DOLE reminds employers: 13th-month pay should be given on or before Dec. 24

With Christmas fast approaching, the Department of Labor and Employment released early this week the guidelines for the mandatory 13th-month pay for workers, along with a warning to employers against violating the rule. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz issued Department Advisory No. 2, reminding employers all wage and salary workers are entitled to the 13th month pay on or before Dec. 24. “This early, workers are already expecting the payment of year-end benefits, including the statutory 13th month pay, so the reminder to all employers to comply with the payment of the 13th month pay is timely... The 13th month pay is a core labor standard and the DOLE will not compromise on its payment by the employers to their workers,” Baldoz said in a news release posted on the Official Gazette website. A 13th-month pay is computed as 1/12 of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year. It does not include allowances and monetary benefits not considered as part of the basic salary, such as the cash equivalent of unused vacation and sick leave credits, overtime pay, night shift differential pay, holiday pay, and cost of living allowance (COLA). Employers are to make a report of their compliance with the law with the nearest regional office on or  before Jan. 15 of the year. The report shall include: