Every October the same question comes up in households across India, and almost nobody asks it out loud: how much Diwali bonus should we give?
Give too little and it feels insulting. Give too much and you have set a benchmark for every year after. Ask a neighbour and you get a number with no reasoning behind it.
This guide covers what is actually normal, how long service changes it, and the one thing that matters more than the amount.
No. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 applies to establishments with twenty or more employees. A household is not covered, and domestic workers fall outside it.
So a Diwali bonus is custom, not law. But it is near-universal custom in Indian households, and your maid or cook has almost certainly budgeted for it. Skipping it entirely is noticed, even if nothing is said.
The most common benchmark across Indian households is one month's salary. But that is the figure for someone who has been with you a full year. For shorter tenures, most families scale it down.
Under 3 months with you
A token amount + sweets
₹500 to ₹1,000 along with a box of sweets is normal. Nobody expects a full bonus for a few weeks of work.
3 to 6 months
Quarter to half a month's salary
Proportionate to the time served. Most families round it up to a convenient figure.
6 months to a year
Half to a full month's salary
By this point the person is part of the household routine, and the bonus reflects that.
Over a year
One month's salary
This is the standard. Households that want to recognise long service often add a saree, clothes for the children, or a gift alongside.
Several years with the same family
One month's salary and more
Some households go to one and a half months, or add something substantial. There is no fixed rule here — it becomes personal.
The one-month benchmark applies to whatever that person's monthly salary actually is — so it scales naturally.
| Part-time maid Earning ₹3,000–₹7,000 a month from you | ₹3,000 – ₹7,000 |
| Full-time maid or cook Earning ₹12,000–₹18,000 | ₹12,000 – ₹18,000 |
| Driver Earning ₹12,000–₹20,000 | ₹12,000 – ₹20,000 |
| Live-in staff Earning ₹15,000–₹22,000 plus meals and stay | ₹15,000 – ₹22,000 |
On part-time staff: a part-time maid usually works in three or four houses. If each household gives a month of what they pay, she ends up with a reasonable festival amount overall. That is how the system works, and it is why your share does not need to be more than her salary from you.
For current market salaries in Dehradun, see our maid salary guide, cook salary guide and driver salary guide.
This is the part most families get wrong, and it costs nothing to fix.
Give it a week before Diwali, not on the day. Your maid needs that money to buy clothes for her children, sweets for her own home, and gifts for her family. Handing it over on Diwali evening is too late to be useful — the shopping is already done, usually on borrowed money.
A bonus given a week early does the same job for you and twice the job for her.
Most households give something alongside the money. Common additions:
One thing worth avoiding: giving only a gift and no cash. A saree is appreciated, but it does not buy her children's Diwali clothes. Cash first, gift as an addition.
A token amount with sweets is entirely appropriate — ₹500 to ₹1,000. Explain briefly that next year will be a full bonus. That one sentence prevents a year of quiet resentment.
Give what you can and say so plainly. Half a month with an honest word is received far better than silence. What causes bad feeling is not a smaller bonus — it is being left wondering.
Diwali is not the time to make that point. If there is a performance issue, it should have been raised months ago and should be raised separately. Using the bonus as a penalty usually ends with the person leaving in January.
Common before festivals, and usually reasonable. If you agree, write down the amount and how it will be adjusted, so there is no confusion in December.
Apply the same rule to each, based on their own salary and tenure. Staff compare notes, and an obvious inconsistency causes more trouble than the money saved.
The simplest way to remove the awkwardness permanently is to settle it when someone joins — one line about the festival bonus, alongside salary and weekly off.
Our free maid agreement format includes a line for exactly this. It takes twenty minutes and saves the same conversation every October.
Diwali is the month good domestic staff quietly start looking elsewhere. Not because of the bonus itself, but because the festival is when people take stock of how they are treated.
Replacing a maid who knows your house, your routine and your family costs far more than a month's salary — in search time, in training, and in the weeks of disruption in between.
One month's salary is the common benchmark for someone who has been with you a year or more. For shorter tenures most families scale it down — a token amount with sweets under three months, a quarter to half a month for three to six months, and half to a full month between six months and a year.
No. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 applies to establishments with twenty or more employees, and households are not covered. A Diwali bonus for domestic help is custom rather than law — but it is near-universal custom, and most workers budget for it.
About a week before Diwali. The money is meant to be spent on festival shopping — clothes for her children, sweets, gifts. Given on the day itself, the shopping is already done, usually on borrowed money.
A token amount of ₹500 to ₹1,000 with a box of sweets is appropriate. Mention that next year will be a full bonus — that one sentence prevents a lot of quiet resentment.
The same rule applies, based on what she earns from you. A part-time maid usually works in several houses, and each household giving a month of its own salary adds up to a reasonable festival amount for her.
A gift alongside cash is appreciated. A gift instead of cash usually is not — a saree does not buy her children's Diwali clothes. Cash first, gift as an addition.
We place background-verified maids, cooks and drivers across Dehradun, with terms — including the festival bonus — agreed clearly before anyone starts.
WhatsApp us: +91 7417306749
Call us: +91 9520955629
Register on our website: labourwala.in/contact-us
