Hundreds of workers failed to get 13th month pay - DOLE

MANILA, Philippines - The Christmas holiday is almost over, but a lot of workers nationwide have yet to receive their mandated 13th month pay and Christmas bonuses, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“For the past two weeks, we have received 752 calls from workers complaining of nonpayment of 13th month pay,” DOLE’s Labor Communication Office director Nicon Fameronag disclosed.

Fameronag said all employers are supposed to provide their workers 13th month pay before Dec. 24.

“Those complaints mean that there are employers who refused to comply with the law and have not granted their workers mandated benefits,” he said, adding that all workers who have yet to receive their 13th month pay could file a formal complaint before the nearest DOLE office so that appropriate action can be taken.

“As soon as a formal complaint is filed, DOLE would issue an order to the employer to pay their workers 13th month within seven days or face sanction,” Fameronag pointed out.

DOLE officials said all wage and salary workers are entitled to 13th month pay based on Presidential Decree 851 issued on Dec. 16, 1976 by then President Ferdinand Marcos.

However, DOLE clarified that the 13th month pay is different from the Christmas bonus, which is discretionary on the part of employers.

The DOLE’s Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) explained that in paying the 13th month pay, all employers are required to pay their employees not less than one-twelfth (1/12) of the total basic salary earned by an employee in a calendar year.

Employers may also provide half of the 13th month pay before the opening of the school year and the remaining half on or before Dec. 24.