Calculation of average wages. Average earnings during periods of absence from work. What payments are taken into account when calculating average earnings

In the course of daily work with the remuneration of employees, an accountant or a person performing his functions often has to face the need to calculate the average earnings, because many payments are calculated based on this base value. At first glance, everything is simple: the legislation defines a simple order of calculation, which is a formula of two meanings. However, starting his first calculation, a beginner will immediately understand that each specific practical situation requires knowledge of many nuances in determining the calculation period, the amount of payments taken into account and in the very order of calculation.

When does it become necessary to calculate the average earnings

The labor law defines a significant number of payments, the calculation of which is based on the average income of an employee. The law does not contain a general list of them - instructions regarding the size and characteristics of each payment are available in the article that establishes it. In practice, the following norms of the Labor Code are most often applied:

Art. 114 - determines the payment of days of labor leave in the form of average earnings.
Art. 126-127 - give the employee the right to reimbursement of unused, but earned days of labor leave in case of termination labor relations with the employer or at the request of the employee in the part exceeding the obligatory annual 28 days.
Art. 167 - establishes the procedure for paying the days of an employee's business trip, taking into account the average salary.
Art. 173 - obliges the employer to provide leave, paid according to average earnings, for some categories of people combining work with education.
Art. 178 - determines the circle of persons who, upon termination of the employment contract, are entitled to the accrual of severance pay, calculated based on the average income.
Art. 182 - gives the employee the right to receive his average salary for the previous position when transferred to a lower paid one for medical reasons.
Art. 183 - guarantees employees the payment of the period of temporary incapacity for work, which is also calculated on the basis of average income.
Art. 185 - establishes payment "on average" for the time the employee undergoes a compulsory medical examination.
Art. 186 - defines guarantees to donors in the form of days of blood sampling paid in the amount of the average salary and time for recovery.
Art. 187 - refers the periods of training of a citizen in order to improve his qualifications (at the initiative of the employer) to the time, the payment of which should be calculated according to the average wage.

Less commonly used are the rules on remuneration for the time spent by workers on participation in collective bargaining, meetings of the labor dispute body, downtime or transfer due to emergency circumstances, the period of non-compliance by the employee with labor standards due to the fault of the employer, the period of forced absenteeism, etc.

How to calculate the average salary: formula and examples

The norm of the Labor Code, dedicated to the calculation of average earnings (Article 139), provides for the principles for calculating this fundamental value:

uniformity of calculating its size;
accounting of all payments related to remuneration;
calculation depending on the time actually worked by the person during the 12 full calendar months preceding the calculation;
a special algorithm for calculating the average salary when calculating vacation pay or compensation for unchecked days of the prescribed rest;
the possibility of establishing by the employer in the local regulatory legal acts a different method of calculation (in terms of the duration of the billing period) than that provided for by law, if this does not make the situation less advantageous from the standpoint of employees;
assignment of powers to develop calculation rules to the competence of the Government of the Russian Federation.

As part of the implementation of the requirements of Art. 139 of the Labor Code, the Government has developed a Regulation on the specifics of calculating the average salary (approved by Resolution No. 922 of 24.12.2007). As of 2016, this provision is valid as amended on 15.10.2014

According to clause 4 of the Regulation, two values are used to calculate the average income - the actual hours worked and the accrued earnings. In turn, each of them has features of calculus.

How to set the billing period

The period of time for calculating the average income, regardless of the type of payment for the calculation of which it will be used (except for the payment of the period of temporary disability), is 12 calendar months. In this case, only full months are taken into account. For example:

to calculate the amount of severance pay at the end of employment on August 27, 2016, you will need to calculate the average salary of a citizen from August 2015 to July 2016 inclusive;
to calculate the amount of vacation pay, if the vacation starts on September 5, 2016, you will need to calculate the average salary of an employee from September 2015 to August 2016 inclusive.

The specifics of calculating benefits for temporary disability are determined by a specially developed Regulation (approved by the Government Decree No. 375 of June 15, 2007 in the latest edition of 2013). For this type of payment, the average income for a two-year billing period is used. At the same time, the procedure for calculating this value for the payment of a regular certificate of incapacity for work and sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth is different:
in the first case, the number of working days in the period is assumed to be 730;
in the second - the period is excluded from the period of absence from work on the grounds determined by Regulation No. 375.

After the calculation period has been determined, periods of non-appearance at work are necessarily excluded from it:

paid based on average income (excluding the time allocated for feeding the child);
with full, partial payment for working time or without payment on the grounds established by law.

