Gray or shadow wages are the wages that the employer gives to its employees in addition to the white, official wages, and from which taxes were not withheld. Such envelope payments allow enterprises to reduce staffing costs by saving on insurance premiums and attract valuable personnel through a “shadow” increase in salaries. Gray wages include insurance premiums, compensation, incentives, and additional earnings received in envelopes. This does not always involve a gross violation of the law; there are conditionally legal methods that allow organizations to pay part of the funds without tax deduction and not hide this from the state. However, in Russia, the scheme of such payments is widespread and often becomes a reason for tax proceedings. Today we will look at the main pros and cons of a gray salary.

Pros and cons for the employee

A gray salary has its advantages. The employee receives additional cash, which he has deservedly earned through his labor and which he can spend on himself and his family at his own discretion. If this part of the salary were transferred to white status, it would be less due to the deduction of taxes. People who pay alimony also receive a certain benefit, since when the court determines the amount of alimony, gray payments are not taken into account, which means they remain entirely at the disposal of the employee.

At the same time, shadow wages have many disadvantages:

• the size of the pension and some social benefits will be determined on the basis of the white salary, gray payments are not taken into account;
• it is more difficult to get a loan, and sometimes a visa to travel to another country, since the size of the white salary may seem too insignificant to a bank or foreign mission;
• as a rule, vacation pay stipulated by law is calculated on the basis of the official salary, excluding gray wages, the same applies to severance pay and sick leave payments;
• very often, because of this scheme, the employee and the employer develop a difficult relationship: the manager can simply deprive the person of additional income if he doesn’t like something, this can also become a certain reason for blackmailing the employee.

Is it possible to prove the fact of receipt

​Although it is problematic to confirm the fact of receiving a gray salary, it is possible. Of course, the Pension Fund does not need any evidence; they still will not consider salaries in envelopes as a reason for increasing the pension. But the bank may need information about unaccounted funds if a person decides to take out a loan.

Perhaps the employer himself will go to the meeting and take the liberty to confirm that his employee received occasional or permanent salary increases. You can also ask the employer to make the gray salary official; naturally, all taxes and fees will be collected from it, which will make it noticeably decrease, but relations with the employer will become completely transparent and legal.

Our lawyers know The answer to your question

or by phone:

In extreme cases, the employee may try to resolve the issue through the courts.. For example, if the employer does not agree to transfer gray payments to the white salary (due to the fact that other employees will have questions about why a colleague’s salary is higher, the discrepancy between the salaries of people occupying the same position may also alert the tax authorities) and will not help with obtaining a loan. True, for the court it is advisable to collect and prepare some materials and evidence in advance:

• additional, “envelope” statements: payments under the gray scheme are usually recorded in separate documents, although the court may not take them into account if the statements do not contain accounting signatures, the name of the organization, or if only copies and not originals are provided;
• testimony of other colleagues who also received money under this scheme (this could also be former, dismissed employees);
• video or audio recordings;
• bank statements confirming “gray” transfers to the card;
• advertisements in the media in which the company offers employees a salary higher than the current official payments within its limits: the courts do not perceive this as good evidence, but the advertisements may be useful for the tax service.

Employer's liability

If the fact of giving employees money without a tax deduction is revealed, the employer faces fines. Their size will depend on what the tax authorities can find out. At best, the penalty will be 20 percent of the amount not paid to the state, unless there is evidence of intentional tax violation. If the service manages to prove that a person deliberately underestimated the tax base or incorrectly calculated taxes, the fine will double and amount to 40 percent of the unpaid fee.

Moreover, the enterprise may begin to be seriously inspected to find other violations. The situation will also affect the management and accountant of the company: they may be prosecuted for tax evasion. Well, if it turns out that a whole group of people is involved in the offense, this can result not only in fines, but also in considerable prison terms.

Employee Responsibility

Although most people believe that workers receiving “gray” wages are not breaking the law in any way, and therefore no penalties can be applied to them, this is not at all true. According to the law, a person receiving funds from which tax has not been withheld is required to independently declare such income and pay 13 percent to the state. If this was not done, fines may follow in the amount of 5 percent of the unpaid amount, taking into account each “unpaid” month.

If it turns out that a person deliberately evaded payments or gave false testimony, he may be subject to criminal liability. According to Article 198 of the Criminal Code, the violator faces fine up to 300 thousand rubles or even imprisonment for up to one year. Well, if the offense is committed on an especially large scale, the fine can increase to half a million rubles, and the prison term - up to three years.

