Accounting for bonuses when calculating average earnings: rules and examples

In ZUP 3 to implement the rule of clause 15 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 24, 2007 N 922

a new attribute has been added - Indicator , which can be specified:

  • in the Award - Additional ,
  • in the accrual settings ( Average earnings ).

If more than one bonus is accrued in one month for the same indicator and period the largest is taken into account by default .

If necessary, you can change the bonus taken into account in the Form for calculating average earnings per team More - Bonus Analysis.

If the Indicator is not filled in, then ZUP 3 works according to the old algorithm.

In what cases is the calculation carried out?

Indicators of average earnings are required to determine the amount of vacation, maternity and other payments. To find out the required indicator, you need to know the amount of the employee’s annual salary. An employee's earnings include not only salaries, but also other accruals, in particular bonuses. That's why it's so important to keep records of them.

Question: On the basis of a collective agreement, the company pays monthly bonuses, including to an elected employee of the primary trade union organization of the company - the chairman of the primary trade union organization (exempt trade union worker). Is the specified bonus amount taken into account when calculating average earnings by the trade union organization for calculating vacation pay? View answer

The need to calculate the average salary

You may need to find out the amount of average monthly, average annual, or calculated earnings for other periods in the following situations:

  • when calculating vacation pay and travel allowances;
  • to determine the amount of severance pay upon dismissal of an employee;
  • upon receipt of accruals during business downtime;
  • for an employee transferred to a job with lower earnings, the amount of which should be less than the average at the previous workplace.

The concept of “average earnings” should not be confused with the amount established by the state. The average salary indicator used to calculate alimony and other payments is calculated in a special way and applies to the country as a whole. It is calculated annually, without changing the amount until the end of the billing period.

Average salary in Russia. And also in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in the regions!

Basic Rules

The procedure for calculating wages is established by Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The nuances of carrying out calculations are established by the Regulations of the Russian Federation of January 24, 2007 No. 922. Clause 2 of the Regulations establishes the inclusion of all additional payments in the average salary when calculating it. Additional payments include bonuses. When carrying out work, it is necessary to take into account the actual wages, as well as the actual time during which the employee worked.

Typically, the average salary is calculated annually. This is a standard reporting period. However, it can be different, depending on the needs of the enterprise: quarter, week. The period must be specified in the accounting policies of the organization. The selected period of time should not violate the rights of employees.

bonus based on the results of work over three years taken into account when calculating average earnings for the payment of vacation ?

The bonus is included in the remuneration only when it is specified in the Regulations on remuneration of the enterprise. Only bonuses given for work in the organization are taken into account.

IMPORTANT! “Anniversary” payments (for example, paid for a decade of service in the company) are not taken into account when performing work.
They are not directly related to the employee's merits.

The need to take into account the annual bonus in calculating average earnings

According to government decree No. 922 of December 24, 2007, all bonus payments must be taken into account when calculating the average salaries of employees. Moreover, if the amounts of vacation pay, travel allowance or severance pay are calculated before the bonus is accrued, a recalculation is required. And then pay the employee the missing amount.

In cases where the employee continuously performed his duties during the period under review (that is, a year), the annual bonus is taken into account in full (100%). But, if during this period he had non-working days, two options for events appear:

  • for organizations that calculate the annual bonus based on the fact, and not on the time worked by the employee, only part of it is taken into account in the calculations - in proportion to the period of work;
  • in enterprises where annual bonus payments to employees depend on actual working hours, the annual bonus is used in full in the average earnings formula.

As an example, consider a situation where an employee of an organization goes on vacation on January 25, 2021. The calculation is performed in the accounting department at the beginning of the month, taking into account the earnings for the year worked by the employee (see The best accounting programs: comparison, advantages and disadvantages). During this time he received 350 thousand rubles. salaries, 10 thousand rubles. for a five-day business trip and 60 thousand rubles. annual bonus for 2016. Before going on vacation, all personnel of the organization receive an annual bonus in the amount of 70 thousand rubles. (in fact, excluding time worked) for 2017.