Thus, from the time taken into account when calculating the average income, days of confirmed incapacity for work, work and social leave and absence from work for other reasons are subtracted. However, it is important to remember that in order to pay vacation pay and reimbursement for unchecked vacation, the period is calculated in calendar days, in the remaining cases - in working days.

The legislator defines the average number of calendar days in a month as 29.3. Calculation formula for a partially worked month (used to calculate in calendar days):

29.3 days / number of days in a calendar month x number of calendar days worked in a month.

Example 1. Leading specialist of the automation department of JSC "Sigma" E.V. Borisov will be dismissed on August 29, 2016 with the payment of severance pay in the amount of the average income for 1 month (to reduce the number of staff). The calculation period for calculating the amount of the benefit is from August 2015 to July 2016 inclusive. During this time, E.V. Borisov was on sick leave once (from May 16 to 20, 2016 - 5 working days, 5 calendar days) and once on vacation (from July 4 to July 15, 2016 - 10 working days, 12 calendar days).
To calculate the severance pay, the number of days worked in the working period will be: 246 days (total workers for the period) - 5 days - 10 days = 231 days.
To calculate vacation pay: (10 months (fully worked) x 29.3 days) + (29.3 days / 31 days of May x 26 worked calendar days) + (29.3 days / 31 days of July x 19 worked calendar days) = 293 + 24.57 + 17.95 = 335.52 days.

The amount of time worked in the billing period for employees with the summarized accounting of working time is in all cases calculated in working hours (all payments are calculated based on the average hourly earnings).

In practice, special situations are possible in determining the billing period, the methods of their resolution are directly indicated in Resolution No. 922:

if vacation is calculated in working days, the number of days included in the calculation is calculated based on a 6-day working week, and not in calendar days, as provided by the general rule;
if the citizen had no income for the period under consideration or all days were excluded from the period according to the law, the previous 12-month period is taken into account;
if the person did not work at all until the month in which the calculation is made, the average salary is calculated for the current month;
if there was no earnings in the current month either, the monthly salary determined by the employment agreement is taken into account.

Example 2. Specialist of the 1st category of the planning department of JSC "AVS" E.T. Belyasova should be dismissed on August 19, 2016 with the payment of severance pay in the amount of the average income for 1 month (due to the termination of the enterprise). Since August 3, 2015 E.T. Belyasova is on social leave to care for a child until he reaches the age of three; from April 1, 2015 to August 2, 2015, she was on sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth. Both specified periods are excluded from the billing period. Since the employee had worked for two years before entering the hospital, the period from April 2014 to March 2015 should be taken into account.

What payments need to be taken into account

An important rule for calculating average earnings should be considered the exclusion from the considered payments of those that are of a social nature, reimburse the expenses incurred by a person in connection with work and some incentive payments. In other words, only payments related to wages are subject to accounting.

A complete list of payments that make up the calculation is contained in clause 2 of Regulation No. 922 - this includes all types of wages (time-based, piece-rate, calculated as a percentage of proceeds received in non-cash form, etc.), as well as monetary reward and fees paid to certain categories of workers.

A separate explanation is required for the cases of inclusion in the calculation of various kinds of premiums, allowances, bonuses (hereinafter referred to as the premium):

The bonus paid according to the results of the work for the month is taken into account in the amount of not more than one payment on each basis.
The bonus due to an employee for a period of more than a month is taken into account in the part attributable to the calculation period, and not more than in the amount of one payment on each basis per month.
The bonus paid based on the results of work for the year is accounted for in proportion to the part of the billing period falling on the period for which it was paid (that is, 1/12 for each month that fell into the billing period).

Example. Leading specialist E.V. Borisov for the calculation period from August 2015 to July 2016 (see example from previous section) received income in the amount of 340,000 rubles. Of them:
6,000 RUB - sick leave payment in May 2016;
11,000 RUB - payment for vacation days in July 2016;
30,000 - the "thirteenth" salary for 2015.

Calculation of the amount of payments that are included in the calculation of average earnings:
340,000 RUB - 6,000 RUB - 11,000 RUB - (30,000 rubles / 12 months x 5 months of 2015 (falling on the billing period)) = 310,500 rubles.

