Holiday Pay Eligibility After an Absence Following a Holiday (Philippines)

A complete, practical legal guide — Philippine context

1) Quick answer (the core rule)

For regular holidays, the statutory condition for unworked holiday pay is that the employee must be present or on leave with pay on the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday. Absence on the workday after the holiday does not, by itself, cancel holiday pay.

If your employer denies regular-holiday pay just because you were absent after the holiday, that is generally not compliant with the Labor Code’s holiday-pay rule.

2) What counts as a “regular holiday” vs a “special (non-working) day”

Regular holiday (e.g., New Year’s Day, Araw ng Kagitingan, Labor Day, Independence Day, National Heroes Day, Bonifacio Day, Christmas Day, Rizal Day, Eid holidays when proclaimed, etc.).
- Unworked: entitled to 100% of the daily wage if present or on paid leave on the workday before the holiday.
- Worked: 200% for first 8 hours (higher if also a rest day).
Special (non-working) day (e.g., Chinese New Year when declared, EDSA Anniversary when declared, All Saints’ Day, last day of the year, some local holidays when declared).
- Unworked: “no work, no pay” (unless a CBA/company policy says otherwise).
- Worked: 130% for first 8 hours (higher if also a rest day).

This article focuses on absence after a holiday. For regular holidays, the “after” day isn’t the legal trigger; the day before is.

3) The “after-holiday absence” scenarios (regular holidays)

A) Present (or on paid leave) before the holiday; absent after

Unworked regular holiday pay: Pay is due. The after-day absence doesn’t negate eligibility.
If you worked on the holiday: you’re entitled to the applicable worked-holiday premium regardless of the next day.

B) Absent without pay before the holiday; present after

Unworked regular holiday pay: Not due (you missed the preceding day trigger).
If you worked on the holiday: you still earn the worked-holiday rate for that day.

C) Absent both before and after (unworked holiday)

Unworked regular holiday pay: Not due.
If you worked on the holiday: paid at worked-holiday rate for the hours actually worked.

D) On leave with pay before the holiday; absent after

Unworked regular holiday pay: Due (paid leave satisfies the “preceding day” condition).
The after-day absence doesn’t change that.

E) Successive regular holidays (e.g., Dec 25–30 in some years)

Eligibility is checked per holiday against the day immediately preceding each holiday.
If you were absent before the first regular holiday, you generally lose unworked pay for that first holiday (and, depending on the calendar, may also fail the “preceding day” for the next).
Absences after a given holiday don’t retroactively forfeit what you already qualified for on that holiday.

4) Tardiness, undertime, suspension of work, and bridges

Tardiness/undertime on the workday before a regular holiday does not usually disqualify holiday pay if you were still considered present (not on leave without pay for the whole day).
Company-declared suspension (e.g., “no work” day) on the day before the holiday: if employees are ready and willing to work but the company suspends work, employees should not be penalized on eligibility for the holiday that follows.
Leave without pay on the preceding workday typically breaks eligibility (treat as absent).
Bridging policies (“no pay for the holiday unless present before and after”) reduce the statutory benefit and are not compliant for regular holidays. Employers may grant better terms, not worse.

5) Special (non-working) days and “after-holiday” absence

Because special days follow “no work, no pay” if unworked, eligibility is not about the day before or after. If you didn’t work on a special day, there’s normally no pay (unless your CBA/company rules say otherwise). If you worked on a special day, you get the special-day premium, regardless of what happens the day after.

6) Rest day overlaps and computations (for completeness)

Regular holiday that falls on your rest day and you don’t work: unworked 100% is still due if you met the preceding-day rule.
Worked on a regular holiday + rest day: premium is higher than 200% (commonly 260% for first 8 hours).
Worked on a special day + rest day: premium is higher than 130% (commonly 150%).

(Exact multipliers depend on prevailing wage rules; many companies codify them in policy or CBA.)

7) Practical decision tree (regular holiday, unworked)

Were you present or on paid leave on the workday immediately before the holiday?
- Yes → Holiday pay is due, even if you were absent after.
- No → No unworked holiday pay (unless you actually worked on the holiday).
Did you actually work on the holiday?
- Yes → Pay the worked-holiday premium (regardless of after-day absence).
- No → Apply result of step 1.

8) Common employer/HR pitfalls (and how to challenge them)

“Before and after” requirement for regular holidays → Overly restrictive. Cite the statutory “preceding workday” rule.
Converting after-day absences into holiday offsets → Not allowed. Disciplinary action for unrelated absences must follow due process and may not confiscate earned holiday pay.
Treating paid leave before the holiday as disqualifying → Incorrect. Paid leave counts as being “on leave with pay.”

9) Documentation you should keep

Timekeeping records showing you were present (or on paid leave) on the workday before the holiday.
Payslips for the payroll that covers the holiday.
Company policy/CBA clauses on holiday pay.
Any HR emails/memos denying holiday pay because you were absent after the holiday.

10) How to raise and resolve disputes

Email HR/payroll: Point out that the law conditions unworked regular-holiday pay on presence/paid leave before the holiday; absence after is not a disqualifier. Ask for reprocessing of pay.
Grievance machinery/CBA (if unionized).
SEnA (Single-Entry Approach) at DOLE: a quick conciliation-mediation path that often fixes payroll interpretation issues within 30 days.
DOLE complaint/inspection: For systemic misapplication of holiday rules affecting multiple workers.

11) Worked examples (illustrative)

Case 1: Regular holiday on Monday. Employee worked Friday (the preceding workday), did not work Monday (holiday), and was absent Tuesday.
- Result: Holiday pay for Monday due (present before). Tuesday absence can be handled under attendance rules, but cannot forfeit Monday’s holiday pay.
Case 2: Regular holiday on Wednesday. Employee was absent without pay on Tuesday (preceding day), did not work the holiday, and returned Thursday.
- Result: No unworked holiday pay for Wednesday (missed the preceding-day condition).
Case 3: Special non-working day on Friday. Employee did not work Friday and was absent Monday.
- Result: No pay for Friday (unworked special day), regardless of Monday.
Case 4: Regular holiday + rest day overlap, unworked. Employee met the preceding-day rule.
- Result: Unworked 100% is still due even though it’s a rest day, and absence the day after is irrelevant.

12) FAQs

Q: My employer says I must be present before and after a regular holiday to get paid. A: That adds a condition the law does not impose. The statutory check is the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday (presence or paid leave).

Q: I was on paid sick leave the day before the holiday. Do I still get unworked holiday pay? A: Yes. Paid leave counts.

Q: I worked on the regular holiday but was absent the next day. Can they downgrade my holiday premium? A: No. Worked-holiday premiums are based on work actually rendered on the holiday, not the next day’s attendance.

Q: Our company closed the day before the holiday (management memo). We were ready to work. Are we disqualified? A: Generally, no. If the employer suspended work, employees should not be penalized on eligibility for the next day’s regular-holiday pay.

13) Bottom line

For regular holidays, eligibility hinges on the workday before, not after.
Absence after a regular holiday does not cancel unworked holiday pay you already qualified for.
Special (non-working) days follow “no work, no pay” unless worked or a better company/CBA rule applies.
If denied pay because of an after-holiday absence, raise it with HR, then use SEnA/DOLE if needed.

If you share your exact dates (which day was the holiday, your attendance before/after, and whether you worked the holiday), I can draft a short memo to HR and a clean pay computation you can attach to your payroll query.