Attached to a supermarket in Hanoi for more than a year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (from Phu Tho) said that she has gone through both the part-time and full-time stages.
In the first 4 months, she worked part-time (semi-time) 4 hours a day to get used to the job. After that, she switched to full-time work and now it has been about 8 months.
Full-time employees have a salary of about 6 million VND/month, working in two shifts from 7am to 3pm or 2pm to 10pm. The main tasks are paying invoices to customers, arranging goods, checking expiration dates, supporting customers in shopping and handling situations arising during shifts.
In the days leading up to Tet, the number of customers increases sharply, supermarkets are often overloaded, and employees almost have no time to rest.
In fact, Ms. Phuong intended to quit her job to return to her hometown after a period of working far from home. However, she decided to stay to work through the Lunar New Year 2026 to receive the 13th month salary.
According to her, this is an amount equivalent to a month's salary, enough to cover travel expenses, help the family and make a contingency when she has not found a new job.
In addition to salary, she is covered by insurance and supported with mid-shift meal money. Despite the pressure of work, especially during peak periods at the end of the year, she still tries to stick around. "I planned to go back to my hometown, but tried to work through Tet to receive my 13th month salary, have some capital and then rest assured" - she shared.
For many workers like Ms. Phuong, the 13th month salary is not only a bonus, but also an important financial support before entering a new stage.
According to Lawyer Nguyen Trong Nghia - Hanoi Bar Association, based on Article 104 of the 2019 Labor Code, a bonus is the amount of money, assets or in other forms that the employer rewards to employees based on the production and business results and the level of work completion of employees.
According to this regulation, the bonus regulations are under the decision of the employer and must be publicly announced at the workplace, after consulting the opinion of the employee representative organization at the grassroots level (for places with employee representative organizations).
For the 13th month salary, labor law does not have a specific concept or regulation. In fact, this is considered a bonus decided by the employer based on the annual production and business situation and work efficiency of the employee.
Thus, Tet bonuses and the 13th month salary are not mandatory payments according to the law, but depend on the agreement between the employee and the employer, as well as the bonus regulations of the enterprise" - the lawyer said.
Whether employees who quit their jobs before Tet are entitled to these benefits or not also completely depends on the content of the agreement in the labor contract, collective labor agreement or bonus regulations that have been issued.
With the above regulations, whether there is a bonus or not, the form of bonus, the bonus level and the time of payment are almost entirely decided by the employer. Therefore, employees need to monitor and closely follow the bonus regulations of the unit to ensure their rights, avoid arising disputes or unnecessary damages.
To limit the risk of losing bonuses, employees need to strictly comply with legal regulations and company rules, avoiding falling into cases of being disciplined with dismissal or unilaterally terminating labor contracts at the end of the year, near Tet.
