The highest bonus for workers for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) is VND855 million (around US$37,650) and the lowest is VND20,000, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Data of the ministry compiled from reports of enterprises across the country showed the highest Tet bonus is pledged by a private company in HCMC while an enterprise in the northern province of Vinh Phuc has registered the lowest bonus for its employees.

The average Tet bonus in the country is VND5.5 million (US$242) per employee, equivalent to one month’s pay, up 13% year-on-year.

The average Tet bonus at wholly State-owned enterprises is VND5 million per person, up 8.7% year-on-year, while that at private enterprises is VND6.2 million, down 15.8%, and at foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises it is VND5.6 million, up 16%.

Regarding calendar New Year bonuses, this year’s average was estimated at VND1.1 million per person, down 8.1% compared to last year’s.

The highest New Year bonus of VND1.5 billion was recorded at an FDI firm in HCMC and the lowest of VND30,000 at some private and FDI enterprises in Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Binh Duong provinces.  

The average bonus at FDI enterprises was VND1.1 million per person, down 9.2% year-on-year while that of wholly State-owned and private enterprises was VND1.5 million and VND900,000, up 0.4% and 16.9% respectively. 

A report by the Labor Relations and Wages Department showed that some enterprises have not announced their Tet bonuses. According to the Labor Code, Tet bonuses are not compulsory and depend on enterprises’ financial conditions and employees’ performance.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs encourages enterprises to reduce costs so that they can have more money to offer higher Tet bonuses for workers.

SGT