A practitioner-grade explainer on how to compute pay when a regular holiday or a special (non-working) day lands on an employee’s weekly rest day—including work vs. no-work scenarios, overtime, night-shift differential, and common edge cases.
I. Quick map of Philippine “holidays” for pay purposes
- Regular holidays (e.g., New Year’s Day, Independence Day): “Double pay” rules apply when worked; paid even if unworked (subject to eligibility).
- Special (non-working) days (e.g., Ninoy Aquino Day, most EDSA anniversaries): “No work, no pay,” unless company policy/CBA says otherwise. If worked, “+30%” rules apply.
Your weekly rest day (24 consecutive hours after six days’ work by law) can coincide with either kind.
II. Coverage and eligibility (who gets holiday pay at all)
- Covered: Rank-and-file and most non-managerial employees, whether paid by day, hour, or piece (with nuances for piece-rate/commissioned workers).
- Common exclusions: Government workers; managerial employees; field personnel and similar whose work hours are unsupervised; establishments legally exempted (e.g., certain retail/service firms with <10 data-preserve-html-node="true" workers for regular holidays); those on absences without pay who did not work on both the workday immediately preceding a regular holiday and the day following (unless on leave with pay).
- Condition for unworked regular holiday pay: present or on leave with pay on the workday immediately preceding the holiday (and, by policy in many firms, also the immediately following day).
The rest-day status of the holiday does not remove your entitlement to unworked regular-holiday pay if you meet eligibility. (The “rest-day premium” matters only if you work on that day.)
III. Core multipliers (first 8 hours)
| Day type | If unworked | If worked (not rest day) | If worked & it’s your rest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular holiday | 100% of daily wage (if eligible) | 200% of daily wage | 260% of daily wage (= 200% × 1.30 rest-day premium) |
| Special (non-working) day | 0% (no work, no pay) unless policy/CBA says otherwise | 130% of daily wage | 150% of daily wage (= 130% × 1.154… ≈ +20% more; DOLE practice rounds to 150%) |
Overtime (beyond 8 hours):
Regular holiday: OT hour = (day’s hourly rate) × 1.30.
- So holiday OT = 200% × 1.30 = 260% per OT hour (if not rest day).
- Holiday + rest day OT = 260% × 1.30 = 338% per OT hour.
Special day: OT hour = (day’s hourly rate) × 1.30.
- Special OT = 130% × 1.30 = 169% per OT hour.
- Special + rest day OT = 150% × 1.30 = 195% per OT hour.
Night-Shift Differential (NSD): Add +10% of the regular hourly wage for hours worked 10:00 p.m.–6:00 a.m., on top of the above multipliers. (NSD is computed on the basic hourly rate, then added to the premium pay.)
IV. Worked examples (₱1,000 daily rate; 8-hour shift; hourly = ₱125)
A) Regular holiday falls on your rest day, unworked
- Pay = ₱1,000 (100%) if eligibility conditions are met.
B) Regular holiday falls on your rest day, worked 10 hours (2 OT)
- First 8 hours: ₱1,000 × 260% = ₱2,600
- 2 OT hours: hourly ₱125 × 338% × 2 = ₱845
- Total = ₱3,445 (add NSD if applicable: ₱12.50 per NSD hour)
C) Special (non-working) day falls on your rest day, worked 10 hours
- First 8 hours: ₱1,000 × 150% = ₱1,500
- 2 OT hours: ₱125 × 195% × 2 = ₱487.50
- Total = ₱1,987.50 (plus NSD where applicable)
- If unworked: ₀ (unless company policy/CBA grants pay)
V. “Double holiday” and other overlays
Double holiday (a regular holiday coincides with another regular holiday; or special+regular falling on the same date under proclamations):
- Unworked: 200% of daily wage (if eligible).
- Worked (not rest day): 300% of daily wage (first 8 hours).
- Worked and rest day: add rest-day premium +30% of 300% ⇒ 390% of daily wage (first 8).
