Holiday Pay Rules for Regular and Special Holidays in the Philippines

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The Philippines enjoys more number of nationwide public holidays compared to many other countries. Aside from the national holidays (regular and special), there are also city-wide-only and province-wide only public holidays. 

These extra special non-working holidays must be declared as such by Malacañang through a proclamation. Without an official proclamation, there is no special non-working holiday in a specific LGU only, unless the date is already covered by a republic act. 

Example of limited scope special non-working holiday that must be declared yearly is the Malasiqui founding anniversary which needs a proclamation from Malacañang and is only for the municipality of Malasiqui in Pangasinan. 

Another example is the Ati-Atihan Festival which is usually declared by the current president as special non-working day.

Now, there are city-wide or province-wide special (non-working) holiday that doesn’t need a proclamation yearly because there is already a law about it, a republic act. Example of this is the Cebu City Charter Day which declared February 24 of each year as a special non-working holiday for the City of Cebu. This directive is under the Republic Act 7287. 

Are LGU specific special non working holidays be given holiday premium? Yes but the pay rule will follow the DOLE guidelines set for the normal special non-working holidays in the Philippines. You can find a dedicated post on how much is the additional pay for a Charter Day or Founding Anniversary Day.

For employees, whether in public or private establishments, make it a point to know the extra holidays that is usually declared for the specific LGU where the workplace is located. It might come in handy especially if one wants to take a longer break, especially if a holiday falls just before or after a weekend. 

It’s good to get extra pay for work done on holidays but employees should also consider work-life balance. The holiday maybe the best time to push on that long-planned family bonding activities, whether travel or dining-out or chilling in the house. ~PaskongPinoy

December 24 and 31 are special non-working holidays in the Philippines while December 25, Christmas Day, and January 1, New Year’s Day, are regular holidays in the country. 

DOLE Holiday Pay Rules

The Department of Labor and Employment or DOLE sets the rules and guidelines for holiday pay in the Philippines. 

For Regular Holidays Pay Rules

For employees who work during regular holidays, they shall be paid 200% of the employee’s regular pay for the first eight hours or [(Daily Rate +COLA) x 200%]; while work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), shall be paid an additional 30% of the employee’s hourly rate or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 200% x 130% x number of hours worked)].

Meanwhile, if the employee works during these days that also falls on the employee’s rest day, he or she shall be paid an additional 30% of his/her daily rate of 200% or [(Daily Rate + COLA) x 200%] + [30% (Daily rate x 200%)]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), shall be paid an additional 30% of his/her hourly rate, or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 200% x 130% x 130% x number of hours worked)].

If an employee did not work on a regular holiday, he/she will get 100% of his/her daily wage rate (basic pay + cola) for the day. Provided, he/she worked or is on paid absence on the day preceding the regular holiday. 

For Special Non-Working Days Pay Rules

The pay rules for special (non-working days) provide that for an employee who work on this day, an employee shall be paid an additional 30% of his daily rate on the first eight hours or [(Daily Rate x 130%) + COLA]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), he/she shall be paid an additional 30% of his hourly rate or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 130% x 130% x number of hours worked)].

If the employee work during a special non-working day and it so happens that the day also fall on employee’s rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 50% of his/her daily rate on the first eight hours, or [(Daily Rate x 150%) + COLA]; while for work done in excess of eight hours (overtime), he/she shall be paid an additional 30% of his hourly rate, or [(Hourly Rate of the basic daily wage x 150% x 130% x number of hours worked)].

If the employee did not work on a special (non-working) holiday, he/she will not get any additional payment.

WHAT IS THE CONDITION SO THAT AN EMPLOYEE WILL BE ENTITLED TO HOLIDAY PAY?

     The employee should be present on the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday; or he/she should be on leave of absence with pay on the day immediately preceding the regular holiday.

If the employee is absent on the last WORK DAY BEFORE a regular holiday and he/she did not file a vacation/sick leave with pay for the day, then there is no holiday pay for him or her. 

If the employee works on the day of holiday, he/she will earn the extra holiday pay. How to compute the holiday pay premium is discussed in the section above. 

Illustrations:

There is Employee Alma, with regular work schedule 8 hours every Monday to Friday. Let’s assumed that her daily rate is P650 and her COLA is P20 per day. 

1. The holiday falls on a Friday. Employee Alma did not work on Thursday, she also did not file a paid VL for Thursday, then per the DOLE holiday pay rules, she is not entitled to the holiday pay for that Friday-holiday.

2. The regular holiday falls on a Monday. Employee Alma was absent on the Friday before the holiday. Take note that Friday is the last working day of the week for her, it is also the work day preceding the holiday on Monday. However, she filed a paid vacation leave for that Friday, thus, she will still get the holiday pay for the Monday-holiday even though she was absent. 

3. The regular holiday falls on a Tuesday. Employee Alma worked 8 hours during that holiday. Then Employee Alma will get 200% of her daily rate + cola. If her daily rate is P650 and her COLA is P20, she will get P1,340 for working 8 hours on that regular holiday. 

Total pay = ((P650+P20)*200%)

                = P1,340.00

4. The special non-working holiday falls on a Wednesday. Employee Alma worked 8 hours during that day. Then, Employee Alma will get 130% of her daily rate + COLA. Again, with an assumed daily rate of P650 and COLA of P20, her total pay for that day is P871. 

Total pay = ((P650+P20)*130%)

                = P871.00

5. The regular holiday falls on a Thursday. Employee Jojo worked 8 hours during that holiday, which also happens to be his rest day. His daily rate and COLA is the same that of Employee Alma at P650 and P20, respectively. So how much will be his total holiday pay with premium?

In this case, the formula to compute holiday pay with premium is [(Daily Rate + COLA) x 200%] + [30% (Daily rate x 200%)]

Total pay = ((P650+P20)*200%) + ((P650x200%)*30%)

               = P1,340 + 390

                = P1,730.00

*It is Employee Jojo’s rest day, that is why he is getting an extra premium pay for working on that regular holiday. 

If you require any further explanation on the holiday pay that you will get or how the premium pay will be computed, Paskong Pinoy recommends that you visit your company’s HR. 

The companies human resource personnel handles all wages and pay concerns of employees. 

You may also visit the DOLE website for more info about wages. 

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