It will not be possible to find in any textbooks the unspoken classification of wages, which is known to many Russian citizens. It is officially assumed that every employed citizen receives exclusively white salary, but in reality everything is, of course, different. Someone agrees to work on more “favorable” (more precisely, attractively described) conditions and receives income unofficially, without documentary recording. Depending on the circumstances, they say that a person gets “half illegal” gray salary or illegal. What is the difference between them, why do people agree, what attracts them and what does it threaten them with? There is not much information about this. Not every employee will be able to accurately answer the question of which scheme is better, although a more detailed analysis of the situation will allow us to dot all the i’s.

Salary classification

Since the 1990s, when legislators eliminated the legal vacuum that existed in Russia, it has been officially understood that there is no classification of ZP. But unofficially the situation is, of course, different. The following are distinguished: types of salaries:

1. White- all income received is reflected in the reporting documentation and is taxed. Example: a specialist is employed as a system administrator, performs duties according to an employment contract, receives 30 thousand rubles monthly - on paper and in fact.
2. Gray- the basic part of the income is documented and taxed; part of the money is issued separately, in an envelope or simply in hand, and is not subject to taxes (which, of course, is illegal). Example: a sales manager receives 20 thousand rubles monthly, and an additional amount is given to him unofficially at the discretion of management, so that only 20 thousand are subject to taxes, and the actual payment is 30, 40 or even 50 thousand.
3. Black- unofficial salary, which does not pass through any documents, is not subject to taxes. From the point of view of the law, a person is not employed at all and does not receive money. Example: by agreement, a loader in a warehouse works together with official employees, receives 25 thousand monthly, but is officially listed as unemployed.

The benefit for the employee seems obvious: if the income is not taxed, you can get more money in your hands. Alimony payers also often resort to such schemes. But is everything so rosy? Of course not - the disadvantages more than outweigh the “benefits”.

What are the risks of circumventing the law?

Receiving unofficial wages is a direct violation of the law both on the part of the employer and on the part of the employee. Responsibility provided to the fullest extent:

1. For incorrect calculation of wages - a fine of 20% of the unfixed amount. For a deliberately low figure, for “black” payments - 40% of the unpaid amount.
2. For the employer - an additional fine under Article 199 of the Criminal Code, if the amounts are large enough.
3. For an employee who is caught receiving unofficial payments - prosecution for collusion with the employer.

Knowing this prospect, not everyone will agree to work according to the gray and black schemes. But that is not all. If the employer only faces punishment under the law, then the consequences for the employee can be much more severe.

Problems when receiving a gray or black salary

If an employee gets official salary, then his income is reflected in a huge number of documents - most citizens do not even know how the state mechanism works, since it works clearly and smoothly. But as soon as the income becomes illegal (partially or completely), disruptions begin. The consequences can be very different:

1. Lending is the first area where problems will begin. Most profitable loan programs are aimed at officially employed citizens, and their solvency is calculated based on the amount of income: the more a person receives, the larger the loan that can be issued to him. If the income is unofficial, they will either not give a loan at all, or they will give a minimum amount, or to compensate for the risk they will offer a program with an interest rate several times higher.
2. Social security is another area. No benefits intended for employed citizens can be intended for those who do not officially work. This applies to healthcare, education, insurance, and many other areas.
3. Pension payments. Since part of the official income is transferred to the pension fund, overly enterprising citizens will face the problem of a small pension.
4. Tourism. Citizens whose income is officially confirmed usually receive a visa quickly. Those who cannot confirm their solvency may have problems - they will have to either refuse the trip, or look for a sponsor to write a special letter, or save up an amount equal to several monthly incomes.

However, the troubles don't end there. Who ever said that an employer who promised to pay generously would keep his word?

Examples of deception

Sometimes salary in envelope it simply does not reach the employee. They may “feed him with promises” for a month or two, six months or a year, keeping him on minimal payments or paying nothing at all, or they may even deprive him of his job if it was not assigned to him. Here are just a couple of examples:

1. The citizen got a job as a seller of travel packages. The contract specifies the minimum wage, and in words the employer promises to pay an additional bonus based on the number of vouchers sold. At the end of the month, the employer apologizes, says that there is no money yet, gives the amount according to the contract and promises to pay extra next month.
2. A service company agreed to hire a person with no experience “for a trial period,” promising to pay him a certain amount in a month and then employ him. After working for a month, the newcomer finds out that he is not suitable for the position and does not receive money. Result: he worked for the whole month completely free of charge.

In both cases, it will be difficult to appeal the employer’s refusal to pay money, since verbal promises are not recorded anywhere. And although the law will be able to protect the employee in this case, all this will be associated with great difficulties and a long wait for a positive result.

What colour good salary?

Of course, the best thing is - white salary. Here are just the main advantages:

1. The income is usually stable, and any violation by the employer of the employee’s rights can be officially appealed.
2. Every working hour counts towards seniority, pension contributions go smoothly.
3. You can count on a full set of social security and provided benefits.
4. There are no problems with obtaining loans and traveling abroad.
5. The employee will not be held accountable for breaking the law.
6. Official employment makes the employee’s position more stable - he cannot be fired without explanation, nor can he be paid less than expected without reason.

