What the law says
In accordance with Art. 1 of Federal Law No. 2202-1 of January 17, 1992, the prosecutor’s office in the Russian Federation supervises compliance with laws. That is, you can contact the prosecutor’s office regarding any violation of the law.
According to Art. 10 of the same law, inaction, which includes non-payment of earnings, is grounds for appealing to this government agency.
The procedure for considering citizens' appeals is specified in Federal Law No. 59 of 05/02/2006 and the industry instruction approved by order of the Prosecutor General's Office No. 45 of 01/30/2013. It states (clause 3.1) that the application can be forwarded to another body in accordance with their competence.
IMPORTANT!
The law does not oblige a citizen to appeal the employer’s inaction in a specific government agency, where to write a statement about non-payment of wages, the citizen decides for himself. The choice is between the prosecutor's office at the location of the employer or employee (if the appeal is submitted to the authority not in accordance with its competence, it is redirected), the labor inspectorate, the supervisory authority and the court.
When can you file a complaint about unpaid wages?
Salary, according to Art. 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, must be paid at least twice a month. Salary payment days are specified in the employment contract between the employer and employee.
The delay in payment of wages begins to count from the day following the payment date specified in the contract. From this moment on, the employee has the right to contact the employer demanding the necessary payments.
The appeal is made in writing in two copies. It must be registered at the reception - the employee’s copy must have the incoming number and the signature of the person who received it. If there is no positive response from the head of the enterprise, you must contact the labor inspectorate.
Only after all these steps is it recommended to contact the prosecutor's office. Since compliance with this sequence will increase the effectiveness of influencing the employer.
The fact is that a prosecutor's investigation into a complaint sometimes takes several weeks. Then another month is given to eliminate the violation. As a result, even with a favorable outcome of the case, the period for its resolution may take two months. And, perhaps, the issue of unpaid wages will be resolved faster at the stage of contacting the labor inspectorate.
