Is the Company Required to Pay the 13th Month Salary to Employees During the Lunar New Year 2024?
Are businesses required to pay the 13th-month salary to employees during the Lunar New Year 2024?
The 13th-month salary is always a matter of concern for many workers, especially towards the year's end and during the days leading up to the Lunar New Year.
Currently, the 2019 Labor Code does not have any provisions that mention the term “13th-month salary”. Therefore, to determine whether the 13th-month salary is mandatory to be paid during the Lunar New Year, it is necessary to refer to the provisions on wages and bonuses in Chapter VI of the 2019 Labor Code.
Article 90 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates:
Wages
1. Wages are the amount of money that the employer pays to the employee according to the agreed work, which includes the salary based on work or title, salary allowances, and other additional amounts.
Article 104 of the 2019 Labor Code stipulates:
Bonuses
1. Bonuses are amounts of money, assets, or in other forms that the employer awards to the employee based on the production and business results and the level of work completion of the employee.
2. The bonus policy is decided by the employer and publicly announced at the workplace after consulting the representative organization of the employees at the establishment where such an organization exists.
Thus, based on the above provisions, the 13th-month salary is a term devised by enterprises and is not an obligatory wage according to labor law. Also, the 13th-month salary is usually paid as a bonus to the employees. Therefore, in principle, enterprises are not obligated to pay the 13th-month salary to employees. It depends on the bonus policy set and publicized by the employer, whereby employees may receive the 13th-month salary during the Lunar New Year if they meet the conditions.
Currently, businesses often award the 13th-month salary to employees in two ways:
- Method 1: Calculate the 13th-month salary based on the December salary. The amount of the 13th-month salary equals the salary for December.- Method 2: Calculate the 13th-month salary based on the average salary: 13th-month salary equals the average salary of 12 months.
Are businesses required to pay the 13th-month salary to employees during the Lunar New Year 2024? (Image from the Internet)
What penalties apply if businesses do not pay the 13th-month salary to employees during the Lunar New Year?
As analyzed, the 13th-month salary is usually a bonus for employees depending on the bonus policy of the enterprise. If the enterprise does not award the bonus, there are no penalties under the law.
Currently, labor law only specifies two behaviors that constitute administrative violations related to bonuses, as per Article 17 of Decree 12/2022/ND-CP:
Violations of wage regulations
1. Fines ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on employers who commit one of the following acts:
a) Failing to publicly announce at the workplace before implementation: wage scales and tables; labor norms; bonus regulations;
b) Failing to establish wage scales and tables or labor norms; failing to test the labor norms before official issuance;
c) Failing to consult the representative organization of employees at the establishment where such an organization exists when establishing wage scales and tables; labor norms; bonus regulations;
...
Thus, concerning the bonus of the 13th-month salary, enterprises only face penalties if they commit two acts:
+ Failing to publicly announce the bonus regulations at the workplace before implementing the 13th-month salary bonus.+ Failing to consult the representative organization of employees at the establishment where such an organization exists when establishing the bonus regulations.
If violated, businesses could be fined between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000.
Lunar New Year 2024 holiday schedule?
According to the contents of Official Dispatch 8662/VPCP-KGVX dated November 3, 2023, Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on the Lunar New Year break from February 8, 2024, to February 14, 2024, and National Day holiday from August 31, 2024, to September 3, 2024.
Thus, the Lunar New Year holiday for Giap Thin 2024 lasts 7 days. Officials and public employees will have a break from February 8, 2024, to February 14, 2024 (meaning from Thursday of the previous week to Wednesday of the following week).
According to the lunar calendar, officials’ Lunar New Year 2024 holiday period is from December 29, Quy Mao lunar year to the end of January 5, Giap Thin lunar year.
For students, the Lunar New Year 2024 holiday will depend on the regulations of each locality and school.
For example, students in Ho Chi Minh City according to Decision 3260/QD-UBND of 2023: the Lunar New Year Giap Thin 2024 holiday starts from February 5, 2024 (26th day of the Lunar Month) to the end of February 18, 2024 (9th day of the Lunar Month).
To be specific:, Lunar New Year 2024 will fall on the following days:
- 26th day of Tet: Monday, February 5, 2024;- 27th day of Tet: Tuesday, February 6, 2024;- 28th day of Tet: Wednesday, February 7, 2024;- 29th day of Tet: Thursday, February 8, 2024;- Lunar New Year's Eve: Friday, February 9, 2024;- 1st day of Tet: Saturday, February 10, 2024;- 2nd day of Tet: Sunday, February 11, 2024;- 3rd day of Tet: Monday, February 12, 2024;- 4th day of Tet: Tuesday, February 13, 2024;- 5th day of Tet: Wednesday, February 14, 2024;- 6th day of Tet: Thursday, February 15, 2024;- 7th day of Tet: Friday, February 16, 2024;- 8th day of Tet: Saturday, February 17, 2024;- 9th day of Tet: Sunday, February 18, 2024.
LawNet