The formula for calculating the average earnings

Having calculated the amount of time worked and accrued earnings, taken into account in accordance with the law, you can proceed directly to calculating the average income. To begin with, you should calculate the average daily wages (for workers with summarized accounting for working hours - average hourly) - the formula is contained in paragraphs. 9-10, 13 of Regulation No. 922:

Average daily earnings = earnings accrued for the calculation period / the amount of time worked in days (work or calendar).
Average hourly earnings = earnings accrued for the billing period / the number of hours worked.

to pay for 10 calendar days of vacation, the average daily earnings of a citizen should be multiplied by 10;
to pay severance pay in the amount of average monthly earnings, the average daily earnings should be multiplied by the number of working days falling on the full calendar month following the day of termination of employment.

Example 1. Calculation of the average daily income for payment of severance pay to the leading specialist E.V. Borisov (see the initial data in the examples from the previous sections):
310,500 RUB / 231 working days = 1 344 p.
Calculation of the average daily income for paying compensation for unchecked vacation:
310,500 RUB / 335.52 calendar days = 925 p.
Severance pay in the amount of average monthly income for E.V. Borisov will be calculated based on the number of working days in September 2016 - 22 days:
1 344 p. x 22 days = 29,568 p.
For 2 days of vacation earned but not used, E.V. Borisov is entitled to compensation:
925 p. x 2 = 1 850 p.

Example 2. Director of PE "Okna-plus" I. A. Semashkevich should be dismissed on August 29, 2016 in connection with the change of the owner of the enterprise and, accordingly, the payment of three months average earnings. The estimated period of the average salary for I. A. Semashkevich is from August 2015 to July 2016. During this time, he was not on sick leave or labor leave - he worked 246 working days (according to the production calendar for 2015-16). The amount of payments related to the remuneration system for the same period amounted to 550,000 rubles.
Calculation of the average daily earnings:
550,000 RUB / 246 days = 2,235 RUB
Calculation of compensation payment:
2235 p. x 64 working days (according to the production calendar for the period from September to November 2016 inclusive) = 143 140 rubles.

How to calculate the average wage if it has changed during the billing period

In the event that, during the billing period or after its expiration, the rates for the payments taken into account were increased in the organization, the legislator has provided several rules aimed at improving the employee's position:

If the rate has increased during the billing period, the amount of payments attributable to its part before the changes must be increased by multiplying by a special coefficient. This coefficient is calculated by dividing the new tariff rate by the old one.
If the rate has increased after the end of the billing period, but before the moment of calculation, the average earnings are calculated based on its new size.
If the rate increases during the period payable on the basis of average earnings, the amount of the average earnings increases from the date of the increase.

Help: how to format it correctly + examples

The certificate of the average salary is drawn up in free form.

Help-calculation example

Filling in a special form of certificate of average earnings may be required by the employment service, if former employee applied for the calculation of unemployment benefits. The calculation procedure in this situation is regulated by the Decree of the Ministry of Labor No. 62 dated 12.08.2003 (dated general order it differs in the calculation period, which is 3 months).

Sample certificate for the employment center

The legislation establishes a uniform procedure for calculating average earnings for all situations. There are some differences only in determining the billing period and the number of days worked to pay for sick leave and vacation days, respectively. All the subtleties of calculation in special situations are reflected in the Regulations on the procedure for calculating average earnings, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

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Average monthly income is the basic indicator when calculating various payments and. On its basis, they provide benefits, issue loans, it indicates the level of a person's security. Therefore, it is very important to know how to calculate correctly.

Average monthly size wages

The current legislation of the Russian Federation provides for situations when the calculation of the average monthly salary is required for the execution of various documents. Responsibility for the implementation of this procedure lies with the management and the enterprise in which the person is officially employed.

The calculation of the average monthly salary is carried out in the following situations:

provision of another or additional,
calculation of compensation for the next unused vacation,
from office,
calculation of severance pay,
calculation of the payment of disability benefits,
downtime payment,
calculation of social and social foreseen by law,
transfer of a worker to a lower-paid position.

In addition to cases related to production needs, the calculation of the average monthly salary is also carried out at the request of an employee who needs to provide an appropriate certificate to certain authorities: the employment fund, social security authorities, banks, etc.

A certificate of average earnings may be required to confirm the place of work, position held, length of service, etc. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the employer must provide this certificate no later than three days after the registration of a written application from the employee, including the former.

Depending on where the certificate of the average monthly salary will be submitted, the options for filling it out may have some differences. In most cases, the document is written out according to the sample. Therefore, if a person applies to the accounting department in order to request a certificate of average monthly income, he should specifically indicate what exactly this certificate is needed for. This will allow you to avoid controversial situations when making calculations.

