Forecast of 2023 Tet bonus, some places higher than last year, some places struggling, difficult

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has requested Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs nationwide to implement salary and Tet bonus policies for employees.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs assigned the leaders of the Departments to proactively coordinate with the management boards of industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, provincial Labor Federations and related units to grasp the production and business situation of enterprises, especially those facing difficulties due to order cuts and reduction of employees. From there, the units have appropriate solutions to support enterprises in removing difficulties and obstacles; effectively implement support solutions, promote recovery and development of the labor market.

The Ministry also requested that the Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs also need to guide and support businesses and employers in the area to review and properly implement policies and regimes for employees. For example, salaries, bonuses and other welfare regimes for employees according to regulations...

Forecasting the Tet bonus this year, Mr. Le Quang Trung - former Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Employment (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) said that most businesses are interested in and want to have a worthy bonus to encourage and support employees in the last months of the year. Regarding the bonus, this year may be higher than last year. Many export enterprises, service and construction industries... are developing and have higher profits, so the Tet bonus will certainly be higher than last year.

However, many businesses are facing many difficulties due to reduced orders, and Tet bonuses are a big concern. In these cases, employees also need to share with the business.

According to Mr. Trung, year-end bonuses are very humane, supporting both material and spiritual needs of employees. Employees want to receive a lot of bonuses. However, depending on the conditions of each enterprise, bonuses for employees should be implemented appropriately. According to the provisions of the 2019 Labor Code, in addition to money, bonuses for employees can be in kind. For bonuses in kind to be meaningful, enterprises need to consult employees through the grassroots trade union organization about bonuses in kind. From there, when employees receive Tet gifts in kind from the company, it will be more practical and meaningful.

According to Mr. Pham Minh Huan - former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Tet bonus situation may be more difficult than previous years. However, businesses will still try to give Tet bonuses to employees of at least 1 month of basic salary, while companies in other industries will still have normal Tet bonuses as every year. For businesses that are too difficult and have to let employees go, Mr. Huan said that the authorities need to base on the results of actual surveys to discuss additional support policies for employees.

From the business reality, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long - Chairman of the Trade Union of Matsuo Industries Vietnam Co., Ltd. said that currently, orders are still running smoothly but the output is only about 70 - 80% compared to before, so the company plans to give Tet bonuses of about 1.5 months of salary to employees.

Mr. Cheng Ming Chun - Senior Manager, Inventec Appliances Vietnam Company in Quang Minh Industrial Park, Me Linh (Hanoi) said that with the Vietnamese market just starting to operate from 2022, the production and business situation is not really stable, so the expected bonus will be from 1 - 3 months' salary based on the employee's salary (10 - 30 million VND for management positions), in addition, the company will have a quarterly bonus policy for outstanding employees.

According to Clause 1, Article 104 of the 2019 Labor Code, a bonus is an amount of money or property or in other forms that an employer rewards an employee based on the production and business results and the employee's level of work completion.

Accordingly, rewarding employees is not a mandatory requirement for employers. Depending on the financial situation of the enterprise and the contribution of employees, the enterprise can decide to reward or not reward employees.

The law also does not stipulate the time and amount of bonuses for employees. Therefore, businesses also have full authority to choose the time of bonuses and decide the value of bonuses for employees. Thus, depending on each business, employees may or may not receive Tet bonuses./.