Understanding the “3.13” Daily-Rate Factor and Holiday Coverage in Philippine Labor Law

1. What exactly is the “3.13” daily-rate factor?

Payroll practitioners sometimes speak of a “3.13 factor.” Strictly speaking, it is shorthand for the 313-day factor prescribed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for converting a daily wage into its Equivalent Monthly Rate (EMR) for a certain class of daily-paid employees:

$$ \textbf{EMR} ;=; \dfrac{\text{Daily Rate};\times;313}{12} $$

Dividing 313 days by 12 months gives 26.08 days per month; that “26-day” divisor is why payroll templates sometimes label the rule “3.13” (i.e., 26.08 ≈ 3.13 × 8 working hours).

2. Why 313 days? The statutory breakdown

Paid day-type	Typical count	Legal source	Notes
Ordinary working days	297	Art. 91–93 Labor Code (LC)	Assumes a 6-day work-week with Sunday rest
Regular holidays (paid even if unworked)	12	Art. 94 LC; R.A. 9492; R.A. 10966; annual proclamations	New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Araw ng Kagitingan, Labor Day, Independence Day, National Heroes Day, Bonifacio Day, Christmas Day, Rizal Day, and two movable holidays: Eid’l Fitr & Eid’l Adha
Special non-working days (paid only if actually worked, but still counted for factorisation)	4	Proclamations 60-series 2024; long-standing practice	Ninoy Aquino Day, All Saints’ Day, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Last Day of the Year
Total paid days	313		Rest days (52) are not paid and therefore not in the factor

Employees covered by this factor receive pay (a) for every ordinary working day they actually report, and (b) for all regular holidays even when they do not report for work. They are not paid for weekly rest days or special non-working days they do not attend.

3. Who uses the 3.13 factor?

Category	Typical examples	Why 3.13 applies
Factory / service-establishment workers on a 6-day schedule whose production ceases on Sundays	Production helpers, drivers, retail staff	They are entitled to regular-holiday pay under Art. 94 LC but not to pay on weekly rest days.
Field personnel required to punch in on regular holidays but free on Sundays	Merchandisers, sales canvassers	Holiday pay applies; rest-day pay does not.
Project-based or seasonal workers whose contract or CBA grants regular-holiday pay	Construction, agribusiness “cane-cutting” crews	Legally entitled to holiday pay but contractually silent on rest-day pay.

Not covered: monthly-paid employees (365-day factor), purely “no work, no pay” daily employees (261-day factor), piece-rate workers genuinely free from control in the field (Art. 82 LC exempt).

4. Computational guide

From daily to monthly

$$ \text{EMR} = \dfrac{313}{12} \times \text{Daily Rate} ;=; 26.08 \times \text{Daily Rate} $$
From monthly to daily

$$ \text{Daily Rate} = \dfrac{\text{Monthly Salary}}{26.08} $$
From daily to hourly

$$ \text{Hourly Rate} = \dfrac{\text{Daily Rate}}{8} $$

Holiday-pay matrix (Art. 94 LC; DO No. 202-20)

Scenario	Pay for first 8 h
Unworked regular holiday	100 % of basic daily rate
Worked regular holiday	200 % (100 % basic + 100 % holiday pay)
Worked holiday + overtime	200 % + 30 % OT premium on hourly rate
Worked holiday falling on rest day	260 % (200 % × 1.30)
Two overlapping regular holidays (rare)	300 % (100 % basic + 200 %)

5. Typical payroll illustration

Example Daily rate: ₱610. Worked on Independence Day (regular holiday) which fell on a Sunday (rest day) for 9 hours.

EMR ₱610 × 26.08 = ₱15 908.80
Holiday-rest-day pay (first 8 h) ₱610 × 260 % = ₱1 586
Overtime (1 h) Hourly rate = ₱610 ⁄ 8 = ₱76.25 OT premium = ₱76.25 × 260 % × 130 % = ₱257.44
Total for the day ₱1 586 + ₱257.44 = ₱1 843.44

6. Interaction with other monetary benefits

Benefit	Treatment for 3.13-factor employees
13th-Month Pay (Pres. Decree 851)	Use actual basic pay earned, not the factorised EMR, then divide by 12.
Service Incentive Leave (Art. 95 LC)	Cash conversion uses the actual daily rate at year-end.
Overtime & Night-shift Differential (Art. 87–93 LC)	Base on the computed hourly rate (daily ÷ 8), then add statutory premiums.
Social contributions (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG)	Report the EMR (monthly basis) to ensure correct bracket placement.

7. Common compliance pitfalls … and how to avoid them

Applying 3.13 to the wrong group.
- Verify that employees actually receive holiday pay but do not receive rest-day pay; otherwise use the 261-day or 365-day factor as appropriate.
Ignoring special proclamations.
- If the President declares additional special non-working days (e.g., Chinese New Year), they do not change the 313-day factor but do impose premium-pay obligations when worked.
Compressed work-week arrangements.
- A valid compressed schedule (e.g., 4 × 11-h) does not change the factor; convert the daily rate to hourly first, then multiply by actual hours worked.
Rounding errors in payroll software.
- Store at least four decimal places on the divisor 26.0833 to avoid cumulative variances.

8. Checklist for HR and Payroll departments

✔	Action item
☐	Confirm which DOLE factor (365/313/261) each employee group legitimately falls under.
☐	Update contracts and CBAs to mirror the agreed coverage for holidays/rest days.
☐	Audit payroll engine formulas: Daily → Hourly, Holiday premiums, OT on holidays.
☐	Track annual presidential proclamations; load them into the timekeeping calendar.
☐	Re-educate supervisors on “no work, no pay” rules for special days versus regular holidays.
☐	Verify SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG brackets quarterly using the EMR, not the raw daily rate.

9. Key take-aways

The “3.13” factor is simply the 313-day conversion standard for daily-paid workers who enjoy regular-holiday pay but not rest-day pay.
It ensures apples-to-apples comparisons with monthly-paid employees and correct computation of government-mandated benefits.
The factor does not override the separate premium-pay rules for work actually performed on holidays, special days, or rest days.
Legal bases are found principally in Articles 91–95 and 86–93 of the Labor Code, Presidential Decrees 442 & 851, annual holiday proclamations, and the DOLE Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits.

Keep this framework handy, and your payroll will remain both compliant and transparent—two qualities cherished by employees and labor inspectors alike.