The procedure for calculating average earnings

Knowledge of the procedure for calculating average earnings will help to avoid controversial situations

To calculate the average monthly income, two main indicators are required: the period of time established for a specific case and the total amount of all payments provided for by the Labor Code made during this period.

The standard billing period is considered to be 12 months of work preceding the declared date. An exception is the need to calculate the average monthly wage to calculate some individual payments. For example, when paying for sick leave, income for the last 24 months is taken. If a person has worked less than this period, the actual time worked is taken as a basis.

Payments that are the basis for calculating the average monthly salary:

salary in the amount of allowances and coefficients (salary, tariffs, percentage of revenue). The calculation also includes the cash equivalent;
wages received in the form of goods produced and services provided by the firm;
bonus payments, supplement for intensity, rewards;
other payments linked to wages.

Bonuses given to a person based on the results of his work for the year, for length of service and other one-time bonuses are included in the total income without taking into account the date of their accrual.

Directly the algorithm for calculating the average earnings consists in dividing the amount calculated for a specified period by total amount months.

Example
A person earned 60,000 rubles in a year of continuous work experience. The calculation formula here is simple:
60,000 / 12 = 5,000 rubles.

Depending on the hours actually worked and the purpose of calculating the average salary, the formula may change. For example, if a person has applied for, but his work experience is only 20 months, he must provide the accounting department with a certificate of his income for the last 4 months of work from the previous place of employment. If at this time the person did not work anywhere, the calculation is made taking into account the set period.

Exceptions in the calculation of the average monthly salary

There are some limitations in calculating the average monthly income. So, the calculation procedure does not imply the inclusion of compensation and social payments, material assistance, etc.
If two bonuses are awarded to a person in the same month, only one of them, the larger one, is taken into account when calculating the average.

Example
The employee received a salary of 4,300 rubles for the work done in February. and 2 prizes were issued in the amount of 400 and 600 rubles. Total monthly income will be calculated:
4300 + 600 = 4900 rubles.

Features in the calculation of the average salary

If the employee worked part-time, the amount of bonuses for the calculation, as well as the salary, are taken in proportion to the hours worked.

When calculating the average salary, the calculation period does not include time and calculated amounts in the following cases:

the person was on sick leave for the state of his health or on leave to care for relatives with disabilities;
the woman was in and received the corresponding payments;
the employee did not go to work because of those outside his control;
in the event of a strike in which the employee did not take part, but was unable to fulfill his direct duties
the subordinate was released from his duties with full or partial salary retention, if this is foreseen by law

What if you need an indicator of the average wage for an incomplete month worked?

if the period in question consisted of the time excluded from the billing period, the average earnings are equated to the earnings for the previous similar month;
if a person has worked incomplete a month through no fault of his own, and in the previous period the salary was not calculated at all, then the income is calculated for the days actually worked;
if the remuneration for the actually worked period was not carried out, his official salary is taken as the basis for the calculation.

The process of calculating the average monthly wage is fully disclosed in the current Labor Code. For a person who is well acquainted with it, calculating this indicator is a simple task. But if in the process of work there were no controversial situations, basic knowledge will be enough to calculate the average.

Issues related to the labor activity of citizens Russian Federation are regulated by the Labor Code. This set of laws, as well as a special government decree, defines the rules for calculating the average monthly wage.

Definition of the term

Average monthly salary- an economic indicator that displays the average earnings for one calendar year (that is, for twelve months). The calculation of this indicator is made taking into account the amount of money earned by the employee during twelve months and the time he spent at the workplace.

The need to determine this indicator arises if it is necessary to calculate the amount of benefits for sickness, vacation pay, etc. In some cases, the employees themselves need a document that displays their average monthly salary (for example, for obtaining a loan from a bank).

The indicator is actively used by the fiscal service when checking the activities of enterprises. With its help, you can find out what wages the taxpayer pays to his workers. If it is below the regional average or below the subsistence level, an additional check may be carried out.

In this way, the state is trying to fight against enterprises that pay their workers wages in envelopes. In order to avoid problems with the fiscal service and for the correct remuneration of workers, you need to know how to calculate the average wage.

