Thirteenth salary

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  13th salary mandatory

  14th salary mandatory

  13th salary customary

  14th salary customary

A thirteenth salary, or end-of-year bonus, is an extra payment given to employees at the end of December. Although the amount of the payment depends on a number of factors, it usually matches an employee's monthly salary and can be paid in one or more installments (depending on country).

History[]

Early information about a thirteenth salary came from the Philippines in December 1975, where there was a problem with updating the minimum wage.^[1] The minimum wage had not been raised for five years, and no longer matched the cost of living. President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 851, ordering employers to pay a thirteenth salary to improve the situation.^[1] It paid a bonus to workers, which could be saved or spent.

Compensation based on annual work was paid in addition to the basic salary on the basis of the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers of the USSR on 4 October 1965 ("On improving planning and enhancing economic incentives for industrial production"). Paid from the material incentive fund, the amount of funds was determined by the administration in conjunction with the Central Committee. If a company fulfilled (or exceeded) annual plans for the sale of products (or profits) and estimated profitability, the thirteenth salary could be paid from funds earmarked in the budget and other cash reserves. If a company did not meet the targets, a reduced amount was paid.^[2]

Details[]

A number of countries followed the Philippines, enacting similar thirteenth-salary laws, and some have passed laws about fourteenth- and fifteenth-month pay. Some regions have a compulsory fourteenth salary.^[3] Brazil has a mandatory fourteenth-month salary, which is treated as a holiday bonus.^[4]

The payment varies by country. Some have one payment at the end of the year, and others pay in two installments: one in the first half of the year and the other at the end of the year.^[5] This could motivate people to travel or otherwise enjoy summer holidays. Corporations that fail to make the payments may be fined.^[5]

Taxation[]

The thirteenth salary is normally tax-exempt, although some countries have restrictions; if the payment exceeds one month's salary, it could be taxable.^[6]

Computation[]

The thirteenth salary is most frequently expressed as a one month's salary, or one-twelfth of the annual salary. Not all workers are guaranteed this amount, however; in Mexico, most people receive at least 15 days' wages.^[5]

Prevalence[]

Europe[]

Mandatory

• Armenia: paid before the New Year holidays
• Greece: 14th-month and holiday bonuses are paid on Christmas, Easter, and summer vacation
• Italy: 13th-month bonus paid on Christmas to all workers, 14th-month bonus paid on June to retirees over the age of 64.
• Portugal: 13th-month paid in summer vacation and 14th-month at Christmas.
• Spain: mandatory 14th-month bonuses (pagas extraordinarias) paid in summer and at Christmas. They can be prorated into the twelve monthly salaries.^[7]

Customary

• Austria: End of June; a 14th-month bonus is paid at the end of November.
• Belgium: Paid at the end of the year; mandatory holiday bonus
• Croatia: Paid at Christmas or Easter
• Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Switzerland: Paid at the end of the year
• Finland: Paid in summer, usually 50 - 60 % of monthly salary
• Germany: Paid before Christmas
• Italy: A 14th-month bonus may be paid in June to those workers who qualify according to their national collective contract.
• Netherlands: paid in November or December^[1][3]

Germany[]

In Germany, a legal distinction is made between a thirteenth salary and a Christmas bonus; in most other countries, the terms are used interchangeably. The Christmas bonus (usually paid with the November salary) is intended to pay additional holiday expenses and retain employees.^[8] The thirteenth salary is paid by an employer for ongoing work at the end of a calendar year. An employee is entitled to a prorated thirteenth salary if they leave their employer before the end of the calendar year, unless the parties to the employment contract have agreed otherwise.^[9]

Special payments for regular work performance (a requirement fulfilled by the thirteenth salary, and the Christmas bonus in certain cases) can be counted towards the minimum wage.^[10][11][12] For example, a person works full-time and earns €8.03 per hour until a minimum wage of €8.50 per hour is introduced. Their employment contract stipulates that they are entitled to a half-month Christmas bonus and an annual holiday payment, totaling one month's salary. To meet the minimum wage of €8.50 (required by law in Germany since January 2015), the employer consolidates the holiday payment and Christmas bonus and pays one-twelfth of the amount to the employee every month. The employee's hourly wage would increase to €8.69, meeting the minimum wage.^[12]

