According to the Labor Code and the Contravention Code, employers who fail to pay wages on time are breaking the law and can pay a fine, reports delucru.md.
What does the legislation provide for?
Article 142 of the Labor Code clearly states: the salary must be paid regularly to the employee or to a person authorized by him on the basis of a certified power of attorney, at the place of work, or transferred to his account on the days established in the collective or individual employment contract, but:
– at least twice a month for those who receive an hourly wage or by agreement;
– at least once a month for employees with a fixed monthly rate.
What are the risks for employers who do not pay wages?
Delayed wages are not just an inconvenience for the employee, but also a serious liability for the employer.
It is an administrative offense, and the amount of the fine depends on how serious and long it was. In Moldova, for deliberate delay of wages you can be fined up to 9000 lei, and employees are entitled to compensation for losses incurred due to the delay.
According to Article 57 of the Contravention Code, “willful violation for more than two months of the established term of payment of wages, as well as other payments of a permanent nature established by law, shall entail the imposition of a fine:
– for individuals in the amount of 30 to 60 conventional units (1500-3000 lei);
– on officials in the amount from 60 to 120 conventional units (3000-6000 lei);
– for legal entities in the amount from 120 to 180 conventional units (6000-9000 lei)”.
If the bank is at fault
According to Article 146 of the Labor Code, “in case when there are appropriate funds on current and settlement accounts of enterprises and the necessary documents for receiving money for payment of wages were submitted in time, but banks did not provide clients with cash, banks pay a penalty at their own expense in the amount of 0.2 percent of the amount owed for each day of delay”.
At the same time, officials of banks, public authorities and enterprises guilty of untimely payment of wages bear material, disciplinary, administrative and criminal liability in accordance with the law.
How employees’ losses are compensated
If wages are delayed, employees are entitled to compensation for losses incurred.
According to Government Decree No. 533/2003, compensation for delayed wages must be provided by all enterprises, institutions and organizations, both private and public. This is done by obligatory indexation of the full amount of the calculated salary, if the delay lasted one calendar month or more after the due date.
The amount of wages for the respective month, which is due to the employee after deduction of taxes, compulsory health insurance contributions and other mandatory payments, is subject to indexation. This applies to wages both for the time actually worked and the average wage in cases stipulated by law.
How compensation for delayed wages is calculated
The amount of compensation for late payment of part of the salary is calculated separately for each employee and for each month as follows:
First, the inflation rate for the period of non-payment of wages is determined. For this purpose, the last published consumer price index at the time of actual payment (usually for the previous month) is divided by the consumer price index for the month following the month for which the salary was due.
(CPI is calculated cumulatively from the beginning of the year compared to December of the previous year).
The amount of accrued salary is then multiplied by this inflation factor, calculated to four decimal places. The result is the amount of compensation the employee should receive.
What an employee should do if his/her salary is delayed
You can file a complaint with the State Labor Inspectorate. It has the right to conduct inspections, impose fines, and oblige the employer to fulfill its obligations to employees.
The employee can also send a formal written demand to the employer asking for payment of the delayed wages and statutory compensation. Moreover, according to Article 355 of the Labor Code, an employee may apply to the court for recovery of unpaid wages, penalties and even possible moral damages. The statute of limitations is 3 years.
In addition, the employee may apply to a trade union or a lawyer for legal assistance and representation of his/her interests in court or before the authorities.
