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How to read this page

• "Required by law" means a statute says the employer must pay it. "Collective agreement" means a sector or company agreement (convenio, CCNL, Kollektivvertrag, Tarifvertrag, CAO) sets it, so it only applies if your job is covered.
• Amounts and tax are not given here. We quote percentages only where an official page quotes them, and we give no tax figures.
• Your own contract, payslip and collective agreement always decide. If a point is not confirmed by an official page we read, we write that it depends on your contract or collective agreement.

Spain: paga extra de Navidad

• Required by: Law and collective agreement together. The Estatuto de los Trabajadores (art. 31) says workers have the right to two extra payments a year, one around the Christmas holidays and the other in a month set by collective agreement or by agreement with worker representatives. The amount is set by collective agreement.
• When paid: Christmas for one of them; the other month depends on your convenio colectivo.
• Partial year: The article does not say. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Spread over 12 months: Yes, if the collective agreement allows it: art. 31 says a convenio colectivo may agree that the extra payments are prorated into the twelve monthly payments (paga prorrateada). Check your payslip.
• Source: BOE: Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 31

Italy: tredicesima mensilità

• Required by: In the sources we read it is set by the national collective agreement (CCNL) of your sector, for example the domestic-work CCNL (art. 38) and the commerce CCNL, and by the rules of public employers. We did not confirm a single statute for all private employees. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• When paid: Examples: the commerce CCNL sheet says one month's pay, paid on Christmas Eve; the domestic-work CCNL says by the end of December; NoiPA pays public employees with the December salary.
• Partial year: Examples: the domestic-work CCNL pays as many twelfths as months of employment; NoiPA pays accrued instalments (ratei) if the position ended during the year, with at least 1/12 needed. Other sectors may differ.
• Spread over 12 months: Not confirmed in the official sources we read. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: INPS: domestic-work CCNL (art. 38); CNEL sheet, CCNL Commercio (hosted by Cosenza Chamber of Commerce); NoiPA (Ministry of Economy): tredicesima for public employees

Portugal: subsídio de Natal

• Required by: Law. Código do Trabalho art. 263: the worker is entitled to a Christmas subsidy equal to one month's pay (retribuição). Breaking the rule is a very serious administrative offence (contra-ordenação muito grave).
• When paid: By 15 December each year.
• Partial year: Proportional to time worked in the calendar year in the year of hire, the year the contract ends, and when the contract is suspended for a reason concerning the worker.
• Spread over 12 months: Not stated in art. 263. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: Código do Trabalho, art. 263 (text hosted by PGD Lisboa)

Austria: Weihnachtsgeld / 13. Gehalt

• Required by: Collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag), works agreement or individual contract. oesterreich.gv.at says amount and payment date are set in those documents. The Arbeiterkammer states there is no statutory right to holiday and Christmas pay in private employment. If no agreement applies, you may get none.
• When paid: Depends on the Kollektivvertrag. The Arbeiterkammer says Christmas pay is mostly due in November or December and holiday pay mostly in June or July. Usually it is about one month's pay, but some sectors pay less.
• Partial year: If you join or leave during the year you get a proportional share (aliquoter Anteil), says oesterreich.gv.at. Some periods such as parental leave (Karenz) or military service do not count, says the Arbeiterkammer.
• Spread over 12 months: Not confirmed in the official sources we read. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: oesterreich.gv.at: Sonderzahlungen; Arbeiterkammer: Weihnachts- & Urlaubsgeld

Germany: Weihnachtsgeld

• Required by: We found no official statute that requires it. The Federal Labour Court (BAG, 10 AZR 671/09) shows it can be owed through the employment contract, a Tarifvertrag, or a repeated payment made without clear reservations (betriebliche Übung). Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• When paid: In that case the employer paid it every November. Otherwise depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Partial year: Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Spread over 12 months: Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: Bundesarbeitsgericht: 10 AZR 671/09 (Weihnachtsgeld, betriebliche Übung)

France: prime de fin d'année / 13e mois

• Required by: Contract, collective agreement or employer practice, not the labour code in general. Service-Public says bonuses and gratuities are compulsory if provided for by the employment contract, a collective agreement, a usage (custom) or a unilateral undertaking of the employer, and lists end-of-year bonuses and 13th-month payments among annual bonuses.
• When paid: Depends on your convention collective. Example from the Code du travail numérique (real-estate convention): paid with the December salary.
• Partial year: Depends on the convention. Example: in the same real-estate convention it is calculated by time of presence if you leave during the year; another convention (building caretakers) pays it pro rata for less than 12 months of presence.
• Spread over 12 months: Not confirmed in the official sources we read. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: Service-Public: Salary, bonuses and benefits; Code du travail numérique: convention collective bonuses (examples)

