The Mandatory Bonus Checker returns the statutory bonus obligations for any country in the tool’s database: whether a 13th-month salary is legally required, whether profit-sharing is mandated, and whether a holiday bonus must be paid. Below is a representative output for five countries a payroll manager might query when building a hiring shortlist.
What Does the Mandatory Bonus Checker Return for the UK, Spain, France, Mexico, and Brazil?
Scenario: A People Ops team based in the UK is considering first hires in Spain, France, Mexico, and Brazil. Before finalising offer letters they run all five countries through the checker to understand what statutory obligations sit on top of base salary.
| Country | 13th-Month Pay | Rate / Structure | Profit-Sharing | Holiday Bonus | Statutory basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | No | — | No | No | Employment Rights Act 1996 — all bonuses contractual |
| Spain | Yes — 2 extra pays | Pagas extraordinarias: one month’s salary in June, one in December (Estatuto de los Trabajadores Art. 31) | No | No | Statutory; applies to all employees regardless of contract type |
| France | Yes — via CBA | 13th-month equivalent (1/12 annual salary per month worked), paid December. Near-universal under collective bargaining agreements | Yes (50+ employees) | No | Participation légale (Code du Travail Art. L.3321-1) mandatory for employers with ≥50 employees |
| Mexico | Yes | Aguinaldo — minimum 15 days’ salary (LFT Art. 87), paid by 20 December | Yes | Yes | PTU: 10% of taxable income (LFT Art. 117). Prima vacacional: 25% of vacation wages (LFT Art. 80) |
| Brazil | Yes | Décimo terceiro: one month’s salary in two instalments (50% by 30 Nov, balance by 20 Dec) under CF Art. 7 | No (PLR encouraged but not universally mandatory) | Yes | Adicional de férias: 1/3 of monthly salary on top of regular holiday pay (CLT Art. 143) |
What Is the Cash Cost for a €60,000 Annual Salary?
These statutory requirements translate into hard costs above base salary. The checker surfaces the following estimates for a €60,000-equivalent annual package:
| Country | Mandatory bonus cost estimate | When it falls | Payroll planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | £0 | — | No statutory obligation; offer letter controls entirely |
| Spain | ~€8,571 (if monthly salary × 14) | June + December | If you structure salary as monthly × 12, two extra full pays are owed on top — annual cost rises to 14× monthly. The pagas extraordinarias are not discretionary. |
| France | ~€5,000 (13th month) + participation | December (13th month); annually (participation) | Participation is profit-dependent but non-waivable for 50+ EE companies. The 13th month is contractually embedded in most CBAs. |
| Mexico | ~$2,500–4,000 USD on a $60k package | December (aguinaldo + PTU); vacation period (prima vacacional) | PTU varies with company profitability. New companies are exempt for the first year. Aguinaldo and prima vacacional are fixed and cannot be reduced. |
| Brazil | ~BRL equivalent of 1.33 months’ salary | Nov/Dec (13th month); at vacation time (adicional) | Adicional de férias is paid when the employee takes annual leave, not on a fixed calendar date — timing depends on when leave is scheduled. |
Which Key Differences Does the Checker Flag?
Three distinctions matter most when reading this output:
Statutory vs contractual: Spain and Mexico obligations are statutory — they cannot be waived in the employment contract. France’s 13th month arises from CBA coverage rather than direct statute, but the effect is the same for any employer covered by a collective agreement (which is most).
Fixed vs variable: The aguinaldo (Mexico) and décimo terceiro (Brazil) are fixed amounts — the employee receives them regardless of company performance. PTU (Mexico) and participation (France) are profit-linked and will vary year-to-year.
Timing risk: Brazil’s adicional de férias falls when leave is taken, not on a fixed date. For a small team this can create lumpy cashflow if several employees take leave in the same quarter.
The tool returns the statutory basis and payment date for each obligation so you can build these figures into offer modelling before headcount is approved.