Fines imposed on employees were deemed illegal: what the Labor Code allows to withhold from salaries

      The State Labor Inspection in the Kirov Region has drawn attention to the situation where employers impose monetary fines on employees for disciplinary violations. In an official clarification from the supervisory authority, it is emphasized that such measures do not comply with labor legislation.

      According to Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for committing a disciplinary offense—failure to perform or improper performance of labor duties due to the fault of the employee—only three types of penalties are possible: a reprimand, a warning, and dismissal. Part 4 of the same article establishes a direct prohibition on the application of any other measures not provided for by federal laws. A monetary fine is not included in this list.

      The State Labor Inspection also emphasizes the distinction between disciplinary penalties and deductions from wages. Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines a closed list of grounds under which an employer has the right to make deductions from an employee's income. This list is not subject to extensive interpretation.

      Such grounds include: the return of an unworked advance issued against salary; the repayment of unspent and not timely returned advances (for example, travel expenses); the return of amounts overpaid due to accounting errors; as well as deductions for unused vacation days upon dismissal before the end of the working year.

      The head of the State Labor Inspection in the Kirov Region, A. A. Berdinskikh, noted that deductions from wages under the guise of fines are a violation of Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. He specifically emphasized that tardiness, mistakes at work, and failure to meet plans cannot serve as grounds for financial sanctions.