How to distinguish between indexation and salary increases and why it matters

The beginning of the year is a time when many organizations are indexing and raising salaries for their employees. It would seem that everything is simple here. Indexation is an increase in wages due to the rise in consumer prices for goods and services.

An increase in wages is an increase in its size at the discretion of the employer and in the presence of financial capabilities. However, many people confuse these concepts. What are the similarities between indexation and wage increases, and what are the differences? How often should salaries be indexed and how often should they be raised? What responsibility will the employer bear if he does not carry out indexing?

What is common between indexation and wage increases and what are the differences?

Both indexation and wage increases are aimed at increasing its size. Indexation is aimed at increasing the purchasing power of wages. By its nature, indexation is a state guarantee for the remuneration of workers (Article 130 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, definition of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 913-О-О).

Raising wages has the same goals. At the same time, indexation is not formally an increase in wages, since the real content of wages remains unchanged. Indexation is only a way to protect workers' income from inflation.

In the event of an increase in wages, it increases in comparison with the one that was established earlier. In addition, there are other differences between these concepts (table below)

Differences in indexation and wage increases

How often should the salary be indexed, and how often should it be raised?

Attention!

If there is no procedure for indexing wages in local acts, the employer may be held liable, even if he annually increases official salaries (decision of the Zavodskoy District Court of Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Region of October 13, 2011 in case No. 12-153 / 11)

The frequency and frequency of indexation of wages in the Labor Code are not established. At the same time, if an increase in consumer prices is officially recorded, it is necessary to index wages.

The procedure for this procedure for state employees is established by labor legislation, and for commercial organizations - by a collective agreement, agreements, local regulations (Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If such provisions are absent in the documents of the organization, then appropriate amendments must be made to them (letter of Rostrud dated April 19, 2010 No. 1073-6-1).

In practice, it often happens that the indexation procedure is specified in the company's local act, but the financial and economic indicator for its implementation has not been chosen. In such a situation, when an employee lodges a complaint, the court may apply the consumer price growth index calculated by the state statistics authorities (cassation ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan dated February 8, 2012 in case No. 33-1256 / 2012).

In some cases, the order of indexing and the indicator to be applied may be stipulated by industry agreements. So, for some employers there is a duty to provide quarterly indexation of wages in accordance with the growth of consumer prices for goods and services (according to Rosstat) 1

Usually, salary indexation occurs in the following cases:

Increasing the minimum wage (when the salary of employees is below the minimum wage level);
- an increase in the level of inflation;
- growth of consumer prices in their region;
- the growth of the living wage of the working-age population in Russia or in the region;
- inflation, fixed in the law on the federal budget or in the law on the regional budget.

In turn, the increase in wages is a right, not an obligation of the employer and therefore can be carried out at any time, regardless of any factors. Most often, employees receive a salary increase in the following cases:

Increasing the indicators of labor productivity of employees of the organization;
- increasing the company's revenue
- if it is provided for in a collective agreement or other local act.

How to index the salary if the organization does not have a collective agreement?

In the absence of a collective agreement, the employer can establish the procedure and frequency of indexation of wages in any other local act, for example, in the regulation on wages. Usually indexing is carried out on the basis of the order of the head of the organization.

It should be noted that the employer, issuing an order to increase the employee's wages in connection with indexation, cannot apply the transfer order form (No. T-52) 2, if the employee's job function and the structural unit in which he works do not change.

Do I need to conclude an additional agreement with the employee when indexing his salary?

The terms of remuneration (including the size of the wage rate or salary (official salary) of the employee, additional payments, allowances and incentive payments) are mandatory for inclusion in an employment contract (paragraph 5 of part two of article 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, each time an employee's official salary is indexed, an additional agreement to the employment contract must be concluded and the new official salary (rate) () must be indicated.

