When an individual is on extended medical leave, the salary is replaced by the Social Security sickness benefit. Therefore, workers on prolonged sick leave who are receiving sickness benefits are not entitled to the Christmas bonus.
However, if a worker on medical leave is not entitled to receive the Christmas bonus, they can request the payment of “compensatory benefits” from Social Security.
Thus, if you did not receive the Christmas bonus due to being on extended sick leave, you can request compensation from Social Security.
The requirements for compensation include: the worker must have been on leave receiving the Sickness Benefit and therefore did not receive the Christmas bonus; the illness duration must be sufficient to suspend the employment contract (more than 30 days); the employer does not pay the bonuses due to lack of obligation as per the Labor Code or a collective agreement.
The application is made using a specific form available on the Social Security website. It must be submitted within 6 months, starting from January 1 of the year following the year in which the employer should have paid the Christmas bonus, meaning the deadline is June 30 of the following year. Proof that the Christmas bonus was not received must be provided.
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Dantas Rodrigues has been a lawyer since 1993 and is a partner at Dantas Rodrigues & Associados. He has also been a professor of Law at the Polytechnical Higher Education since 1995.
