In many companies, employees need to travel regularly to solve numerous work problems. At the same time, each employer and employee must know how the payment of labor on a business trip occurs. For this, the size of the specialist’s salary in the company, the duration of the business trip, and other factors are taken into account. If the rules of charging are violated, then the company may be held administratively liable due to violation of the provisions of the Labor Code.
Business trip concept
Business trips are represented by the departure of an employee to another city or country by order of the head. Their main purpose is the fulfillment of certain orders, establishing contacts with other companies or resolving various issues with contractors or customers. The duration of such trips depends on their purpose.
Most often, business trips are required to address important issues for the company:
- establishing relationships with other companies;
- control over the activities of branches;
- the need to sign a new contract;
- attending exhibitions or presentations.
An employee who has gone on a business trip retains his workplace, and the average salary is not reduced. Additionally, the employer must correctly reimburse all expenses associated with this trip. Therefore, wages on a business trip are calculated by the accounting department.
Who is allowed to go on business trips?
To send an employee on a business trip, it is enough to publish the head of a special order. Based on it, the specialist must fulfill a specific assignment in another region of Russia or in a completely different state. For this, the employee must have the appropriate skills and experience.
At the same time, there are some specialists who cannot be sent on a business trip. These include company employees:
- pregnant women;
- citizens with young children;
- minor employees;
- people caring for children with disabilities or sick relatives.
The above specialists can go on business trips only after they have drawn up a written consent, and there should also be no medical contraindications for sending on a business trip.
The concept of travel
Payment of work on a business trip should be carried out according to certain rules. Funds received by a citizen are called travel expenses. These include payments:
- Per diem. They are presented by the expenses necessary for living and meals of a citizen in another city or country. Funds are provided exclusively in advance, so they must be received by a specialist before being sent directly to the trip. For the transfer of funds requires that the head issued an appropriate order. Money can be issued in cash or by transfer to an employee’s bank card. After returning, the citizen must draw up a report that is transmitted to the accountant. It lists all the expenses incurred by the citizen during the trip, so he must keep all checks, tickets or other payment documents. If there is too little money received earlier, additional funds are allocated.
- Remuneration during a business trip. She is represented by the direct salary of a citizen during a business trip. Under such conditions, funds are calculated and accrued simultaneously with the salary for all other days in the month. Remuneration during the business trip is transferred in a general manner, namely on the day the salary is issued to the company.
The calculation of salaries is slightly different, and this is due to the fact that a citizen is forced to spend not only weekdays, but also weekends in another city.
Accrual nuances
When determining the amount of remuneration on a business trip, accountants must take into account some rules, and they regularly increase due to the introduction of amendments to the legislation. These rules include the following:
- Per diem cannot be more than 700 rubles if the trip does not involve crossing the state border.
- If you plan to visit another country, then this amount increases to 2.5 thousand rubles.
- It is allowed to pay the per diem in foreign currency, but the calculation takes into account the exchange rate on the day when the funds were directly transferred to the company employee.
- If a specialist independently purchases currency in another country, then he must give the accountant a certificate of exchange, and if this document is not available, then the Central Bank rate at the time of disbursement of funds will be used.
- If the trip does not take more than one day, then the per diem is not paid.
- All expenses incurred by the employee on the trip are not subject to personal income tax or insurance premiums.
- The company may allocate per diem in excess of 700 or 2500 rubles, but with an excess of the amount required to withhold personal income tax.
- The procedure for calculating the remuneration of an employee on a business trip has similar moments with the calculation of vacation pay.
- The salary for people on a business trip is accrued only on working days, but on vacation funds are accrued on the basis of full calendar days.
The accountant must receive accurate information about how many days an employee spent on a business trip.
Legislative regulation
Remuneration during a business trip should be based on the provisions of Art. 167 shopping mall. It indicates that the head of the company is obliged to keep the employee at his workplace, as well as to cover all the costs associated with the trip.
Therefore, it is considered illegal to transfer exclusively salaries without different allowances.
The calculation procedure is regulated by Art. 139 TC and PP No. 749. If the company's accountant violates the law, then the company and officials may be held administratively liable.
What is the salary paid?
Compensation for a business trip, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, should be accrued on the basis of the average employee earnings per year. Additional funds are assigned to the employee other than the direct salary. These include payments:
- reimbursement of living expenses in another region or country;
- funds intended for conducting business activities on a business trip;
- payment for transport.
In some companies, payment of days on a business trip occurs immediately prior to the trip, but only a certain part of this amount is allowed to be paid in advance, and the remaining funds are transferred after the business trip. Payment is not always represented by a strictly defined amount, as expenses are influenced by various factors, which include the exchange rate, the cost of living and tickets, as well as the duration of the trip.
An employee returning from a business trip must prepare a special report. It lists all the funds spent and items purchased, and all expenses must be confirmed by the relevant payment documents. Based on the report, the final payment of the trip for the average employee earnings is made.
What days are paid?
Before calculating, you should determine how many days the employee will be on a business trip. Wages on a business trip on a weekend are not charged, therefore, only those days when the company works directly are taken into account, for which the work schedule of the company is taken into account.