In the agreement, it is necessary to refer to the norm of the local indexation act as the basis for changing the amount of remuneration (Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Inflation is a reason for indexing

The employee in the statement of claim can directly refer to inflation as the basis for the indexation of wages. The presence of inflation is considered a well-known fact and is not subject to proof in court. An explanation of this is contained in many decisions (ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated March 21, 2011 No. 3866, ruling of the Moscow City Court dated November 16, 2010 in case No. 33-32596, ruling of the Presidium of the St. Petersburg City Court dated February 13 2008 No. 44g-36)

The indexation condition may be contained in an employment contract concluded upon hiring. If this condition was not initially included in the document, then the employer can proceed as follows:

Conclude an additional agreement to the employment contract, providing for a condition on the indexation of wages. This option is suitable for organizations that do not plan to frequently change the order of indexing;

Draw up an additional agreement for each indexation of wages, indicating in it a specific indexation coefficient and a link to the clause of the local regulatory act. This method is optimal for companies that often change the indexing order in a local regulation.

What is the responsibility of the employer if he forgets to carry out indexing?

Many employers deliberately do not index wages. Administrative liability is provided for such a violation.

If there is a condition on salary indexation in the collective agreement or industry agreement, but the employer does not comply with it, then he will be held administratively liable in the form of a fine from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles (Article 5.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

If indexation is not provided for in the local act and, accordingly, is not carried out, then the head of the organization can be fined in the amount of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles, the organization - in the amount of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles (part 1 of article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) ...

In addition, an employer who does not carry out indexing may incur material costs if the employee goes to court with a corresponding claim (Articles 236, 391 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The court may oblige the organization to pay the employee the amount due to the indexation for several years (decision of the Severo-Kurilskiy District Court of the Sakhalin Region of February 19, 2013 in case No. 2-16 / 2013).

Remember the main thing

The experts who took part in the preparation of the material note:

Ekaterina SHESTAKOVA,,To. NS. D., General Director of LLC "Actual Management" (Moscow):

Indexation of wages, as opposed to raising them, is the employer's responsibility. Even if the organization regularly increases the salaries of employees without indexing it, this leads to a violation of labor laws

Lali CHITANAVA,, Attorney at Law, Partner of the Law Office "VASILIEV & Partners" (Moscow):

If the organization does not have a collective agreement, then the conditions, procedure and frequency of indexing can be reflected in any local act. This can be a provision on wages, indexation of wages, etc.

Alena SHEVCHENKO, lawyer, expert of the journal "Personnel business":

When indexing, the employer must draw up an additional agreement with the employee to the employment contract, which must be done every time the company changes the amount of wages.

Related documents

1 Clause 27 of the Industry Agreement on Press, TV and Radio Broadcasting and Mass Communications between the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications and the Russian Trade Union of Cultural Workers for 2012-2014, approved by the Russian Trade Union of Cultural Workers, Rospechat on December 7, 2011.
2 When accounting is carried out according to the forms approved by the decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1

Indexation is usually understood as a planned increase in the wages of all employees of the organization, caused by annual inflation and an increase in prices for essential goods. Timely salary indexing is the responsibility of the manager, for evading it he can easily end up in court. The need to increase the level of real wages content is set out in the Russian Federation.

How to correctly carry out indexing at the enterprise? What state laws and local acts regulate this process? And are private employers, along with budgetary organizations, obliged to worry about regular wage increases?

Indexing and its reasons

In accordance with Article 134 of the Labor Code, any state bodies and other enterprises are obliged to regularly index the wages of their employees in accordance with the level of consumer price growth. However, this article does not talk about how to calculate the indexation, nor about the timing of its implementation and specific procedures. Clearer instructions are contained in the letter of Rostrud No. 1073-6-1 dated 19.04.10. It says that the employer is obliged to fix the indexation rules in the local acts of the company or in its individual provisions.

According to labor law wages are not at all obliged to always equate to the rate of inflation, that is, to the average rise in prices for essential goods. The organization is not even obliged to rely on the regular publications of Rosstat on price increases. But employers are almost always guided by this indicator because of its convenience.

In addition, other factors affect the calculation:

• rise in prices in a particular constituent entity of the Russian Federation;
• the inflation rate as indicated by both federal and local laws;
• the level of growth of the subsistence minimum of the working-age population (both in Russia and in the region).

In addition to Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the procedure for indexing is regulated by the norms of the collective labor agreement, as well as by various local acts and agreements. Unfortunately, a specific clause on the indexation of workers' salaries can only be found in the regulations and local acts of large corporations. But even in this case, the convenient wording “subject to the availability of financial resources” is often used.

