QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 851)
The text is Presidential Decree No. 851 (16 December 1975), which requires all employers to pay their employees a 13th month pay.
All employers must pay all employees receiving a basic salary of not more than ₱1,000 a month, regardless of the nature of their employment.
Employees with basic salary of not more than ₱1,000 per month are covered.
No. It applies regardless of the nature of employment.
It must be paid not later than December 24 of every year.
No. Section 2 provides that employers already paying their employees a 13th month pay or its equivalent are not covered.
They are excluded from the coverage of PD 851 to the extent that the benefit is already being paid.
To protect real wages from worldwide inflation, noting no legal minimum wage increase since 1970, and to help workers properly celebrate Christmas and New Year.
It indicates the benefit is not limited by employment classification (e.g., regular, seasonal, etc.), as long as the employee meets the basic salary threshold.
The provided text does not include the computation formula; it only mandates payment of a 13th-month pay under the stated conditions and deadline.
It shall take effect immediately (Section 3).
It was done in the City of Manila on December 16, 1975.
Ferdinand E. Marcos signed as President; Juan C. Tuvera signed as Presidential Assistant “By the President.”
It sets the latest permissible payment date; paying after December 24 would be non-compliant with the decree.
Yes. The coverage includes those receiving a basic salary of not more than ₱1,000 a month, which includes ₱1,000.
Yes. The decree requires payment “not later than” December 24, so earlier payment is within the deadline.