Are managers entitled to 13th-month pay?
Last updated: 2026-07-11 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
PD 851 grants 13th-month pay to rank-and-file employees only; managerial employees are not covered by the law. A managerial employee is one whose primary duty is to manage the establishment (or a department), who can hire, fire, or effectively recommend such actions, and who customarily exercises discretion — a job title alone does not make you managerial. A manager may still receive a 13th month (or its equivalent) if the employer grants it by contract, company policy, or established practice, but PD 851 does not compel it.
Primary sources
Frequently asked
I'm called a 'supervisor' or 'team lead' — am I rank-and-file?
Possibly. The law looks at actual duties, not the title. If you do not have genuine managerial powers — hiring, firing, or effectively recommending them with independent discretion — you are treated as rank-and-file and are entitled to 13th-month pay under PD 851.
Can a manager ever claim 13th-month pay?
Not under PD 851, which excludes managerial employees. But if the employer has been granting a 13th month or its equivalent to managers by contract, policy, or long practice, that benefit can become demandable on that separate basis.
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Boses ng kumakayod — your everyday rights as a Filipino worker on pay and dismissal: when your final/back pay must be released (DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 — within 30 days of separation), 13th-month pay (PD 851 — 1/12 of your basic salary, on or before December 24), legal vs illegal salary deductions, unpaid wages and overtime, the twin-notice due-process rule before you can be dismissed, just causes vs authorized causes, separation pay, your Certificate of Employment (within 3 days of request), resignation notice, the regional minimum wage set by your RTWPB, and how to file with DOLE (SEnA conciliation first) or the NLRC.