An employee’s 13th salary is often paid out in December (like in the Philippines, Mexico and Portugal), which is why you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as ‘Christmas pay’ or an ‘end-of-year bonus’. But you’ll find that in countries such as Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina, it’s paid in two equal instalments — once in the middle of the year (often around Easter or in June) and once in December. In Panama, the 13th-month payment is spread over three equal instalments and paid out on 15 April, 15 August and 15 December each year.