Income from 50 thousand rubles is interesting. A flexible schedule is tempting. Company-sponsored training is even better! Is salary a percentage of the deal? Add to cart! Let's find out whether it is actually possible to work and earn a decent salary without a fixed salary?
There are many vacancies, few requirements, almost no applicants
Working for “bare” interest has never been very popular among job seekers. Nevertheless, many companies prefer to calculate salaries using the formula “How much you work, how much you earn,” when the employee is offered not a fixed salary, but a percentage of sales or the volume of work performed.According to Maria Silina, head of the Department of Personnel Recruitment for the FMCG Market, the scheme in which wages are paid in the form of bonuses is primarily characteristic of the consulting and sales sector.
“The bonus scheme is usually used where it is easy to calculate the bonus payment, where it is clearly visible and understandable what kind of money an employee brings to the company, and taking this indicator into account, his bonus is formed,” the expert comments.
Irina Kulikova, director of the Adecco Group Russia branch in St. Petersburg, believes that most often direct sales agents, insurance agents, sales managers in FMCG companies, sales managers of financial products in retail and cellular networks, and also to agents selling Internet services.
The eternal dispute between salary and interest
Disagreements between employer and applicant have existed at all times. But it is the remuneration scheme that often becomes the cause of the most heated debates and discussions.Employees perceive salary as an obligation of the employer to provide the employee with at least a minimum income. Every person strives for stability and wants to be sure that, regardless of the season, market downturn or sales volume, he can “pay his bills.”
At the same time, employers mean by salary the employee’s obligation to repay the investments made in him. Companies do not want to risk money and keep ineffective employees on staff. Who needs salespeople who sell their time in the office for a salary? “A manager who cannot provide himself with a living wage with his sales is a bad manager,” employers are confident.
And although the debate continues, there has long been a stereotype in the labor market that an employee who knows his worth will never come to work for “bare” interest. Meanwhile, working without salary has its advantages...
Heavy salary burden
In order to get a job at good interest rates, but without salary or for a very modest fix, there is no need to indulge in a lengthy search. Job portals, newspapers, and online forums are full of similar offers.But even with all the ease of employment and tempting conditions, there are almost no people willing to work for a “pure” percentage. Not everyone knows that piecework wages have a number of undeniable advantages compared to a fixed salary.
Almost your own business. Working without fixes can be considered your own business, which many people dream of. You no longer need to obey anyone or report to anyone - you draw up a work plan yourself and control its implementation yourself. No reprimands or demands from management. In fact, you are your own entrepreneur, but you don’t have to think about how to pay rent or how to submit tax reports in time.
Free schedule. Very often, work without a fix implies a free schedule, the very opportunity to belong to yourself and manage time at your own discretion. Is it convenient to start the working day at 11:00 and end at 17:00? Please!
Unlimited income. With a fixed salary, you always receive the same amount, regardless of your performance. When working for interest, income is usually limited only by your skills and ability to work.
“With this remuneration scheme, wages directly depend on the employee’s performance. If he is effective, then he is given the opportunity to receive much more than the fixed rate. At the same time, as a rule, the bonus system does not limit the size of the bonus that an employee can receive,” comments Maria Silina.
A small salary in hand is better than large percentages in words
“What will I live on if there are no sales in a certain month?” - this is the question that most worries everyone who wants to go free. After all, despite all the advantages of piecework payment, not everyone can afford it. Here is just a small list of reasons that cast doubt on working without a fix.- Lack of permanent income that would cover mandatory expenses for housing, food, clothing.
“The bonus payment system is not very convenient for those employees who have a loan or other personal circumstances that require a guaranteed stable income, since you can earn a lot in one month and be left with nothing the next,” notes Marina Silina.
- Lack of cash savings that would allow you to exist “painlessly” during the not very fruitful initial stage. Typically, this period lasts from six months to a year.
— Fraud in interest payments. Unfortunately, there are often cases when only numbers are announced at an interview, and if the plan is significantly exceeded, the owner begins to be greedy and arbitrarily cut interest.
