Author: Olga Prokopyeva. Photo: Onlíner archive, illustrative purposes

Sergey worked at the enterprise for about ten years, and then problems began. The reason was a dispute over salary, but the man claims that this is not the only complaint: there were talks about optimizing the staff, he was asked to write explanations for coffee and his workplace was monitored. "I returned from sick leave and received a salary — 21 rubles," the man says. How it all came to this and why Sergey eventually ended up in court — we tell his story.

"The bonus is not fixed"

Sergey says that everything started to change this summer, when the enterprise began talking about optimizing the staff. In a letter (a copy of this and other mentioned documents is available to the editorial office) it was proposed to reduce several employees in different departments, including one and a half positions in Sergey's sector.

For his department, optimization would be especially sensitive: together with Sergey, there were only one more employee and a part-time specialist. After the proposed optimization, the man, according to his words, would have been left alone in the sector.

"If we cut like this, everything will collapse. I have terminals, sites, labeling, and other systems there."

"This paper was written in a peculiar way: the concept of 'reduction' is replaced with some kind of 'optimization'. People are offered not to transfer, but simply to remove — but this is just ordinary reduction with payment of corresponding benefits," Sergey believes.

Note that the enterprise itself later provided a different interpretation of this document. In response to Sergey's appeals, they indicated that the letter was "exclusively project-analytical in nature" and did not imply a reduction in staff units. Sergey disagrees with this and believes that the conversation was actually about reduction.

According to his words, he offered to formalize his dismissal due to reduction with payment of the corresponding benefit. However, the management, the man claims, refused to do this and said that there would be no reduction.

Soon after this, the man recounts, he was called and asked to provide the address of the programmer who worked in his sector remotely. According to Sergey, he was explained that the employee was going to be sent a notification about changes in significant labor conditions. This happened soon after a conversation in which, as he claims, he was told that there would be no reduction.

While all this was happening, the man went on sick leave. And when he returned, he discovered that not only the situation with the people had changed, but also his salary. The size of his bonus for complexity and intensity was reduced from 45 to 20%, and the premium for this period was not paid. As a result, in July, Sergei, according to him, received 21 rubles in hand.

• I took an advance, conditionally, 1500, I come, I receive a salary of 21 rubles - in total, they take away about 1000 rubles from me.

Sergei says that after receiving his salary, he came to the management and asked what was happening with the payments. In response, according to him, he heard that "we are a family, we must gather together, endure, tighten our belts and pull through, and reach the level of Minsk salaries".

A bit more specifics about the salary can be learned from the company's written response: the size of the bonus for complexity and intensity is determined by the employer every month. That is, 45% is not a fixed amount of payment for Sergei.

"The size of the bonus for complexity and intensity of work is established by the company's employee every month based on the results of the work for the month by order of the employer, is not strictly fixed, but is set within a certain percentage range (for example, up to 70 percent), depends on a number of factors outlined in the Regulation [on labor remuneration], and does not require additional justification," the response states.

The situation with the premium is different in the company: it can generally not be accrued if the enterprise has no net profit.

"A premium to employees may not be accrued and not paid in the absence of net profit."

In another written response from the company to Sergei's appeal, it was also indicated that the reduction in the bonus was not related to his work, but to the complex financial and economic situation at the enterprise. They emphasized that such changes affected not only Sergei.

"Regarding the reduction of Sergei's (as well as other employees of the enterprise) bonus for complexity and intensity of work, it is necessary to explain that these decisions were made exclusively in connection with the complex financial and economic situation in which the company is currently located. The adjustment of the size of stimulating and premium payments is of a forced nature and is not related to the assessment of personal contribution, qualifications or quality of performance of labor duties," the response says.

At the same time, Sergey says that for him this story is not just about salary: he has invested a lot in the work of the enterprise over many years.

I really feel sorry, I have invested a lot in this work. And when all this is changing now, it's painful to watch how it's happening.

Sergey says that he requested documents from his employer about his salary in order to understand the calculations and prepare for court.

I asked for documents about my salary so that I could go to court: how they calculated these 20%, what allowances, what was deducted. Instead, they replied that the orders I requested regarding the appointment of my bonuses and allowances contain personal data.

According to Sergey, he asked for an extract specifically about his own payments, but was refused.

Although I'm asking for an extract for myself, they tell me: there's personal data, we won't give you anything. From my point of view, they are violating Article 51 of the Labor Code regarding the non-issuance of all salary documents within a five-day period.

In a letter to Sergey, which he provided to the editorial office, the employer referred to the law "On the Protection of Personal Data".

"Salary, as well as its components (wages, bonuses, allowances, deductions) are personal data of a specific employee," the response states.

It is also indicated that information about other employees cannot be provided to Sergey, since the legislation does not allow its distribution to third parties. In addition, the enterprise referred to the fact that the issuance of documents not provided for by law is a right, not an obligation of the employer.

Sergey also appealed to the commission on labor disputes. He asked to recognize the reduction of the allowance from 45 to 20% as illegal and to recalculate his salary for July. In his statement, he indicated that he was not warned in writing in advance about the change in payment conditions, and the order was issued only after the end of the month - on August 5. In addition, he points out that the allowance was reduced equally for all engineering and technical workers, although its size should depend on the volume and complexity of work, the quality of its execution, qualifications, and other indicators of a specific employee.

The commission did not support his requirements. After that, Sergey turned to the court. Now he is asking to recover 270.72 rubles from the enterprise - the difference between the allowance of 45 and 20% for July.

According to Sergey, the work atmosphere became tense amid the dispute over wages. He sent appeals to various government agencies and the trade union, trying to get clarification on the situation. And at the same time, the man says, he himself began to be required to provide explanations.

One such episode occurred on September 1, when he was updating software on work computers. According to him, the deputy director approached him and demanded that he write an explanation due to coffee.

"I'm sitting at the computer, updating the operating system, and the deputy director comes up to me and says: 'Write an explanation for the coffee.' I wrote an explanation for why I was drinking coffee at my workplace."

Soon, Sergey says, he decided to take a vacation to avoid wasting his nerves on new explanations.

"I wrote a statement to take a vacation to save my nerves and not write these useless explanations, such as how many times I went to the bathroom during the day."

Before his vacation, according to Sergey, he was subjected to a "photography of working hours". He claims that employees recorded when he moved away from his computer and what he did during the day. Later, the man says, they tried to conduct a similar check on his assistant.

What the company says

We asked the employer to comment on the situation. When we receive a response, we will supplement the material.

Who is right in this situation will ultimately be decided by the court. We will follow the development of events and report on its decision.