The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) appealed to private sector employers not to wait for the December 24 deadline for releasing the 13th month pay of their workers.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the mandatory benefit is equivalent to an employee’s one-month salary.

“We appeal to them to give it to the employees as early as possible to avoid the holiday rush and for them [workers] to be able to budget for what they will receive for their 13th month pay,” he said in a radio interview.

All rank-and-file employees must be paid their 13th month pay regardless of their position, designation or employment status.

Also entitled to the benefit are rank-and-file employees who are paid on a piece-rate basis, fixed, or guaranteed wage plus commission; those with multiple employers; those who resigned; those who were terminated from employment; or those who were on maternity leave and received salary differential.

For the computation of the 13th month pay, it should not be less than 1/12 of the total basic salary earned by a worker within a calendar year.

The 13th month pay is mandatory under the Labor Code of the Philippines and Presidential Decree No. 851. (PNA)