Tet bonuses for employees at Vietnamese enterprises are expected to be less than previous years due to the economic downturn, said a representative from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa).

Tong Thi Minh, head of the Molisa’s Labour and Salary Department, said this year, Tet bonus will be divided into three groups, the highest bonuses will be in the hundreds of millions of VND; the second, for medium-level employees and the third group may get nothing.

Pham Van Thanh, head of Labour and Salary Board under the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said, in 2013 nearly 2,000 companies in Hanoi went bankrupt, most of them in the areas of construction and real estate.

In Hanoi, Tet bonuses at in the foreign-invested sector which are usually among the highest, is forecast not to surpass VND30 million (USD1,428) per employee. The situation has been attributed to the fact that fewer companies in this sector have made profits this year.

Employees working in other sectors in the city are expected to receive an average of VND2-7 million each. Those from state-owned companies will get VND5-7 million each.

Meanwhile, businesses in many northern localities, such as Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Haiphong and Bac Ninh have not yet reported their Tet bonus plans to the local departments of labour, invalids and social affairs. However, the departments said it is unlikely that bonuses this year will be higher than last year.

In Bac Ninh Province, employees at companies a variety of types of companies are expected to receive VND500,000-2 million each, equal to their 13thmonth salary.

Foreign-invested companies in HCM City and Binh Duong Province have planned Tet bonuses for their workers, which average between VND3-5 million. Besides the bonuses, employees also receive gifts such as cooking oil, rice and seasoning powder.

The HCM City Export Processing Zone Authority (Hepza ) has urged companies to submit Tet bonus plans no later than December 20.