Financial assistance is considered to be cash or in-kind payments made by an employer to its employees who find themselves in a difficult financial or emergency situation. Although the employer has no obligation to pay financial assistance. He helps his employees of his own free will if funds are available. To establish a unified procedure for receiving financial assistance, the employer can approve the provision on the payment of financial assistance or prescribe the rules and conditions for receiving it in another local act. In this article we talk about the provision on financial assistance to employees and provide a sample 2021 for ordinary organizations (IP).
Contents of the Regulations on financial assistance
The employer, represented by the manager or members of a specially created commission, in each specific case decides to pay the employee financial assistance.
What is financial assistance and in what cases it can be issued, read the article “Material assistance”.
Due to the fact that is not established there is no mandatory completion of the Regulations on financial assistance (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) . Each employer independently develops the structure and content of the Regulations.
If at the moment you don’t have such a document yet and you’re just wondering where to start, then let’s figure it out together. If you have already developed a Regulation on financial assistance, then it would be a good idea to check whether all the nuances have been taken into account.
So, the Regulations should indicate a list of cases in which an employee will be able to receive financial support:
- firstly, this will get rid of unnecessary statements from the series “I took out a mortgage, I ask you to provide financial assistance”;
- secondly, social guarantees will be created for workers who will be able to seek help from the employer in a certain situation.
It so happens that many companies provide financial assistance for the funeral of a close relative or employee, or to pay off damage due to a natural disaster or other emergency situation. There are also positive aspects in which the employer tries to support his employee during a joyful period for him. This is the birth of a child, marriage, anniversary. Also, financial assistance can be provided for treatment, in connection with retirement, and for improving living conditions. It all depends on:
- financial capacity of the company;
- its social orientation.
Some employers provide financial assistance for vacations, for health improvement in a sanatorium, for parents of first-graders and school graduates, for children's gifts for the New Year, and so on. All available to you must be thought through and indicated in the Regulations.
We also recommend that you indicate in the Regulations a list of documents that are needed to receive assistance. This list will save time on explaining to employees what documents they need to attach to the application for financial assistance. These may be copies of the following documents:
- birth (adoption) certificate of children;
- certificate of death or declaration of death;
- extracts from the medical history;
- certificate from the Ministry of Emergency Situations about the emergency situation;
- registry office marriage certificate, etc.
Contents of the document
Due to the fact that organizations are not obliged, but have the right to pay material assistance to the workforce, regulatory legal acts do not provide for a unified form of the Regulations.
Attention! One of the important points of the document is the grounds for payments; their list must be exhaustive in order to avoid unfounded appeals and create social guarantees.
The number of possible reasons for seeking help depends on the financial capabilities of the company and the level of its social responsibility. The structure of the document is determined by the employer or approved during collective bargaining.
Mandatory sections of the Regulations
Table No. 1. Mandatory provisions.
| № | Section title | Content |
| 1 | General provisions | Purpose of adoption of the document, legal framework, range of regulated issues |
| 2 | Sources of financing | Information about how the assistance will be provided |
| 3 | Reasons | List of events the occurrence of which guarantees receipt of material support |
| 4 | Payment amounts | For each case, the exact amount of assistance is prescribed |
| 5 | Categories of workers who have the right to count on one or another type of assistance | Employee positions and length of service requirements are indicated. |
| 6 | Documents required to apply for assistance | The list is compiled for each basis |
| 7 | Procedure for provision | The submission forms, stages and deadline for consideration of the application, as well as the time allocated for the transfer of funds are indicated |
| 8 | Grounds for refusal to pay | List of reasons why an employer has the right to refuse to provide assistance |
Assistance from the employer can be provided one-time or repeatedly, in cash or in kind, have a targeted value or be used to support the employee in a situation that requires significant financial costs.
Grounds for non-targeted financial assistance that must be contained in the Regulations:
- marriage;
- birth/adoption of a child;
- death - of a former or current employee, as well as a close relative of one of the employees.
Attention! The applicant is obliged to document the event that became the basis for applying for financial assistance.
Targeted assistance can be provided for a clearly defined purpose:
- surgical treatment or purchase of medications;
- completion of training by the employee or his children;
- purchasing a voucher for sanatorium treatment if there are medical indications;
- home repairs after a fire.
Additional terms
Basic provisions
In addition to the sections listed above, the Regulations should include a clause on limitation of payments. This is necessary if the employer wishes to limit the frequency of payments. For example, you can indicate that financial assistance is provided no more than once a year for each reason.
Also, no one forbids to indicate in the Regulations that financial support is provided only to employees who have worked for more than 1 year in the company. That is, it is possible to provide for a minimum length of service to qualify for assistance.
We also consider it important to indicate in the Regulations the amount of financial assistance for each basis or for all reasons in general. This may be a specific payment size or a so-called “fork” - for example, “from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.”
The actual amount of financial assistance to a specific employee in a specific life situation is indicated in the order of the manager.
For transparency of financial assistance payments, we recommend that the Regulations indicate a fixed amount of financial assistance. Or do this at least for basic types of assistance. For example, at the birth of a child - 5,000 rubles, for a wedding - 8,000 rubles, for a funeral - 10,000 rubles, etc. This will reduce the influence of the human factor when deciding on the payment of financial support.
