Statutory bonus
Statutory bonus is a yearly payment the law requires you to give lower-paid staff — roughly a month's wages, due within eight months of the year ending.
Statutory bonus comes from the Payment of Bonus Act. If your business is covered, eligible employees must get a bonus of between 8.33% and 20% of a capped wage — regardless of whether the business made a profit. Webelio checks who qualifies, works out each amount, and builds the bonus register.
Does this apply to my business?
- Headcount: the rule applies once you have 20 or more employees on any day in the year (and stays applied even if you later drop below 20).
- Per employee — salary: an employee is eligible when their Basic + DA is ₹21,000 a month or less. Above that, they're not entitled to statutory bonus.
- Per employee — service: they must have worked at least 30 days in the financial year.
Turn on statutory bonus under compliance setup.
What Webelio does automatically
- Checks each employee against the ₹21,000 Basic + DA limit and the 30-day minimum.
- Calculates the bonus on the capped wage (see below) at your chosen percentage.
- Pro-rates the amount for people who joined or left partway through the year.
- Still calculates bonus owed to employees who left during the year — you owe it to them too.
- Builds the bonus register listing every eligible person and their amount.
- Reminds you before the November 30 deadline.
What you still must do
- Choose the bonus percentage (8.33% minimum, up to 20%) under compliance settings.
- Review the bonus register and confirm the amounts.
- Pay each eligible employee — including ex-employees — by November 30.
How the amount is worked out
Bonus is based on Basic + DA, but capped at ₹7,000 a month (or your state's minimum wage, whichever is higher). The percentage is between the minimum and maximum:
| Rate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum bonus | 8.33% | Mandatory — must be paid even in a loss-making year |
| Maximum bonus | 20% | Paid when profits allow |
The formula:
Annual bonus = capped monthly wage × 12 × bonus % where the capped wage = the lower of (Basic + DA) or ₹7,000 (or the state minimum wage, if higher).
Examples:
- Basic ₹9,000, at 8.33%: capped to ₹7,000, so ₹7,000 × 12 × 8.33% ≈ ₹6,997 for the year.
- Basic ₹5,000, at 8.33%: below the cap, so ₹5,000 × 12 × 8.33% ≈ ₹4,998 for the year.
- Basic ₹30,000: over ₹21,000 — not eligible.
At 8.33% for 12 months, the bonus works out to roughly one month's wages — that's by design.
The payment deadline
Statutory bonus for a financial year (ending March 31) must be paid within 8 months — so by November 30. Many businesses pay it around Diwali. Webelio flags the deadline in advance.
You owe pro-rated bonus even to employees who resigned or were let go during the year, as long as they worked 30+ days. Only dismissal for fraud or violent conduct removes the entitlement. Keep track and pay them — the bonus register lists them.
Statutory bonus is different from a company "ex-gratia" or performance bonus. Statutory bonus is the legal minimum for lower-paid staff; an ex-gratia bonus is anything extra you choose to give. Many companies pay both.
What's next
- Statutory reports & filing files — open the bonus register.
- Gratuity — the other end-of-service payout the law requires.
- Compliance overview — the full applicability table and calendar.