The indexation of the salaries of public sector employees is carried out from the state treasury, the indexation of pension payments - from, the indexation of social benefits - from the federal budget and the Social Insurance Fund.

How to index the salary at the enterprise?

The indexation procedure in accordance with the norms of labor legislation is indicated in the corresponding regulatory document (local act). If it has just been developed, then all employees must certainly familiarize themselves with it and sign this fact. Likewise, when a new employee is hired, he is introduced to this regulation. Information about indexation is also recorded in the employment contract, and when the level of wages increases due to indexation, additional agreements are drawn up to it.

The indexation procedure is as follows:

1. adoption of a local act or amendments to an already existing document (normative collective agreement, regulation);
2. familiarization of employees of the enterprise with the text of the document against signature;
3. publication by the head of the order on indexing (and familiarization of the personnel with it);
4. approval of the staffing table and regulations on remuneration with appropriate changes;
5. signing an additional agreement to the employment contract with employees (with a changed level of remuneration).

There are 2 ways to index wages - retrospective and expected... In the first case, indexation is carried out retroactively, taking into account the increased price level. The expected indexation is done in advance, even before the publication by Rosstat of the current inflation rate.

Wage indexation formula

A simple formula is used to index the salary:

I = D * I pts / 100,

• AND- indexation level,
• D- the employee's income level, which will be indexed,
• Ipc- consumer price index (published by Rosstat, can be viewed on the Internet).

There are several ways to calculate the inflation rate when indexing - actual, predictive and premium. Actual inflation - this is the real inflation over the past year. So, with a salary of 50,000 rubles and inflation at 4.5%, the salary will increase by 2,250 rubles (50,000 * 4.5: 100) and will amount to 52,250 rubles.

Predictive inflation uses the predicted level of price increases. If the actual inflation as a result is higher than the predicted one, then from the next year the salary is recalculated, that is, the employee is immediately given the missing amount. Otherwise, the difference is deducted from the employee's salary one-time.

At premium indexing the level of consumer price increases is completely ignored. An employee who has not had serious remarks, reprimands or other disciplinary sanctions during the year, the salary is increased by an arbitrary percentage or the coefficient specified in local regulations.

An example of calculating the indexing level

As an example, we will take a quarter (quarterly indexing method) as the calculation period, which is based on the already known inflation rate. Let's assume that the quarterly inflation in 2017, compared to December 2016, was:

• March - 0.34%;
• June - 0.59%;
• September - 1.02%;
• December - 0.97%.

The indexation calculation can be carried out both by the level of salary and by the level of the average daily wage. For example, the employee's salary as of December 2016 was 52,300 rubles. The quarterly indexation of wages based on inflation in 2017 will be as follows:

• from April 1, 2017 - 52,300 rubles * 1.0034 = 52,448 rubles;
• from July 1, 2017 - 52448 rubles * 1.0059 = 52757 rubles;
• from October 1, 2017 - 52,757 rubles * 1.0102 = 53,295 rubles;
• from January 1, 2019 - 53,295 rubles * 1.0097 = 53,812 rubles.

As a result, wages in 2017 increased from 52,300 to 53,812 rubles, that is, by 1,512 rubles.... The calculation of the increase in the level of wages will be similar, but taking into account the daily rate, and not the monthly salary. Together with wages, the employer is obliged to index vacation pay in a timely manner.

To calculate vacation pay and compensations for unused vacation days, the amount of accrued wages is divided by 12. The final result is divided by the average number of calendar days in a month, adopted at the federal level - 29.3.

Are commercial organizations required to index?

He talks about the obligation to timely index the salaries of managers of both budgetary organizations and private businesses. But the interpretation of the provisions of this article is not entirely unambiguous, as many lawyers note. It says that the real level of wages should be in line with the rise in consumer prices. And there are no exceptions to this rule for private companies.

The difference is that budgetary organizations, when indexing wages, are guided by the norms of other federal and local laws, and private business - by local acts. The first sources are public and public, so they must be strictly followed. Local acts, on the other hand, are valid only within the enterprise, therefore, it is not necessary to execute them. Nobody is watching this. This is the opinion of the leaders of these companies themselves and some lawyers.

