THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reminds private employers that payment of their employees’ 13th-month bonus is mandatory.
“The 13th month pay is mandatory, unless there are circumstances that would exempt specific or a particular company to pay, that includes closure,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said.
“We ask for understanding and consideration of our employers to give the 13th-month pay of their employees a little bit earlier so that they can budget what they need to buy,” Laguesma said during a year-end media conference.
While the law mandates the payment of the 13th-month stipend on or before Dec. 24, Laguesma said an earlier disbursement would benefit the workers, especially amid rising prices.
In an advisory, DOLE provided guidelines for the proper computation for the 13th-month pay.
Under the rules, the 13th-month pay must be paid to rank-and-file employees in the private sector regardless of their position, designation, or employment status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid, provided that they have worked for at least one month during the calendar year,” the advisory stated.
“It shall also be given to rank-and-file employees who are paid on a piece-rate basis, fixed or guaranteed wage plus commission, those with multiple employers, those who resigned, were terminated from employment, or were on maternity leave and received salary differential,” it said.
Meanwhile, the DOLE also advised employers to properly pay workers who would render work for the five holidays this December.
Under Labor Advisory No. 14, Series of 2024, the department said Dec. 8, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 are special non-working holidays. Dec. 25 and Dec. 30 are considered regular holidays.
The “no work, no pay” principle applies on these three holidays, the department said. For work done during these dates, the employee would receive an additional 30 percent of their basic wage for the first eight hours of work.
If the employee did not work, the employer must still pay 100 percent of the employee’s wage for these dates, provided the employee reports to work or is on leave of absence with pay on the day immediately preceding the regular holiday.
