2From the 19th of the month, we entered the fasting month again this year. It's also a busy time of the year, with companies cooperating with workers to shorten their break times and start work earlier so they can go home early, and giving them the opportunity to eat together after breaking their fast. In addition, despite waking up early in the morning and eating before sunrise, sleep deprivation becomes noticeable as people get excited and stay up late at night, making it necessary for manufacturing and logistics companies in particular to be more conscious of safety. Under such circumstances, what employees are looking forward to is the Religious Festival Allowance (Tunjangan Hari Raya/THR). Employees who have been with the company for one year or more can rest assured that it is clear how much they will receive, but for employees who have been with the company for less than a year, a proportional calculation is required based on the employee's length of service. How is this calculation method done?

[Actually, there is no calculation formula set in the law]

The law states that ``religious festival allowances for employees with less than one year of service shall be paid on a proportional basis,'' but there are no detailed regulations such as what the base date is, or whether it is calculated monthly or daily. In other words, each company must establish these rules and make them known to employees. Generally, it is stated in the work regulations/labor agreement, but if there is no such provision, a letter of notification from the company is fine, so set the regulations regarding the payment of religious festival allowances.
In addition, although the law stipulates that allowances for religious festivals be paid one week before the festival, the government usually issues a recommendation letter stating that the allowance should be paid at least two weeks in advance. If such a response were to be taken, it would be fine to start paying the allowance two weeks in advance, but it seems that no consideration has been given to revising it along with other legal amendments.

[Setting the base date and proportional calculation method]

The reference date is generally set as a major religious holiday, but occasionally the major religious holiday may be shifted at the discretion of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This is because major religious holidays are determined by actually checking the phases of the moon. Also, holidays determined by the government may differ from religious decisions. According to the holiday calendar decided by the government last year, the Great Feast of Breaking the Fast is scheduled for March 21st, but since fasting began on February 19th, the current schedule suggests that the Great Feast of Breaking the Fast will be March 19th. To avoid panic in the event that a major religious holiday changes midway through or does not coincide with a national holiday, it may be a good idea to set it as ``30 calendar days after the start of the fast,'' for example.
Proportional calculations are often calculated based on ``full months,'' but sometimes it is calculated daily because it would be pitiful to end up with zero even on the 29th. Neither is a violation. When calculated on a daily basis, the amount differs from day to day, so the base date above has a great significance. If you calculate on a monthly basis, there will be fewer people involved in the dispute, so you can proceed relatively stably. No matter which option you decide on, it is best to define the calculation method in detail and make it widely known so that payments can be made smoothly.