Are private firms required to index wages? Definitely yes. By law, there is no difference.

Budgetary organizations carry out indexations based on the inflation rate and various laws issued by federal, local and municipal authorities. Managers of private enterprises calculate the multiplying coefficients on their own, and they do not have to be tied to inflation or other official data related to price increases.

Responsibility for evading obligations

The obligation to index the wages of their employees lies with the heads of enterprises not only within the framework of the Labor Code, but also in accordance with the definition of the Constitutional Court No. 2618-О of November 19, 2015. However, not all of them strictly follow this prescription. This is especially true for private businesses.

If wages do not rise along with the rise in inflation, then workers have the right to report the violation to the district court or to the State Labor Inspectorate, on the basis of. However, to prove the correctness of your position, it is necessary that the indexing mechanism be spelled out not only in the collective agreement or other local act, but also in the employment contract. And this is exactly the difficulty, since few companies talk about indexing at least in some official documents. This issue should be clarified at the stage of recruitment.

For refusal to index wages and for violation of other official duties, the following punishment is imposed:

• for officials - from 1,000 to 5,000 rubles;
• for legal entities - from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles;
• for individual entrepreneurs - a fine of up to 5,000 rubles.

The amount of fines is insignificant, but unpleasant. In addition, employees' applications to the State Labor Inspectorate can initiate a number of inspections, during which other, much more serious violations may be revealed.

The frequency of indexing is also established in local regulations or state sources of law. This is usually done when the consumer price index for basic products has exceeded 101%. The recalculation is done from the 1st day of the month following the month of publication of the official inflation index.

In addition to the fact that timely indexation of wages is the responsibility of every manager, it is necessary to remember that such a mechanism significantly increases the level of employee loyalty. Pay indexing is a great way to remind employees that the employer cares about their welfare and their real income. And they should not be neglected.

Indexation of wages is an increase in the size of its real content due to the rise in prices for goods and services.

The procedure and calculation of the indexation of wages is established in Art. 134 TC. In addition, in the opinion of Rostrud, salary indexation is an unconditional duty of the employer (Rostrud letter No. 1073-6-1 dated 19.04.2010).

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation agreed with the opinion of Rostrud in ruling No. 913-О-О of 17.06.2010.

Considering the above, indexation of wages due to inflation is the responsibility of the employer, and this is not his right. Therefore, workers dissatisfied with the size of their salaries have the right to apply to the prosecutor's office and the Federal Labor Inspectorate to protect their rights.

If the organization does not provide for the indexation of salaries by local regulatory acts in the form of provisions on indexation, the company faces a fine on the basis of article e 5.27 of the Administrative Code.

To do this, the index is taken as the index of changes in consumer prices (in other words, core inflation) according to Rosstat data, which are regularly published on the Internet, where you can see the inflation rate for any month.

When to index? Information on the frequency of indexation should be in the regulation on wages, or collective agreements. Indexing can be carried out quarterly or half a year. The organization can index the rates or salaries of employees.

Example 1. Calculation of wage indexation.

LLC Mir, on the basis of the regulation on remuneration, is obliged to index the employee's salary on a quarterly basis, taking into account the consumer price index, information about which is contained on the Rosstat website.

In 2013, the inflation index in relation to December 2012 was (presumably)
- March - 104.3%;
- June - 105.8%;
- September - 104.6%;
- December - 105.9%.

Calculation of wage indexation based on the daily rate.

Locksmith's salary Igrikov L.D. calculated taking into account the daily rate. The daily rate at the end of December 2012 was 1,000 rubles per day. Mir LLC carried out an indexation of wages and the daily rate was recalculated. She made up:

From 01.04:
1000 rub / day × 104.3% = 1043 rubles;

From 01.07:
1000 rub / day × 105.8% = 1058 rubles;

From 01.10:
1000 rub / day × 104.6% = 1046 rubles;

From 01.01 (from 01.01.2014):
1000 rub / day × 105.9% = 1059 rubles.

Calculation of the indexation of wages based on the salary.