Gray salary imposes certain restrictions, and even completely deprives a citizen of many rights: although he will not fall under the article on parasitism, as before, he will experience all the financial and legal burdens of being unemployed, and if unofficial income is “revealed”, punishment will follow law.

There is only one conclusion: other than a white salary, it is better not to agree to anything. The imaginary immediate benefit of a salary in an envelope is not worth all the negative consequences that may occur.

When applying for employment, employers often indicate a term such as “white salary” in advertisements, but not everyone understands what it means. In this article we will look atwhat is its difference from gray and black, what are its advantages and disadvantages.

Introduction

Wages are remuneration paid to an employee in cash. Its size is not constant and fluctuates depending on the worker’s skill level, his profession, working conditions and place of residence. That is, salary is the cash equivalent that an employee receives in his hands after paying various taxes. Its size is displayed in the “moth” or payslip issued by the accounting department at the end of the month.

White salary is paid for legal employment

Russian legislation does not provide for the division into “white”, “gray” and “black” salaries; moreover, payments of the latter two are a violation of regulations. Let's look at what these terms mean.

1. White salary is completely legal. All contributions and taxes are paid from it, and the employee is entitled to certain privileges.
2. Black wages are completely illegal. In most cases, the employee is not officially registered at all and receives money “in an envelope.” It is not subject to taxes and the employee is not protected by law, since he is not officially employed.
3. A gray salary is something between black and white. The employee is usually paid the minimum wage and taxes are paid on this amount, and the rest is added in an envelope. This type of scheme is considered the most common in private business.

So, white salary is an official payment under an employment contract, which is preferable for both parties - both for the employer (he is protected from the labor inspectorate and tax fines), and for the employee, who is protected by the labor code.

A gray salary allows the employer to save on taxes, so it is often slightly higher than a white salary, but the employee is less protected - in fact, the employer can control the size of the “envelope” at his own discretion. Black wages do not provide any guarantees - the employer can simply close the doors in the worker’s face and say that he is here illegally.

How to understand that the salary is white

So you already knowso let's look at how to understand that this is what you are being paid. Firstly, clarify this issue when applying for employment - budgetary organizations and large corporations pay exactly this. The white salary meets the standards of the labor code. You can understand that you are receiving it by the following signs:

1. Official employment. You are added to the staff, you receive rights and responsibilities equal to other employees, you sign an employment contract and job descriptions, an order is issued on enrollment, etc.
2. The salary amount is specified both in the employment contract and in the order.
3. The salary is issued to a bank card or at the company's cash desk. In recent years, cash registers have practically not worked - everyone is given salaries on cards, which is much more convenient and practical.
4. Payment of salary is carried out twice a month on certain dates - first an advance is issued (from the 5th to the 10th), then a salary (from the 20th to the 30th).
5. Employees receive calculations that spell out the principles of salary formation: what was accrued, what was withheld, how much is due for payment.
6. An entry is made in the work book, which indicates the date of admission, position, and company name. Upon dismissal, a stamp and the date of dismissal are affixed.

If you have signed an employment contract that specifies the actual salary, you will receive a white salary

Advantages and disadvantages of white salary

Above we looked at the key features of white ZP. Now let's look at what pros and cons of white salary exist. Let's start with the cons - in fact, there is only one. Since the employer has to pay taxes and contributions for the employee (and they reach 30–40%), then, accordingly, the employee receives less than under the gray work scheme, when the minimum wage is paid. Then the continuous advantages begin:

1. Operation of the labor code. Since the employee is officially registered, the employer will have to comply with all the requirements of the Labor Code: working hours, amount of payments, etc.
2. Prospects and opportunities for career growth. Firstly, if a company works in whitewash, then this means that it is reliable and is going to work for a long time. Secondly, you receive official work experience and an entry in the work book.
3. Possibility to use credit and travel abroad. Many banks provide loans only upon proof of income. If you receive the minimum wage and the rest in an envelope, then you may be refused. The same situation applies to travel to Schengen and other countries - you need to confirm your income.
4. Pension contributions. Accounting makes pension contributions, so in the future you can count on a decent pension. It depends on your salary, so the more you earn, the greater the pension.
5. Paid sick leave, no questions from tax authorities. The official salary is the best choice for the employee.

Attention:The white salary has one more disadvantage - if you are a debtor, then write-offs will occur in full. This applies to alimony workers, bank debtors, utility debtors, etc. - if the bailiffs discover an official document, then funds will be constantly written off from her to pay off the debt.

How are taxes calculated?

