DOLE reminds employers to pay workers their 13th month pay

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz: Pay before Dec. 24. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Tuesday reminded employers about the timely release of the 13th-month pay of their workers.

Baldoz issued the reminder in Department Advisory 2, series of 2013, which spells out the guidelines on the payment of the 13th-month pay.

“The 13th-month pay must be paid on or before 24 December of every year. Employers must pay their workers the 13th-month benefit on this day, but I urge them to pay earlier to avoid the rush,” said Baldoz.

She added, however, that employers may pay their employees one-half of their 13th month benefit before the opening of the regular school year—May or June—and the remaining one-half on or before Dec. 24.

“If not paid after this date, the 13th-month pay becomes due and demandable,” Baldoz said.

Employers failing to pay the 13th-month benefit are liable to money claim cases that aggrieved employees can file with any DOLE regional office, she warned.

“Good labor-management relations, increased workers’ and enterprise’s productivity and competitiveness, and business profitability result from workers well-cared for and paid what is due them,” she said.

“The 13th-month pay is a core labor standard and the Department of Labor and Employment will not compromise on its payment by the employers to their workers,” Baldoz emphasized.

The Labor Code of the Philippines requires all private-sector employers to pay their rank-and-file employees a 13th-month pay regardless of their position, designation, or employment status irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid, provided they have worked for at least one month during a calendar year.

The 13th-month pay is defined to mean one-twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year.

The basic salary includes all remunerations or earnings paid by an employer to an employee for services rendered.

It does not include, however, cost-of-living allowances (COLA), profit-sharing payments, cash equivalents of unused vacation and sick leave credits, overtime pay, premium pay, night shift differential pay, holiday pay, and all allowances and monetary benefits which are not considered, or integrated as part of the regular or basic salary of the employee.

The formula for computing the 13th-month pay is total basic salary earned during the year divided by 12 months.

Under the Labor Code, every covered employer is required to make a report of compliance with the law to the nearest DOLE regional office not later than 15 January of each year.