Quick answer

A monthly paid employee is not automatically excluded from holiday pay. If the employee is covered by the Labor Code, a regular holiday must generally be paid even when no work is performed.

For many genuinely monthly paid employees, the 100% pay for an unworked regular holiday is already built into the fixed monthly salary. In that situation, the employee normally receives the usual monthly salary—not a separate extra day’s pay. If the employee works on the regular holiday, however, the total statutory compensation for the first eight hours is at least 200% of the applicable daily wage. Because the first 100% may already be included in the monthly salary, payroll commonly adds the remaining 100%.

The actual result depends on the employment contract, payroll divisor, work schedule, wage components, attendance before the holiday, and any more favorable company policy, collective bargaining agreement, or established practice.

The governing rule

Article 94 of the Labor Code provides that every covered worker must receive the regular daily wage during regular holidays. An employer may require work on a regular holiday, but must pay at least twice the employee’s regular rate.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed that employees do not lose holiday-pay protection merely because they receive a monthly salary. What matters is whether the monthly salary already compensates the holidays and whether the employee falls within the law’s coverage. See the Labor Code of the Philippines, Producers Bank of the Philippines v. NLRC, and Odango v. NLRC.

“Monthly paid” does not always mean the same thing

A fixed amount appearing under “monthly salary” on a contract or payslip does not by itself settle the issue. Payroll records must show what days the salary covers.

Under the implementing rules, an employee uniformly paid by the month—regardless of the number of working days in that month—and receiving at least the applicable minimum wage is presumed paid for all days of the month, whether worked or not. A 365-day basis is strong evidence that rest days, special days, and regular holidays are included.

Other employers use a divisor reflecting only scheduled working days and specified paid holidays. A smaller divisor is not automatically unlawful, but its legal effect depends on the days included and whether the resulting daily rate and monthly salary satisfy minimum-wage and holiday-pay requirements.

The Supreme Court has therefore treated the salary formula and divisor as important evidence rather than relying solely on the label “monthly paid.” See Chartered Bank Employees Association v. Ople, Union of Filipro Employees v. Vivar, and Wellington Investment and Manufacturing Corp. v. Trajano.

What should be paid

The following are minimum rates for covered employees. A contract, collective bargaining agreement, or company practice may provide more.

Situation	Minimum value for the first eight hours
Regular holiday not worked, employee eligible	100% of daily wage
Regular holiday worked	200% of daily wage
Regular holiday worked and also the employee’s scheduled rest day	260% of daily wage
Two regular holidays on the same date, not worked and employee eligible	200% of daily wage
Two regular holidays on the same date, worked	300% of daily wage

For an ordinary regular holiday that is already included in the monthly salary:

If the employee does not work, the usual monthly salary generally satisfies the 100% holiday-pay requirement.
If the employee works for up to eight hours, the payroll should produce a total value of 200% for that day. The usual practical entry is an additional 100% because the first 100% is already in the monthly salary.
If the holiday is also the employee’s scheduled rest day and the employee works, the total statutory rate is 260%. If the monthly salary already includes the first 100%, the additional amount is commonly 160%.

The “additional” amount should not be considered in isolation. Check whether the employee’s complete pay for the payroll period reaches the required total.

Overtime on a regular holiday

For work beyond eight hours on a regular holiday, each overtime hour is generally paid at the hourly rate applicable to that holiday plus 30%.

Accordingly:

Regular-holiday overtime: hourly wage × 200% × 130%.
Regular holiday that is also a rest day: hourly wage × 260% × 130%.

Covered work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. may also qualify for night-shift differential. The applicable premiums are cumulative when their separate legal conditions are met.

The Department of Labor and Employment’s official formulas and examples appear in its 2024 Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits Handbook.

A simple example

Assume:

Monthly salary: ₱30,000
The employer’s documented salary basis covers all 365 days
Daily equivalent: ₱30,000 × 12 ÷ 365 = ₱986.30

For one ordinary regular holiday:

Not worked: The employee ordinarily continues to receive the ₱30,000 monthly salary. No separate ₱986.30 is required if that holiday’s 100% pay is genuinely included.
Worked for eight hours: The day must have a total value of ₱1,972.60. Since ₱986.30 is already included, at least another ₱986.30 is ordinarily due.
Worked for eight hours and the holiday is also the scheduled rest day: The total value must be ₱2,564.38. If the first ₱986.30 is already included, the additional amount is ordinarily ₱1,578.08.

This example cannot simply be copied if the company uses another valid divisor, the employee has a compressed workweek, the salary includes separately treated wage components, or a better contractual rate applies.