Locksmith's salary Igrikov L.D. calculated taking into account the salary. The salary at the end of December 2012 was 20,000 rubles / month. Mir LLC carried out an indexation of wages and the daily rate was recalculated. She made up:

From 01.04:
20,000 rubles / day × 104.3% = 20,860 rubles.;

From 01.07:
20,000 rubles / day × 105.8% = 21 160 rubles;

From 01.10:
20,000 rubles / day × 104.6% = 20,920 rubles;

From 01.01 (from 01.01.2014):
20,000 rubles / day × 105.9% = 21 180 rubles.

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Any increase in prices for essential goods and should lead to a recalculation of wages - the so-called indexation. Its timely implementation is considered an unswerving and explicit obligation of the employer; an employee may well go to court for an attempt to refuse obligations. Indexation of wages is carried out by the head - but few know what it is and how it affects their earnings in the end.

There are two types of nominal wage increases: retrospective and anticipatory. In the first case, it is carried out after the prices have risen, in the second, indexation is focused exclusively on assumptions about price changes.

Indexation should be carried out for absolutely everyone; the Labor Code does not provide any exceptions. If an employee, for some reason, is not included in the lists (this usually applies to recently working people and employees on maternity leave), then the salary is not raised to anyone.

The minimum indexation in a particular constituent entity of the country cannot become less than the minimum consumer price coefficient. calculated and approved by any federal authority that has the right to regulate matters in the field of statistical accounting. The size of the indexation should be fully provided by official sources.

Official sources

There are several official sources of indexing operating on the territory of the Russian Federation:

• state budget - for people working in the public sector
• the federal budget and the Social Insurance Fund - for indexing all types of benefits
• - for pension payments
• finance of private organizations - for employees of these very organizations

Correct calculation of salary indexation

The correct calculation is carried out on the basis of data on the salary in general, as well as on the daily rate of each employee. Let's consider the process on the example of a specific employee on a quarterly basis, taking into account all the necessary coefficients.

Let the price inflation index for 2017 have the following value (all figures are taken as an example and have no connection with real data):

• March - 101.4%
• June - 105.3%
• September - 102.2%
• December - 103.9%

The salary calculation is based on the amount the employee received at the end of 2016. Let's say an employee received 24,000 rubles. After indexation, wages should be (all prices are in rubles):

• from April 1 - 24,000 * 101.4% = 24,336
• from July 1 - 24,000 * 105.3% = 25,272
• from October 1 - 24,000 * 102.2% = 24,528
• from January 1, 2017 - 24,000 * 103.9% = 24,936

The calculation is based on the daily rate as follows (assume that the employee's daily rate is 1,300 rubles):

• from April 1 - 1,300 * 101.4% = 1,318
• from July 1 - 1,300 * 105.3% = 1,369
• from October 1 - 1,300 * 102.2% = 1,328
• from January 1, 2017 - 1,300 * 103.9% = 1,351

Calculation stages

There are two stages of recalculation of the coefficient of change:

• taking into account the coefficient of salary increase for an individual employee - the salary received after carrying out the necessary calculations is divided by the amount that the employee initially had
• taking into account the coefficient of increase - can be used if during the working period a person received bonuses, bonuses and other allowances to the basic salary. In this case, the summarized markups after indexing are divided by the amount before indexing.

The method should be selected strictly individually, because not only the indexation of the full salary takes place, but also the accounting of the received monetary incentives, presented in the following form:

• in the exact amount - for example, three thousand rubles
• in the range - for example, two salaries or 15% of the previously paid amount

Important! After the desired coefficient is calculated, no adjustment is made.

Reasons for changing indexing

There are three periods in which indexing can be carried out:

• calculated - in this case, payments are increased by a coefficient (starting from the first day of the calculation period and ending with the moment at which indexing is carried out)
• after the calculated one (indexation must be carried out before the day when employees are paid wages) - in this case, the amount of money earned is simply multiplied by the calculated coefficient
• payment period - wages are multiplied by a coefficient that is calculated from the day of the start of indexation and ending with the day of the end of the period for which the employee receives the calculation

Important! If indexing is done every month or quarterly, all three situations can occur. In this case, the methods are considered sequentially.

