Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said no company or employer will be exempted from paying their employees their 13th month pay this December even as businesses suffer blows from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The labor chief reiterated that employers should pay their employees the 13th-month pay on or before December 24.
Bello ruled out any deferment of the 13th-month pay.
“We will not postpone, we will not defer, and we will not give any exception to the payment of the 13th-month pay. The law says: pay the workers their 13th-month pay on or before December 24,” said Bello.
Presidential Decree No. 851 requires employers to pay their rank and file employees 13th-month pay, regardless of the nature of their employment and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided that they worked for at least one month during a calendar year.
Last October, Bello revealed that rural bankers have expressed willingness to provide soft loans to micro and small business enterprises in order for them to pay their employees the 13th-month pay.
He said the Department of Trade and Industry is also willing to provide the same.
The labor department also released Advisory 28-2020 regarding the ‘Guidelines on the Payment of Thirteenth Month Pay,” which states that “no request or application for exemptions or for deferment of the payment shall be accepted and allowed.”