Taxes on official salaries are paid by two parties - the employee and the employer. Let's take a closer look at this system. Thus, 13% income tax is automatically deducted from the employee (if the person is a non-resident, then the income tax is 30%). Next, the employer is charged:

1. 22% to the pension fund. This amount is divided into mandatory and cumulative.
2. 5.1% to the compulsory health insurance fund.
3. 2.9% to the social insurance fund (spent on maternity or disability).
4. 0.2% to the social insurance fund for injuries.

That is, in total, the employer pays at least 30.2% of the salary plus the employee himself 13%. That is, when paying a salary of 40 thousand, 17,200 are “eaten up” by taxes.

White salary is a guarantee of your social security

Delay in payments

Finally, we’ll look at what to do if the official PO is delayed. So, how to force an employer to pay white wages ? According to the law, the employer does not have the right to delay salary payments without special reasons - if the delay is 30 days or more, the employee has the right to contact the prosecutor's office and the labor safety inspectorate. The employee is also entitled to compensation in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate per day. Moreover, if there is a delay, employees may not fulfill their obligations and not come to the workplace.

Attention:Today, delays are quite rare, since the labor inspectorate and prosecutor's office impose serious fines on the company for delays.

But before contacting the relevant authorities, we recommend communicating directly with the employer and finding out why the delay occurred and when approximately it will be paid. Due to the crisis, many companies have serious accounts receivable, which lead to similar situations. If you contact the authorities, it can finish off a company that is not firmly on its feet, and you will lose your job. It is best to negotiate with management if payments have been postponed for only a couple of weeks.

In contact with

Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of different formats of financial relationships between an employee and an employer for both parties in Russia. I will only speak about my own experience. Perhaps you can offer your point of view in the comments.

Need some advice? Verified lawyers in the Rusbase B2B store
First, let's figure out which parties are involved in the case. So, one party is the employer. In our case, this is a certain manager in the organization. This is an important point: we do not consider individuals separately, only as a representative of a legal entity. For example, CEO, chief accountant or HR manager. The other side is the employee. In our case, this is either someone who comes to the office every day, or someone who works remotely every day. In general, an individual (this is important: an individual, not an organization) who performs certain work according to some kind of payment scheme.

How can money from the employer's pocket move into the employee's pocket and what advantages, risks and problems does all this bring for both parties?

Let's start with the unexpected: not with the employer, but with the employee. What ways of getting money are most interesting for an employee? It seems to me that two key points are important here.

Point one: size is important to an employee. In Russia, the rules for all sorts of social things change regularly, so workers sensibly believe that nothing can replace a banknote in their pocket. Accordingly, the maximum possible size of the final bills in the pocket is the first goal for the employee. For example, if in one of the methods he receives one hundred rubles in his pocket in cash, and in the second - ninety in his pocket in cash, then many will choose the first method, because there is a hundred!

Fewer people will think about the second important point. This is safety. What does security mean? This is the level of risk that the employee will again receive the same hundred rubles in his pocket in a month.

These two things are size and safety. It seems to me that few people are interested in everything else. Almost no one thinks about pensions, few people think about sick leave... So let's focus on size and safety.

So the size

The size and number of bills that the employee receives from the employer in his pocket directly depend on how much the employer is willing to give him. Important: we are not currently discussing how to convince a boss to raise a salary, but are saying that, for example, an employer is ready to spend one hundred rubles a month on a specific employee. He believes that this employee has brought him one hundred rubles a month of benefit, and he is ready to give him these hundred rubles. How can an employee get the maximum out of these hundred rubles? There are many options here, let's look at them all.

First option, which probably involves the largest amount and the least problems for the employee is when the employer takes one hundred rubles from his account, somehow cashes them out - through illegal gray schemes - and receives, for example, 92 rubles. And he gives all these 92 rubles to the employee in an envelope or a stack of bills - just 92 rubles. This is not reflected anywhere; no one knows that this employee received 92 rubles. This is the largest amount, it seems to me. There is no way to transfer one hundred rubles to an employee in full, I don’t know it. But I know a way to transfer 92 rubles.

Second option. For example, an employee registers an individual entrepreneur, that is, receives the status of an individual entrepreneur, in his own name, and the employer pays him a certain amount for this individual entrepreneur for the services provided. In this case, the employee receives, according to my calculations (this is important, because there is a complex system for calculating payments, social payments, various unified payments), approximately 90.5 rubles per month. But there are a lot of worries: you need to set up an individual entrepreneur, submit reports... It’s a little more complicated, but, nevertheless, through the individual entrepreneur our employee will receive 90.5 rubles.