The accountant during the calculation must use the time sheet. This is especially true in situations where the company uses a floating work schedule. Payment of holidays on a business trip is not made, but each organization can independently charge funds if necessary for employees.
Calculation Procedure
The process of determining the salary of an employee who has been on a business trip for a long time, involves the accountant performing several sequential actions. During the procedure, it is advisable to use the provision on payment of travel expenses, which can be formed by direct companies and secured by an appropriate order.
The calculation process is divided into stages:
- determines how many working days an employee will spend on a business trip;
- calculates the amount of salary that would be accrued to the specialist if he continued to work in the company during the billing period;
- reveals how many days are included in the calculation;
- the average earnings for the period of time when the specialist will be on a business trip is calculated.
When calculating the remuneration of drivers on a business trip, the additional costs that the employee will have to bear on a business trip are taken into account. This includes the cost of gasoline, accommodation in different hotels or hotels, as well as the costs necessary to implement the instructions of the company's management. All these expenses are provided for by the Regulation on Remuneration.
Features of payment of funds
During the calculations, accountants can use different methods and methods of calculating salaries for people who are on a business trip. Therefore, the features of this process include:
- If necessary, a surcharge up to the average salary of a citizen may be charged. Often such situations arise that after a business trip it turns out that the employee received much less money than he would have been paid if he had refused a business trip and worked in the office. In this case, they may draw up a claim to the labor inspection. To avoid conflicts with employees, an additional charge is charged. Its size may be different, since the main condition is the need to pay such an amount of funds that is equal to the average citizen's earnings. This is especially true if piecework pay is used on a business trip. Since a citizen has practically no performance results, in a standard calculation it may turn out that he is paid too little salary, so an extra payment is made up to the average income. Company leaders themselves make such a decision, since they are not interested in worsening the financial situation of employees who agree on business trips.
- Payment for the weekend. Often, an organization’s specialist needs to go on a business trip for just a few days. During this period, there is a need to do a lot of work. In this case, two days may fall on weekends. According to the law, remuneration of labor on a business trip on a day off is not required, but in fact during this period a citizen did not rest, but was engaged in work. In this case, double wages are appointed by the head of the enterprise. Instead of such payment, management may offer the opportunity to arrange a day off in the future.
- Salary calculation rules for part-time workers. Often, specialists combine several jobs at once, so they work in combination with the company. After a citizen is transferred to his main position, difficulties arise in calculating his average earnings if he goes on a business trip. In this case, the periods when the citizen worked part-time should be taken into account. Under such conditions, the size of the payment will be quite low, therefore, a supplement may be assigned by management.
Due to the above points, the correct calculation of salaries for people traveling on business trips is considered a rather specific and complex process. During its implementation, the accountant must take into account the provisions of Russian law. If he makes serious mistakes, the employee can write a complaint to the labor inspectorate. In this case, the company may be held administratively liable.
How are weekend reimbursed?
If a company employee is forced to work on a business trip even on weekends, then they must be compensated. For this, one of the options can be selected:
- in the future, the employee is given the opportunity to take a day off on any day;
- paid work on weekends in double size.
To transfer double payment, an appropriate order is issued by company management. It indicates the position and the full name of the employee who was sent on a business trip. The country and region where he was located, the period of the trip and the reason for the trip are given.
To prevent twofold situations, it is recommended to consolidate the internal regulatory act in the company, on the basis of which the correct payroll is made for employees who are forced to work on weekends during a business trip. This will greatly simplify the work of an accountant.
How can funds be transferred?
Salaries can be paid in two different ways:
- the provision of cash in the form of cash issued to the employee before traveling at the cash desk of the company;
- transferring money to a salary bank card.
If the main salary is transferred to a bank account, then payment of a business trip is usually carried out in the same way.
What wiring is used?
The accountant must correctly reflect the various operations associated with the remuneration of the employee on a business trip. To do this, use the wiring:
- D71 K50 - issuing money for reporting to an employee of the organization to cover expenses incurred during a business trip;
- D71 K50 - payment of compensation to the employee if during the trip he spent not only the funds received, but also his own money, therefore he submits to the accountant a report with all his expenses;
- D50 K71 - the return of funds by an employee if he has extra money left after a working trip.
The employee must report to the organization for all expenses incurred, for which he generates an expense report. Various payment documents are attached to it, confirming the expenses. These include receipts, checks or tickets. If unreasonable costs are identified, the organization may refuse to pay compensation. Often in the expense documentation there are invoices in which VAT is allocated. Under such conditions, tax may be deductible.
Conclusion
Business trips are required in different companies, since only on business trips can different issues be resolved, new contracts concluded or the work of branches controlled. The company's specialists sent on a business trip should receive a per diem and a properly calculated wage.
When calculating the salary, the average citizen's earnings per year of work are taken into account. In this case, difficulties may arise if an employee has been working for the company for a short amount of time or has been transferred to the staff relatively recently. In this case, a surcharge up to the average earnings is assigned. To do this, you need to correctly compile accounting entries.