According to legislation requirements, wages should be paid to employees twice a month.However, not all the employers conscientiously fulfill their obligations, therefore, cases of wages payments once a month are not unusual. What are the threats in this situation?
General rules
Dates and periodicity of wage payments to employees are established by Art.115 of the Labour Code of Ukraine (hereinafter −Labour Code) and Art.24 of the Law of Ukraine “On payment for labour” of 24.03.1995, № 108/95-ВР. It is provided for that wages payment should be carried out:
- on week days according to work schedule of the company;
- at least once a month;
- time interval between two payments should not exceed 16 calendar days;
- not later than seven days after the end of the period for which payment is made.
Specific dates for wages payment should be determined in the collective agreement (other normative act of the employer agreed with the trade union (the staff representative), for example, the Provisions on payment for labour).
According to sec.2 of Art.12 of the Law on payment for labour, norms and guarantees in payment for labour, provided by the Labour Code, are the minimum state guarantees.
Consequently, wages payment once a month is a violation of labor legislation (letter of the Ministry of Labor of Ukraine of 09.12.2010, № 912/13/155-10).
Consequences for the employer
Wages payments once a month should be considered to be a violation of the terms of payment of wages. Therefore, in accordance with sec.2 of Art.265 of the Labour Code the employers are liable to a fine of three minimum wages established by the law at the time of detection of violation (from January 1, 2016 – UAH 4 134, from May 1, 2016 − UAH 4 350).
Fines for violation of legislation on labor are imposed by the State Service of Ukraine on labor issues in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On approval of the Procedure for imposition of fines for violation of the legislation on employment of the population” of 17.07.2013, № 509, as amended by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 03.02.2016, № 55.
The explanations of the Labor and Social Protection of Population said that the very this sanction should be applied in the case of wages payment once a month.
The fines could be imposed on the employer’s officials according to Art.41 of the Administrative Code from 30 to 100 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (from UAH 510 to UAH 1 700) for the violation of the minimum state guarantees in payment for labour, including for violation of terms of payment.
It should be noted that receiving applications by the employers from the employees that they agree to be paid wages once a month does not cancel the obligation of the first to pay the wages not less than two times a month and does not exempt the employer from the payment of fines.
