Holiday Pay Rules for Part-Time and On-Call Employees
Philippine Labor Law overview (as of 27 May 2025)
Key sources cited in this article • Labor Code of the Philippines, Book III, Art. 94 (Holiday Pay) • Implementing Rules, Book III, Rule IV (Holiday Pay Coverage) • DOLE Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits (2024 ed.) • DOLE Labor Advisories on wage-and-time flexibility (various, 2020-2024) • Selected Supreme Court decisions: Philtranco Service v. Blas (G.R. 170169, 2010), Auto Bus Transport Systems v. Bautista (G.R. 155322, 2008), Timex Philippines v. CA (G.R. 144015, 2006), San Miguel Corp. v. Moles (G.R. 58091-94, 1991)
1. Statutory foundation
| Provision | Core rule | Notable carve-outs |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 94 | Every covered employee is paid at least 100 % of the basic wage for an unworked regular holiday, and 200 % for work rendered. | Government employees, managerial staff, subcontracted consultants, field personnel, workers paid solely by results, retail/service firms with ≤ 10 employees. |
| Rule IV, § 1-5 | Extends Art. 94 to rank-and-file regardless of status (regular, probationary, fixed-term, part-time, project, seasonal, on-call). | Exclusions mirror Art. 82 (field personnel & the like). |
| DOLE Handbook | Clarifies computation for part-time and irregular schedules; reiterates “present or on paid leave on the workday immediately preceding the holiday” condition. | Specifies proration method (see § 3.2 below). |
2. What counts as a “holiday”?
| Category | Current list (2025) | Pay treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Regular holidays (≈ 13 days/yr) | New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Araw ng Kagitingan (9 Apr), Labor Day, Independence Day, National Heroes Day, Eid’l Fitr, Eid’l Adha, Bonifacio Day, Christmas Day, Rizal Day, and any one-off laws (e.g., Baranggay Election Day). | Unworked: 100 % pay |
| Worked (1st 8 h): 200 % pay | ||
| OT (> 8 h): plus 30 % of hourly rate on 200 % | ||
| Special non-working days | Ninoy Aquino Day, All Saints’ Day, last working day before New Year, Chinese New Year, All Souls’ Day, Immaculate Conception, others by proclamation. | “No-work, no-pay” unless CBA/company policy says otherwise; if worked → 130 % |
| Special working days | Certain proclamations (“special working, no-holiday premium”) | Treated as ordinary days (100 % rate). |
3. Part-time employees
3.1 Coverage and eligibility
- Not excluded by Art. 94 or Rule IV → entitled to holiday pay.
- Must be present or on paid leave on the workday immediately before the holiday (common compliance pitfall).
- Eligibility is per holiday; there is no six-month vesting requirement.
3.2 How to compute
If scheduled but does not work:
$$ \text{Holiday Pay} = \text{Hourly Rate} \times \text{Hours normally worked that day} $$
Example: ₱120/hr × 4 hrs = ₱480.
If scheduled and works (regular holiday):
$$ \text{Pay} = \bigl(\text{Hourly Rate}\times200%\bigr)\times\text{Hours actually worked} $$
Example: ₱120/hr × 200 % × 4 hrs = ₱960.
OT premium (30 %) applies only after 8 actual hours, so most part-timers never incur OT on holidays.
If the part-timer’s usual workday does not fall on the holiday: Employer is not obliged to pay (because no “loss of income” occurs). Many CBAs nonetheless grant pro-rated holiday pay averaged across the week; this is voluntary.
Piece-rate or commission-plus-wage part-timers: Compute an equivalent hourly or daily rate first (DOLE Handbook Appendix A).
4. On-call employees
“On-call” means the worker is formally on the roster but activated only when needed (common in BPO, health care, aviation, live events). Two legal questions arise:
4.1 Are they covered employees?
| Scenario | Treated as “field personnel”? | Holiday-pay consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by at home, can refuse assignment | Often yes: not required to keep employer-controlled hours → exempt from holiday pay § 82 | No statutory entitlement, though many companies pay a retainer |
| Required to remain within premises or a designated standby area (e.g., hospital reliever nurse) | No: waiting time is hours worked (Philtranco case) | Covered by Art. 94 rules |
| Remote support with log-in window and tracker | Usually covered (hours are monitored) | Covered |
Tip: Draft clear “on-call engagement letters” specifying whether waiting time counts as hours worked; this directly impacts holiday-pay liability.