Regular holidays covered by the rule

The nationwide regular holidays generally include:

New Year’s Day
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Araw ng Kagitingan
Labor Day
Independence Day
National Heroes Day
Bonifacio Day
Christmas Day
Rizal Day
Eid’l Fitr
Eid’l Adha

Exact dates and classifications must be checked against the presidential proclamation for the relevant year and any later proclamation. For example, the nationwide holidays for 2026 appear in Proclamation No. 1006, while the movable Islamic holidays were separately fixed by Proclamation No. 1189 and Proclamation No. 1264.

A local holiday applies only within the locality or area covered by its law or proclamation.

Regular holidays are different from special non-working days

Do not apply regular-holiday rates automatically to a special non-working day.

As a general rule for a special non-working day:

If the employee does not work, the principle is usually “no work, no pay,” unless a contract, company policy, collective bargaining agreement, or established practice provides payment.
If the employee works, the usual minimum is 130% for the first eight hours.
If the special day is also the employee’s scheduled rest day, the usual minimum is 150%.

A monthly salary may nevertheless include payment for special non-working days, particularly where the salary is based on all calendar days. The payroll basis and any more favorable benefit must be examined.

A “special working day” is generally treated as an ordinary working day unless another law or issuance provides a different rule.

Absence before a regular holiday

Holiday pay can be affected by attendance immediately before the holiday:

An employee on paid leave immediately before the regular holiday remains entitled to holiday pay.
An employee on unpaid leave on the working day immediately before the holiday may lose the pay for an unworked holiday.
If the day immediately before the holiday was the employee’s scheduled rest day or an establishment-wide non-working day, the employee is not automatically treated as absent. Eligibility generally depends on whether the employee worked or was on paid leave on the working day immediately before that rest or non-working day.
If the employee actually works on the regular holiday, the employee must be paid for the holiday work even if absent without pay on the preceding day.

For two successive regular holidays, an employee who was absent without pay on the working day before the first holiday may lose pay for both unworked holidays. If the employee works on the first holiday, the employee is generally entitled to pay for the second holiday even if it is not worked.

These rules appear in Rule IV, Book III of the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code and were discussed by the Supreme Court in Nippon Paint Philippines, Inc. v. Nippon Paint Philippines Employees Association.

When two holidays fall on the same date

Two regular holidays falling on one date can create a “double holiday.” The Supreme Court has upheld payment for both holidays rather than treating them as only one benefit.

For a covered and eligible employee, the usual minimum is:

200% of the daily wage if the double holiday is not worked.
300% if the employee works for up to eight hours.

If the date is also the employee’s scheduled rest day, or if overtime or night work is performed, additional computations may apply. The contract or collective bargaining agreement must also be checked because it may provide better benefits. See Asian Transmission Corp. v. Court of Appeals.

Who may not be covered

Holiday pay generally applies to employees in the private sector, regardless of position title or whether employment is regular, probationary, seasonal, or casual, provided the employee is otherwise covered.

Possible statutory exclusions include:

Government employees, whose compensation is governed by civil-service rules.
Managerial employees as legally defined—not everyone called a “manager” or “supervisor.”
Officers or members of managerial staff who satisfy all the legal tests for exclusion.
Field personnel and similarly unsupervised employees whose actual working time cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
Members of the employer’s family who depend on the employer for support.
Persons in the personal service of another, subject to laws specifically protecting domestic workers.
Workers paid by results when excluded under applicable regulations.
Employees of retail or service establishments regularly employing fewer than ten workers, under the specific exception in Article 94.

An employer cannot create an exemption merely by changing a job title, labeling someone an independent contractor, or paying a monthly amount. Actual duties, control, workplace conditions, and payroll arrangements govern. Kasambahays and certain other workers have separate statutory protections that should be assessed under the law applicable to them.

What employees should check

Request or examine the following:

Employment contract and salary offer.
Employee handbook and holiday-pay policy.
Collective bargaining agreement, if any.
Payslips covering months with regular holidays.
Payroll worksheet showing the daily-rate divisor.
Daily time records, biometric logs, schedules, and approved overtime.
Leave records for the working day before the holiday.
The proclamation or law classifying the date as regular, special non-working, or special working.
The applicable regional wage order.
Prior payroll records showing any consistent, more favorable company practice.

Ask payroll or HR, in writing, what annual divisor is used and which days the monthly salary is intended to cover. A response stating only that “holiday pay is included” is incomplete if it does not show the calculation.