The Christmas bonus is part of the other-remuneration category, in accordance with §39b Abs. 3 of the EStG.^[13] The Christmas tax allowance was abolished with the Tax Reform Act of 25 July 1988.^[14] Since July 2008, federal officials have no longer received Christmas bonuses; the special payments (Christmas and holiday bonuses), amounting to five percent of the annual salary, were integrated into the officials' base salary.^[15]

Switzerland[]

Most Swiss employers pay their employees' annual salary in 13 instalments, rather than 12. An employee usually receives two months' salary in December, which helps pay end-of-year and holiday bills. Sometimes they receive half in July and half in December, however, similar to Germany's Christmas bonus and holiday payment. The thirteenth monthly salary is not a bonus, but a delayed payment. Whether or not a thirteenth salary is paid is part of an employment contract; some companies pay a higher monthly salary instead of the additional payment. In the first and last years of employment, the thirteenth salary is prorated for partial years.^[16]

Some employers pay an additional annual bonus based on employee performance or employer profits. When an employee pays direct income tax and the 13th month's salary and bonus are paid in the same month, a higher tax rate is paid.^[16]

Latin America[]

In Latin America, the thirteenth salary is commonly known as aguinaldo or prima in Spanish (bonus).^[17][18]

Mandatory

• Argentina: two equal instalments, by 30 June and 18 December
• Bolivia: tax-free, up to one month’s wages. A 14th-month bonus is mandatory as a holiday bonus if the GDP is over 4.5 percent.
• Brazil: paid in two equal parts, by 30 November and by 20 December. A mandatory 14th-month bonus is a holiday bonus. It is one-twelfth of the wage paid in December per month worked previously (if the worker was hired less than one year ago), or equal to the December wage.^[19][4][20]
• Colombia: two halves, paid during the first 15 days of June and the first 20 days of December
• Costa Rica: paid during the first 20 days of December
• Dominican Republic, Mexico: paid by 20 December
• Ecuador: A mandatory 14th-month bonus is paid in parts or in a lump sum.
• El Salvador: Christmas bonus, based on years of service
• Guatemala: paid at mid-year. A mandatory 14th-month bonus is paid at the end of the year; both are equal to one month's salary.
• Honduras: paid in December. A mandatory 14th-month bonus is paid in July; both are equal to one month's salary.
• Nicaragua: one month's salary, paid by 10 December
• Panama: paid in three equal parts on 15 April, 15 August, and 15 December
• Peru: paid in July. A mandatory 14th-month bonus is paid in December.
• Uruguay: paid in two halves, on 30 June and by the end of the year
• Paraguay, Venezuela: paid at the end of the year

Customary

• Chile: paid in December or in two halves, in September and December^[1][3]

Asia[]

Mandatory

• India: paid within eight months of the end of the financial year
• Indonesia: religious-holiday bonus, paid at least one week before the holiday
• Philippines: the Labor Code states this bonus, commonly called “13th month”, must be paid in sum to permanent employees in December, or in two installments in May and November. Added 14th, 15th, and other bonuses may be given at the employer’s discretion.^[21]
• Saudi Arabia: paid on Eid al-Fitr^[1][3]

Customary

• China: paid during the month of the Lunar New Year or Spring Holiday.
• Hong Kong: paid at the Lunar New Year or the end of the year.
• Israel
• Japan: a summer bonus, paid in June. A 14th-month winter bonus is paid in December.
• Malaysia: paid at the end of the year
• Nepal: paid with the last month's salary before the festival of Dashain.
• Singapore (Annual Wage Supplement),.^[22]
• Taiwan: paid at the end of the year.
• United Arab Emirates: A 14th-month bonus is paid at the end of the year.
• Vietnam: paid the month before the Lunar New Year.^[23]

Africa[]

• Angola: A mandatory vacation bonus is paid before a holiday. A mandatory 14th-month Christmas is paid in December.
• Nigeria: paid before Christmas
• South Africa: paid at the end of the year^[1][3]

See also[]

• Bonus payment
• Christmas bonus (United Kingdom)
• Performance-related pay

References[]

Further reading[]

• A State Mandated Christmas Bonus from In Custodia Legis, the Law Library of Congress blog