments. The bonus is just one of the types of material incentives. However, it is not strictly obligatory and depends entirely on the will of the enterprise management.

The director has the right to independently determine to whom, with what frequency and in what volume to issue bonuses.

Moreover, if an employer decides to use a bonus as an additional incentive payment to subordinates, he must indicate its presence in internal documentation, for example, a special regulatory act - the Regulations on Bonuses, or a collective labor agreement. It is also possible to include a bonus clause in individual employment contracts with employees.

Typical mistakes in awarding bonuses/deductions to employees

Error No. 1 is one of the most common errors in calculating bonuses - a counting error , when the accountant simply made a mistake when calculating - he pressed the wrong button on the calculator, instead of subtracting - add up, etc.

But the legislation does not explain the concept of a counting error; you can rely on the explanations of Rostrud and judicial practice. The Supreme Arbitration Court, in Ruling No. 59-B11-17 dated January 20, 2012, recognizes a counting error in arithmetic operations; Rostrud shares the same opinion (see Letter dated October 1, 2012 No. 1286-6-1).

Considering that now payroll calculation is carried out mainly in programs and not manually, numerous judicial practices have appeared to recognize as a counting error one that arose when entering data or as a result of a failure (see appeal rulings in case No. 33-5026/ 2019 dated 02/08/2019 and No. 33-8775/2016 dated 11/28/2016 No. 33-8775/2016).

Examples:

1. The accountant, when calculating the bonus for employee Ivanov, made a mistake by multiplying the salary amount from which the bonus was calculated not by 10%, but by 12% (she pressed the wrong button on the calculator) - a calculation error.
2. In 1C, when entering data on Petrov’s bonus, the bonus amount was indicated in the wrong column of the document, as a result, extra coefficients were added to the bonus and its amount increased - a calculation error.
3. By order of the manager, Sidorov was awarded and paid a bonus of 1,000 rubles, and Maksimov - 2,000. Later it turned out that the director mixed up the employees and the 2,000 bonus should have gone to an employee named Maksimenko. There is no counting error or other reason to take away from an employee a bonus he has already received. The director will have to be more careful next time.

Note! If the employee has already received a payment, then even if there is a calculation error, the overpayment can only be withheld if the employee agrees with its amount and reasons (Article 137 of the Labor Code). If he refuses, the issue will have to be resolved in court.

Mistake No. 2 - in order for a bonus to be included in expenses, it must be an integral part of remuneration , which means it must be directly related to work, achievements related to work. For example, an anniversary bonus cannot be included in income tax expenses, because An anniversary has nothing to do with an employee’s work. This also includes payment of bonuses that are not specified in the Regulations and other local acts, incl. in the employment contract. They are usually simply appointed by the director by his Order.

Mistake No. 3 - awarding bonuses for the same indicators with different types of bonuses. By including such premiums in tax expenses, you run the risk - the tax service may consider that you have unlawfully underestimated the tax base and will deduct the expenses. This will entail additional payment of taxes, penalties, fines, and filing of adjustment reports.

Error No. 4 - The regulations do not provide for conditions for reducing or non-payment of bonuses ; this is done only on the basis of an order from the manager. In this case, workers can appeal to the Labor Inspectorate and the court. With a high probability, the organization will be obliged to pay bonuses and charge additional contributions from them. The organization also faces sanctions for violating labor laws.

Mistake No. 5 - When making a decision on depreciation, the reasons and severity of employee misconduct are not taken into account .

For example: an employee was regularly late for work in the last week of the month, for which he was completely deprived of his bonus. He was reprimanded by order of the director and this was the reason for his deprivation of bonuses. In the explanatory note, the employee indicated that he is a single father and takes his little daughter to kindergarten every weekday; for technical reasons, the kindergarten was temporarily open that week not from 7.30, but only from 8.30; he physically did not have time to get to work by 9.00 and came at approximately 9.15-9.20, he verbally informed the head of his department about the situation, and at the end of the month he even provided a certificate from the kindergarten. In this case, the manager had to take into account that the employee notified the boss about the delays and their reasons, and also provided supporting documents.

Situations like the one described above are easily contested by employees in court, so it is worth taking an informal approach to addressing disciplinary issues that affect employee benefits.

Full or partial deprivation of bonus

The size of the bonus and the frequency of its payment are established by the director and administration of the company.

The bonus can be issued monthly in the amount of 100% of the salary, or maybe once a year in the amount of one monthly salary.