Netherlands: eindejaarsuitkering and vakantiegeld

• Required by: Eindejaarsuitkering (end-of-year payment): we found no official page making it a legal right, and the Rijksoverheid page treats it as a separate payment from holiday pay. Depends on your contract or collective agreement (cao). Vakantiegeld (holiday pay, legal term vakantiebijslag) is different: the government says you have a right to at least 8% of your gross annual salary, although a cao can say otherwise as long as you receive at least 108% of the minimum wage, and an employer can agree a lower amount in writing if you earn more than 3 times the minimum wage.
• When paid: Vakantiegeld: at least once a year, and most employees get it in May or June. Arrangements are in your contract or cao. Eindejaarsuitkering: depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Partial year: Vakantiegeld is built up on wages earned over the past year (for example May to May), also during illness, and on lower pay if your pay was lower through sickness or leave. Eindejaarsuitkering: depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Spread over 12 months: The government page only says at least once a year, with arrangements in your contract or cao. Monthly payment is not confirmed. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: Rijksoverheid: Hoe hoog is mijn vakantiegeld?

Belgium: prime de fin d'année / treizième mois

• Required by: Sector collective agreements. The FPS Employment sector sheets show agreements by joint committee (commission paritaire): for example CP 209 (white-collar metal workers) gives employees an end-of-year premium equal to a thirteenth month, and CP 337 (non-profit) has its own collective agreement of 19 December 2023. The FPS also notes that an end-of-year bonus or thirteenth month counts when checking the guaranteed average minimum income. We did not find a general statute. Depends on your joint committee and collective agreement.
• When paid: CP 209: in the course of December. CP 337: depends on the agreement. Other committees differ.
• Partial year: CP 209: you must be in service on 30 November of the year concerned (exceptions include death, early retirement scheme and pension). CP 337: each month worked in the reference period earns one ninth. Other committees differ.
• Spread over 12 months: Not confirmed in the official sources we read. Depends on your contract or collective agreement.
• Source: FPS Employment: sector sheet CP 209; FPS Employment: CP 337 collective agreement on the end-of-year premium (19 Dec 2023); FPS Employment: Salary

Practical checklist

• Read your employment contract: look for words such as 13th/14th month, paga extra, tredicesima, subsídio de Natal, Weihnachtsgeld, prime de fin d'année, eindejaarsuitkering.
• Find your collective agreement (convenio, CCNL, Kollektivvertrag, Tarifvertrag, convention collective, cao, joint committee) and read the section on extra pay.
• Check your payslip: is the extra pay shown as a separate line, or already spread into the monthly pay (prorated)?
• Check the cut-off dates, especially if you started or leave during the year.
• Ask HR or the union (sindicato, sindacato, Gewerkschaft, syndicat, vakbond) if anything is unclear, and get the answer in writing.

Related

• First 30 days: week-by-week checklist
• Closed at Christmas and New Year
• Country cards: one printable screen per country
• UK Self Assessment for newcomers: deadline 31 January 2027

Frequently asked questions

• Do I get a Christmas bonus by law in Portugal? Yes. Código do Trabalho art. 263 gives a subsídio de Natal of one month's pay, due by 15 December, proportional in the year you start or your contract ends.
• Is the Spanish paga extra compulsory? The Estatuto de los Trabajadores (art. 31) gives two extra payments a year, one at Christmas; the amount and the second month are set by collective agreement, which may also prorate them over the twelve months.
• Is the 13th salary in Austria, Italy, France or Belgium a legal right? In the sources we read it comes from collective agreements, works agreements or contracts, not from one general law. Check your own agreement.
• Is Weihnachtsgeld in Germany guaranteed? We found no official statute requiring it. A Tarifvertrag, your contract or a repeated unconditional payment by the employer can create the right.
• Is Dutch vakantiegeld the same as a Christmas bonus? No. Vakantiegeld is holiday pay, with a legal minimum quoted by the government, and most people receive it in May or June. An end-of-year payment (eindejaarsuitkering) is separate.
• Can the extra pay be paid monthly? Only where your contract or agreement says so. Spain's art. 31 explicitly allows a convenio to prorate it. For the other countries we found no official confirmation.

Sources

• BOE: Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 31
• INPS: domestic-work CCNL (art. 38)
• CNEL sheet, CCNL Commercio (hosted by Cosenza Chamber of Commerce)
• NoiPA (Ministry of Economy): tredicesima for public employees
• Código do Trabalho, art. 263 (text hosted by PGD Lisboa)
• oesterreich.gv.at: Sonderzahlungen
• Arbeiterkammer: Weihnachts- & Urlaubsgeld
• Bundesarbeitsgericht: 10 AZR 671/09 (Weihnachtsgeld, betriebliche Übung)
• Service-Public: Salary, bonuses and benefits
• Code du travail numérique: convention collective bonuses (examples)
• Rijksoverheid: Hoe hoog is mijn vakantiegeld?
• FPS Employment: sector sheet CP 209
• FPS Employment: CP 337 collective agreement on the end-of-year premium (19 Dec 2023)
• FPS Employment: Salary

Last checked 26 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice: check the official pages or ask HR, your union or a qualified adviser. Rules and agreements change.