Holiday Pay and Work-Hours Rules for Regular Holidays
Philippine Labor-Law Primer (updated to 30 May 2025)
1. Statutory Foundations
| Provision | Key Text | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 94, Labor Code (Pres. Decree 442, as amended) | “Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage for any regular holiday, whether he works or not.” | Creates the holiday-pay right and the basic “double-pay if worked” rule. |
| Book III, Rule IV, Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code | Details coverage, exemptions, and computation. | Serves as the day-to-day manual for payroll officers. |
| R.A. 9492 (2007) & later Acts (e.g., R.A. 9849 on Eid’l Adha) + annual Malacañang Proclamations | Fix or proclaim the calendar dates of each regular holiday. | HR must check the yearly Presidential Proclamation for any date-shifting (“holiday economics”). |
| DOLE Labor Advisories (issued each December for the following year) | Restate the pay rules, factoring new legislations or jurisprudence. | Non-compliance exposes employers to money claims & administrative fines. |
2. What Is a “Regular Holiday”?
A calendar day recognized by statute wherein the country “pauses,” and employees receive pay even without work. Contrast: Special (Non-Working) Day – no automatic wage unless worked; pay premiums differ.
| 2025 Regular Holidays | Fixed date |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 01 Jan |
| Maundy Thursday | variable (17 Apr 2025) |
| Good Friday | variable (18 Apr 2025) |
| Araw ng Kagitingan | 09 Apr |
| Labor Day | 01 May |
| Independence Day | 12 Jun |
| National Heroes Day | 25 Aug (last Monday of August) |
| Bonifacio Day | 30 Nov |
| Christmas Day | 25 Dec |
| Rizal Day | 30 Dec |
| Eid’l Fitr* | to be proclaimed |
| Eid’l Adha* | to be proclaimed |
*Exact Islamic-lunar dates are fixed yearly by Presidential Proclamation upon NCMF recommendation.
3. Coverage & Exemptions
Covered employees
Rank-and-file and supervisory staff in all establishments, public or private, except:
- Retail & service establishments regularly employing < 10 workers (Art. 94(b)).
- Field personnel/sea-based OFWs, domestic helpers, managerial staff, and piece-rate homeworkers are covered for work performed, but may be excluded from the “unworked-holiday pay” under implementing rules.
Probationary, casual, project, and seasonal workers enjoy holiday pay pro-rated for workdays falling within the project/season.
Qualifying condition for unworked-day pay Employee must be “present or on paid leave” on the work-day immediately preceding the holiday. (The 50-%-of-working-days rule in older issuances was repealed in 1985; presence on the day before is now the standard.)
4. Wage Formulas
Let DW = employee’s daily wage (basic plus mandated COLA).
| Scenario | Pay Computation | Illustration (DW = ₱700) |
|---|---|---|
| Unworked regular holiday | DW × 100 % | ₱700 |
| Worked, ≤ 8 hrs | DW × 200 % | ₱1 400 |
| Worked > 8 hrs | (DW × 200 %) + OThrs × HourlyRate × 200 % × 30 % | 2 hrs OT ⇒ ₱1 400 + (2 × ₱87.50 × 2 × 30 %) = ₱1 400 + ₱105 = ₱1 505 |
| Worked on employee’s rest day falling on a regular holiday | DW × 200 % × 130 % = DW × 260 % | ₱1 820 |
| OT on rest-day regular holiday | Rest-day holiday pay + OThrs × HourlyRate × 260 % × 30 % | add 2 hrs OT ⇒ + ₱136.50 |
Night-shift differential (NSD): add 10 % of the worker’s basic hourly rate on top of the premiums for hours worked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Art. 86).
5. Interplay with Other Wage Rules
- Service Incentive Leave (SIL) – a paid SIL day that coincides with a regular holiday is not double-charged; employer may either (a) credit another SIL day or (b) defer the count.
- 13th-Month Pay – holiday pay forms part of “basic salary” in computing the 13th-month average.
- No Offset – employer cannot deduct holiday pay from employee’s SIL balance or force a “make-up” workday.
- Confusion with Flexible Work Arrangements – even on compressed workweeks (e.g., 4 × 10 hrs), the first 8 holiday hours are paid at 100 % unworked / 200 % worked; the extra 2 regular hours (9th-10th) are treated as overtime if required to work.
6. Employer Compliance Checklist
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Verify yearly holiday list | Monitor Malacañang Proclamation (usually released Sept–Dec). |
| Payroll templates | Embed dynamic formulas reflecting 100 %, 200 %, 260 %, OT adjustments, NSD layers. |
| Timekeeping | Flag rest-days vs. non-rest-days; capture actual OT minutes. |
| Policy disclosure | Include the pay scheme in the Employee Handbook; post on bulletin board (Art. 134). |
| Record retention | Keep payslips, DTRs & 2316s for 3 years (Art. 305). |
| Remedies for disputes | Factory-level grievance → DOLE Regional mediation → NLRC money claim (prescriptive period: 3 years from the accrual of each holiday-pay deficiency). |
7. Frequently Litigated Points
| Issue | Leading Case | Take-away |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday pay entitlement of “task-based” workers | Feati University v. Bautista (G.R. L-15545, 1961) | Piece-rate workers paid “per yield” are covered when work is done on-site & supervised. |
| “De minimis” exemption for micro-retailers | Jalandoni v. NLRC (G.R. 81406, 1990) | The <10 data-preserve-html-node="true"-employee exemption is strictly construed; if head-count fluctuates above 10, holiday-pay rule applies for the entire year. |
| Presence-on-day-before condition | Philippine Global Communications v. De Vera (G.R. 144471, 2001) | Absence on the day before but with approved leave preserves entitlement. |
8. Penalties for Non-Compliance
- Money Judgment: Full differentials + legal interest (currently 6 % p.a.) from demand.
- DOLE Compliance Order: May include ₱40,000 administrative fine per affected employee (Sec. 12, DO 147-2022).
- Criminal Liability: Willful refusal constitutes an offense under Art. 288; rarely prosecuted but remains a sword of Damocles.
9. Best-Practice Tips for Employers & HR
- Automate holiday calendars in payroll software; link to DOLE RSS feed.
- Communicate duty schedules at least five days ahead; obtain written consent for holiday work.
- Budget – include a “13th-month & holiday pay accrual” ledger to avoid year-end cash-flow shocks.
- Audit every January: match paid holidays vs. DOLE advisories; rectify gaps early.
- Training – orient line supervisors; they often approve OT without realizing compounded premiums on a rest-day holiday night shift.
10. Quick Reference Formula Card
Unworked = DW Worked = DW × 2 Rest-day Worked = DW × 2.6 OT add-on = HourlyRate × PayBasis × 0.30 × OT hrs NSD add-on = HourlyRate × 0.10 × NSD hrs
Final Word
The Philippine holiday-pay regime rests on the simple social-justice premise that workers should not lose income when the State chooses to commemorate a national event—and should be handsomely compensated when their presence is indispensable. Mastering the interplay of Art. 94, implementing rules, and annual proclamations is therefore essential compliance knowledge for every payroll manager, HR practitioner, union leader, and employee alike.