In the modern understanding, the form and system of remuneration can be defined as organizational and economic mechanisms for correlating the costs and results of labor of an employee with the amount of wages due to him. Forms of remuneration are ways of determining the dependence of the amount of wages of employees on the socially necessary labor spent by them using a set of indicators reflecting the results of labor and the time actually spent.
The main measures of labor costs are: working time, that is, the duration of days, hours during which the employee is engaged in productive work, or the number of manufactured products (operations performed). Such a division of labor cost meters corresponds to two forms of wages: piecework and time-based. At the same time, the main functions of the forms of remuneration are that they predetermine:
how the measure of labor is evaluated (labor is measured for its payment): through working time, the product of labor, its implementation; what properties (results) of labor are taken into account: collective (individual) final results; what nature of the functional relationship is established between the measure of work and its remuneration; in what proportion is the payment (or part of it) measured depending on certain properties (results) of labor.
With piecework wages, the salary of the employee (or their group) is accrued for each unit of manufactured products (products) or work performed (expressed in production operations, pieces, kilograms, cubic meters, etc.). In case of time-based payment – at the established tariff rate or salary for the time actually worked.
The choice of one or another form of remuneration is usually determined by the peculiarities of technology and organization of production, product quality assurance, forms of labor organization and labor force provision. But all these factors characterize the forms of remuneration mainly only from the point of view of technical conditions and the possibilities of delineating the scope of their application. Time-based remuneration is introduced where it is impossible to use piecework. Indeed, the main feature of the separation of the two forms of remuneration is the possibility of quantitative measurement of labor productivity as the ratio of the volume of output in physical terms to the cost of working time. It is this possibility that lies at the heart of piecework payment. With time-based payment, it can be at best only from the assessment of labor efficiency as a ratio of cost measures of results and costs.
Each form of wages in accordance with the principles of construction is divided into systems.
The wage system is understood as a method of calculating the amount of wages that are payable to the employee for the results of socially necessary work spent by him. The purpose of the system is to ensure the establishment of the correct relationship between the measure of labor and the measure of its payment.
Piecework remuneration prevails in our country, while abroad it is time-based, with the establishment of norms and standardized tasks. It pays 60% of the workers, depending on the amount of manufactured products or the amount of work performed. It materially interests the employee in the results of labor, his productivity, stimulates the growth of qualifications, contributes to a more complete use of equipment and working time. Piecework remuneration is most effective in the following cases:
when there are quantitative indicators of output in natural meters and the possibility of reliably taking into account the results of labor; scientifically based labor rationing; opportunities have been created for exceeding the norms without disrupting the technological process; a clear organization of workplace services has been created, excluding downtime; high-quality and modern technical preparation of production was carried out.
Depending on the peculiarities of the technical and organizational conditions and the tasks facing the enterprise, the following piecework-form systems are used: direct piecework, piece-rate-bonus, piece-progressive, indirect-piecework, and chord.
According to the methods of calculating wages, wage systems are divided into individual, in which wages are accrued to each worker individually, and collective, in which wages are accrued to the brigade.
Collective (brigade) piecework wages are used in collective forms of its organization, when the production process is carried out by several workers or a team, between whom there is no complete division of labor and the combination of professions is developed. It interests the team in increasing the output of the final operation, develops a sense of mutual assistance, contributes to the combination of professions, the growth of qualifications.
Piece-rate wage systems are based on piece-rate, which expresses the amount of wages for each job or transaction per unit of output. Piecework rates (Rs) are determined on the basis of production rates (Vat) or time norms (t) according to the following formulas:
Pc = Hf / Hn or P = Sf * t,
where: Sf – the hourly tariff rate corresponding to the category to which this work is assigned, rubles.
In mass and large-scale production, production norms are mainly applied, and in individual and small-scale production – time norms.
With brigade pay, the piece rate is set in total for all the work performed, and then the brigade earnings are distributed taking into account the contribution of each.
The basis of piecework remuneration is the direct piecework system, in which the worker’s earnings with individual payment are directly proportional to the number of products manufactured and are defined as the product of the quantity of products by the piece-rate. At the same time, the price per unit of produced production does not change depending on the fulfillment of production standards. The individual piecework system of remuneration is rational with a detailed division of labor, when a certain operation is performed by one worker. It is simple, effective, understandable to everyone.
A type of piecework wage is the piece-rate bonus system of remuneration, in which earnings consist of payment at direct piece-rate rates and a bonus for the fulfillment of qualitative and quantitative indicators. The amount of the bonus is set as a percentage of the basic earnings.
The piece-rate-progressive system provides for payment of manufactured products within the limits of the norms at direct piece-rate rates, and payment for products in excess of the norms – at increased rates. The degree of increase is regulated by a special scale, which shows the percentage increase in the basic rate depending on the over-fulfillment of the initial base. The level of actual compliance with the norms for the last three months is taken as the initial base, but not lower than the established ones. For example, when the production standards are met by an average of 110%, the piece-rate for manufactured products in excess of the fulfillment of the norm from 110 to 115% can increase by 20%, when performing more than 115% to 125% – by 40%, over 125 to 140% – by 70% and over 140% the price increases by 100%. This system is rarely used and for a short time in narrow areas of the main production, provided that the output increases.
The indirect-piecework system of remuneration is used to pay auxiliary workers. The salary of this category of workers is established depending on the results of labor, the main workers, brigades, and sites served by them. Under this system, the work of machine tool adjusters, workers engaged in intra-plant transport and equipment maintenance can be paid. Indirect piecework pay is advisable provided that the productivity and quality of labor of auxiliary workers contribute to the growth of the productivity of the main workers. The wages of auxiliary workers are determined at piece-rate rates for each service object per unit of work performed by the main workers.
A special kind of piecework form is lump sum payment, in which the execution time and payment are established not for individual operations, but for the entire work as a whole and are distributed among the performers in accordance with the contribution of each. This system is used in exceptional cases where the work is urgent and urgent.
In practice, various approaches are used that stimulate high-performance work in conditions of time-based payment through the use of methods inherent in piecework payment based on the establishment of standardized tasks. At the same time, piece-rate payment is subject to incentive systems, which are more inherent in time-based payment. In addition, there are also combined time-piece forms of payment for labor. A unifying method in the integration of both forms on the basis of their mutual enrichment is the provision that the level of wages directly depends on the degree of labor efficiency (its productivity or efficiency) and at the same time is its significant stimulating factor.
The current trend of a steady reduction in the scope of application of the piecework form of remuneration in the conditions of new technologies and the development of market relations makes it necessary to create remuneration systems based on a time-based form with the necessary economic justification for the use of working time according to the criteria of productivity, efficiency or profitability of labor, depending on the functions and works performed by the employee. At the same time, a single measure of the level of labor can be the wage rate for 1 norm – an hour of work of a certain degree of complexity in relation to various types of activities and categories of workers. The cost of 1 norm – hour for each employee can be calculated on the basis of his individual tariff coefficient (rating).
The time-based form of wages provides for remuneration depending on the time spent and the tariff rate. It is used where it is economically inexpedient to ration and take into account labor in detail, where output is determined by the adopted technological regime and the main thing is the high quality of products.
The time-based fee is divided into two types – simple time-based and time-based-premium. With simple time-based earnings, the product of the employee’s tariff rate and the time worked. Specialists and employees receive a salary, and a worker – a tariff rate.
Under the time-based bonus system, an employee can receive a bonus for achieving certain quantitative and qualitative indicators. This system is materially interested in increasing the quantity and quality of labor.
Many enterprises use systems that combine elements of individual and brigade payment. Remuneration of specialists and employees has its own characteristics. Their work, as a rule, cannot be rationed and therefore is paid on time for the performance of a certain range of duties on the basis of regular salary or contractual remuneration. In order to take into account more fully in the salaries of the differences in qualifications, complexity and responsibility of the work performed, qualification categorization has been established. Categories are assigned personally to each specialist and reflect the degree of actual qualification, the effectiveness of his work, the level of business qualities, the ability to independently and creatively perform the assigned work. Qualification categories are established on the basis of certification.
