The 13th month salary bonus in Mauritius?
So I have heard of the 13th month where you get a bonus for December (one months extra pay)but what I don't understand is why this exists?
I went to enrol my toddler in a Nursery last month and all was going well until I was told that I had to pay the 13th month before the end of November, if all workers get a bonus surely this should come from the employer and not me. I do not agree with this at all.
3 Replies
I would definitely advise you to get in touch with the association of consomateurs or the ministry of labour. you see , the 13 month is legally included in our employment rights act, i.e , an employee who has been in employment as at 30th december should have the 13 month bonus. But it is not clear whether you should pay for this. The owner should account for this. and also, paying for some service that hasnt been performed ( paying one month more) does not form part of my philosophy.
I think a lot of people take it as the norm and accept to pay the bonus on behalf of the employer but that only makes the latter richer. If a nursery has 14 infants and 2 staff, in total the parents would pay Rs35,000 extra (assuming the fees are Rs2500 per month). I'm not sure about the wage for the staff but if we say they get Rs10,000 each, the employer would need to find Rs20,000 in bonus for them both. That means Rs15,000 goes to the employer as profit because people do not question them.
This bonus "13em mois" has been a tradition since I can remember. It comes in really handy as you get it in the month of December where your expenses are much more considering it's Christmas and New Year.
However this should come from the employer as a reward for your hard work during the year but I believe many owners/bosses are trying to pass this on to their customers/clients so as to avoid paying the bonus to their staff themselves. And as people don't complain, they (business owners) are getting away with it and making more profit for themselves.
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