Non-payment of wages is fraught with administrative and even criminal liability for the employer. 

How to avoid this reminds the State Labor Inspectorate in the Moscow Region.

According to article 22 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to pay in full and in due time the wages due to employees.

The type of responsibility of the employer for the delay in payment of wages depends on the duration and amount of the debt and occurs in cases provided for by labor, administrative or criminal legislation.

The material liability of the employer in the form of payment of monetary compensation to the employee in the amount determined by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation occurs only if the employer violates the deadline for payment of wages, vacation pay, dismissal payments and (or) other payments due to the employee under the employment contract. The amount of interest will be 1/150 of the key rate of the Central Bank of Russia for each day of delay from the amount Legal entities, their managers and other officials of organizations, as well as employers – individual entrepreneurs and individuals guilty of late payment of wages and other violations of the payment procedure may be brought to administrative responsibility in cases established by parts 6 and 7 of Article 5.27 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

As measures of responsibility, the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation provides for a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine, the amount of which depends on whether the employer committed a violation for the first time or was subjected to administrative punishment for a similar violation earlier.

In the first case, the violation entails a warning or a fine imposed on an official in the amount of 10 to 20 thousand rubles; on an individual entrepreneur - from 1 to 5 thousand rubles; on a legal entity - from 30 to 50 thousand rubles.

In case of repeated commission of the specified offense, entails the imposition of an administrative fine on an official in the amount of 20 to 30 thousand rubles or disqualification for a period of 1 to 3 years; on an individual entrepreneur - from 10 to 30 thousand rubles; on a legal entity - from 50 to 100 thousand rubles.

Persons guilty of committing such a crime as partial non-payment of wages for more than 3 months or complete non-payment for more than 2 months may be brought to criminal responsibility by a court verdict, which consists in imposing a fine, deprivation or restriction of rights and freedoms, in cases established by Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In 2023, on the basis of paragraph "a" of paragraph 3 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 10.03.2022. No. 336 "On the specifics of the organization and implementation of state control (supervision), municipal control", when employees receive appeals, containing information about mass (more than 10% of the average number or more than 10 people) violations by employers of their labor rights, related to full or partial non-payment of wages for more than one month, according to by the decision of the head of the State Labor Inspectorate, an unscheduled control (supervisory) event may be held, based on coordination with the prosecutor's office.

Thus, a potential "defaulter" should keep in mind that at the moment, along with the post-factum approach, supervisory authorities are actively implementing preventive methods of identifying employers who systematically allow violations of labor legislation. So, thanks to the introduction in the pilot mode at the end of last year of such an indicator as "Acceptance by the Arbitration Court for the production of an application for recognition of organizations and individual entrepreneurs as insolvent (bankrupt)."

So, in Russia there is a clear system of sanctions for non-payment of wages, the severity of which is determined by the timing and amount of debt owed to employees, and new, including preventive methods for preventing and preventing such violations are being actively introduced.

- Forewarned means armed. Non-payment of wages is one of the most serious violations of labor and civil rights. And even a small salary delay is fraught with consequences for the company and its head. Especially if the employer has money, but instead of paying staff, he directs them to settlements with counterparties, payment of bills and other items of expenditure. I recommend all entrepreneurs to comply with the law and be decent employers," commented Vladimir Golovnev, the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the Moscow Region.