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The end of the year is coming, Christmas mood, year-end reflections, and time to receive the 13th salary, or, as it became popularly known: the Christmas bonus. But do you know how the Christmas bonus came about in Brazil?
Officially, the Christmas bonus ("Gratificação de Natal aos Trabalhadores"), authored by Aarão Steinbruch, was instituted by Law 4,090, of July 13, 1962. It guarantees that every formal worker, with a signed contract, receives the corresponding 1/12 of the remuneration, extra, for each month worked - aka an extra salary per year.
In the justification of the bill, the creator of the 13th salary, stated that companies used to pay bonuses to employees around Christmas time. According to him, the law would consolidate a situation that was common among workers in...