The thirteenth salary or Christmas bonus is one of the most anticipated incomes of workers during the year. It is received by those who are in a relationship of dependence.

The item corresponds to one twelfth of the salary that the worker would have received from December 1 of last year to November 30 of this year.

This bonus law, which was initially known as aguinaldo, was implemented in 1962 to benefit workers during Christmas. During the presidency of Rodrigo Borja (1988-1992), it was called the Christmas bonus, to distinguish it from the fourteenth salary, which was called the school bonus, which is received in March on the Coast, and in September in Sierra.

According to data from the Ministry of Labour, In the period of 2022, more than 1.7 million people received their thirteenth salary; Of these, 1.1 million are men and 590,286 are women.

In addition, 1.6 million citizens received this capital on a full-time basis, and 73,790 citizens on a part-time basis. And only 30,905 were persons with disabilities. Compared to 2021, there are fewer workers who received compensation. A total of 1,581,097 people. In 2020, it was also low: 1,524,686 people.

Earning $450 or more? This is what you will get as your thirteenth salary in Ecuador

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. in 2019, the amount of this tithe payment was close to that of 2022. Four years ago, there were 1,695,016.

Additional and overtime hours are taken into account as part of this calculation, according to labor attorney Vannessa Velásquez. “Vacations or profits are not considered, nor are anything matching social security contributions as reserve funds. For example, if in one month I ordered 1200 dollars, and in another month I earned only 1000 dollars, but later they paid me a bonus of 5000 dollars, all this should be calculated by the twelfth and thus paid on the thirteenth by December 24th. “, he explains.

So, to know how much a person will get as their thirteenth salary, you must first check if they worked overtime and overtime.

Overtime hours are those that are worked after the working day and correspond to 50% of the bonus. While they are extraordinary when they work on a day off or a holiday.

How can I calculate overtime hours?

Before the analysis, it is important to know the price of the working hour. This is obtained with the salary, for example, 450 dollars which is basic, we divide it by 240, which is the equivalent of 30 days times eight hours. And that amounts to $1.88 per hour of work.

This allowance is obtained by multiplying the hourly labor value by the 50% allowance ($1.88 x 1.5). Total: $2.82. We multiply by the number of additional hours. For example, 40 hours and that results in $112.80.

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We add that $112.80, which corresponds to 40 additional hours during the considered cycle, with $5,375 (multiplied the value of the compensation between December 2022 and November 2023, or $425 plus $450 multiplied by eleven).

$5375 adds $112.80 to $5487.8. Divided by twelve is $457.25. This last figure is the amount that person will receive as the thirteenth pay considering the additional 40 hours.

Article 47 of the Labor Law states that the working time will last a maximum of eight hours a day, so it cannot be longer than forty hours a week, unless the law stipulates otherwise: “The longest effective working time in the underground is six hours a day.” day and only for additional, overtime or recovery hours, it can be extended by another hour, with the associated compensation and allowances.

Meanwhile, Article 55 mentions that additional hours cannot be longer than four in a day, nor twelve in a week. And work done on Saturday or Sunday must be paid with a 100% bonus.

How can I calculate overtime?

As in the previous example, we need to know the price of the working hour. That’s $1.88 with a base salary of $450. Now that multiplier will be 100% because it is provided for overtime hours.

Then we multiply the hourly value by 2. Total: $3.76. We multiply this amount by the number of additional hours. For example, 40 hours (five days) and results in $150.40.

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We add that $150.40, which corresponds to 40 additional hours during the considered cycle, to $5,375 (multiplied the value of the compensation between December 2022 and November 2023, or $425 plus $450 multiplied by eleven).

$5375 adds $150.40 to $5525.40. Divided by twelve is $460.41. This last figure is the amount he will receive as the thirteenth pay considering the 40 overtime hours.