Based
on Decree No. 9129 dated May 19, 2022 announcing
the application of an official High Cost of Living (HCL) for employees and workers subject to the Labor Law,on
the basic salaries effective April 1st 2022:
- The minimum month
salary, as per 1st of March 2022, will be added, as a reason of an
increase in the high cost
of living, amount of:
- 1,325,000 LBP For the
monthly basic salaries that does not exceed 4,000,000 L.L
- As for the employees
who receive a monthly basic salary of more than 4,000,000 LBP: The amount
will be applied as per the negotiations and collective agreements,
according to what is specified in the ILO agreement concluded in Lebanon.
- For the daily-workers
- An amount of 61,000 LL
is added to the daily wage, for wages that does not exceed the amount of
181,000 LL per day.
- As for workers who
receive a daily wage of more than 181,000 LBP: the amount will be applied
as per the negotiations and collective agreements, according to what is
specified in the ILO agreement concluded in Lebanon.
- The above-mentioned
increases are subject to the contributions of the National Social Security
Fund.
General
clarifications until an official clarification is issued by the competent
reference (FROM JMK –not official):
- HCL decree did not
mention how to deal with any advance on HCL the employer might have
accounted for, to elaborate if a HCL allowance of 425,000LL has been
previously added to each employee who was receiving the minimum wage of
i.e. 675,000LL (this amount is not included in his basic salary). Thus as
of March 2022 his monthly salary became (Basic +HCL) 1,100,000LL
- Starting 1st
of April 2022 an additional 900,000LL must be added to HCL allowance in order
to have a total salary of 2,000,000LL
- Every employee whose monthly salary is more than
675,000 and less than 4,000,000 L.L as of March 2022, an amount of
1,325,000 LBP must be added to the basic of his salary as HCL starting April 1, 2022.
- Every employee whose
salary is more than 4,000,000 L.L must review the contract with his/her
employer based on the stipulated international agreements or wait for
clarification from the Ministry of Finance or the competent authorities to
determine the percentage of the increase in the salary.