How to raise a possible underpayment

Start with a dated written request to HR or payroll. Identify each holiday, hours worked, schedule, expected rate, amount received, and the calculation you believe should apply. Ask for the payroll basis and a written correction.

Preserve copies outside the employer’s systems, where lawful, of:

Contracts and policies.
Payslips and bank-credit records.
Schedules and time records.
Overtime approvals.
Leave applications.
Emails, messages, and payroll explanations.
The relevant holiday proclamation.
Your own itemized computation.

If the issue is not corrected, an employee may file a Request for Assistance under the Single Entry Approach, or SEnA, through the appropriate DOLE, NLRC, or other authorized labor office. SEnA provides a mandatory conciliation-mediation period intended to seek an early settlement before the dispute proceeds to the proper tribunal. The statutory framework is in Republic Act No. 10396, and current contact and electronic-service information is available on the NLRC website.

Money claims arising from employment generally prescribe three years after each claim accrues. Do not wait until all underpayments have accumulated: older claims can prescribe one payroll date at a time. Current procedural rules recognize that filing a qualifying SEnA request tolls the prescriptive period, but timely filing and proof of receipt remain important.

Common mistakes

Assuming monthly paid employees never receive holiday pay.
Expecting an extra 100% for every unworked holiday even when that pay is demonstrably included in the monthly salary.
Using 30 as the divisor without checking the employer’s documented salary basis.
Treating a special non-working day as a regular holiday.
Computing only the “premium” without checking the total compensation due.
Ignoring the employee’s scheduled rest day.
Omitting overtime or night-shift differential.
Treating every supervisor as a legally excluded managerial employee.
Denying holiday pay because the employee was off on a preceding rest day.
Relying on a social-media holiday announcement instead of the controlling proclamation.
Signing a quitclaim without an itemized computation or understanding the rights being waived.
Delaying a claim until the three-year prescriptive period has passed.

When legal help is urgent

Prompt assistance from DOLE, a union representative, or a Philippine labor lawyer is advisable when:

The oldest underpayment is approaching three years.
Payroll refuses to disclose the divisor or wage computation.
The employer has changed time or payroll records.
The employee is threatened, suspended, or dismissed after asserting a wage claim.
A quitclaim, settlement, or resignation document must be signed immediately.
The dispute involves many employees, several years, a collective bargaining agreement, or overlapping holidays and rest days.
The employer claims the worker is managerial, field personnel, or an independent contractor despite contrary working conditions.
The business has closed, is transferring assets, or appears unable to pay.

Frequently asked questions

Do monthly paid employees receive an additional day’s pay when they do not work on a regular holiday?

Not necessarily. They must receive the value of the paid holiday, but that 100% may already be included in a genuine monthly salary. A separate additional payment is due only if the salary did not already compensate the holiday or a better policy, agreement, or practice requires it.

What if I worked on the regular holiday but received only my normal monthly salary?

If you are covered, that is generally insufficient. Work for the first eight hours must have a total value of at least 200% of the applicable daily wage. Payroll should credit the portion already included in the salary and add enough to reach the required total.

Does the company always divide monthly salary by 30?

No. Philippine labor law does not make “monthly salary ÷ 30” a universal formula for every purpose. The proper divisor depends on the days covered by the established salary arrangement, subject to minimum legal standards.

Is holiday pay based on gross monthly compensation?

Not automatically. The statutory computation ordinarily begins with the applicable basic or regular wage. Whether a particular allowance, facility, commission, or other amount forms part of the wage depends on its nature, the governing wage order, and the parties’ agreement. Benefits expressly excluded by law or regulation should not be added without a legal basis.

Can the employer offset holiday pay against other benefits?

Not simply because another benefit was paid. Any claimed offset must have a legal or contractual basis and must involve benefits that truly satisfy the same obligation. Statutory benefits cannot ordinarily be erased through an unsupported lump-sum assertion.

If the holiday falls on Sunday, is Monday automatically a paid regular holiday too?

No. The controlling law or presidential proclamation determines the observed date. A holiday falling on a rest day does not automatically create another paid regular holiday on the next working day unless an official issuance says so.

Can a probationary employee claim holiday pay?

Yes, if the employee is otherwise covered. Probationary status alone is not an exclusion.

Can company policy give more than the statutory rate?

Yes. A collective bargaining agreement, employment contract, company policy, or established practice may provide a higher rate or pay for days the statute would not require. The more favorable enforceable benefit should be honored.

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a specific employment dispute. Holiday classification, coverage, salary divisors, and payroll results can turn on documents and facts. Official legal and procedural sources were checked as of September 4, 2026.