Situations requiring calculation

The list of cases in which a citizen of the Russian Federation is entitled to payments based on his average monthly salary (hereinafter - SMZ), is determined by the Labor Code. According to him, SMZ can be paid:

If the employee is on vacation that is paid. A similar situation falls under the rule that vacation pay should be paid in accordance with the average monthly salary.
When an employee of the company has been suspended from his duties, but at the same time his salary remains. A similar need arises when a citizen takes part in the preparation of collective bargaining, or, for example, performs special duties (can be both public and state).
When an employee is temporarily transferred from the workplace due to the need to eliminate the damage caused by the disaster.
If it is necessary to pay labor benefits related to layoffs.
When paying compensation to an employee for vacation days which he did not use if the latter quits.
When sending an employee of the enterprise on a business trip.
When calculating wages to employees,if they were trained, assuming a temporary separation from the place of work.
When termination of an incorrectly concluded employment contract a. The rule applies if the mistakes were not made through the fault of an employee of the company.
If the employee could not fulfill his duties or was removed from production due to the fault of the head of the enterprise.
To each of the citizens included in the commission who understands labor disputes.
Donor worker and persons sent to undergo compulsory medical examinations(in accordance with the current legislation, they are held once a year).
Employees who received extra days off due to the need to look after disabled children.

The above are the main cases of payment of the average monthly wage. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for other reasons for payments to SMZ. So, for example, a similar measure is applied in relation to the director of the enterprise, persons who are his deputies and the chief accountant, if the enterprise has started the procedure for changing the owner.

In addition, the first paragraph of the sixth article of the law on military service provides for material compensation for persons cut off from jobs due to preparation for military service, conscription. military service or military training. In this case, its size is also determined by the average monthly salary.

General rules

Before calculating the average monthly salary for the year, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules posted in the Labor Code and the regulation of the Government of the Russian Federation of 2007. The last one was amended, so you should use the latest version at the moment (from December 10, 2016). The calculation takes into account:

salary that was accrued twelve months before the need to calculate the SMZ arises;
time worked in each month during the period described in the previous paragraph.

To calculate the average salary for the year, you need to take the duration of each month, taking into account the calendar data. That is, depending on the specific month, this parameter can be thirty or thirty-one days. February is an exception. Its duration is twenty-eight or twenty-nine days, depending on the specific year. The following incomes of the employee are recorded, summed up over a twelve-month period:

wages in combination with all allowances. Payments that were made in non-cash form are also taken into account. These include, for example, payment for meals;
bonuses and other awards;
other payments related to the salary at a particular enterprise.

The amounts and time when the employee:

received funds for additional paid leave (if the employee is caring for a disabled child or disabled child);
received payments while on maternity leave or sick leave;
received payments for the period of release from work with the retention of wages.

In some cases, the calculation takes a twelve-month period preceding the last twelve months of the employee's work in the enterprise. Such a need arises if the employee did not work a single day during the specified period or did not receive wages at that time. In addition, the need to "postpone" the settlement period arises if the entire twelve-month period consists of time, which, according to the law, must be excluded from calculations.

Calculation algorithm

To determine the average monthly salary of an employee, you must first add up all the salaries and allowances received by him for the last twelve months. At the same time, allowances, regional coefficients, bonuses and other remuneration, as well as other types of payments made within the framework of labor legislation, are also recorded.

After determining the amount, it is necessary determine the settlement period. The length of each month is determined by the calendar. The periods during which the employee was absent (with the preservation of earnings), was in a disabled state or on maternity leave are not taken into account. These periods of time are excluded from the calculations, since payments have already been made taking into account the average earnings.

After all the data has been collected, you can start calculating. They are pretty straightforward. The amount earned enough during the billing period is divided by the duration of the period that is taken into account. As already mentioned, it is twelve months.

Here's how to calculate your average monthly wage. An example will help you better understand the algorithm. So, if during the entire calendar year the employee was not excommunicated from the workplace due to treatment or other factors, the calculation formula is as follows:

SMZ = Total wages / 12.

Average daily earnings

The above formula cannot be used in the case of vacation pay or when it is necessary to compensate for unused vacation. In such cases, it is necessary to apply a different formula, which involves calculating the average daily earnings.

If necessary, vacation pay is used following formula: salary for twelve months / (12 * 29.3). In this case 29,3 - the average number of days in a month throughout the year, taking into account February. Previously, the number was taken into account 29,4, but in the course of recent changes it has been corrected.

The question arises: how to calculate the average monthly salary for a year, if an employee has been absent from the workplace for some time within twelve months, or if it is necessary to exclude certain periods of time? This is harder to do. In this case, you must first determine how many days to take into account. For this 29,3 should be multiplied by the full-time months and added to them the calendar days of the months when the worker was absent. Further, the total amount of wages is divided by the number obtained as a result of previous calculations.

For example, an employee received five hundred thousand rubles during a calendar year. He was present at the workplace for eleven months, but for certain reasons, in the last settlement month, he worked only thirteen working days. In this case, the formula will look like this:

500,000 / (29.3 * 11 + 13) = 1,492.53 rubles.