Liability for disclaimer

A modern employer is obliged to index wages every time (this obligation is prescribed in the determination of the Constitutional Court of 11/19/2015 under number 2618-О), but not everyone wants to do this, coming up with new reasons not to pay an extra several hundred employees. If the employer for some reason, employees can go to court. Also, an employee can contact the State Labor Inspectorate by writing a complaint about the employer's inaction on the issue of indexation (according to Article 353 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Some unscrupulous employers are trying to prove that salary recalculation is made only if a person works in the public sector, but this is completely wrong. This is evidenced by the inclusion of company finances in the official sources of salary indexation.

The only clarification is that in any commercial organization, the indexing mechanism can be spelled out not only in a collective agreement or local regulation, but also in an employment contract. In other words, the current legislation of the country does not stipulate the indexation procedure in any way, so this point is fully negotiated in each company separately - the law can only require the owner of the company to carry out indexation on time.

If the employer evades his direct responsibilities, he is threatened (the amount depends on the status of the employer at the time of the inspection):

• the official will pay from one to five thousand rubles
• a legal entity will pay a minimum of thirty thousand, a maximum of fifty
• an entrepreneur who is not a legal entity, according to article 5.27 of the Administrative Code, will also be limited to a maximum fine of five thousand rubles

The responsibility is purely administrative, but the fine can be quite unpleasant, in addition, one statement from employees can lead to a series of checks that will reveal other violations for which the employer will have to pay even more.

It's important to know

• when calculating indexing, mat is not taken into account. help
• if the employee paid for rest, food and utilities, these amounts are not included in the calculation
• paid on time, at least three days before the start of the vacation, otherwise the employer will have to answer under Art. TC

The calculation should also take into account the increase in tariffs, but only if the changes affect absolutely all employees of the company. In addition, indexation should not fully cover the rise in consumer prices - it is rather considered a small cash buffer for those who are already at the very bottom and cannot receive more.

On the basis of article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, indexation of wages should be carried out in all organizations without exception.

Its binding is beyond doubt. Although unscrupulous leaders ignore this legislative norm and for several years in a row do not increase people's wages.

Inconsistent indexing

Salary indexation is the responsibility of companies by law, but there is still no single regulation for its implementation.

The lack of clarity of the issue gives rise to many disputes leading to conflict situations between the employee and the employer, the employer and the regulatory authorities.

Due to the lack of a single regulation for its conduct, the indexing mechanism is not clear:

• What exactly to index: the constant component of the salary or the variable part too?
• What should be the frequency of indexing?
• What indicators should be taken to calculate the indexation coefficient?
• How to legalize such an increase in earnings?

The only thing that is clear is that indexing must be carried out by all employees of the organization, without exception.

Differences between salary increases and salary indexation

Many employers mistakenly believe that if they raise salaries at the enterprise annually, then there is no need to index the salary.

The point is that salary increases and earnings indexing are two different things. After all, the salary can be increased for one or all employees. Someone will be raised by 10% of the salary, and someone by all 50%. When the salary is raised, an order is issued, a new staffing table is approved, and additional agreements to labor contracts are signed. The purpose of the salary increase is to interest a particular employee in further cooperation.

The purpose of wage indexation is to bring workers' wages in line with current consumer prices and thereby, at least, fix their quality of life at the same level.

Indexation of wages, in contrast to salary increases, is carried out at the same time to all employees by the same coefficient.

Due to the lack of a unified procedure, we recommend that all organizations adopt an internal document regulating the procedure for indexing salaries in order to comply with labor legislation. This will keep the company out of trouble in the event of a labor law review, and will give contractors a clear understanding of its procedures.

Items that the local normative act on indexing should contain:

1. Frequency of salary indexing: monthly, quarterly, every six months, annually. It is undesirable to carry out indexing once a month or a quarter, as it is a very time-consuming process, especially in enterprises with a large staff. It is important that indexing is carried out at least once a year, for example, annually from January 1.

