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Publication date: 18.04.2024
In practice, issues of non-payment or delayed payment of wages to employees often arise, which directly contradicts the current legislation.
Yes, non-payment or delayed payment of wages may occur when an employee works at an enterprise, as well as when an employee has resigned from one or another enterprise, and he has not been paid the amounts due to him. In these two cases, the action algorithm is slightly different.
Salary is the amount of money that the employee receives from the employer for the work performed by him. Wages may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as employee qualifications, type of work, market conditions, and government regulation or labor agreement.
Salary is the main form of compensation for work, which must be paid to the employee monthly, weekly or according to another schedule determined by the agreement between the employee and the employer, but not less often than twice in one month after a period of time that cannot exceed sixteen calendar days .
How to act if the employer does not pay, or pays the employee's wages on time? In this case, it is possible to recovery of wages through court. At the same time, the employee still has the right to compensation in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On compensation to citizens for the loss of part of their income in connection with the violation of their payment terms".
In addition, in Ukraine, in accordance with the Labor Code and other legislative acts, there are certain requirements for the payment of wages in the event of dismissal of an employee. Key aspects of these benefits include:
1. Time when wages must be paid upon dismissal of an employee: All wages must be calculated and paid to the employee on the day of dismissal. In the event that a person did not work on the day of dismissal, for example, it was a day off, then unpaid amounts must be paid to him no later than the day following the day such an employee submits a claim for settlement.
2. The employer's duty to notify unpaid amounts of earnings. The employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing about the amounts accrued and paid to him upon dismissal, specifying each type of payment separately. These payments may include: basic salary (the amount accrued and paid to the employee for the work actually performed in the last period of his employment); additional wages (this may include bonuses, bonuses calculated for the achievement of certain results or according to other criteria provided for in the terms of the employment contract or collective agreement); incentive and compensation payments (this may include compensation for unused vacation time, compensation for damage to health caused during the performance of work, and other compensation payments); other payments (these can be various payments to which the employee is entitled according to the terms of the employment contract or legislation, such as compensation for unused sick leave, vacation time, compensation for working overtime, etc.). In any case, the employer must provide the employee with written notice of these amounts on the day of their payment or at the time of the employee's dismissal. This information must be provided to the employee in the form of a settlement letter or other document that clearly indicates the amount of each type of payment.
3. The employee's right to collect average earnings for delay in payment upon dismissal. In Ukraine, employees have the right to collect the average salary for the time of the delay in the calculation upon dismissal, if the employer has not paid them the appropriate salary within the period established by the law. According to the Labor Code of Ukraine, if the employer has not paid the salary to the employee within the terms established by the labor law or the terms of the employment contract, the employee has the right to compensation in the amount of at least the average salary for the time of delay in the calculation. Therefore, if the employer delays the calculation of wages upon dismissal, the employee can apply to the court to collect compensation in the amount of the average earnings for the time of the delay in the calculation. The court will decide on the issue of recovery of this compensation in favor of the employee, if it recognizes that the employer has violated his rights regarding the timely payment of wages.
In the event that the employee has not received his due amounts of wages and the employer refuses to pay them voluntarily, the employee has the right to apply to the court for the collection recovery of unpaid wages.
The main steps an employee can take to collect unpaid wages through the courts include:
1. Filing a lawsuit: To recovery of wage arrears, the employee must file a lawsuit in court, in which all the circumstances related to the employer's refusal to pay the salary must be noted.
2. Hearing: The court will hear the wage garnishment case and hear evidence from both sides. If the court recognizes the right of the employee, it can issue a decision on the recovery of arrears from wages in favor of the employee.
3. Enforcement of the decision: If the court decision concerns the collection of wages, the employer must comply with this decision. If he does not comply with the decision voluntarily, the employee can apply to the enforcement service for enforcement of the decision.
4. Enforcement: The enforcement agency can use various enforcement measures, such as seizure of property, withdrawal of funds from the employer's bank account, etc., to collection of debt from wages.
Therefore, judicial collection of wages is one of the methods that can be used by an employee to collect a debt from a salary in the event that the employer does not pay it voluntarily.
