10 Things Government Agencies Need To Consider BEFORE Paying The Mid Year Bonus Of Government Employees
Government agencies are once again paying the Mid Year Bonus (MYB) of government employees on May 15. Hooray!
However, while the existing guidelines on the grant of the same was issued way back 2017, we at GABOTAF find it essential to provide 10 key points to remember before paying the MYB. Well because we all want to ensure once again that we are paying the correct MYB, just like in previous years.
Here they are. You’re welcome!
1. Carefully read the latest legal basis on granting Mid-Year Bonus and check if all provisions were fully-complied with first before paying the MYB.
As of date, the latest general guidelines on the grant of Mid-Year Bonus is Budget Circular No. 2017-2 dated May 8, 2017 entitled “Rules and Regulations on the Grant of Mid-Year Bonus for FY 2017 and Years Thereafter”. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued on July 15, 2019 a clarificatory guidelines on the grant of MYB to government employees who are on scholarship.
[Download the general guidelines and read it again!]. If you have employees or officials who are on scholarship, you also need to read the guidelines again. Download here.
2. Only employees listed below are entitled to MYB. Hence, if any of your employees/workers are not in the list below, they are not entitled to MYB.
- All positions for civilian personnel, whether regular, casual, or contractual in nature, appointive or elective, full-time or part-time, now existing or hereafter created in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, the Constitutional Commissions and other Constitutional Offices, SUCs, and GOCCs covered by the Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS) under RA No. 6758, as amended by Congress Joint Resolution No. 1, series of 1994, and No. 4, series of 2009, and in LGUs; and
- Military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the Department of National Defense (DND) and uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr); and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NaMRIA) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
3. Are Job Order (JO), Contract of Service (COS) workers, and those similarly situated entitled to Mid-Year Bonus?
Unfortunately, individuals and groups of people whose services are engaged through job orders, contracts of service, or others similarly situated are not entitled to the grant of Mid-Year Bonus. However, they may receive up to 20% premium on their salary, consistent with DBM-COA-CSC Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017.
[Read: JO and COS may receive up to 20% premium on their salary starting January 1, 2019]
Moreover, the following individuals or groups are likewise not entitled to the Mid-Year Bonus, viz:
- Government personnel from agencies, including GOCCs, that are exempted from RA No. 6758, as amended, as expressly provided in their respective enabling law or charter, and are actually implementing their respective CPCS approved by the President of the Philippines;
- Government personnel from GOCCs covered by the CPCS established by the Governance Commission for GOCCs and approved by the President of the Philippines pursuant to RA No. 10149; and
- Those hired without employee-employer relationships and funded from non-Personnel Services appropriations/budgets, as follows:
- Consultants and experts hired for a limited period to perform specific activities or services with expected outputs;
- Laborers hired through job contracts (pakyaw) and those paid on piecework basis; and
- Student workers and apprentices.
4. Don’t pay the Mid-Year Bonus more or less than the prescribed rate.
The Mid-Year Bonus is equivalent to one (1) month basic pay as of May 15 of the government employee.
For regular and contractual employees, the mid-year bonus is equivalent to their monthly salary. For casual personnel, the mid-year bonus is equal to their total monthly wages computed as daily rate multiplied by 22 or equal to the monthly salary of a regular personnel with equivalent position.
On the other hand, the mid-year bonus for military and uniformed personnel is equivalent to their monthly base pay while the mid-year bonus non-salaried barangay officials and employees is equivalent to their monthly honoraria.
[View: Monthly Base Pay of Military and Uniformed Personnel]
5. Ensure that these conditions were fully-complied with first before paying Mid-Year Bonus.
The Mid-Year Bonus equivalent to one (1) month basic pay as of May 15 shall be given to entitled personnel not earlier than May 15 of the current year, subject to the following conditions:
- Personnel has rendered at least a total or an aggregate of four (4) months of service from July 1 of the immediately preceding year to May 15 of the current year;
- Personnel remains to be in the government service as of May 15 of the current year; and
- Personnel has obtained at least a satisfactory performance rating in the immediately preceding rating period, or the applicable performance appraisal period. If there is a need for a shorter period, it shall be at least ninety (90) calendar days or three (3) months, provided that the total or aggregate service under Item 5.1.1 of the aforementioned Circular is complied with.
6. As discussed above, employees who are no longer in service before May 15 are not entitled to the Mid-Year Bonus.
If an employee has rendered a total or an aggregate of less than four (4) months of service from July 1 of the immediately preceding year to May 15 of the current year, but is no longer in the service as of May 15, he/she shall not be entitled to the Mid-Year Bonus.
7. Check if there are newly-promoted employees before May 15.
The mid-year bonus of the employee concerned is equal to his/her basic salary as of May 15. Ensure however that his/her appointment for promotion was already approved.
8. Ensure proper charging of the Mid-Year Bonus. Ideally, the MYB should be given at the prescribed rate; however, if funds are not sufficient, the same shall be given at a uniform percentage.
For National Government Agencies, the amounts required for the grant of Mid-Year Bonus to personnel are charged against the agency-specific allocation/budget for the payment of Mid-Year Bonus under the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The grant of the Mid-Year Bonus to personnel of covered GOCCs shall be sourced from their respective corporate budget as determined by their respective governing boards, subject to the following considerations:
- The provisions on the entitlement/non-entitlement of personnel to the Mid-Year Bonus, as discussed above, shall be strictly observed.
- If funds are insufficient, the Mid-Year Bonus may be granted at lower rates but at a uniform percentage of the monthly basic pay as of May 15 of the current year.
For LGUs, the grant of the Mid-Year Bonus to personnel of provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays shall be charged against their respective local budget as determined by their respective sanggunian, subject to the following considerations:
- The provisions on the entitlement/non-entitlement of personnel to the Mid-Year Bonus, as discussed above, shall be strictly observed.
- The Personnel Services limitation in LGU budgets under Sections 325(a) and 331(b) of RA No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, shall be complied with.
- If funds are insufficient, the Mid-Year Bonus may be granted at lower rates but at a uniform percentage of the monthly basic pay as of May 15 of the current year.
9. Check if there are employees in your payroll who already retired before May 15. Unfortunately, they are no longer entitled to MYB.
Unless their services were extended, retired employees are not entitled to the grant of Mid-Year Bonus. The rule says, to be entitled to the Mid-Year Bonus, personnel must be in government service as of May 15 of the current year.
10. Unless finally proven guilty, employees with pending case shall be granted their Mid Year Bonus.
Employees who are formally charged administrative and/or criminal cases which are still pending for resolution, shall be entitled to Mid-Year Bonus until found guilty by final and executory judgment, provided that:
Once found guilty shall not be entitled to Mid-Year Bonus in the year of finality of the decision. The personnel shall refund the Mid-Year Bonus received for that year.
If the penalty imposed is only a reprimand, the personnel concerned shall be entitled to the Mid-Year Bonus.
Source: Budget Circular No. 2017-2, Department of Budget and Management
Government Accountants, Budget Officers, Treasurers and Auditors’ Forum