Third option. An employee can enter into either an employment or a civil law contract with the employer - it doesn’t matter. Now, according to Russian legislation, in both cases the employer must pay both a certain percentage of the funds and personal income tax for the employee, so it does not matter what the agreement is - this is no longer a question of money, but of safety. If we talk about the size, then in this case the employee will receive 67 rubles. How did I calculate this amount? It’s very simple: the fact is that these hundred rubles contain payments to social funds - this is 30% of the “white” salary, 13% of personal income tax... If you add everything up and remove it (the employee does not receive this money), then what remains is 67 rubles Significantly less than he would have received in the first cases.

Strictly speaking, there are no other common methods. There are branches that are interesting, but actually little used. For example, if an employee does not live in Russia and is not a tax resident of Russia, then he will receive all one hundred rubles, because the employer does not pay either personal income tax or social funds for him. Yes, there is such a rule, but for this you will have to leave Russia, live outside of Russia for six months - in general, this is a dubious topic, it is unlikely that you will seriously consider it.

Another option is when the employer has some benefits or is a member of Skolkovo - then he pays less to the funds, his personal income tax is lower, etc. – and the employee receives more. But this is an exception that is little used. It seems to me that there is no point in talking about this.

So, we got two options: a lot of money (90 rubles or more), but unsafe (I will explain why) and little money (about 67 rubles), but safe. Let's figure out what is safe and unsafe.

Safety

The safest option for an employee is an open-ended employment contract for the entire salary amount. In this case, according to Russian law, it is very difficult to fire him even during a probationary period: it is necessary to collect reasons, evidence, go through commissions, the employee can appeal to the labor inspectorate, to the court, and, most likely, they will all side with the employee. Accordingly, the safest option is 67 rubles and an employment contract. A civil contract is less secure. Because, on the one hand, there is an exact guarantee that they will pay (otherwise you can go to court). But, on the other hand, if such an agreement is concluded for three months, then after three months you will be left without work. There is a small chance to prove through the court that your civil law contract was in fact an employment contract, but this is already a branch of general practice.

IP is a good option, that’s why. If you have entered into a long-term contract with an employer, then if the contract is terminated by the employer, you will be able to sue. Disadvantages - the tax service may decide that the individual entrepreneur was created specifically to evade taxes, and your contract will be interpreted as an employment contract, you will all be fined, someone may even go to jail. Overall, this is not the most legal way. We can recommend it, but be prepared for a lot of problems with lawyers and accountants.

And finally, payment in an envelope. No guarantees. You may get kicked out, you may not get paid at all, but you get the maximum amount.

Social side

I deliberately did not talk about social things, now let's touch on them and try to understand what is happening here.

1. If you have an employment contract, then it's hard to fire you, without paying for about five months of work. Where did this term come from? The fact is that, according to the law, you must be notified of dismissal two months in advance about the reduction, and then pay you for three months of work. To do this, you will have to register with the labor exchange, but, nevertheless, you are guaranteed five months of wages. Of course, they may try to fire you under the article, but this can all be easily contested in court. I don’t know of examples where an employee who does not drink and does not break the employer’s property has not protested in court any reasons for dismissal. It turns out that you can come to the employer and say: “Dude! Either you now pay me for five months, or I will sit straight on a chair, do nothing at all - and you will not be able to legally fire me, otherwise I will go to court, and you will also pay me compensation for moral damage!” It is clear that you will not have anything like this with individual entrepreneurs or with “cash in an envelope” payments.
2. Sick leave. How is sick leave pay calculated now? It directly depends on your salary for two years, but, in general, it is 60 percent or more of your average salary for two years. It is clear that if your entire salary was in cash, then in the case of sick leave you receive nothing when you sit at home and are sick. But everything is fine with a “white” employment contract: if you worked for at least two years with an average salary of 100 rubles, in this case you will receive at least 60 rubles a month for sick leave. Yes, there are many subtleties, for example, the maximum amount of sick leave is limited by the maximum amount of payments to the social insurance fund. But the general scheme is this.
3. Same with vacations. If you receive money in cash, you can hardly count on being paid for your vacation, as with a “white” employment contract. If you are an individual entrepreneur, then you will not receive any money for your vacation either. Moreover, any mention of vacation in documents gives every chance for the tax authorities to interpret your contract as an employment contract.
4. Maternity leave and child care benefits for the mother it’s the same: all this is only possible if you have a “white” employment contract. The remaining options deprive you of any payments from your employer.

As you can see, the picture for an employee looks like this: on one side of the scale are guarantees for dismissal, sick leave, vacations, birth of a child, but 67 rubles; on the other side of the scale – about 90 rubles, but practically no guarantees. What will you choose? From my own experience, I can say that the more in demand an employee is, the more he is inclined to the option where it is 90 rubles. Because he can easily find a new job and freelance. The less in demand an employee is, the more afraid he is that he won’t find a job, the less confident he is in his abilities, the more firmly he insists that everything be “in white.”

