End-of-year bonus in Mauritius: who gets it, how much, and when to pay

Who is entitled to the end-of-year bonus?

Section 54 of the Workers' Rights Act 2019 covers anyone drawing a monthly basic wage or salary of Rs 100,000 or less.

• Part-time workers count as workers. The formula scales their bonus to what they actually earned.
• The worker must still be employed by you on 31 December. Someone who joined in March gets one twelfth of what they earned from March onwards.
• People who leave during the year follow separate rules, set out below.

Workers covered by the remuneration regulations for the sugar industry, field crops and orchards, livestock, and bank fishermen and frigoworkers are outside section 54. Their own regulations apply.

How is the end-of-year bonus calculated?

In one line: bonus = total earnings from 1 January to 31 December ÷ 12 (Workers' Rights Act 2019, section 54).

Earnings means more than basic pay. Under section 2 of the Act it includes:

• basic wages
• overtime and work on public holidays
• pay for leave taken
• commission, productivity payments and other sums paid on top of the basic wage

When you make the first payment, December isn't over yet, so the Act asks for 75% of the expected bonus. Work out the balance once December's pay is final.

When must the bonus be paid?

1. Pay 75% of the expected bonus no later than five clear working days before 25 December.
2. Pay the balance no later than the last working day of the year.

For a business that works Monday to Friday, in 2026 that means the 75% by Thursday 17 December and the balance by Thursday 31 December. That is our reading of the dates. If your staff work on Saturdays, count your own working days.

Do staff who leave during the year get a bonus?

When a worker leaves before 31 December, they get a bonus worked out on what they earned that year, paid by the last working day of the month they leave. This applies when you end the employment for any reason, when a contract comes to an end, when the worker retires, and when they resign after at least eight months of continuous employment.

A worker who resigns before completing eight months gets no bonus.

What about staff earning more than Rs 100,000?

These employees fall under the End of Year Gratuity Act instead. The gratuity is due on or before 21 December. It is at least one twelfth of the December basic salary for each month worked in the year, so a full year comes to at least one month's basic salary. Basic salary here leaves out allowances and commission.

An employee gets the bonus or the gratuity, whichever is higher, never both. In 2026 the Privy Council confirmed that an employer may pay the gratuity as the thirteenth instalment of an annual salary, as long as that instalment meets the legal minimum.

Is the bonus subject to PAYE and CSG?

The MRA treats the statutory bonus separately from the month's normal pay. PAYE on the end-of-year bonus is calculated separately. CSG on the bonus is also computed separately from the CSG on the monthly wage, and only on the basic wage part. If you pay the bonus over two months, the MRA asks you to add up the bonus paid so far to find the right CSG rate.

What happens if the bonus isn't paid?

Failing to pay the bonus as section 54 requires is an offence. The Act sets a fine of up to Rs 25,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. A worker can complain to the Ministry of Labour, which can issue a compliance notice to the employer.

Common questions