Thus, determining the average monthly salary is a standard personnel and accounting practice. This parameter is necessary for the implementation of payments prescribed in the Labor Code. The calculation rules are regulated by a Government decree approved in 2007. The calculation method for vacation pay is different from that for other payments. To carry out the calculations, it is necessary to have data that relate to the total payments to the employee for twelve months and the real hours worked during each month. You can make calculations using the provided formulas.

For the performance of their work duties, employees receive wages. Its size is established by an employment contract, staffing table or may be determined by local regulations. For example, if the company has established a premium, the amount of which is calculated periodically.

But there are periods of time in which the employee does not work, or performs a function somewhat different from his main duties. But, nevertheless, and during these periods of time, the employee must receive the payments due to him. It is about the periods when the employee is "on sick leave", on vacation, on a business trip, etc. For these periods of time, the employee is paid, respectively, disability benefits, vacation pay and travel allowances. How, in such cases, should the amount of such payments be calculated?

If in the first case the amount of wages is established by an agreement with the employee, then in the second case the employer calculates the amount of payments due to the employee on the basis of his average earnings.

How to calculate the average salary will be discussed in this article.

When you need to calculate the average earnings

The concept of average earnings is often used in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is received by workers and employees in different situations... In particular, the employer must pay his employee based on his average earnings in the following, but not only cases:

vacation, including study leave (only if it is not unpaid leave),
payment of compensation for unused vacation,
business trip,
simple, if the fault lies with the employer (two-thirds of the earnings),
incapacity for work (disability benefit, partly funded by the social insurance fund),
upon referral for medical examinations,
termination of the contract due to staff reduction (two-month allowance).

These periods of time are the very situations when the employee retains, according to the current legislation, his average salary. In all these cases, the employer, or rather his accountant, is faced with the question of how to calculate the employee's average earnings and how much to pay him.

What payments are taken into account when calculating average earnings

In order to make the calculation, the accountant must take all payments related to labor payments for the 12 months preceding the calculation. In this case, it does not matter for what purpose the calculation is carried out. For vacation pay, compensation for unused vacation, pay for downtime, or in other cases, to calculate the average earnings, the employer takes all the amounts that were paid to the employee, regardless of their source. But it is worth noting that we mean payments that are provided for by the employer's wage system. These can be the following payments:

salary at tariff rates, salaries, piece rates and so on,
salary that was issued in non-cash form, goods or products, for example,
allowances and surcharges,
bonuses and other payments,
fees,
additional payments for the class leadership of employees of educational institutions,
other payments depending on the specifics of the work and the discretion of the employer.

As can be seen from the list presented, all these payments are directly related to the implementation by employees of their labor functions. But an employee of an enterprise and organization does not always receive only the listed payments from the employer. Vacation, travel, disability benefits and so on. These payments are not taken into account for calculating the average earnings, as they refer to the periods in which the employee retained the average earnings. At the same time, the periods for which they were produced are not taken into account.

The legislation provides the following list of types of payments that are not included in the calculation of average earnings together with the time periods in which these payments were made:

payments made during periods in which the employee retains average earnings (except for breaks for feeding a child),
the time the employee is sick and on maternity leave,
downtime,
the period of the strike during which the employee could not fulfill his labor duties,
holidays in which the employee, in accordance with the law, takes care of persons with disabilities from childhood and disabled children,
any other periods of time in which the employee has been relieved of his duties, with full or partial salary retention.

How to calculate average earnings

To calculate the average wage, the accountant needs to add up all payments received by the employee in the 12 months preceding the period in which the payments calculated based on the average earnings will be paid, and divide them by the number of days worked by the employee in this period. This procedure applies in all cases, except for those when the accountant needs to calculate vacation payments. Or upon dismissal. Calendar months are taken into account. That is, if, for example, an employee goes on vacation from April 15, 2019, then the period for which it is necessary to take the payments received by him for calculation starts from April 1, 2019 and ends on March 31, 2019. The average wage is calculated in this order, regardless of the employee's work schedule. A calendar month is the period from the first to the last day of the month.

As a rule, payments calculated on the basis of average earnings are paid to employees at their own expense. Money... But the legislation also provides for a number of positive exceptions for employers. So, in particular, the following periods are not paid from the employer's funds:

periods when the employee performs his military duties (the time when the employee participates in military training),
days on which the employee is caring for a disabled child.

