Christmas is approaching and, with it, the long-awaited Christmas bonus. This subsidy can raise several questions, from the calculation and payment date to the applicable taxes. With the collaboration of Human Resources Portugal, which cites the Associação Mutualista do Montepio, now clarify the most frequently asked questions on this topic.
What is the Christmas allowance?
The Christmas bonus is a supplementary benefit to the annual salary. Provided for in article 263 of the CLT, it aims to ensure extra financial availability to meet the increase in expenses typical of the Christmas season.
Who is entitled?
All employed workers are entitled to the Christmas bonus. It must also be paid to administrators and managers of legal entities, if this right is proven and the necessary conditions are ensured. Furthermore, the Christmas bonus covers pensioners and workers on parental leave or medical leave.
Who is excluded?
The Christmas benefit is not payable to self-employed workers, beneficiaries of voluntary social insurance and to those who are on long sick leave and receive occupational illness benefit.
How is it paid?
This subsidy can be paid in full during the Christmas season. For workers in the private sector, it can also be paid in twelfths (monthly), by agreement between the employer and the worker.
When is payment made?
The full payment date for the Christmas benefit depends on the worker or pensioner’s sector:
- Private sector: until December 15th;
- Public servants: November;
- Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA) pensioners: November;
- Social Security Pensioners: December.
If paying in twelfths, the last installment must be paid before December 15th.
What is the value?
The worker is entitled to an amount equivalent to one month’s salary, including gross monthly base remuneration and seniority payments. Other benefits such as meal vouchers, shifts or attendance are excluded from the calculation.
For example, if a worker earns 1500 euros in gross monthly base salary and worked for 12 months, the Christmas bonus will be 1500 euros gross. The value will be proportional to the time of effective service in the following cases:
- Year of admission of the worker;
- Year of contract termination;
- Suspension of the contract for reasons related to the employee (illness, parental leave, work accident).
The calculation formula in these cases is:
Christmas allowance = Gross monthly remuneration x Number of days worked / 365
Example: If a worker started working on November 1st with a salary of 1000 euros per month, he will be entitled to a gross Christmas bonus of 167 euros (1000 x 61 / 365).
What happens if the employment contract is suspended?
In this situation, the worker can request Social Security to pay a compensatory portion of the Christmas bonus. You have six months to make this request, from January 1st of the year following the year in which the grant is due or from the date of termination of the contract.
The compensatory benefit of the Christmas bonus aims to compensate the employee for the bonus that he did not receive, in whole or in part, from the employer due to being unable to work, due to illness or subsidized parental leave, for a period exceeding 30 consecutive days.
Also read:
