BIG, medium, small and micro businesses and employers nationwide across all industries are obliged to pay the mandatory 13th month pay of their employees on or before its deadline on or before December 24, 2020 Christmas eve.

Workers’ group of unions the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), who have been advocating for workers’ higher wages, safe workplaces and regular jobs, are optimistic of high compliance rate among enterprises despite of the economic adversities the labor and management have gone through the COVID-19 pandemic economic and health crisis.

For helping build the country’s economy and helping businesses grow, the late President Ferdinand Marcos enacted the Thirteenth Month Pay Law or Presidential Decree 851 on November 1975 mandating employers to give a one month equivalent salary to workers effective 24 December the following month.

“We hope by now the company president or the chief executive officer are about ready to sign their employees’ 13th month check payroll and meet the deadline on Christmas eve this month. We are optimistic that all employers will comply with their obligation to the law and meet the expectations of employees, ” said ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.

Pre-pandemic partial results of annual work site inspections performed by the labor inspectors of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on firms consistently showed a 75% to 80% compliance rate to 13th month payment of firms covered, he said.

“Despite of the firms’ pandemic economic difficulty, it is our belief that company owners and businesses’ top executives will see to it that their employees are paid of the thirteenth month pay” Tanjusay said.

Existing labor implementing rules requires all employers to pay their employees 13th month pay by dividing the total basic salary earned during the year with 12 months.

Employees are entitled regardless of the nature of employment and irrespective of the methods by which wages are paid provided they worked for at least one month during a calendar year.

This includes laid off and retrenched employees, those on floating or furlough status, and even those in manpower agencies and cooperatives.