“A bonus salary is not a fixed salary, and there is always some possibility that the employer may not pay it (even if the employee completes the work). Therefore, the fears that a job seeker has regarding a new employer offering such working conditions are completely justified,” comments Marina Silina.
Who benefits from interest?
What to do if you were offered piecework wages? First, decide what is more important to you: a stable salary or a higher, but inconsistent income. After all, working without a “fix” is most beneficial either for beginners who want to gain experience, or for those who have been working in the industry for a long time and know what they can expect, are familiar with the product and competition, have a client base and can roughly predict their income .“For professional specialists and working personnel - those who work in a 100% employment mode - such a system is less interesting,” says Natalya Belashova, head of the permanent staff recruitment and personnel consulting department of AVANTA Personnel, a branch of Adecco Group Russia in St. Petersburg. “Since the workload of such specialists is fixed and their work schedule is predetermined, they value the stability of a fixed salary, which is guaranteed and not tied to performance.”
Of course, as many people as there are, so many opinions, and the attitude towards the saying about the tit and the crane has always been and will remain twofold. Some people find it easier to work and know that at the end of the month a guaranteed (albeit not incredibly large) amount will be credited to their card. And some are ready to give up stability for the sake of tempting prospects and mountains of gold, even at the risk of sometimes ending up broke. Is there any point in trying? It's up to you to decide.
Indeed, there are a lot of similar vacancies today. However, few are ready to respond to them. And it’s not at all difficult to understand. Firstly, this is a big risk, because you cannot know for sure from the beginning whether you will be able to find the right clients, sign contracts with them and, as a result, make money. Or you will have to be in a state of research day and night and understand that over the past 3-5 months there has not been a single successful meeting. Secondly, there is no certainty that interest will still be paid if a contract is concluded. Indeed, today, unfortunately, there is a practice of deceiving employees, when even in the case of successful activity, a manager can receive several times less than he expected. Thirdly, based on the majority of applicants’ answers to the question “Are you ready to work for interest?”, the majority of those who answered in the affirmative are young people, graduates, who have just graduated from universities, for whom, unfortunately, the labor market is not yet ready make interesting offers. As for the older generation, the situation is rather the opposite - only 10% would agree to try their hand at such conditions, the rest will still try to find a job, albeit with a small but stable salary.
Of course, as mentioned above, similar experience for the applicant is a big risk, but it is important to talk about the obvious advantages.
The cornerstone is the possibility of truly unlimited earnings - everything depends only on the employee himself. If you spend all your strength, drive and ingenuity on work, and at work you really do it, then it will not be difficult for you to get as much as you want. The main thing is to have enough patience. The companies themselves leave the upper limit of earnings open, as a rule, indicating only the lower limit, thus putting all the trump cards in the hands of the applicant, demonstrating complete freedom of action.
Also, working on interest allows you to plan your workday schedule - you can call it both flexible and free. Many companies even practice home-office. In fact, the employee’s day is organized in accordance with his workload in a particular period. Very often, such employment is compared to individual entrepreneurship.
Income from 50 thousand rubles is interesting. A flexible schedule is tempting. Training at the expense of the company is even better! Is salary a percentage of the deal? Add to cart! Let's find out whether it is actually possible to work and earn a decent salary without a fixed salary?
MANY VACANCIES, FEW REQUIREMENTS, ALMOST NO APPLICANTS
Working for “bare” interest has never been very popular among job seekers. However, every year more and more companies prefer to calculate salaries using the formula “How much you work, how much you earn,” when the employee is offered not a fixed salary, but a percentage of sales or the volume of work performed.
As M believes Client Relations Manager at Agency Contact Maria Silina, a scheme in which wages are paid in the form of bonuses, is primarily characteristic of the consulting and sales sector. “The bonus scheme is usually used where it is easy to calculate the bonus payment, where it is clearly visible and understandable what kind of money an employee brings to the company, and based on this indicator, his bonus is formed”, – comments the expert.
