Alternative forms of employment and pregnancy
Previously we wrote about for what benefits an IT specialist employed under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation can count on during pregnancy and the birth of a child. However, an official employment contract is not the only way to formalize labor relations, which is offered by various types of IT companies. In job descriptions you can often see the abbreviations IP, SZ, GPC. Previously, we also wrote about why does the employer want you to be an individual entrepreneur?but it’s not a sin to repeat it, and at the same time decipher other abbreviations.
IP stands for “individual entrepreneur”. To become an individual entrepreneur, you need to register with the tax office, having previously decided on the type of economic activity and tax regime. Individual entrepreneurs have the right to hire employees. You can read more about individual entrepreneur registration Here.
Self-employment is self-employment. A self-employed person is the same entrepreneur, but smaller, without employees and with an upper income limit per year. Registration of self-employment is noticeably simpler than registration of individual entrepreneurs. Also, the self-employed have nuances regarding tax rates: they differ depending on who pays for the goods or services of the self-employed. If payment is from individuals, then the rate is 4%, if from a legal entity, then 6%. More about self-employment Here.
GPC is a separate type of agreement, which stands for “agreement of a civil law nature.” Such an agreement can be concluded with anyone, either with an individual entrepreneur or a self-employed person, or simply with an individual. The responsibilities of the parties concluding it are spelled out in it. If an agreement is concluded between a legal entity and an individual, then the legal entity is obliged to withhold personal income tax, as well as pay insurance contributions to the Social Fund of Russia. These contributions will go not only to the pension insurance of the performer – an individual, but also to insurance in case of illness and maternity.
Individual entrepreneurs and self-employment, as a rule, are much more beneficial for the employer than for the employee, if we are talking about labor relations. It's all about how much various contributions you need to pay. For an employee working under an employment contract and for an employee at a civil servant who has not registered for himself as an individual entrepreneur or self-employment, the employer pays contributions for compulsory pension insurance, medical insurance, insurance in case of temporary disability and maternity, all together – 30% of taxable income, taking into account Personal income tax. At the same time, for example, company accreditation allows her to reduce contributions to 7.6%. There are other nuances and tricks for calculating contributions; we will talk about this in other articles. Under other agreements, the employer shifts the tax burden and the burden of social insurance to the performers. They themselves must ensure that they pay both taxes and the necessary contributions; they themselves must take care of their pension in the future.
Issues regarding the payment of sick leave and benefits, including maternity benefits, are the responsibility of the Social Fund of Russia and are paid from insurance contributions.
Let's figure out who and under what circumstances has the right to these benefits, in addition to women working under a formal employment contract.
Women working under a GPC contract. If you are planning a pregnancy in 2024, then you will receive benefits only if contributions were paid for you in 2023 in the amount of at least 5,652.22 rubles. If the pregnancy is planned in 2025, then 6,696.22 rubles must be paid by the end of 2024.
If you work as an individual entrepreneur and are planning a pregnancy in 2025, then you need to register with the SFR during 2024 and pay contributions in the amount of 6,696.22 rubles. If you are pregnant in 2024, then you will receive benefits only if you registered in 2023 and paid at least 5,652.22 rubles to the fund.
If you work as self-employed, then there is no chance of receiving benefits unless you open an individual entrepreneur, register with the SFR and pay contributions. So self-employed people can become pregnant entirely at their own peril and risk; of all categories of working women, they are the least protected.
These amounts are calculated in proportion to the minimum wage, so you cannot count on a substantial amount of benefits. The logic is simple: you pay the minimum amount of contributions to the SFR – you receive benefits calculated on the basis of the minimum wage.
Let's remember the formula calculating maternity benefits: First, the average daily earnings for the last two years are calculated, and then the resulting number is multiplied by the number of vacation days. For individual entrepreneurs, actual earnings are not taken into account; all amounts will be calculated based on the minimum wage in force at the time of the insured event.
The federal minimum wage in 2024 is 19,242 rubles. The average daily earnings based on this will be 641.4 rubles. Then the amount of maternity benefit for a normal singleton pregnancy will be 89,796 rubles.
The amount of the allowance for caring for a child up to one and a half years old, based on the figures above, turns out to be 7,696 rubles 80 kopecks per month. But the minimum benefit amount from February 1, 2024 is 9,227 rubles 24 kopecks, according to the SFR, so you can count on this amount.
It is also worth considering that if the minimum wage in your region differs from the federal one, then both the amount of contributions and the amount of benefits may differ.
We encourage all women workers to carefully evaluate their options, weigh their decisions and consider their consequences; enjoy all rights granted by law.
If you have experience of clashes with an employer during pregnancy and would like to share this, write to us at feedback form or email ruitunion.org@proton.me.
