The main types of wages

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

A person working for hire, not least thinks about how to get as much as possible. Many are happy to put extra effort into this - provided that the company fixes simple and transparent criteria for how labor compensation can be increased. Through what schemes can a firm determine the principles for calculating the salaries of employees? How should the management of the firm choose the most optimal one?

Determination of wages

Before examining the types of remuneration accepted in the Russian Federation and world practice, we examine the essence of this concept. What are the main theoretical concepts concerning this aspect that are common among Russian researchers? In accordance with the popular definition, remuneration should be understood as relations that are associated with the definition of the employer's settlement scheme with an employee, as well as ensuring its legality. Some researchers distinguish the term under consideration from wages - remuneration of an employee for work in accordance with his qualifications, the complexity of the duties performed and the conditions for carrying out activities. Salary in this case is understood as a component of wages. But in a number of interpretations, the two terms under considerationare identified.

Remuneration of labor should be systemic - so that the employee knows what compensation he can count on by completing a particular amount of work within a specified period of time. In some cases, the legislation of the state may establish minimum wages - as, for example, in the Russian Federation.

There are no direct recommendations in the legal acts regulating the procedures for calculating employers and employees that determine the criteria by which a company must accrue appropriate compensation. Therefore, each organization has the right to independently form the requirements that the remuneration system must comply with. Types of settlement schemes for employers and employees popular in world and Russian practice are very different. But among the most popular are: time-based, piecework, and also piece-rate wage systems. Let's consider their specifics in more detail.

Time wages

The time-based scheme, within which employers and employees can pay, assumes that the amount of compensation will depend on the duration of the employee's performance of his duties, as well as on his tariff rate. In this case, the unit of accounting for working time can be an hour, a day or a month. In Russia, the third option is by far the most common. But many firms also practice hourly and daily rates.

There are a number of additional criteria by which the form in question can be classifiedpayment. Types of time compensation:

- simple time-based form;

- remuneration with elements of bonuses.

In the first case, the amount of earnings is determined by multiplying the rate - hourly or daily, by the total number of relevant units of time during which a person performed his labor duties at the enterprise. If, for example, an employee worked all the working days established by law in a month, then the compensation will be equal to his fixed salary. If not, then he will receive a salary, based on its ratio with the salary in proportion to the number of days of presence at the enterprise. It is possible that the period of absence of a person from work will be compensated by accruing sick leave or vacation pay.

Time-based form of remuneration may include elements of bonuses. It is most often expressed as a percentage of salary. The bonus is usually paid in accordance with the regulation established by the organization. That is, the criteria for their calculation are usually the same for all employees - in the same positions. As a rule, this is overfulfillment of planned indicators, saving materials (not at the expense of results), higher quality of products.

Piece-rate pay

Let's consider other types of payroll. The piecework scheme assumes that compensation is formed on the basis of quantitative indicators of the effectiveness of a person's work. This may be the release of products in pieces or the provision of services in relation to the number of customers. The employer may also set certain standardsearnings affecting wages.

There are a number of additional grounds for classifying the appropriate form of compensation. The main types of wages according to the piecework scheme:

- straight;

- progressive;

- premium.

With a direct piecework form, a person receives a salary based on the multiplication of quantitative indicators for the production of goods or the provision of services that he has achieved over a set period of time - for example, per month - by the value of the monetary rate determined by the enterprise (depending in some cases on the skill level of the employee, on the complexity or urgency of the work). The progressive scheme involves an additional payment for exceeding quantitative indicators relative to the norm - as a rule, as a percentage of the standard value. An analogue to it (or a complementary criterion) can be a bonus system, according to which a company pays an employee a fixed amount of money for overtime.

Part-time pay

At some enterprises, the considered piecework types of wages are supplemented by the so-called indirect, or lump-sum, indicators, which also affect the amount of compensation. This may be due to the performance of other labor functions by a person who by default carries out activities in a specific position. For example, the head of an outerwear shop may ask some employees to help colleagues from a neighboring department where jeans are sewn - for 1-2 hours a day. In this case, their salary is calculated not only at the expense of tariffs,established for the production of outerwear, but also when using indicators for the "denim" direction of production.

All the piecework types of wages we have considered are usually fixed in local regulations. These can be orders in which targets for output are fixed, and at the end of the shift, the degree of their achievement. This may be an order for the payment of bonuses to certain employees, signed by the head. For assistants on the "denim" lines, chord tasks can be issued.