Average monthly wages (average earnings) can be paid to employees in cases stipulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. How to calculate the average monthly wage correctly? What are the nuances of this calculation? In what situations is salary paid based on average monthly earnings? What payments and periods should and should not be taken into account when calculating? Consider the answers to these and other questions in the material below.

When an employee is entitled to an average monthly salary

The list of situations when payments to an employee are calculated based on the calculation of the average wage is determined by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The most common and most often encountered in the activities of a normal organization of situations requiring the calculation of average earnings include:

payment of vacation pay (Article 114 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
compensation for unused vacation - upon dismissal or for part of the vacation over 28 calendar days (Articles 126, 127 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
departure of the employee on a business trip (Article 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
payment to employees for periods of study with a break from work (Articles 173-176, 187 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
payment of severance pay (Article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In addition, based on the average monthly salary, they are calculated from following categories employees:

Employees	Article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
Employed by collective bargaining or the preparation of a draft collective agreement (agreement) with exemption from the main job. At the same time, the average earnings for such workers can be maintained for up to 3 months.
Temporarily transferred to a job other than the one provided by the employment contract
Forced to stop labor contract due to non-compliance with the rules of his conclusion (if violations were not committed through the fault of the employee) - in this case, severance pay in the amount of the average monthly salary
Not fulfilling labor standards and labor duties due to the fault of the employer
Forced to stand idle due to the fault of the employer - in such a situation, at least 2/3 of the average earnings are paid
Members of labor dispute commissions
The manager, his deputy or chief accountant, dismissed when the owner changes in the amount of 3 times the average monthly earnings
Transferred to a lower paid job for health reasons
Aimed at compulsory medical examinations
Workers undergoing medical examination (from 01.01.2019)

Employees in case of suspension of the organization's activities
Pregnant women and women with children under the age of 1.5 years transferred to another job
Women breastfeeding children - when paying for breastfeeding breaks
Parents of disabled children when paying for additional days off and in some other cases

How to calculate average monthly earnings: general procedure

A general and uniform procedure for calculating average earnings for all these cases is enshrined in Art. 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The main rule: for any mode of work, the average salary is calculated based on the actual wages paid to the employee and the hours actually worked by him for 12 calendar months that have elapsed before the period in which the calculation of the average monthly wage is required. These 12 months are called the billing period.

The calculation procedure is spelled out in more detail in the regulation "On the specifics of the procedure for calculating the average wage", which was approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 24, 2007 No. 922. Let us tell you more about how to calculate the average monthly wage. Last changes this document was entered in 2016, so you need to focus on it when calculating average earnings in 2018-2019.

How to calculate average number, read the article "How to calculate the average number of employees?" .

Average earnings calculation: formula

The calculation of the average earnings for certain payments is always done based on the average daily earnings.

The general formula for calculating average earnings can be represented as follows:

SMZ = SDZ × N,

SMZ - average monthly wage;

SDZ - average daily earnings;

N is the number of days payable based on average earnings.

Learn more about how to calculate average daily earnings in different situations, read in the following articles:

"Average daily earnings for calculating vacation pay" ;
"Calculation of average earnings for a business trip" .

Features of calculating average daily earnings

The main feature of calculating the average earnings per day is that different rules its calculation:

to pay vacation pay and compensations for unused vacations;

all other cases.

Calculation of average earnings (except for situations with vacations):

SDZ = salary for the billing period / days actually worked in the billing period.

The settlement period is 12 months (Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If the employee has worked for less than 12 months, then the calculation period is equal to the actual period of work.

When paying for vacations, including unused ones, which are provided in calendar days:

SDZ = salary for the billing period / 12 / 29.3.

If some of the 12 months are not fully worked out or there were periods that need to be excluded from the calculated one (we will talk about them below), the average earnings per day are calculated as follows:

SDZ = salary / (29.3 × full calendar months + worked, calendar days in incomplete calendar months).

The number of calendar days in incomplete calendar months is determined as follows:

29.3 / number of calendar days in months × calendar days worked.

Example

Let's say an employee was sick from October 19 to October 30, 2018.Then the number of days in a partially worked October: 29.3 / 31 (calendar days in October)× 12 (calendar days worked for the period from October 1 to October 18) = 11 days.

Suppose that for 12 months from November 2017 to October 2018, 494,600 rubles have been accrued to the employee. He worked out all the other 11 calculated months in full. Then the average daily earnings in November is:

494 600 / (29,3 × 11 + 11) = 1,483.95 rubles.