To strengthen personal interest in achieving high performance in the work of the enterprise, various types of bonuses are used. Enterprises themselves develop and approve regulations on bonuses for workers of all categories, specialists and employees, managerial employees.
Comparative characteristics of the forms of remuneration are presented in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 Resource requirements by component
Comparative characteristics of forms of remuneration
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||
Time-lapse | Piecework | Time-lapse | Piecework |
| Effective on those types of work where the botnik does not have the ability to increase the volume of activities; there were no quantitative indicators of the volume of work; there is a record of working time and there is no accounting of the work performed; it is more important to simulate the quality of the products, rather than the growth of production; it is possible to increase the production of products, and the production of so many products is not required. | It takes into account the differences caused by different levels of production of labor. In contrast, time-based efforts contain more incentives to work, such as the incentive to increase the volume of work even under negligible conditions of increase. Effective where there is an opportunity to take into account the number of times you do my work. The employee himself can determine the price of his labor power. The task of monitoring and strengthening the link between remuneration and its production is facilitated | The salary or that reef rate is not able to take into account the differences in the volume of work performed by employees of the same program and qualification. | The amount of work that could be done by 1 worker for a reason is not hopeless, and this is good as its imprint on the formation of real production rates. It is necessary to control the quality of the output of the product, because the growth of its volumes may be accompanied by a deterioration in its quality. There is a problem of compliance with technological regimes and the requirements of safety technology, the rationality of the distribution of raw materials. |
For all categories of employees, bonuses are carried out depending on the growth of profits, cost reduction, saving material and fuel and energy resources, increasing the technical level and quality of products.
The main types of additional payments and allowances are listed in the Labor Code, regulatory documents of the Government of the Republic of Belarus. These include allowances for high professional skills, additional payments: for irregular working hours, additional payments for leading a brigade, for combining professions (positions), expanding the service area (increasing the amount of work performed) or performing the duties of a temporarily absent employee, for working overtime on public holidays, holidays and weekends. The state sets their minimum size.
They are divided into compensatory and stimulating. Compensation is determined by the enterprise independently, but not lower than the amounts established by the government. Incentive payments are determined independently and are made within the limits of available funds.
Recently, a contract system of employment has emerged in industrial enterprises. A characteristic feature of the contract is its urgency. A work contract is an agreement concluded for a certain period between an employee of an enterprise and an enterprise, according to which the employee undertakes to perform a certain job, for a certain position with subordination to the charter of the enterprise, internal labor regulations and the terms of the contract, and the enterprise undertakes to pay the employee, to ensure normal working conditions.
As a rule, the staffing table (or salary scheme) is used to pay managers, specialists and employees. To achieve high final results, it is advisable to build remuneration for managers, specialists, workers in a market economy on the following principles:
First, the main criterion for differentiating wages by enterprise should be the final result of the work of employees. Wage increases should be made only to the extent of the growth of the final results of the collective’s work; Secondly, it is necessary to ensure the outstripping growth of labor productivity in comparison with the growth of wages, since this is an indispensable condition for the normal development of production, production forces; Thirdly, it is advisable to combine individual and collective interest and responsibility in the results of work; Fourth, the remuneration mechanism should stimulate the improvement of the skills of workers, take into account working conditions; Fifth, pay systems should be simple and understandable to all workers.
When choosing a wage system, it is advisable to take into account the form of ownership, the size of the enterprise, its structure, the nature of the products (services) produced, as well as the features of the values and goals dominant in the team. At the same time, it is necessary, first of all, to bear in mind the functional responsibilities of managers. Their main task is to ensure a steady increase in the volume of production (services) of high-quality products with minimal expenditure of resources on the basis of accelerating scientific and technological progress, the use of best practices. The focus of attention of managers should be on the issues of social development of the team, working and living conditions of employees.