If I suddenly went crazy now and decided to look for a job, I wouldn’t care whether my salary was “white” or not, because I’m sure that I could easily find an opportunity to earn money.

We have discussed the first part, about the employee, and move on to the second part, about the employer.

Through the eyes of the employer

With the employer everything is much more complicated. The fact is that if I, as an employer, am ready to pay one hundred rubles per employee per month, then for me the size no longer matters. And the only question is communication with the employee and safety.

Let's start with communication. My task is to keep my employee from running away from me or performing poorly, to keep him from looking for work on the side without thinking about me. To solve all these options, it is more profitable for me to pay him in cash in an envelope. Then he will know for sure that I will easily punish him for any offense.

Another option is to force the employee to register an individual entrepreneur. There are small security problems here (I'll talk about them now), but, in general, the option is also working.

The option to pay “over the counter” is extremely unprofitable for me as an employer, extremely! The fact is that I do not receive any benefits, and the employee will definitely not work better, since the “white” salary, on the contrary, demotivates: he knows for sure that he cannot be fired, and, in general, he, in fact, begins to be the one on whom the employer depends, and not vice versa.

If we talk about communications with the employee and the efficiency of his work, we, of course, are more profitable with the option of 90 rubles.

And about safety. Here everything is the other way around. The “white” salary is the safest for us: the tax authorities will definitely not press us, and the employee will not be able to blackmail us. “Non-white” salary is the least safe for us for a bunch of reasons: an employee can record on video how we give him cash and send the whole case to the prosecutor’s office or the tax office, competitors can find out about this and also complain somewhere.

The question arises: how can I find money, for example, to give it to an employee in an envelope?

Simply cashing them out raises a lot of potential problems with law enforcement. The option with an individual entrepreneur (where I force an employee to register an individual entrepreneur) is also problematic - because a court or labor inspectorate may recognize an agreement with an individual entrepreneur as an employment contract. In this case, you will have to pay taxes retroactively, and if there was a large amount, then the general director may even be imprisoned. If there are a lot of payments to individual entrepreneurs from the company - to the same individual entrepreneurs every month, then the tax office can also track this itself without any requests from the outside and punish the one who is doing this.

Thus, here too we have, as it were, two scales. On the one hand, there is a “white” salary. It is safer, but at the same time we become dependent on the employee, we cannot fire him, we are obliged to pay for maternity and regular leaves, sick leave, and if we fire him, we risk losing five or even more salaries.

On the other hand, paying “in an envelope” is problematic; everyone can be imprisoned, but the employee is more dependent on us.

What would I recommend doing? I think that for beginning startups, where every ruble has its own value, the amount of taxes paid is small - that is, it does not fall under criminal liability - you must, of course, go through the option of paying in “black” cash. Here you tie the employee to you more and, at the same time, you can pay him more money in fact. For an experienced company with many clients and large tax deductions, the only option is to do everything “in white”. Because you have a lot of employees, a lot of people who follow you, and competitors, you can’t take risks here. I can say that Doctor at Work is now a completely “white” company, we do not use any of the methods that I described above, and this allows me to sleep peacefully and feel protected.

Russia is distinguished not only by its large territory, but also by its very high wages.

What is the average salary in Russia?

If we compare the level of average monthly income in 2018 with salaries in Russia in 2019, we can note that the average salary in Russia has increased by 12% over the past year. But it is worth considering that the increase in wages in Russia in 2019 occurred exclusively in the national currency.

In foreign currency terms, salaries in Russia decreased in 2019 due to the appreciation of foreign currency.

Thus, the average salary in Russia in dollar terms in 2019 is significantly lower than in more developed countries, such as the Baltic states and.

According to statistics, the highest salaries in Russia are observed in two cities of this country: Moscow and the cultural capital of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg.

There has always been a large gap between average wages in Russia among regions. But in recent years (2017-2019), the trend of widening the gap between indicators has only intensified. This is primarily due to the onset of the economic crisis, as a result of which the foreign exchange rate sharply increased.

Due to the increase, the income of the population living in provincial regions decreased. Against this background, the unemployment rate has increased significantly. Therefore, many people from provincial regions moved to large cities for the purpose of employment.

The average salary in Russia in 2018-2019 is equal to 36 thousand rubles.

