13th month bonus is a bullsh*t


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RuthBaby

Senior Member
When the British were in Singapore, they were being paid weekly & they

argued that Singaporeans were actually being cheated into believing that the

13th month pay is a bonus.

Singaporeans are being paid monthly which is equivalent to 4 weeks pay coz

there are 4 weeks in a month. As the British were paid weekly, it worked out

to the same.

You see, there are 7 days in a week.

4 weeks in a month.

12 months in a year.

Then 12 months should work out to 48 weeks only.

But 1 year worked out to 52 weeks. Hence the 13th month pay (bonus).



So, the British argued that there is in fact no bonus at all???
 

A month is not equal to 4 weeks (28 days) only (with february as an exception), hence if we calculate the number of months in a year based on the 4-weeks-a-month basis, there would be a 13th month, which only amounts to a grammatical technicality.

I believe most people's salaries are calculated on a monthly lump sum basis, hence the 13th month bonus is actually something that is additional to them. However, the story would be different if salary is calculated on a weekly basis.

Suppose a person gets paid $500 a month. He would have earned 12 * 500 = $6000 a year. A 13th month bonus would give him a total of $6500.

$500 a month equals to $125 per week. Based on a 52-week year, he would have earned $6500.

Hope I'm not confusing anyone here :what:
 

When I meet the boss target, I usually get more than 13 months pay; however when I screw up, I don't even get 12 months pay. Life is cruel, learn to live with it.
 

Originally posted by chngpe01
In times like this, I am happy that I still have a job that pays me 12 months salary for a 1 year's work :D :D


Wouldn't most companies (at least now) say your 'yearly' salary is $x and then divide it by 12 for monthly payments or 52 for weekly ?
They have to do accounting based around financial years, to the yearly figure in salary/wages cost is what goes in the accounts in the end...

If they are going to continue with some old '13th month' tradition, they just divide the yearly figure by 13 instead :)

(I'm acutally paied fortnighly).
 

Hey guys, ever wonder why there is a 13th month bonus?
Well, chew on this:

Companies give out 13th month bonus instead of higher monthly salary so that they could have more cash to support their working capital during the year. And assuming they do nothing with that so called extra month pay, they will still earn a good sum of interest by putting it in the bank.

This is something i heard.

Might or might not be true.
But on a financial point of view, it might be true.
 

if i'm not wrong all employees are entitled to the 13th month pay as stated in the employment act unless otherwise stated in ur employment contract.
 

never had the pleasure of receiving whatever 13th month bonus so far.

but not complaining as long as the job is stable
 

In the past (2-3 years ago or more), the 13th month is important to many of us. Pays for bonus goodies for family/loved ones. And I guess many people, esp the older workers grew to expect it as an entitlement. Yes, its supposedly a legal reqt. But given the slackened economic climate, I'd say that the majority ought to be glad to have a job.

In my job, bonus is pegged to performance. I do a good job and bring home lots of new business, maybe I'll get a bigger bonus come the new year. Otherwise, I'd deserve none, or even a kick out onto the street.
;p
 

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