If the vacation is provided in working days, the calculation of the average earnings for vacation pay is calculated as follows:

SDZ = salary / for the number of working days in the calendar of a 6-day work week.

Payments that are taken into account when calculating average earnings

All payments provided by the organization's remuneration system are taken into account in the calculation of average earnings, including:

wages - time based, piecework, as a percentage of the proceeds, issued in cash or in kind;
various incentive allowances and additional payments, as well as all payments for working conditions - read more about them;
bonuses and other similar awards;
other payments applied by the employer (clause 2 of Regulation No. 922).

At the same time, the calculation of average earnings does not include payments of a social orientation, such as material assistance, payment for food, travel, utilities, etc.

Periods excluded from the billing period

We have already said that the billing period is 12 calendar months preceding the period in which the average earnings are calculated. However, individual periods, as well as the amounts accrued for them, are excluded from the calculation. These are the periods when:

the average earnings remained for the employee (only breaks for feeding the child are not excluded);
the employee was paid a sick leave or maternity allowance;
the employee did not work because of downtime, in which the employer is to blame, or for reasons beyond the control of the employer and the employee;
the employee did not participate in the strike, but did not work because of it;
the employee was provided with days off to care for a disabled child;
the employee in other cases was released from work with full or partial retention of wages or without it (paragraph 5 of Regulation No. 922).

Situations when there was no salary in the billing period

If in the billing period the employee's salary was not charged, the average earnings are calculated according to the salary accrued for the previous 12 months. In the event that an employee does not have a salary (hours worked) before the beginning of the billing period, but it is available in the month of calculation, the average earnings are determined by the amounts accrued for that month. If there is no salary in the month of calculation, the average salary is calculated based on the assigned tariff rate or salary.

Learn more about unpaid leave in the material "Unpaid leave under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (nuances)".

Special rules for the accounting of premiums

When calculating the average monthly salary different awards are accounted for in different ways, depending on the period for which they were charged (clause 15 of Regulation No. 922).

With monthly bonuses, the calculation includes no more than 1 bonus per month for each bonus indicator, for example, 1 bonus for the number of attracted customers and 1 for the volume of sales. As a result, no more than 12 awards of each type can be taken into account for the billing period.

If premiums are accrued for a period more than a month, but less than the settlement period, for example, for a quarter or half a year, they are accounted for in the amount actually accrued for each indicator. And if the duration of the period for which they are charged exceeds the duration of the billing period - in the amount of the monthly part for each month of the billing period.

Bonuses for the year and a one-time remuneration for length of service (length of service) are taken into account in full, regardless of the time of their accrual.

In an incompletely worked out settlement period, bonuses are accounted for in proportion to the hours worked. Bonuses accrued for the hours actually worked are taken into account in full.

Cases when salaries have been raised

An increase in the size of wages in an organization also affects the average monthly wage of an employee. At the same time, it is important in what period there is an increase in wages:

If the increase falls on the billing period, all payments for the time preceding the increase are indexed. The indexation coefficient is calculated by dividing the new tariff rate, salary, etc., by the tariff rates, salaries in effect in each of the 12 calculation months.
If the salary increases after the billing period, but before the occurrence of the case for which you need to calculate the average earnings, the average earnings itself increases. Correction factor here is the ratio of the new size of wages to the previous one.
If the increase is carried out already in the period of maintaining the average earnings, only part of it increases from the date of the increase until the end of this period. The indexing coefficient is calculated in the same way as in the second case.

Rules for calculating average earnings for payment of benefits

In conclusion, we would like to draw the reader's attention to the following. The concept of average earnings is used not only labor legislation but also social security legislation. So, according to the average earnings, sickness, maternity and child allowances are paid. However, this earnings are considered differently - in the manner prescribed by the law "On compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with motherhood" dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ.

Read more about calculating average earnings for social benefits in the following articles on our website:

for sick leave - ;
for childcare allowance - ;
for maternity payments - .

For the payment of unemployment benefits, the average earnings for the employment center are calculated. The calculation is carried out in accordance with the decree of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation "On approval of the Procedure for calculating average earnings to determine the amount of unemployment benefits and scholarships paid to citizens during the period vocational training, retraining and advanced training in the direction of the employment service "dated 12.08.2003 No. 62.

Outcomes

The rules for calculating average earnings (average monthly wages), described by us above, apply only to the cases listed at the beginning of the article, including when calculating the average earnings when an employee is laid off to pay him severance pay, and social benefits, unemployment benefits do not apply ...

You can find out more about social benefits in our section