13TH MONTH SALARY
The vice principal of a non-public inter-level school in Da Lat City (Lam Dong) said that normally the school will reward teachers and staff with a 13th month salary before Tet and this amount is considered a Tet bonus. The 13th month salary is usually equivalent to the salary of the months in the year, depending on the seniority, position, and work performance of that person during the year. "This year, Tet is at the end of January, my school usually pays salary at the end of the month, so this year, including the monthly salary and the 13th month salary, teachers and staff have 2 months of salary to prepare for Tet with their families," said the vice principal.
Teachers compete to decorate the 2024 Tet fruit tray at Bien Hung Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai
Teachers at several large private school systems in Ho Chi Minh City said they had just received good news that the school would give 13th month salary bonuses as usual in previous years to teachers and staff around January 20-21.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan, senior advisor of Asia Talented Youth Primary and Secondary School (ATY), said that normally, the school board is awarded a 13th month salary, savings and productivity bonuses, depending on the seniority and dedication of that person during the year; on average about 30 million VND/person. The Tet bonus for school management staff can range from 50 to 150 million VND/person. Staff positions are awarded a 13th month salary and some other bonuses.
HIGH MONTHLY SALARY, TET BONUS IS JUST SIDE
Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Vinh, founder of Ngo Thoi Nhiem Kindergarten, Primary School, Secondary School and High School (with campuses in Binh Tan District, Thu Duc City - Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong) said that over the years, her entire system has maintained the same level of Tet bonus for teachers and staff: The lowest person gets 5 million VND, the highest person gets 20 million VND. For example, for a new employee who has been working for 1 year, the lowest Tet bonus is 5 million VND.
Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Vinh said that based on her practical experience in research and work, the monthly salary of teachers and staff is the most important and is an economic lever. “The first thing that employees care about when working anywhere is how much their monthly salary is, not how much their Tet bonus is. Tet bonus is secondary. The most important thing is the monthly salary, whether the working environment is positive, whether teachers are well taken care of, whether they are friendly and sociable… that is the key to attracting and retaining employees,” Ms. Vinh said.
Ms. Vinh revealed that the monthly salary of the teaching staff at her school is between 14 and 60 million VND. The proportion of those who are paid 60 million VND/month accounts for about 6%. They must have at least 15 years of experience, most of them are teachers of grade 12 students, with many achievements and contributions. The rest of the teachers are paid an average salary of 30.7 million VND/month. The monthly salary of the staff is 15 million VND. The lowest is for new service staff, 6.6 million VND.
Teachers are given lunch at school (paid by the school); if teachers work until the afternoon or evening, they will have dinner at school. Teachers in charge of boarding will be provided with meals all day at school. In addition, in the welfare system, the staff is allowed to travel. Staff with high seniority and outstanding achievements will be allowed to travel abroad, some will have 100% of the cost covered by the school, some will receive 20% support, depending on the contribution of each staff member.
“To ensure fairness and transparency for all teachers and staff, we clearly publicize the monthly salary, bonuses, and benefits of our staff. The salary adjustment policy is implemented at the beginning of the school year. We publicly announce how much we will get if we complete our tasks excellently, how much we will get if we train many excellent students, how much we will get if our students do not win awards, etc. Once all information is publicized, the team will know their salary to contribute and no one will question it,” said Ms. Vinh.
According to Ms. Vinh, the monthly salary and positive working environment help stabilize the staff so that teachers can feel secure in their commitment. In her school system, 98% of the teachers are permanent teachers, and there are very few guest lecturers.
Many non-public schools give teachers a 13th month salary as a Tet bonus.
SYMBOLIC NEW YEAR ENJOYMENT
Ms. Phan Thi My Hue, founder of Thien An Education Company, said that educational businesses like hers were affected by economic difficulties. “The company also wants to give teachers a little more bonus, but it is lucky to have enough income to maintain and ensure teachers’ salaries. This year, we can only give symbolic bonuses to teachers. Hopefully, the economy will be more stable and we will take better care of our staff next year,” Ms. Hue confided.
A teacher at a private multi-level school in Ho Chi Minh City did not specify the amount of the 2025 Lunar New Year bonus and said that normally before Lunar New Year, the school will transfer the 13th month salary and consider it as a Tet bonus, to encourage teachers and school staff after a year of work. However, whether the 13th month salary is equal to the salary of other months or only 50-60% is still unknown, the teacher has not been informed, because it depends on the enrollment situation and the school's performance in the past school year.
The vice principal of a non-public inter-level school in Da Lat City said: “The psychology of teachers and employees is that the 13th month salary, no matter how little or much, makes them very happy. This is the motivation for the teaching staff. With the 13th month salary, teachers can buy a little for their family and give to their parents. This is a cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people. Regardless of the personnel, when they go to work, if they have tried their best and see good welfare policies, they will feel secure to stick with and contribute.”
Many teachers only expect their Tet bonus to be equal to that of workers.
At the end of the year, the topic of Tet bonuses is often “hot” in many industries. Many of us teachers honestly and jokingly tell each other that looking at Tet bonuses in many industries, we feel… envious, just wishing to get the same Tet bonus as workers.
In my 20 years of teaching, at private schools, the Tet bonus ranged from 0 to 5 million VND. The Tet with the 0 VND bonus was during the Covid-19 pandemic. A few years ago, the biggest Tet bonus since I started teaching was 5 million VND. In the private school system, many schools pay bonuses based on how successful their system is.
Tet 2025 is coming, I asked some colleagues who are working in many provinces and cities, and found that the Tet bonus is very modest. Mr. NXD, a permanent teacher who has worked for about 15 years at a private high school, said that the school gives a bonus of one month's basic salary (more than 5 million VND) from the school's own revenue and expenditure. Permanent teachers at private schools in Ho Chi Minh City usually receive a Tet bonus of one month's salary (basic salary). Meanwhile, guest teachers receive an average Tet bonus of only 500,000 VND to 1 million VND/person.
Ms. NTT, who is working at a primary school in Di An City (Binh Duong), said that teachers received 2 million VND from the local budget. Mr. LHĐ, who teaches at a high school in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, shared that he heard that this year the province gave teachers a Tet bonus of 3.3 million VND. Every year, the town also has a budget to give teachers bonuses of 1.5 - 2 million VND, but he is not sure about this year.
Thai Hoang
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