Table: statistics comparing average salaries in Russia by region

Region, district, republic	Average salary level (expressed in rubles)
Belgorod	27 280
Bryansk	20 790
Vladimir	22 770
Voronezh	26 070
Ivanovo	21 120
Kaluga	27 060
Kostroma	22 550
Kursk	22 770
Lipetsk	24 640
Moscow region	42 460
Eagle	16 830
Ryazan	21 340
Smolensk	20 020
Tambov	21 450
Tver	20 130
Tula	25 520
Yaroslavl	26 620
Moscow	66 880
Karelia	32 450
Komi	39 380
Arkhangelsk	36 850
Vologda	28 820
Kaliningrad	28 820
Leningrad region	28 050
Murmansk	43 670
Novgorod	27 390
Pskov	24 310
Saint Petersburg	45 430
Adygea	20 680
Kalmykia	20 130
Krasnodar	25 850
Astrakhan	27 390
Volgograd	23 650
Rostov	23 320
Dagestan	25 160
Ingushetia	20 790
Kabardino-Balkarian	18 920
Karachay-Cherkessia	18 040
North Ossetia	18 590
Chechen	21 010
Stavropol	22 000
Bashkortostan	28 160
Mari El	21 230
Mordovia	20 900
Tatarstan	27 060
Udmurt	23 430
Chuvash	22 990
Permian	27 280
Kirov	22 880
Nizhny Novgorod	26 840
Orenburg	26 070
Penza	22 990
Samara	27 060
Saratov	23 430
Ulyanovsk	22 880
Mound	22 770
Sverdlovsk	32 780
Tyumen	50 160
Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug	61 930
	70 620
Chelyabinsk	26 620
Altai	24 860
Buryatia	27 720
Tyva	30 580
Khakassia	32 010
Transbaikalia	25 300
Krasnoyarsk region	29 260
Irkutsk	32 450
Kemerovo	17 490
Novosibirsk	17 600
Omsk	28 820
Tomsk	32 230
Sakha	53 460
Kamchatka	50 600
Primorsk	33 990
Khabarovsk	35 200
Amur	34 540
Magadan	55 880
Sakhalin	51 260
Chukotka	56 100

The highest salaries in Russia are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In dollar terms, the average salary in these cities ranges from $700 to $1,000, while the average salary in all regions is only $570.

This salary level significantly exceeded the average monthly income of residents of Ukraine ($320), Tajikistan ($140), Azerbaijan ($300) and Kyrgyzstan ($220).

Analysis of minimum income by region

The minimum wage is the minimum salary that an organization can pay to its employee. In each region, the minimum wage rate is different.

In 2019, the minimum wage in Russia was raised to 11,280 rubles.

The increase took effect on January 1, 2019. Until this moment, the smallest salary was 9,489 rubles.

But the size of the minimum wage also directly depends on the region and place of employment. The salaries of public sector employees in all regions of Russia are significantly lower than the salaries of people working in non-budgetary organizations.

Table: list of minimum wages in various regions of the Russian Federation

Region/District	Established minimum wage for public sector enterprises (expressed in rubles)
Belgorod	11 280
Bryansk	11 280
Vladimir	11 280
Voronezh	11 280
Ivanovo	11 280
Kaluga	11 280
Kostroma	12 837
Kursk	11 280
Lipetsk	11 280
Moscow region	14 200
Eagle	11 280
Ryazan	11 280
Smolensk	11 280
Tambov	11 280
Tver	11 280
Tula	11 280
Yaroslavl	11 280
Moscow	18 742
Karelia	11 280
Komi	11 280
Arkhangelsk	11 280
Vologda	11 280
Kaliningrad	11 280
Leningrad	11 280
Murmansk	25 675
Novgorod	11 280
Pskov	11 280
Saint Petersburg	17 000
Adygea	11 280
Kalmykia	11 280
Krasnodar	11 280
Astrakhan	11 280
Volgograd	11 280
Rostov	11 280
Dagestan	11 280
Ingushetia	11 280
Balkarskaya	11 280
Circassian	11 280
North Ossetia	11 280
Chechen	11 280
Stavropol	11 280
Bashkortostan	11 280
Mari El	11 280
Mordovia	11 280
Tatarstan	11 280
Udmurt republic	12 837
Chuvash	11 280
Permian	11 280
Kirov	11 280
Nizhny Novgorod	11 280
Orenburg	12 838
Penza	11 280
Samara	11 280
Saratov	11 280
Ulyanovsk	11 280
Mound	11 280
Ekaterinburg	11 280
Tyumen	11 280
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	12 430
Chelyabinsk	12 838
Altai	11 280
Buryatia	11 280
Tyva	11 280
Khakassia	14 511
Altai region	11 280
Transbaikalia	11 280
Krasnoyarsk district	11 280
Irkutsk	11 280
Kemerovo	18 313
Novosibirsk	11 280
Omsk	12 838
Tomsk	13 500
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	15 390
Kamchatka Krai	29 024
Primorsky Krai	11 280
Khabarovsk region	11 414
Amur	11 280
Magadan	19 500
Sakhalin	23 442
Jewish Autonomous Republic	12 000
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	11 280

Interesting video. Minimum wage in different countries.