Irina Kulikova, director of the Adecco Group Russia branch in St. Petersburg, believes that most often direct sales agents, insurance agents, sales managers in FMCG companies, sales managers of financial products in retail and cellular networks, as well as agents for the sale of Internet services are offered to switch to free bread.
ETERNAL DISPUTE OF SALARY AND INTEREST
Disagreements between employer and applicant have existed at all times. But it is the remuneration scheme that often becomes the cause of the most heated debates and discussions.
Employees perceive salary as an obligation of the employer to provide the employee with at least a minimum income. Every person strives for stability and wants to be sure that, regardless of the season, market downturn or sales volume, he can “pay his bills.”
At the same time, employers mean by salary the employee’s obligation to repay the investments made in him. Companies do not want to risk money and keep ineffective employees on staff. Who needs salespeople who sell their time in the office for a salary?
“A manager who cannot provide himself with a living wage with his sales is a bad manager.”, employers are confident.
And although the debate continues, there has long been a stereotype in the labor market that an employee who knows his worth will never come to work for “bare” interest. Meanwhile, working without salary has its advantages...
HEAVY BURDEN OF SALARY
In order to get a job at good interest rates, but without salary or for a very modest fix, there is no need to indulge in a lengthy search. Job portals, newspapers, and online forums are full of similar offers.
But even with all the ease of employment and tempting conditions, there are almost no people willing to work for a “pure” percentage. Not everyone knows that piecework wages have a number of undeniable advantages compared to a fixed salary.
Almost your own business. Working without fixes can be considered your own business, which many people dream of. You no longer need to obey anyone or report to anyone - you yourself draw up a work plan and control its implementation yourself. No reprimands or demands from management. In fact, you are your own entrepreneur, but you don’t have to think about how to pay rent or how to submit tax reports in time.
Free schedule. Very often, work without a fix implies a free schedule, the very opportunity to belong to yourself and manage time at your own discretion. Is it convenient to start the working day at 11:00 and end at 17:00? Please!
“I worked for a year and a half without salary on one percent. Moreover, the percentage remuneration was higher than that of full-time managers who received a salary. Result: the salary is higher than theirs, and all the delights of a free schedule,”– shares a participant of the Rabota.ru forum.
Unlimited income. With a fixed salary, you always receive the same amount, regardless of your performance. When working for interest, income is usually limited only by your skills and ability to work.
“With this remuneration scheme, wages directly depend on the employee’s performance. If he is effective, then he is given the opportunity to receive much more than the fixed rate. At the same time, as a rule, the bonus system does not limit the amount of bonus that an employee can receive.", – comments Maria Silina.
BETTER A SMALL SALARY IN YOUR HANDS THAN HIGH INTEREST IN WORDS
“What will I live on if there are no sales in a certain month?” - this is the question that most worries everyone who wants to go free. After all, despite all the advantages of piecework payment, not everyone can afford it. Here is just a small list of reasons that cast doubt on working without a fix.
– Lack of permanent income that would cover mandatory expenses for housing, food, clothing.
“The bonus payment system is not very convenient for those employees who have a loan or other personal circumstances that require a guaranteed stable income, since you can earn a lot one month, and be left with nothing the next.”, notes Marina Silina.
– Lack of cash savings that would allow you to exist “painlessly” during the not very fruitful initial stage. Typically, this period lasts from six months to a year.
– Fraud in interest payments. Unfortunately, there are often cases when only numbers are announced at an interview, and if the plan is significantly exceeded, the owner begins to be greedy and arbitrarily cut interest.
“A bonus salary is not a fixed salary, and there is always some possibility that the employer may not pay it (even if the employee completes the work). Therefore, the fears that a job seeker has regarding a new employer offering such working conditions are completely justified.”, – comments Marina Silina.
WHO DOES INTEREST BENEFIT?
What to do if you were offered piecework wages? First, decide what is more important to you: a stable salary or a higher, but inconsistent income. After all, working without a “fix” is most beneficial either for beginners who want to gain experience, or for those who have been working in the industry for a long time and know what they can expect, are familiar with the product and competition, have a client base and can roughly predict their income .
