As we all know, the month of June brings with it the arrival of the long-awaited Christmas bonus.
What is it about? What do you contemplate? When and how is it paid? What amount should be charged? All questions that we will try to explain in the best possible way in the following lines.
1.- Regulations
1.1.- Origins
The Annual Supplementary Salary (SAC) has its origins in what was known decades ago as Christmas bonus, which consisted of a voluntary end-of-year bonus from private employers for their workers.
This voluntary gratification became a legal obligation for employers when Decree Law 33.302 / 45 was issued, through which the payment of this salary was established annually (hence the expression Salary
Annual Supplementary), being Law No. 17,620 / 68 the one that transformed it into a semi-annual payment.
1.2.- Employment Contract Law
In the month of May 1976, Law No. 20,744 on the Employment Contract was promulgated, which in Chapter III defines the concept, the payment periods and the proportional payment of the SAC.
Article 121 says that "supplementary annual salary is understood to mean one twelfth of the total remuneration defined in Article 103 of this law, received by the worker in the respective calendar year."
Article 122 mentions “the supplementary annual salary will be paid in two installments: the first one on June 30 and the second on December 31 of each year. The amount to be paid in each semester will be equal to one twelfth of the remuneration accrued in said periods, determined in accordance with article 121 of this law. ”
Lastly, article 123 legislates the following: “when the termination of the employment contract for any cause is operated, the worker or the right-holders determined by this law, shall have the right to receive the part of the complementary annual salary that shall be established as twelfth of the remuneration accrued in the fraction of the semester worked, up to the moment of leaving the service. ”
1.3.- Supplementary Annual Salary Law
Passed in December 1983 and promulgated in January 1984, Law No. 23,041 in order to mitigate the inflationary impact of the time, modified the calculation procedure established in the LCT, ordering that it would be calculated as 50% of the highest remuneration accrued in each of the semesters in which the SAC is paid.
Thus, in its article 1 it states: “The complementary annual salary in private activity, Central and decentralized Public Administration, State companies, mixed companies and State-owned companies, will be paid on the calculation of 50% of the highest monthly remuneration earned for all reasons within the semesters that culminate in the months of June and December of each year. ”
1.4.- Decree No. 1078/84
In April 1984, the decree that regulates Law 23,041 was published, which makes it clear that “the liquidation of the Annual Supplementary Salary, by virtue of the provisions of art. 1 of law 23.041, will be proportional to the time worked by the beneficiaries in each of the semesters in which the computable remuneration is accrued. ”
And further on, it also clarifies that “the calculation of fifty percent (50%) of the highest monthly remuneration accrued for any concept within the respective semester, must be made on the total remuneration that must be computed, in accordance with the provisions in force., for the settlement of the supplementary annual salary. ”
2.- Theoretical Considerations
2.1.- Concept
The SAC can be defined as a supplementary remuneration that is equivalent to 50% of the highest remuneration accrued monthly in each semester of the year.
It is a kind of deferred salary for which the worker earns this remuneration every day he has worked.
The SAC corresponds to all workers in a dependent relationship, regardless of the form of their hiring, that is, whether it is for an indeterminate or determined time (fixed term, eventual). At the same time, as it is a remunerative sum, the discounts for retirement and social work correspond that correspond by law.
2.2- Calculation
In order to calculate the SAC corresponding to a semester of the year, the highest monthly remuneration accrued in said semester must be taken and to that amount apply 50%.
The concepts to take into account for the calculation of the best salary of the semester are all those that are remunerative, that is, they are subject to discounts for retirement and social work and among which are:
• Basic salary,
• Seniority,
• Travel expenses,
• Commissions,
• Overtime,
• Holidays,
• Sick leave.
Those non-remunerative concepts do not form part of the calculation of the Christmas bonus, for example:
• Family allowances,
• Social benefits (work clothes, canteen service, etc.),
• Maternity leave,
• Leave without pay.
