What worker doesn’t like to have an extra bonus in their hands, in addition to their monthly salary? In this sense, the 13th salary is one of those moments of glory for professionals. It comes in two forms: the full benefit is the best known, but it is also necessary to calculate the proportional 13th salary . This calculation must consider the number of days in each month that the employee worked.
Therefore, the calculation to be made can cause some confusion. But don’t worry anymore, we will answer the main questions on the subject! Below, learn more about what the proportional 13th salary is, what the law says about this benefit, when it is paid and how to calculate it partially. Check it out!
What is the proportional 13th?
If you have worked for the entire calendar year, you will be entitled to receive your full thirteenth salary . But what if you have not completed a full year? In this context, the proportional thirteenth salary and its respective calculation come into play. This calculation is performed according to the months of activity that you worked.
You must divide the total number of months worked by the number of months in the year to get the precise amount. Next, you take the outcome and multiply it by the monthly payment amount. Don’t worry about memorizing this calculation now, because we will present a practical example of this calculation in this post. The proportional thirteenth salary also applies to settlements that occur after dismissal or periods of absence. Therefore, even if the final amount is low, it must be paid by the company.
What does the law say about proportional 13th?
The 13th salary is a benefit that has existed since 1962, with the introduction of Law 4,090 . Anyone who has worked for at least 15 days, with a signed employment contract, is entitled to proportional payment. This group of professionals includes:
- domestic workers;
- rural professionals;
- workers in urban areas;
- casual workers.
In addition to these groups, it is also important to highlight that people who receive social security benefits are also entitled to a proportional 13th salary. This also includes:
- retired;
- pensioners;
- people who receive sickness benefit, accident benefit, imprisonment benefit and/or maternity pay.
An important detail: young apprentices are also entitled to the proportional benefit, since they have a work record to perform their duties. The 15-day requirement is another item to take into account, as the professional does not have to work the full month in order to qualify for the benefit.
For example: if a professional is hired on October 11th and works the entire month until the end of the year, he or she will be entitled to payment for 3 months (October, November and December) in relation to the proportional 13th salary. He or she will only be eligible for the benefit for the months of November and December, though, if they are employed and accepted only on October 18. This is due to the fact that they won’t have spent the required minimum of 15 days in October.
When should the proportional 13th salary be paid?
First and foremost, it’s critical to comprehend that the employee receives payment for their thirteenth wage in two installments. Only the second installment is discounted; there are no savings on the first. Regarding the dates, the first installment must be paid by November and the second is paid in December. Now, let’s look at some specifics about when the benefit should be paid.
Admission at the beginning of the year
A common question involves situations in which the employee was hired at the beginning of the year. So, if he was hired in January, does he receive the proportional or full amount? In accordance with the number of months worked, an employee employed in the first month of the year is paid the thirteenth wage. He will get the entire benefit if his job contract was executed prior to the 15th. In the same way, if he joined the firm after the 15th, his benefit will be prorated for the first 11 months, with the count beginning in February.
Mid-year admission
Analyzing the dates will also be important if the person was employed during the year—perhaps not exactly in the middle, but somewhere around February or March, for example. The computation operates similarly for employees employed at the start of the year: if the worker worked fewer than 15 days in the hiring month, that month will not be taken into account for determining whether to award the benefit.
In the proportional computation, November is a crucial month. An employee will be eligible for the benefit if they are employed in that month, but the computation will only take into account the months they worked up until the end of the year.
Termination
An employee shall continue to be eligible for a proportionate 13th wage even in the event of their resignation or contract termination. They won’t lose this advantage until they are fired for good reason, in which case the business won’t have to pay any more bonuses.
How to calculate proportional 13th?
Before showing the practical calculation, it is important to remember a rule that indicates how many months of work must be included in the calculation. According to the second paragraph of the first article of law 4.090 , every month in which the employee worked 15 or more days must be counted as a full month. With this in mind, to arrive at the exact value of the proportional 13th, the employee’s gross salary must be divided by 12.
The number of months worked in the year must be multiplied by the outcome of the first computation. The employee will be eligible for the proportionate benefit of seven months if their employment was started on April 10 and ended on October 31. Thus, the monthly wage will be divided by 12 and multiplied by 7 to determine the proportionate amount. This value will be the proportional thirteenth salary due. Next, we will represent these calculations using formulas, to make it easier to understand:
First calculation: gross salary ÷12
Second calculation: result of the first calculation x number of months worked in the year
Let’s imagine that you earn R$4,800 per month in the 7 months that you worked at a company in a given year, from April to October. Then, using the formulas, we would have:
First calculation: R$4,800/12 = R$400
Second calculation: R$400 x 7 = R$2800
With this information in hand, creating your own “proportional 13th salary calculator” is much easier, isn’t it?
Possible discounts
Finally, it is very important to understand that there are discounts such as Income Tax and even INSS contributions if the amount exceeds the salary range. As we mentioned, the INSS discount only applies to the second installment of the benefit and can be 8, 9 or 11% of the gross salary — or calculated proportionally to the months in which the employee worked.
Unlike INSS, Income Tax is discounted on the gross salary, from which are also deducted: the contribution to private pension, INSS and possible discounts for the employee’s dependents and even alimony amounts. As you have seen, calculating the proportional 13th salary is a simple task, but it will make a big difference in your income. With this extra bonus, you improve your financial control and can also apply it to more urgent needs, such as paying off debts .