The calculation is performed as follows:

  • in the calculations, not 247 working days of 2017 are used, but 242, since the employee was on a business trip for 5 days;
  • according to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the bonus for 2016 is not taken into account in the calculations due to the fact that the period for which it was paid does not relate to the previous calendar year;
  • annual bonus payments for 2017 are taken into account when determining average earnings only after they have been accrued.

When preliminary calculating vacation pay, 70 thousand not yet paid are not taken into account - as well as 60 thousand for the previous billing period. And the amount received by the employee going on vacation requires recalculation - but not 70,000, but 70,000 x 242/247 = 68,583 rubles are taken into account. And he will be paid vacation pay twice. The main amount immediately, the additional amount - after the bonus for 2017 arrives and changes are made to the formula.

Can a salary be less than the minimum wage?

The procedure for accounting for bonuses

The accounting procedure is specified in paragraph 15 of Regulation No. 922. The following forms of remuneration will be taken into account:

  • Monthly . No more than one payment is taken per 30 days.
  • How to take into account bonuses when calculating average earnings for unemployment benefits ?

  • Bonuses for a period of more than a month . For example, they can be quarterly.
  • Annual.
  • For length of service . Available with extensive work experience.

ATTENTION! If the employee did not work the entire pay period, then the actual remuneration received is taken into account. This point is specified in the letter of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated March 5, 2008.

IMPORTANT! When calculating, working dates are taken into account, not calendar dates.

Quarterly bonus in calculation of the employee’s average earnings

Clause 15 of Regulation No. 922 dated December 24, 2007 provides for the procedure for determining average earnings, based on which it follows that when taking into account quarterly bonus payments, the month of accrual is taken into account. And the period during which the bonus is accrued is not taken into account. Therefore, in contrast to accounting for annual bonuses, quarterly bonuses are included in the formula for determining average income if they are received by the employee during the pay period. And, for example, in one year vacation pay can be calculated based on three bonuses for quarters, and in another – on five.

The amounts of quarterly bonus payments are taken in full if the employee has worked all the time for which they were paid. In other cases, recalculation is performed for each quarter in proportion to the time worked - but only within the billing period. For example, we can consider 2 situations:

  1. The employee worked without breaks from September 2016 to August 2017. In September 2016, he received a bonus in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. for the third quarter;
  2. The employee performed his job duties during the same period. But a quarterly bonus of 15,000 rubles. received in March 2021 for the first quarter. However, he did not work for good reason throughout February.

In the first case, to determine average earnings, 100% of the quarterly bonus received at the beginning of the billing period is taken. It does not matter that in July and August 2016 the employee was not registered with the enterprise. The main thing is that they fully worked for the year taken as the calculated year. And the formula will include a value of 10,000 rubles.

For the second situation, the month during which the employee did not perform his duties falls into the billing period, as well as the quarterly bonus. This allows you to reduce the amount taken into account when determining average earnings. The bonus payment for the period from January to March 2017 is partially taken into account - with a coefficient of (136+175)/(136+143+175) = 0.685. The figures in the calculation are equal to the number of working hours in January, February and March, respectively. And for the average income formula to determine vacation pay, the value 15,000 x 0.685 = 10,275 rubles will be used.

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Monthly Rewards

With an annual billing period, 12 premiums are taken, according to the number of months in the year. Even if employees were paid 2 bonuses per month, only one of them is taken into account. However, there are exceptions. In particular, if several remunerations were accrued on different grounds, all of them will appear when determining the average salary. It is important to consider remuneration according to the time actually worked. For example, an employee was on vacation. For a given month, his premium will be reduced.

Examples

It is easier to consider the nuances of calculating the average salary using examples.

Example No. 1 . The accountant calculates vacation pay for the period from January 1 to December 31. Each month, one bonus was accrued to the employee. However, in August, two bonuses were awarded for different positions (a salary increase and a reward for good work). 13 awards will be taken into account per year. This is quite legitimate, since 2 bonuses per month are allowed to be taken into account for various reasons.

