10.Salaries and social benefits
Salaries and social benefits are regularly handled by international and local agencies working in Russia. They use different approaches. Some perform surveys for various positions in specific industries in a particular region, e.g., only in the consumer goods sector in Moscow, while others analyze salaries according to such criteria as human relation skills, job scope and duties – so-called ‘job grading’. However, the main problem for HR in Russia is keeping up-to-date with current levels of salary and social benefits offered to managers. For example, the results of the HAY survey submitted in July will be not available until January, and they will already be obsolete in six months. This, among other factors, is related to the turnover of employees.
Moreover, some Russian companies tend to pay official and unofficial salaries. Russian enterprises have long traditions of keeping two sets of books: one with actual results for internal usage and one with desired results for external audits and/or reports by the old Soviet ministries. There are still some reasons for paying in official and unofficial ways, such as the reduction of social taxation and additional options for non-authorized work on holidays, vacations, and overtime hours. This fact of unofficial income is even accepted by international
banks operating in Russia and providing loans for Russian citizens.