1. Indexing level. Due to the uncertainty of the question, it is permissible to bind this coefficient:

• to the consumer qualification index for a specific period in the region where the company is located or in Russia as a whole;
• to the officially recognized federal or regional inflation rate;
• to increase the living wage for the able-bodied population on an all-Russian or regional basis;
• to an increase in the minimum wage in the country as a whole or in the region.

If none of these indicators suits, then nowhere is there an indication that it is impossible to establish a specific coefficient by which wages will be regularly indexed.

It is important that a document governing the indexing of earnings is necessarily developed and approved and its requirements are fulfilled unquestioningly.

What components of earnings need to be indexed

To carry out mandatory indexing of wages, it is enough to index its constant part - salary, tariff rate, piece rate. In most companies, all other parts of earnings are bonuses, bonuses, as a rule, are tied as a percentage to a constant component. Therefore, their increase will naturally pull along with an increase in everything else.

But it should be borne in mind that if at the enterprise the allowances and bonuses are fixed in labor, collective agreements or in the Regulations on remuneration in a specific number, then their indexation in this case will not entail the indexation of allowances and bonuses. And then the indexation of earnings will be partial. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that due to the rise in consumer prices, workers have not lost their wages.

Therefore, in organizations in which the payment of allowances and bonuses are made in fixed amounts, it is advisable to include them in the local normative document on the indexation of earnings for full indexation.

Dependence of the value of wages on the selected indexation coefficient

When choosing a coefficient on the basis of which the organization will periodically adjust the salaries of employees, it is necessary to first calculate what workers will be able to receive for their work in the end.

Example # 1. Wage indexation calculation options

Let us consider how the employee's earnings will change in 2016 at Alpha LLC compared to 2015 if he fulfills all planned targets and does not violate the work schedule. For clarity, the calculation results are summarized in the table below.

Ivanov in 2015 set a salary of 30,000 rubles. Every month he receives a bonus of 15% for the implementation of the plan and 5% for the absence of violations of the work schedule.

Let's calculate the salary for different salary indexation coefficients (options 1-3). Recalculation of salaries takes place annually on January 1, his salary is indexed to the level:

• Option 1: the minimum wage established for the new year compared to last year.
• Option 2: on the officially set inflation rate for the next year
• Option 3: for the indexation coefficient of earnings established in the organization -1.05.

Ivanov's earnings in 2015 will amount to 36,000 rubles, taking into account allowances.

Calculation according to Option No. 1

The minimum wage in the Russian Federation in 2015 amounted to 5965 rubles. For 2016, it is set at 6204 rubles.

Consequently, the coefficient of increase in earnings, depending on the growth of the minimum wage, will be:

6204 / 5965 = 1,04

Ivanov's earnings in 2016 according to option 1 will grow by 4%:

36,000 x 1.04 = 37,440 rubles

Calculation according to Option No. 2

For 2016, the authorities have set an inflation rate of 6.4%. Earnings will also grow by this percentage:

36000 x 1.064 = 38304 rubles

Calculation according to Option No. 3

In 2016, the earnings for the 3rd option will be:

36,000 x 1.05 = 37,800 rubles

The example clearly shows that the level of indexation of wages directly depends on the selected indexation index.

Dependence of the value of wages on the selected indexation coefficient and the adopted method of material incentives for employees

Incentives for employees can be made either as a percentage of salary, wage rate or piece rate, or be constant.

Example # 2. Calculation of salary indexation with bonus and allowances

Consider a situation when Ivanov is not paid monthly increments as a percentage of his salary, but a fixed premium of 6,000 rubles is paid for the same indicators. And let us assume that only salaries are indexed at the enterprise; we will leave all other data unchanged. The result of the event is shown in the table below.

From this example, it is obvious that with a similar method of bonuses and indexing only salaries, workers seriously lose in earnings.

The choice of indexation coefficient as a way to protect workers' rights

We have considered only 2 examples. In fact, there are many options. The conclusion suggests itself. The indexation level depends on the specific parameters prescribed in the Regulation on wages and material incentives, and in the normative act on the indexation of earnings.

The collective of any enterprise has the opportunity to influence the indexation level through the wage system and the index of its indexing.

The employer can direct his responsibilities in the right direction for himself, increasing the interest of employees and reducing staff turnover.