Christmas bonus 2026: advance payment until November 16

The Ministry of Labor and Human Development has decreed that servants and workers of public entities within the Executive Branch who accumulate the thirteenth remuneration or Christmas bonus receive their full payment by November 16, 2026. The decision is contained in Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-039, signed by Minister Diana Paulina Ramírez Villacís and published in the Official Registry, Fifth Supplement No. 404, on Friday, November 6, 2026, on page 12. The regulation also invites the private sector to advance the benefit to its workers.

The payment calendar established by the agreement

Article 1 of the agreement distinguishes between two situations within the Executive Branch:

• Those who accumulate the thirteenth remuneration will receive the full payment by November 16, 2026.
• Those who receive it on a monthly basis will receive the corresponding values for November and December 2026 on that same date.

The final provision establishes that the instrument enters into force upon its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry, meaning it takes immediate effect from November 6.

Opening for autonomous entities and private employers

Article 2 enables public entities that are not part of the Executive Branch to anticipate the payment of the Christmas bonus under the same terms, but conditioned upon their budgetary availability. This is not an obligation, but a faculty.

Article 3 extends this possibility to natural and legal persons under private law: employers may anticipate the full payment of the 2026 thirteenth remuneration in favor of their workers. The adherence of the private sector is voluntary, in line with the call that, according to the recitals, was made by President Daniel Noboa Azín to “support families and stimulate the country’s economy.”

Deduction if the employment relationship ends early

Article 4 covers the scenario of early termination. If, for any reason, the employment relationship ends before the values paid as thirteenth remuneration have been fully earned, the amount paid will be determined in the settlement of accounts, and the proportional unearned value will be deducted.

Budgetary ruling and regulatory background

The agreement is based on Article 97 of the Organic Law of the Public Service, which recognizes the twelfth part of the remuneration and allows for accumulated collection until December 20, and Article 111 of the Labor Code, which sets December 24 as the deadline for private workers. The portfolio processed the project through memorandums MTDH-VSP-2026-0196-M and MTDH-SN-2026-0307-M and Technical Report MTDH-SN-2026-0036, and obtained a favorable budgetary opinion from the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development via Official Letter MDEP-VGF-2026-0694-O, dated November 5, 2026. The minister’s authority is further supported by executive decrees 427, of June 18, 2026, which merged by absorption the Ministry of Human Development and the Secretariat of Management and Development of Peoples and Nationalities into the Ministry of Labor, and 510, of September 28, 2026, which appointed her to the position.

The impact is twofold: for millions of workers and servants, it means having the money available a few weeks before Christmas, while employers must reorganize their cash flow to comply with the advance, with the warning that any overpayment must be recovered if the employment relationship is severed before the end of the year. The same Fifth Supplement No. 404 publishes Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-038, regarding the adaptation of the work environment for people with catastrophic illnesses.

Source: Official Registry, Fifth Supplement No. 404, Friday, November 6, 2026, section I, pág. 12 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-039).