Tariff regulations

Of course, there are other methods of payment (types of compensation). Among the popular - tariff standards. According to certain criteria, they can be similar to the schemes we have considered - time-based, piecework and chord due to their complexity. The fact is that these standards are a set of indicators on the basis of which the amount of labor compensation is determined - such as qualifications, work complexity, labor intensity, climatic features of production location, and the specifics of manufactured goods. How should the appropriate criteria be determined by an enterprise that has introduced a tariff wage system? The types of work, professions and positions in respect of which the company must form a settlement policy are usually recorded in special tariff directories. In some cases, the recommendations contained in them are not mandatory, but nevertheless, the use of such sources is a common practice in the environment. Russian companies.

Floating salaries

Some enterprises supplement the types of remuneration we have discussed above with other criteria and approaches to calculating compensation for workers. So, firms can practice the so-called floating salaries. Their specificity is that with the expiration of a specified period - for example, a month, the value of the corresponding rate set for an employee may be revised. If a person has achieved high performance indicators, then the salary may increase.

Remuneration under civil law contracts

In accordance with what criteria is the remuneration of labor under civil law contracts that are close to labor contracts? The most important point - for all their possible similarity with contracts concluded in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code, the main regulatory source of law in relation to them is the Civil Code. Therefore, the term "remuneration" in relation to such contracts is not legally applicable.

Of course, an enterprise and an employee - it is more correct to call him a contractor - can agree that certain types of payment for services or work will be practiced in their legal relations, but such agreements will not be regulated by labor law. Accordingly, they can be called up by the state either illegal or subject to renegotiation - already in the format of full-fledged contracts according to the norms of the Labor Code.

If we talk about the recommended forms of settlement under civil law contracts, the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation allow the parties to such agreements to fixthe conditions under which the contractor must show the customer the result of work in such and such a volume. Or determine that payment will occur in accordance with the actual performance in the Certificate of Completion. Thus, compensation under civil law contracts in the general case will be similar to those practiced with a piecework form of remuneration.

Salary in state structures

The methods of payment (types of compensation) for labor in state institutions are rather specific. The fact is that the relevant criteria - the scheme for calculating the wages of employees, tariff standards, salaries - are determined mainly at the level of legislative acts. What types and forms of remuneration are common in Russian state institutions? Most often, this is a time-based scheme, supplemented by a premium component. That is, a person is paid a basic salary, and depending on the results of work at the end of a month or another period, a bonus is added as a percentage of the corresponding compensation rate.

How to choose the optimal form of remuneration?

So, we have considered types and forms of remuneration popular among Russian enterprises. How can the head of the company decide on the most suitable of them? You can focus on the following criteria.

If an enterprise produces something - for example, the same clothes, then it is best to practice types of forms and remuneration systems that are close to piecework. That is, a person working on a factory line will be compensated according to his productivity. However, it is highly desirable that this scheme be accompanied by the payment of a certain guaranteed amount to the employee. It is best if its value is not limited to the minimum wage fixed in the legislation, and represents at least more than half of the total earnings.

In turn, if the company provides services, and the demand for them is floating, then it is optimal to choose a time-based scheme. The same can be said about diversified firms, when piecework accounting is difficult, and the labor activities of an employee may be dominated by activities that are not directly related to production - for example, maintaining accounting documents.

Combination method

Of course, you can combine different types of payments. At the same time, they should suit workers from the point of view that a person will be able, on the one hand, to control his earnings, on the other hand, he will be confident in the stability of the amount of labor compensation. It is also desirable that the conditions for paying a particular specialist do not differ from those fixed in the contract between the organization and another employee in a similar position. It is allowed in a number of cases for employees of some departments to know what types of remuneration are practiced in other departments of the company - perhaps they will determine them to be more optimal for themselves and go to work there. This will allow the company to increase labor productivity through the competent distribution of human resources - people will be engaged in the activities that they like best.

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not restrictenterprises (with the exception of state-owned ones - they must, as we noted above, bring internal employee remuneration schemes in line with legislative criteria) in choosing one or another labor compensation scheme or in applying their combinations. It is quite possible to pay wages determined on the basis of time-based and piece-rate indicators at the same time - in which a person, on the one hand, receives a fixed salary, on the other hand, additional payments in the case, relatively speaking, of achieving higher indicators for the production of goods relative to those prescribed in regulations.

The remuneration system at the enterprise must be competitive - otherwise, specialists may start moving to other firms with more fair, in their opinion, principles for calculating compensation. The scheme implemented in the company should, at the same time, promote the interest of employees in increasing the efficiency of work, in improving their approaches to its implementation. If a person receives a large guaranteed salary, his motivation to work actively may decrease. But the receipt of stable compensation by the employee - as we noted above, the enterprise must provide.