Clarification: at this point should be taken into account those concepts that are incorporated by agreement in the different unions as non-remunerative additional but that by the same agreement are added to the computation of the SAC.
2.3.- Proportionality
In accordance with the provisions of legal regulations, the payment of the Christmas bonus corresponds to the time actually worked and for which remuneration has been earned.
This means that, for example, the employee starts working on a day that does not coincide with the first day of the semester or stops working on a day that is not the last day of the period; The SAC should be paid proportional to the time that he was carrying out his tasks.
In this case, the best remuneration accrued must be taken in the effective time in which he was providing tasks, calculate 50% of said amount and multiply the result by the number of days he worked and divide that total by the total days of the semester. We will see it in point 3 with practical examples for a better understanding.
2.4.- Time and method of payment
The bonus must be paid, as stipulated by law, on June 30 the first installment and December 31 the second installment, however it is usual that it is collected together with the salaries of June and December of each year from the day 5 of the following month in each case. It is also common for the second installment, that is, the one corresponding to December, to be paid in advance as a benefit to workers for the end of the year holidays.
Regarding payment formalities, a receipt must be issued that must be delivered to the employee with the SAC payment individually or on the same receipt where the salaries for the months of June and December are paid.
3.- Practical Exercises
3.1.- Calculation of the complete SAC
Let us suppose an employee hired indefinitely with 2 years of seniority and whose remunerations for all concepts in the semester were:
• January: $ 3,000.-
• February: $ 3,100.-
• March: $ 2,850.-
• April: $ 3,000.-
• May: $ 2,900.-
• June: $ 3,300.-
Solution:
1. Take the best remuneration of the semester: $ 3,300.- corresponding to the month of June.
2. Calculate 50% of the best remuneration: $ 3,300 x 50% = $ 1,650.-
3. Amount to pay by SAC in June: $ 1,650.-
3.2.- Calculation of the proportional SAC
to. With the same data as in the previous example but assuming that the employee started working on April 16.
Solution:
1. Take the best remuneration for the period worked: $ 3,300.- corresponding to the month of June.
2. Calculate 50% of the best remuneration: $ 3,300 x 50% = $ 1,650.-
3. Calculate the proportional SAC: $ 1,650 x 76 days worked (April 15 + May 31 + June 30) / 181 days which has the semester.
4. Amount to pay by SAC in June: $ 692.82
Clarification: in this case for the calculation of the second installment to be paid in December, the full July-December semester will be taken.
b. With the same data as in the example in point 3.1.- but assuming that the employee ends the employment relationship by resignation on February 28.
Solution:
1. Take the best remuneration for the period worked: $ 3,100.- corresponding to February.
2. Calculate 50% of the best remuneration: $ 3,100 x 50% = $ 1,550.-
3. Calculate the proportional SAC: $ 1,550 x 59 days worked (January 31 + February 28) / 181 days of the semester.
4. Amount to be paid by SAC in the final settlement: $ 505.25.-
Clarification: in this case it must be taken into account that if it is a dismissal by the employer, the SAC must also be paid for the compensation amount of the notice and the integration of the month of dismissal.
3.3.- Calculation of the SAC when there is maternity leave
With the same data as the example in point 3.1.- but assuming that the employee began her maternity leave on May 11.
Solution:
1. Take the best remuneration for the period for which he received wages (from January 1 to May 10): $ 3,100.- corresponding to the month of February.
2. Calculate 50% of the best remuneration: $ 3,100 x 50% = $ 1,550.-
3. Calculate the proportional SAC: $ 1,550 x 130 days worked (January 31 + February 28 + March 31 + April 30 + May 10) / 181 days of the semester.
4. Amount to be paid by SAC in the final settlement: $ 1,113.26.-
Clarification: during the period that includes maternity leave, the worker does not earn any remuneration, what she receives monthly instead of the salary is a non-remunerative assignment, which is why it is not computable for the purposes of the SAC.