“For professional specialists and working personnel - those who work in 100% employment mode - such a system is less interesting, says Natalya Belashova, head of the permanent staff recruitment and personnel consulting department of AVANTA Personnel, a branch of Adecco Group Russia in St. Petersburg. – Since the workload of such specialists is fixed and their work schedule is predetermined, they value the stability of a fixed salary, which is guaranteed and not tied to performance.".
Of course, as many people as there are, so many opinions, and the attitude towards the saying about the tit and the crane has always been and will remain twofold. Some people find it easier to work and know that at the end of the month a guaranteed (albeit not incredibly large) amount will be credited to their card. And some are ready to give up stability for the sake of tempting prospects and mountains of gold, even at the risk of sometimes ending up broke. Is there any point in trying? It's up to you to decide.
The crisis in the country is forcing many employers to tighten their belts. A serious decline in profits forces employees to cut staff or reduce wages. And the last option is the most preferable for managers. Let's consider when you can legally and without consequences go for it.
Salary components
To deal with this, and thereby reduce wages, you need to understand what it consists of. Which parts are fixed and which can change.
The Labor Code states that wages can have the following components:
- payment for the performance of official duties (the size of this part depends on the level of qualifications and working conditions: its severity, volume of work and its quality);
- compensation;
- incentive part (this also includes bonuses).
Labor legislation not only defines the concept of salary and tariff rates, but also emphasizes that their size must be fixed. But incentive payments are necessary to stimulate employees. This means they are not permanent.
Ultimately, to answer the question, can an employer reduce salary, we will start from the fact that the salary consists of a fixed and variable part:
Salary information
The Labor Code (Article 57) obliges the employer, when hiring a person, to indicate salary information in the employment agreement. It contains data on salary, possible additional payments, incentives and allowances.
Information on the procedure for certain payments at the organization level can also be secured through special internal documents. They may have a provision on bonuses.
It depends on what rules are enshrined in these two documents. Does an employer have the right to reduce an employee’s salary?.
Reducing the amount of variable payments
Undoubtedly, the employer is obliged to pay employees their official salaries. Can he deprive his employee of all or part of his bonus? It all depends on what is written in the employment contract (see table).
| Conditions of the employment agreement | What's in practice |
| It is stated that when a plan or some other indicator is met, the employer undertakes to pay a bonus | Depriving an employee of a bonus will be illegal. This means that the manager violated the terms of the employment contract concluded with the employee. |
| It is noted that the procedure for paying bonuses is determined by the bonus regulations | When making a decision you will need to be guided by it. If monthly bonuses are not mandatory in accordance with this document, then non-payment of bonuses will be legal. |
Change of bonus regulations
The employer may not have a local bonus document. In this case, you can change or cancel the internal rules at your discretion. This right also applies to the provisions on bonuses. It is enough for the head of the organization to draw up an appropriate order. Employees must be familiarized with all changes made: ask them to mark this.
Please note: in an organization that has a trade union cell, such changes, including salary reduction at the initiative of the employer, will be previously agreed upon with its members.
How to reduce the fixed part of your salary
An even more difficult situation arises when an organization wants to reduce the fixed component of the salary.
An important nuance: the employer cannot unilaterally change the terms of the employment contract. He needs to get the employee’s consent, and most of them will not do this.
There is only one reason when it is not necessary to obtain consent from the employee. It is spelled out in Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This basis is that working conditions have changed due to technological or organizational innovations. B to figure it out how to reduce an employee's salary legally in this case, one must first understand when such grounds operate.
Read also Vacation for a fixed-term employment contract
Technological and organizational innovations
There is no clear list of changes of this kind in the Labor Code. Article 74 names only a number of situations when the employer has the right to unilaterally change the employment contract. The most common situations include the following:
- the technologies used in production have changed or new ones have been introduced;
- there was a change in technology;
- there was a change in the structure of the enterprise (including management);
- workplaces are improved through their special assessment;
- use of other forms of work organization;
- change in workload between departments.