Example No. 2 . The company awarded one bonus per month with the exception of two months. In June, no bonuses were given to the employee; in July, 2 bonuses were awarded. In this case, all 12 premiums are taken into account. The only limitation specified in the law is a maximum of 12 bonuses per year (meaning rewards accrued on the same basis). Therefore, all rewards can be taken into account.

In what cases are annual bonus payments not taken into account?

The Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation provides that when determining the average salary, all types of bonuses reflected in the regulatory documentation of the organization are taken into account. These also include annual bonus payments for the billing period. Accounting is not required only in cases where the company’s documents do not contain a clause that specifies the calculation of annual bonus payments to employees.

If a bonus for the year was assigned not in accordance with the collective agreement or other documentation, but for other reasons, its size will not affect the average salary. The situation can be corrected by changing the provisions of the relevant documents. Or include the annual bonus among other types of payments - one-time ones, which are taken into account in any case.

Minimum wage from January 1, 2021 in Russia - Regional minimum wage and subsistence minimum

Annual awards

Annual benefits must be taken into account in any case, regardless of when they are accrued. It is important to follow the main rule - accounting for remuneration for the year that preceded the billing period. In particular, there is a letter from Rostrud dated February 13, 2007, which explains the calculation procedure. If accounting is performed for vacation pay in 2006, you need to calculate the average salary for 2005. Indicators for 2004 cannot be taken.

When accounting for annual remunerations, you must use the following rules:

  • If an employee has not fully worked the pay period, but the remuneration payment period coincides with the reporting period, the entire bonus must be taken into account.
  • If the employee has not worked the entire period and the accrual time does not coincide with the reporting period, then bonuses are accounted for in accordance with the time actually worked.

The accounting rules are also set out in a letter from Rostrud dated May 3, 2007. It states that if the average salary is taken into account without taking into account the annual bonus, then a recalculation is carried out.

Example

Vacation pay must be accrued in January 2021. The calculation period is the time from the beginning to the end of 2021. This year the employee received annual benefits:

  • In March 2021 – 5,000 rubles for 2021.
  • In November 2021 - 10,000 rubles based on the results of 2021.

Only the premium for 2021, amounting to 10,000 rubles, will be used for calculations. Remuneration for 2021, regardless of its actual payment, will not be taken into account.

Using a one-time bonus in calculating average earnings

One-time bonus payments that require full accounting include the following types of bonuses:

  • received for labor performance;
  • paid on holidays or anniversaries;
  • assigned for the quality of a specific task performed by an employee.

If a one-time bonus was paid for a period of time - an object under construction for several months or exceeding the plan - you need to use formulas. For employees who have fully worked for the specified period, the one-time payment is paid in full. Employees who were on a business trip or did not perform their duties for another reason will be paid less - in accordance with the time worked. An employee who was not registered with the company for part of the period for which the bonus was paid will also receive a smaller amount.

conclusions

  • Calculation of the average salary is necessary to determine the amount of vacation and maternity pay.
  • Not only salaries are taken into account, but also rewards.
  • Annual, quarterly, monthly and one-time payments are taken into account.
  • Only the remunerations stipulated by the accounting policy of the enterprise are important. If they are accrued unofficially, then they are not recorded.
  • When accounting for amounts, you must be guided by the rules established by the relevant regulations.
  • It is important to remember some features. For example, only 12 monthly bonuses accrued according to one indicator are taken into account.
  • If there are several bases for accrual, then several remunerations can be taken into account.

Results

The nuances of calculating the average earnings of employees of an organization who go on vacation, quit or go on a business trip are fully regulated by the relevant regulations of the Government of the country (see Bonuses when calculating vacation pay in 2021. The procedure for calculating bonuses). In the same document you can find answers to your questions. And, in addition to recalculations in proportion to the time worked, it should be taken into account that all bonuses included in the average income formula must be indicated in the text of the company’s local regulations.

If the organization’s documents do not contain any mention of bonus payments, the amounts are not included in the calculations. Most often this concerns bonuses not related to the work activities of employees. Or material incentives that are not reflected in the contract, which is concluded with an employee without his employment in the company.

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