The publication attempts to make up new approaches to the concept of salary as an economic and legal category and offers practical solutions. The sources analyzed are the norms of Soviet and post Soviet labour law, the decisions of arbitration courts, RF Labour Code with the commentaries for the period 1920 – 2000s, books of Russian specialists in law and economic relations. Applying as the subject matter to norms of Russian and international labour law, the author studies the concept and of salary. The salary is assessed in the article in terms of three scientific disciplines, i.e. law, management and political economy. The author describes modern functions of the salary and its social aspects, analyzes the balance between common income received by the employee and his salary. The article provides data pointing to the percentage of GNP allocated on the salary. The article characterizes structural elements of salaries. Besides, the article reveals legal nature and special character of compensatory and stimulating payments, determines their role in the total income received by the employee. The author criticizes the principle of two approaches to the term salary and combining it with the category of labour compensation. The author makes critical comments on the lack in the Russian legislation and Convention 95 of the International Labour Organization a clear division between wages and various guaranteed payments. To correct this circumstance, the article recommends improving the conceptual framework of legal norms and removing the provisions of article 129 of the RF Labour code as they relate to the institution of guarantees and compensatory payments but not the salary in its understanding as a term.