Newspaper: Bonus pay to be made law requirement in Armenia

Zhoghovurd daily of Armenia writes: The draft on Making Addenda and Amendments to the Law of the Republic of Armenia [(RA)] on the Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions and Public Service Positions is hidden among the drafts being discussed in the 7th session of the 8th convocation of the National Assembly.

It assumes the following: to introduce in the RA State Revenue Committee a tool to provide bonus pay to the Committee's employees based on performance evaluation—taking into account the need to increase the appeal and interest of entering the service, increase the salaries of the employees, and prevent the outflow of personnel.

The thing is that, according to the mentioned draft, receiving premiums becomes a procedure established by law, which relieves the signatory of premiums’ decisions from accountability.

It is planned that in the order of calculating the bonus pay, it should be established that during its formation, the circumstance of having passed the preparation or training stipulated by the law will be taken into account, in which case the employee will already have the right to receive 30 percent of the bonus pay.

In addition, if the employee has a qualification defined by the Government and other certification in the tax/customs sector, then the preparation or training for that employee will not be mandatory to receive a bonus pay, and he will already have the right to receive 30 percent of the bonus pay.

To put it briefly, the draft changes the term "premium" to "bonus pay" and puts the accountability on the shoulders of the state, saying that that is what the law implies, not an arbitrary decision of any official.