4.2 Computing pay when covered
Unworked regular holiday • Pay one (1) on-call day at the agreed rate for the standby block (e.g., 8-hour retainer). • If the on-call arrangement uses work credits (e.g., “12-hrs credit/shift”), grant a full credit.
Worked regular holiday Two components must be added: a. Standby pay (if contractual); plus b. Actual hours rendered × 200 % (and OT premiums if > 8 hrs).
“Call-back” on holiday from rest status Employee who is not on the roster but is voluntarily called in: Labor Code treats this as work on a rest day & regular holiday → 260 % (200 % + 30 % rest-day premium).
5. Interaction with flexible and compressed workweek schemes
| Arrangement | Effect on holiday pay |
|---|---|
| Compressed 4-day/10-hr week | Holiday falling on non-scheduled day → no legal duty to pay; if it falls on scheduled 10-hr day and employee works, first 8 hrs × 200 %, remaining 2 hrs × 200 % + OT30 %. |
| “2-2-3” shifting | Each shift’s start date controls. A shift that straddles midnight and enters a holiday gets the 200 % rate only for hours within the holiday calendar date (Timex doctrine). |
| Work-from-home (WFH) | Same statutory holiday rules; presence requirement is satisfied by logging in the day before. |
6. Establishments exempt from paying holiday premium
- Retail or service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers.
- Barangay micro-business enterprises (BMBE) may get tax perks but not exempt from Art. 94 unless they also fall under #1 above.
- Field personnel and members of a family dependent on owner.
- Managerial employees properly classified under Art. 82.
Exemption is narrowly construed; DOLE inspection routinely disallows abuse (e.g., mis-labeling roving sales crew as field personnel).
7. Jurisprudential highlights
| Case | Gist | Take-away for part-time/on-call |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Bus Transport v. Bautista (2008) | Bus drivers “no work, no pay” on rest day holiday; but if they actually run a trip, entitled to holiday premium. | “Irregular schedule” ≠ exclusion. |
| Philtranco Service v. Blas (2010) | On-call time at terminal counted as hours worked. | On-premise standby = covered. |
| Timex Philippines v. CA (2006) | Midnight-crossing shift: only hours within the legal holiday count for the 200 % premium. | Apply hourly—not shift—attribution. |
| San Miguel Corp. v. Moles (1991) | Roving salesmen classified as field personnel thus excluded. | Label “on-call” insufficient if actually field. |
8. Practical compliance checklist for employers
| ✔ | Action Item |
|---|---|
| ▢ | Keep daily time records (DTR) even for part-timers; indicate actual and scheduled hours. |
| ▢ | Issue written on-call protocols: where to wait, required response time, device allowance, pay structure. |
| ▢ | Verify each pay period that the worker was present or on approved paid leave on the day immediately preceding every regular holiday. |
| ▢ | Ensure wage‐computation system can prorate rates by hour and handle holiday overlays on rest days or overtime blocks. |
| ▢ | Post the annual DOLE holiday pay matrix on bulletin boards or company intranet. |
9. Frequently asked questions
Does a three-hour-a-day tutor get full holiday pay? No. Pay what she would have earned that day (3 hrs × hourly rate).
Our on-call nurses receive a monthly allowance; can that cover holiday pay? Only if the allowance is expressly designated as covering “all wages and premiums arising from standby days,” and the amount meets or exceeds what Art. 94 would have yielded.
Are “No-work, no-pay” contractors automatically exempt? Not if there is an employer-employee relationship. True project-based independent contractors fall outside the Labor Code; bogus “contractualization” does not.
10. Enforcement and remedies
- Complaints go to the DOLE Regional Office (for money claims ≤ ₱5 million) or the NLRC (if termination is also in dispute).
- Prescriptive period: 3 years from the accrual of each unpaid holiday.
- Monetary awards include legal interest (6 % per annum, Nacar v. Gallery Frames, 2013).
- Employers proven to have willfully withheld holiday pay may face P5,000-10,000 fine or imprisonment under Art. 303.
Bottom line
Part-time status does not diminish statutory holiday benefits; you simply scale them to the hours the employee would normally work on that day. On-call staff are covered when the employer effectively controls their waiting time; otherwise they may be deemed field personnel and exempt. Sound documentation, accurate timekeeping, and clear contracts are the best defenses against holiday-pay disputes.
(This article is informational and not a substitute for individualized legal advice. For specific cases, consult a Philippine labor-law practitioner or the Department of Labor and Employment.)