The regulations are approved by order of the head. The manager can also put the visa in the upper right corner of the Regulations in the “I approve” column.
When is a relief provision required?
Financial assistance can be provided:
- one-time to a specific employee in a specific situation - this type of assistance can be provided on the basis of an order issued by the head of the organization;
- regularly to different employees based on the standards established at the enterprise.
It is precisely in the latter case that a provision on financial assistance , regulating the procedure for its provision.
The presence of such a document, which clearly indicates the grounds and amount of payments due to employees from management, allows in some cases to reduce taxable amounts. In particular, paragraph 28 of Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides that employees do not pay taxes on assistance, the amount of which does not exceed 4,000 rubles, received from the enterprise in connection with retirement due to old age or disability.
Sample provision on financial assistance
Our specialists have prepared for you an example of the Regulations on the payment of financial assistance (sample), which you can read at the link.
This Regulation is given as an example. It can be easily modified and used in your situation. We tried to take into account all the main points.
Do not forget that financial assistance can be given not only in money, but also in property .
Some companies introduce a separate section describing the conditions for receiving financial assistance in the Regulations on Remuneration . It is not prohibited . The most important thing is that the document reflects the main points and conditions for receiving assistance, as well as the amount or maximum payments.
The purpose of approving the Regulations on the provision of financial assistance to employees
The Regulations on financial assistance to employees (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) are approved by order of the director in order to streamline relations when providing assistance to employees of the enterprise working under an employment contract. The more detailed the text of the document is, the easier it is to control its execution and the clearer the conditions for receiving funds by an employee of the enterprise.
The adoption of the Regulations is necessary in order to increase the level of social protection of employees, create a feeling of concern for the enterprise, inspire trust, interest in the activities and promotion of the company, and create conditions for the conscientious performance of duties. It comes into force from the moment the approval order is signed, and is valid until it is canceled or a new Regulation is adopted.
Financial assistance for vacation
There is no such type of payment established by law for private businesses . However, an employer can in this way encourage an employee who takes a vacation of 14 days or more . They do this once a year.
If the company provides additional financial assistance for vacation, be sure to specify the conditions for receiving it in the Regulations. For example, the condition for receipt is a signed order for the next annual leave for a period of 14 calendar days or more. This type of payment is considered an element of remuneration with the accrual of appropriate taxes.
You can find out what taxes are imposed on financial assistance in the article “How and by what is financial assistance taxed.”
Financial assistance in the regulations on wages at the enterprise: features of operations
The grounds and procedure for paying financial assistance do not have to be regulated by a separate provision. It is permissible to include relevant clauses in the regulations on the basis of which workers are paid.
In such conditions, the employer has the opportunity to pay assistance from the amounts allocated for wages. In this case, the accounting department has the right to conduct it in account 70 “Settlements with personnel.”
If the payment provision does not contain rules on financial assistance, then it should be carried out using account 73 “Settlements with personnel for other operations” (for employees on staff) or account 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors” (for employees who have already left, for example due to the fact that the employee quits and retires). Such payments are made only from net profit.
Thus, financial assistance to employees is an issue that is not fully regulated by law. Too much here is left to the will of the individual employer. That is why local acts play the main role, and not the norms of federal legislation.
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.
Financial assistance in kind
When a person has a misfortune, he will be glad to receive any help, including provided clothing and basic necessities.
In accordance with the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 24, 2012 No. 03-03-06/4/87, the transfer of essential items (clothing, etc.) to employees and members of their families in connection with an emergency or natural disaster is recognized as material assistance issued in kind.
Also, financial assistance can be provided with expensive medications that the employee cannot buy himself. This is also a natural form of help.
In some companies, it is customary to provide financial assistance in kind. Let's give examples.
EXAMPLES
Parents of a future first-grader are given stationery (notebooks, albums, pencils, paints, colored paper, etc.) packed in a briefcase. On the one hand, the company has the opportunity to purchase school stationery at wholesale prices, and on the other hand, the parents of a first-grader are relieved of the headache of getting him ready for first grade. For sponsored war and combat veterans, the company can provide targeted financial assistance in the form of food packages. This type of support eliminates the need for the veteran or his family members to purchase food.
Also, some companies provide financial assistance in the form of issuing certificates and cards for the purchase of goods or services in stores. For example, newlyweds are given a certificate for purchasing a photo shoot or ordering another service.
When creating the Regulations, you can specify the following assistance options.
When is the order approving the position issued?
a strict procedure in which local acts must be developed and approved (including the provision on the payment of financial assistance - a sample can be found on our website). It is only necessary that the requirements of Art. 8 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, including coordination of the contents of the act with the representative body of workers in accordance with Art. 372 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (if there is one in the organization).
The following algorithm is usually used:
- The manager issues an order to prepare a draft regulation on financial assistance.
- The services specified in the order are preparing the project.
- The prepared project is agreed with the trade union or other workers' body, if there is one at the enterprise.
- After agreement, the manager, by his order, approves the provision and puts it into effect.
- Employees are introduced to the newly adopted act upon signing.