Please note: Only those changes that imply the impossibility of leaving the employee’s working conditions the same can be used as a basis for making amendments to the employment contract. If necessary, the employer will have to defend his point of view in court.
EXAMPLE 1
A drop in sales is not a compelling argument for reducing salaries, since it is not related to technological or organizational changes.
What situations allow you to do salary reduction at the initiative of the employer legally?
EXAMPLE 2
The manager relieves some of the responsibilities from his employees. This situation occurs when one of the areas of the enterprise is curtailed. As a result, some of the responsibilities will become irrelevant. Consequently, the terms of previously concluded employment contracts cannot be left unchanged.
All this becomes the basis for making adjustments, due to which it may occur downward change in wages for a number of employees.
Keep in mind: If an employer, when making changes to an employment contract, refers to Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, then he does not have the right to change the labor function of his employees. This means that the head of the organization cannot unilaterally assign a different position!
How to make changes to an employment contract
If the head of an organization considers it necessary to make changes to employment contracts with employees on the basis of legislation, then he must act in the following order:
- It is necessary to indicate any changes in working conditions in the appropriate document. If there is a cessation of work in any direction, then an order to close it is issued.
- Next, you should draw up and issue an order containing information about salary reduction at the initiative of the employer indicating the effective date of these changes.
- At least two months before the order comes into force, the employer must notify in writing about changes in wages downwards all those employees who will be affected by this change.
- If employees agree to work for a new reduced salary, an additional agreement is drawn up, which reflects the changes that have arisen.
Is it possible to leave employees without a fixed salary, forming their income only from a percentage of sales?
Each employer stimulates employee productivity in its own way. One of the most effective methods today is to increase your salary with a percentage of sales. Such methods are used mainly by those whose activities are directly related to the sale of goods or services. That is, in this case, any employee has the right to count on an increase in income proportional to his contribution to the total revenue of the enterprise. But is it possible to leave employees without a fixed part of their salary at all? What does the current legislation provide for in this regard?
To correctly maintain personnel records, payroll calculations, sick leave, vacation pay, generate time sheets and other procedures related to employee salaries, you can use the convenient and functional program "Bukhsoft: Salaries and Personnel".
Pay systems
Today, the Labor Code completely relies on the employers themselves and the remuneration systems operating in organizations to set wages. All existing options can be divided into three groups:
- time-based, that is, fixed payment for a certain period worked;
- piecework, that is, payment for a certain output;
- commission, which is a fixed percentage of sales.
In fact, nothing prevents the employer from leaving employees without salary, on “bare” percentages. However, there are several significant “buts”.
Arguments against
It must be said that the Labor Code does not necessarily prohibit employers from transferring teams of their enterprises or individual employees to commission wages. Existing circumstances will do this for him. So, why is it unprofitable to leave the team without a salary portion of their monthly earnings?
Requirement for monthly salary: it must not be lower than the established minimum wage. This, by the way, is also stated in the Labor Code.
True, it stipulates that the minimum required by law should be received by employees who have worked the full working hours in a month and fulfilled their job duties.
For those who work on percentages, it’s their job responsibilities or labor standards that need to be discussed separately. All such norms are of two types:
- production standards relevant for calculating piecework payments;
- service standards that determine the amount of commission.
If your earnings are less than the minimum wage?
If an employee, working for interest and fulfilling his job duties, managed to earn an amount less than one minimum wage, which this year is 5,965 rubles, the employer is obliged to pay extra.
Let us explain: in the Labor Code this rule is spelled out in Article 133, which clearly states that before the minimum wage, the employer is obliged to pay extra from his own funds to an employee who has honestly worked his limit.
Payment of compensation
It is also the employer's responsibility to pay compensation to its employees. Usually in such cases, all amounts are calculated from the average salary of the employee, or, more simply, from his salary. In order to calculate the arithmetic average of non-fixed payments, it will take many times more time and effort. And each time the compensation amounts may differ significantly from the previous ones.