An official of the Ministry of Manpower highlighted that contractual employees that signed fixed-term employment contracts (PKWT) were eligible to receive Eid al-Fitr allowance in accordance with prevailing laws.
The ministry’s Coordinator for Wage, Working and Rest Time, and Social Security Norm, Sri Astuti, cited Manpower Minister’s Regulation No. 16 of 2016 while saying that the Eid allowance should also be granted to contractual employees apart from permanent employees that have inked non-fixed-term employment contracts (PKWTT).
“These changes are in a good direction, as we will ensure that no employment discrimination will occur. If in the past, (the allowance) is granted only to permanent employees, now, contractual and permanent employees are all eligible for religious holiday allowances,” Astuti noted during a discussion organized by the ministry’s Directorate of Norm Development and Monitoring here on Thursday.
Astuti remarked that while all employees are eligible for the benefits, the government has regulated the allowance calculation that employers must follow.
While employees, who have worked for over 12 months, are eligible to receive an allowance equal to their one-month pay, personnel that have worked less than 12 months will receive the allowance proportional to their work period, Astuti explained.
The coordinator also highlighted that Manpower Ministry’s Circular No. M/1/HK.04/IV/2022 regulated the disbursement of religious holiday allowance for employees in 2022, which instructed employers to pay the allowance in full according to prevailing laws.
Employers are no longer allowed to pay the allowance in instalments despite the practice being followed in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she stated.
Eid allowance must also be disbursed to employees by the latest seven days before the religious holiday, she added.
“Disbursement of the Eid allowance aims to help workers prepare for their Eid celebration and to help lever their purchasing power to prepare for the celebrations,” Astuti remarked.
Source: Antara News