One of the most anticipated months for private sector employees in Peru is December, not only for the celebration of Christmas and the end of the year, but for their right to receive monetary compensation for the additional expenses they will incur in the month.
The December bonus in the private sector is equivalent to a monthly salary, with the addition of the amount corresponding to EsSalud’s health coverage payment (9%) or to an EPS (6.5%) contributed by the employer. This is due to Law No. 30334, which establishes that the amount that employers contribute to EsSalud in the months of July and December will be paid to workers, under the modality of “Extraordinary Bonus.”
Employees in the public sector receive a bonus equivalent to 400 Soles, which is a benefit they receive twice a year. Those who receive this bonus are designated under the regime of Legislative Decree No. 276 and Law No. 29944. These are university professors, permanent workers, health personnel, armed forces, and national police; as well as the pensioners included in the regimes of Law Nos. 15117, 19846, 20530, and 28091.
For the computation of the Christmas bonus, the computable period must be taken into account. In the case of the bonus for Independence Day (28 July 2019), the months from January to June are counted as the computable period, while the Christmas bonus uses July to December.
Employees who have worked fewer than six months in a private company receive a prorated bonus. In this case, the worker will receive a proportional payment according to the months worked (1/6 per month worked).
It should be noted that if an employee has worked for at least one month within the months of January to June or from July to December they are entitled to receive a proportional bonus.
On the other hand, workers subject to the labor regime of the micro company do not have the right to receive payment of bonuses (Article 8 of Law No. 27735 Title VI of Law No. 28015 and Article 40 of D.S 009-TR).
Employers must issue payment on or before December 15. Those that do not pay the bonus in full, and in a timely manner, could receive a sanction depending on the number of employees (could range from 1.35 to 22.5 Taxation Units (UIT)). Currently, each UIT is equivalent to 4,150 Soles. It must be taken into account that at the moment that the payment of the bonus to the worker is regularized, the employer must not only pay the amount due but also add the interest, using the corresponding Labor Legal Interest Rate (2.36% per annum in national currency and 0.78% annual in foreign currency).
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