ILOILO City – “Employees should receive their 13th month pay on time,” the Labor department in Region 6 reminded employers on Tuesday.
DOLE regional director Cyril Ticao said employers should give their workers the 13th month pay on or before Dec. 24.
These workers include rank-and-file employees in the private sector “regardless of their position, designation, or employment status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid,” the DOLE said, adding, “provided they have worked for at least one month during the calendar year.”
Ticao stressed how the 13th month is computed according to the amended Labor Code.
“The 13th month pay shall not be less than one-twelfth of the total basic salary earned by an employee in a calendar year,” he said.
Ticao added: “For the purpose of computing the 13th month pay, the basic pay of an employee shall include all remunerations or earnings paid by his or her employer for services rendered.”
The special pay “does not include allowances and monetary benefits which are not considered or integrated as part of the basic salary – such as overtime, premium, night shift differential and holiday pay, and cost of living allowance (COLA),” he further explained.
But in Western Visayas, Wage Order No. RBVI-24 which took effect on July 12 this year integrated COLA in the region’s minimum wage rate.
Ticao also explained what will happen to island closure-affected workers in Boracay.
He said, “In the case of workers affected by the closure of the resort-island, they are entitled to a proportionate 13th month pay based on the total basic salary they earned within the year, before and after the closure.”
The pay is computed this way:
Total Basic Salary X Length of Employment ÷ 12 months = 13th Month Pay.
Example: (10,000) x (4 months) ÷ (12) = P3,333.33
“The 13th month pay is a core labor standard and the DOLE ensures non-compromises in fulfilling the mandated pay-out,” stressed Ticao. “It is a well-deserved benefit of workers who have rendered service throughout the year. They should be given what is due them.”
The regional Labor chief also reminded employers in Western Visayas to submit their report of compliance to the DOLE Regional Office not later than Jan. 15 every year./PN