In the same way, management is free to decide on the deprivation of bonuses.

It is allowed to be deprived completely - in case of a serious offense, or partially - if the offense was not so great, did not lead to material losses, and the refusal of an incentive payment acts only as a kind of warning.

Responsibility for illegal deprivation of bonuses to employees

When a company illegally deprives an employee of bonus payments, which is documented, it is brought to administrative liability under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offences. Possible penalties are presented in the table.

The employer is obliged to timely issue not only wages, but also bonuses.
Otherwise, he pays all amounts with interest accrued in the amount of 1/150 of the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (10%). Also see “What are the penalties for non-payment of wages”.

Procedure for depriving a bonus

Despite the fact that the decision to issue bonuses to employees is entirely within the power of the employer, if the company has established a system of incentive payments, it will not be possible to deprive an employee of a bonus without proper documentary support. First you need to carry out a number of necessary actions according to a certain algorithm:

1. First, you need to record the very fact of a disciplinary offense - a special act is drawn up for this.
2. Next, you need to ask the employee for an explanation – also in writing.
3. If he refuses to provide the necessary information, an appropriate note is placed on the misdemeanor report.
4. Next, based on the above-mentioned act, an order is issued, with which the employee must be familiarized with signature. If he does not want to sign the order, this is also indicated in the document.

Regulatory framework

Bonus funds are received in conjunction with other forms of payment, including salary.
Deprivation of additional remuneration is possible only under circumstances prescribed by law. Important! Deprivation of bonus funds is not considered a disciplinary sanction, which makes it possible to apply several options for punishment for significant offenses. This point is regulated by Article 191 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

A bonus is considered an incentive, so the employer, if there are specified grounds in the form of a serious violation, has the right to reduce the payment or remove it. This procedure requires the preparation of all necessary documentation and a proven fact of violation. If there are no grounds for reducing payments, then the manager’s actions will be considered illegal.

Legislative grounds:

• violation of labor discipline, in particular being late for work or leaving ahead of schedule;
• systematic failure to fulfill obligations related to the job description or employment contract;
• systematic performance of work with unsatisfactory results;
• absenteeism;
• intentional damage or material damage to the organization caused by an employee.

In all cases, the fact of violation itself must be proven and registered using special documents.

Article 191 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation “Incentives for work”

Legal or not

According to Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the manager determines the possibility of receiving remuneration or depriving it. If the elimination of additional funds is carried out in accordance with the proven grounds prescribed in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, then there are no inconsistencies. In other cases, the action is illegal. It is also impossible to deprive a bonus for a minor offense that is not prescribed by law or in a local act. For example, failure to comply with the dress code cannot be used for such a process.

Important! Local acts must contain the possibility of depreciation. Without them, a reduction in established payments is impossible.

Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation “Disciplinary sanctions”

General information about the order

If you are faced with the task of drawing up an order to deprive an employee of a bonus, and you have not dealt with such a document before, use the recommendations below and look at a ready-made example of an order.

Before moving on to a detailed description of this specific order, we will talk about general points relevant to all such documents.

1. Firstly, let's start with the fact that any order is always written on behalf of the director of the enterprise.
   This is important because, regardless of who is directly involved in its formation, it must always be signed by the highest official of the company, or by an employee acting on his behalf. All employees specified in it must also be familiarized with the order against signature - in this way they record that they have read the order and agree to carry it out.
2. Secondly, today an order can be written in any form, but if the organization has an established form on the basis of which all other management orders must be written, then, of course, it is necessary to use it.
3. Thirdly, the order can be made in electronic format or in handwritten form. In this case, you need to take into account only one point - the electronic form must be printed - for signatures. There is no need to stamp the order, except in cases where the requirement for the use of seals is in the company’s regulations.
4. And finally, fourthly, the form must be made in one original copy .

Information about the order should be entered in the administrative documentation log, which should be in every company and is usually kept by the secretary or other responsible employee.

Results

The need to issue an order to deprive a bonus does not always arise. It is not needed if all the conditions necessary for non-accrual (deprivation, reduction) of bonuses are specified in the internal regulatory act and the employee is familiar with this act. But an order will be required if the internal regulatory document either does not contain a description of the bonus deduction procedure or provides for the participation of the manager in the decision-making process regarding the deprivation of bonuses. Such an order must be brought to the attention of the employees to whom it applies, against signature.

Sources: Labor Code of the Russian Federation

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