Ms. Pham Thi Tuyet (25 years old) - a garment worker at Giao Thuy Professional Sports Fashion Joint Stock Company (Nam Dinh) said that her Lunar New Year bonus this year is 1 month of average salary and ABC bonus (monthly production bonus).
The formula for calculating the average monthly salary at Ms. Tuyet's company is calculated by dividing the total monthly production salary by the average. With this formula, Ms. Tuyet is expected to receive a total of nearly 11 million VND in Lunar New Year 2025 bonuses.
Ms. Tuyet's husband also works at the company, and his Tet bonus is expected to be 10 million VND. With a 21 million VND Tet bonus, Ms. Tuyet is quite comfortable spending during Tet.
“My husband and I plan to spend 2.5 million VND as lucky money for the children, 4 million VND as gifts for both sets of parents. About 1.5 million VND will be spent on house decoration, 1.5 million VND for family clothes, 2 million VND for Tet candy, 2 million VND for eating at home, 2 million VND for buying food, entertaining guests, and making offerings,” said Ms. Tuyet.
The female worker said that in the past, the company gave a bonus of 2 months of average salary, so every Tet holiday, she and her husband received nearly 40 million VND in bonus. With this money, Ms. Tuyet's family always organized trips to the pagoda at the beginning of the year.
According to Ms. Tuyet, although the company reduced the average salary by 1 month, it is still equal to other companies in the area. In addition, the actual monthly salary has also improved, so female workers are expected to stay with the company after Tet.
With a Tet bonus of 1 month's basic salary of 4,650,000 VND along with a gift basket, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (45 years old) - a worker at Amara Vietnam Shoes Company Limited (Nam Dinh) said that she had to carefully consider her Tet spending.
“Every year, with a Tet bonus of 1 month of basic salary, my husband and I have to be smart about spending on everything during Tet. Even so, we still have to deduct at least 3 to 5 million VND from our salary to have enough,” said Ms. Phuong.
According to Ms. Phuong, a month's basic salary is only enough for lucky money, buying candy to entertain guests and going to wish them a happy new year. Money for food, new clothes, and house decoration still has to be deducted from the salary because her husband is self-employed and does not receive a Tet bonus.
Ms. Pham Thi Phuong (person requested to change name), a worker in Vinh Phuc, said that the company has also announced the Lunar New Year bonus to all employees.
Accordingly, the company will give a Tet bonus of 1 month of basic salary to employees who have worked for 12 months. Employees who have worked less than 12 months will be given a bonus based on the number of months worked.
It is worth mentioning that the company's Tet bonus is divided into 2 payment periods. In the first period, on January 15, 2025, the company will pay 50% of the Tet bonus in advance, and the remaining 50% will be paid on February 15, 2025.
With the current Tet bonus level and payment method, it will be difficult for workers to prepare for Tet.
"The Tet bonus of one month's basic salary is the general level, not too high but divided into 2 payments, forcing us to use our salary or savings to spend during Tet" - Ms. Phuong said.
According to the female worker, with more than 2 million VND in bonus paid in the first installment before Tet, her family only has enough money to decorate the house and buy new clothes.
Even though she has used her husband's 4.5 million VND Tet bonus, Ms. Phuong still has to take at least 2 million VND from her salary to cover other mandatory expenses during Tet.