- OT: add +30% to the per-hour rate of the day (so 300% × 1.30 = 390% per OT hour; if also rest day, 390% × 1.30 = 507% per OT hour).
Special day adjacent to a regular holiday: compute each day separately; there’s no “carry-over” of premiums.
Split shifts crossing midnight: Pay only the hours that actually fall on the holiday date at holiday rates; the rest at regular/rest-day rates.
VI. Monthly-paid vs. daily-paid
- Daily-paid workers: Apply the multipliers above directly. Unworked regular holidays are paid if eligible; unworked special days are unpaid unless policy says otherwise.
- Monthly-paid workers: If the company uses a 365-day factor, monthly salary already includes pay for unworked regular holidays and rest days. Additional pay is due only if the employee works on those days (use the incremental multipliers over the “already paid” base). If using other factors (e.g., 313/314), align your computation to your factorization policy/CBA.
VII. Common mistakes to avoid (and how to fix them)
Denying unworked regular-holiday pay because it’s a rest day.
- Incorrect. If eligibility is met, pay 100% even when it falls on the weekly rest day.
Applying the 30% rest-day premium to the basic rate only (not to the holiday rate).
- For worked regular holidays on rest day, the correct base is 200%, then apply +30% ⇒ 260%.
Forgetting the overtime premium on top of the day’s rate.
- OT on holiday/rest-day uses the day’s hourly rate × 1.30 (not just +30 pesos, but +30%).
Compounding NSD incorrectly.
- Compute NSD as 10% of the basic hourly rate per NSD hour, add it to the day’s premium pay. Don’t multiply the already-premium rate by another 10%.
Not checking eligibility for unworked regular holidays.
- Verify presence (or leave with pay) on the workday immediately preceding the holiday, per policy/CBA and rules.
VIII. Quick computation templates
Let DR = daily rate; HR = hourly rate (DR/8).
- Unworked regular holiday (eligible): Pay = DR × 100%
- Worked regular holiday (not rest day): Pay = DR × 200% + OT(hrs) × HR × 260%
- Worked regular holiday (rest day): Pay = DR × 260% + OT(hrs) × HR × 338%
- Worked special day (not rest day): Pay = DR × 130% + OT(hrs) × HR × 169%
- Worked special day (rest day): Pay = DR × 150% + OT(hrs) × HR × 195%
- NSD add-on: NSD(hrs) × HR × 10%
(Adjust if company policy/CBA grants better terms.)
IX. Policy & payroll checklist (for HR and payroll teams)
- Identify day type (regular vs. special) and rest-day status.
- Verify eligibility for unworked regular holiday pay.
- Confirm monthly vs. daily-paid and the payroll factor used.
- Compute first-8-hour multiplier correctly; layer rest-day and holiday premiums in the right order.
- Add OT (×1.30 of the day’s hourly rate) and NSD (+10% of basic hourly) where applicable.
- Document computations on the payslip (separate lines for “Regular Holiday Pay,” “Holiday Work Premium,” “Rest-Day Premium,” “OT,” “NSD”).
- Apply CBA/company improvements consistently; never go below statutory minimums.
X. Key takeaways
- If a regular holiday lands on your rest day and you don’t work, you’re still paid 100% of your daily wage (if eligible).
- If you work a regular holiday on your rest day, the first 8 hours are paid at 260%, with OT at 338% per hour; add NSD where applicable.
- Special days use the no work, no pay rule unless a policy/CBA says otherwise; if worked on a rest day, pay 150% for the first 8 hours and 195% per OT hour.
- Double holidays have higher multipliers (300% worked; 390% if also a rest day).
- Always align with your CBA/policy if it is more generous; never undercut statutory baselines.
This article is general legal information for payroll and HR compliance. For edge cases (compressed workweeks, piece-rate formulas, establishments with exemptions, or overlapping proclamations), calibrate with your CBA/policy and seek tailored advice.