As every year around this time, the workers are waiting for the mid-year premium payment and domestic employees who have an employment contract, whether verbal or in writing, are no exception.
Any person who hires domestic employees, whether domestic workers, butlers or nannies, among others, You should know that you are obligated to pay this benefit. Even if the person goes home only one day a week. However, due to labor informality in this sector, it is often not fulfilled.
(Also read: What is the deadline for recipients to pay the mid-year premium?)
Symmplifica, a digital company that helps employees manage their domestic workers with all of the law, presents you with a guide with everything you need to know about your liquidation. besides, Do you have a calculator to do the math?.
What is the premium?
It is a recognition that is made for the semester worked or proportional to the time worked.
How much should be paid?
The premium corresponds to 15 days of salary per semester worked and must be paid to all dependent workers. That is, any employee with a verbal or written contract.
What is the deadline to pay the premium?
Before June 30, for the first semester, and before December 20, for the second.
Does the premium payment apply to domestic employees who work one or two days a week?
Yes, a domestic worker must receive the premium even if she goes only one day a week or a month.
“In compliance with Law 1788 of July 7, 2016, all workers who are classified as domestic employees, Performing tasks such as cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing, farm caretakers, drivers and/or babysitterswithout discrimination in terms of working time, they are entitled to pay the bonus”, says Salua García Fakih, co-founder and COO of Symmplifica.
What are the consequences of not paying the premium to a worker, including domestic workers and nannies?
It can result in imposition of fines from one to 5 legal monthly wages in force and, in turn, it can lead to labor judges ordering the payment of a moratorium indemnity that corresponds to one day’s salary for each day of delay in payment.
(Read also: Army in Colombia: these are the salaries of the military, according to their rank)
How to calculate the premium of a full-time domestic worker?
The first thing is to get the monthly base salary, which is the sum of the monthly salary, the monthly transport aid (in case of receiving assistance) and the average of other salary income such as bonuses, overtime and other payments that have been reported throughout the period.
Monthly salary = monthly base salary + transportation allowance + average of other base salaries
Once calculated, all you have to do is multiply the monthly base salary by the days worked (excluding suspensions or furloughs) and divide it by 360 (total work calendar days). This value will give you the total to pay for the premium.
Base monthly salary x days worked
Premium = _______________________________________________
360
To better illustrate, suppose that the domestic worker he works Monday through Friday from January 1 to June 30 and earns 1.2 million pesos a month. He has not worked overtime and had a salary bonus of 200,000 pesos.
To calculate the monthly base value, the monthly salary (1.2 million pesos), the monthly transportation allowance (140,606 pesos) and the total average of the bonuses in the period (200,000 pesos / 6 months = 33,333 pesos) are added.
Monthly base salary: 1.2 million pesos + 140,606 pesos + 33,333 pesos = 1,373,939 pesos.
With this result, the premium is now calculated:
Days worked = 180 (6 months x 30 days)
1,373,939 pesos x 180
Premium = ______________________________ = 686,969 pesos
360
(Also read: Learn how to negotiate a better salary for a new job opportunity)
How to calculate the premium for a domestic worker who works between 1 and 21 days a month?
First, the monthly base salary must be calculated, which is the sum of the daily salaryplus the daily transportation allowance (in case of receiving a salary), plus the daily average of other salaries such as bonuses, overtime and other payments that have been reported throughout the period.
The value resulting from this sum must be multiplied by the days worked in the semester and then divide by the months spent in the semester. To calculate the premium, the monthly base salary is multiplied by the days elapsed in the semester and this value is divided by 360 days.
To understand this better, let’s assume that a domestic worker worked three days a week from March 1 to June 30 (four-month period). Her daily salary is 50,000 pesos plus transportation assistance and she did not work overtime, nor did she have bonuses.
To calculate the monthly base salary:
50,000 pesos (daily salary) + 4,687 pesos (transportation allowance)
x 52 (days worked in the period)
Monthly salary = __________________________________________________________ = 710,931 pesos
4 (months spent in the semester)
It is important to keep in mind that the average number of weeks in a month is 4.33 days, so the days worked are 52 and not 48.
With the previous result, the premium can now be calculated:
710,931 (monthly salary) x 120 (days worked)
Premium = _______________________________________________________________ = 236,977 pesos
360 (days of the year)
Keep in mind that this payment is delivered directly to the worker, and in case of making it in cash, you must leave a written record as a guarantee of compliance with this benefit.