Analysis of minimum wages by year

The table below shows the dynamics of wage growth (minimum wage) in Russia by year.

date	Amount of the minimum salary (expressed in rubles)
1.07.2003	200
1.01.2004	300
1.07.2005	450
1.06.2006	600
1.10.2007	720
1.01.2008	800
1.09.2009	1 100
1.01.2010	2 300
1.09.2011	4 330
1.01.2012	4 611
1.07.2013	5 205
1.01.2014	5 554
1.01.2015	5 965
1.07.2016	7 500
1.07.2017	7 800
1.01.2018	9 489
1.01.2019	11 280

Minimum wage as of 01/01/2017 according to statistical departments of different countries

According to the draft law, wages are expected to increase in 2019.

According to Article No. 129 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a person cannot receive a salary less than the established minimum wage level. But if a Russian citizen did not work all working days or did not fulfill his duties, the manager has the right to independently regulate the amount of his salary.

Salaries of public sector employees

Since January 1, 2019, salaries for public sector employees have increased by an average of 5%.

The salaries of teachers, medical personnel, military personnel and representatives of the judicial system were mainly increased. In 2017, the average salary of a public sector employee was 31,200 rubles. After the increase, this amount increased to 33,000 rubles.

In 2019, salaries of public sector employees are expected to increase at least twice. According to the presidential decree, such an increase in salaries for public sector employees should occur through the introduction of new reforms, for which funds in the amount of 4.6 trillion rubles have been allocated.


But despite this, there is a tendency in Russia to delay wages. The delay in salaries affected primarily law enforcement officers and employees of the educational sector (teachers, pedagogues, university lecturers).

Employees of the Accounts Chamber receive approximately 171 thousand rubles per month. Members of the Federation Council receive 151 thousand rubles monthly. State Duma deputies earn 123 thousand rubles. Compared to last year, their salaries increased by 29%. In 2018, Kremlin employees were awarded a 5% salary increase, so in 2019 their salary is 206 thousand rubles.

Winner of the All-Russian competition “Teacher of the Year”

The salaries of preschool teachers increased by 5%. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, the salary of a teacher ranges from 30 thousand to 35 thousand rubles per month. In Yekaterinburg, the salary of a kindergarten worker ranges from 16 thousand to 17 thousand rubles. In Perm, for a similar position they pay from 11 thousand to 13 thousand rubles. In the Altai Territory, the salary of employees of preschool institutions ranges from 13 thousand to 15 thousand rubles per month. Teachers working in the Altai Republic receive monthly from 17 thousand to 19 thousand rubles.

In Crimea this year there is almost no debt on salaries for public sector employees. The level of average monthly wages is actively growing in this region. So in 2015, the average salary was 15 thousand rubles, in 2019 this figure increased to 29 thousand. Social workers receive the lowest salaries in the public sector. Their salary does not exceed 20 thousand per month.

The salary of doctors in this region is 21 thousand rubles, and university teachers and teachers receive approximately 28 thousand - 29 thousand rubles. Teachers of preschool institutions in Crimea earn from 10 thousand to 12 thousand rubles per month. Employees of preschool educational institutions in Sevastopol receive an average of 19 thousand rubles.


The salary of a pilot at the state company Aeroflot directly depends on the number of flight hours:

1. If the number of hours is 85 per month, then the pilot will receive at least 290 thousand rubles per month.
2. If the number of hours is more than 90 per month, then the pilot’s salary will be about 340 thousand rubles per month.

The salary of a janitor working in a utility company directly depends on the region. So a janitor in Moscow receives from 22 thousand to 23 thousand rubles. In Chelyabinsk, a similar position pays 15 thousand rubles. In the cultural capital of the Russian Federation, the salary of a janitor is about 20 thousand rubles. In Tula and Yekaterinburg, janitors earn from 15 thousand to 16 thousand rubles.

Analysis of public sector wage arrears

Wage arrears in 2018 in the Russian Federation amounted to 3.8 billion rubles. Over the past month it has decreased by 5%. Due to the current situation, the Russian government intends to freeze the payment of wages to index pension payments in 2019.

The state owes the largest amount of money to employees who work in areas such as:

1. Manufacturing industry.
2. Construction.
3. Transport sector.
4. Mining.
5. Agriculture.
6. Research and development.
7. Production of gas, water and electricity.
8. Educational sphere.

The highest paid specialties

According to a social survey and statistical data on wage levels, Russia’s ranking of the highest paid professions includes the following specialties:

One of the highest paid professions in Russia is an oil platform worker engaged in oil and gas production. On average, for one day of work, a person can earn up to $300. But this job is not in great demand, even despite the high earnings due to difficult working conditions.