1) The short legal answer (Philippine private-sector context)

For most covered employees in the private sector, “no work, no pay” on a regular holiday is generally NOT legal because the law requires holiday pay even if the employee does not work on a regular holiday—subject to specific conditions and exemptions.

However, there are important exceptions (for example, certain employees are not covered by holiday pay rules, and some situations can lawfully result in no holiday pay). So the correct legal framing is:

Regular holiday + covered employee + eligibility conditions met = “no work, with pay.”
Regular holiday + employee is excluded / not eligible / valid disqualifying circumstance = “no work, no pay” may be legal.

This article explains the rule, the exceptions, and how pay is computed.

2) Legal foundations (where the rules come from)

Holiday pay in the Philippines is a labor standards entitlement anchored primarily on:

Labor Code provisions on holiday pay (the core mandate that employees receive pay for regular holidays, including when not worked, subject to rules), and
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and DOLE labor advisories/handbooks that spell out coverage, exclusions, and computation.

Separately, laws and proclamations define the calendar of holidays (e.g., laws that “rationalize” or list holidays, plus annual proclamations declaring special days/holidays).

3) Know your holiday types (this is where most confusion starts)

In Philippine practice, days are commonly categorized as follows:

A. Regular Holidays

These are the holidays where the default rule for covered employees is “no work, with pay.”

B. Special Non-Working Days

These are usually governed by the principle “no work, no pay” (unless there’s a company policy/CBA granting pay, or other special rules apply).

C. Special Working Days / Special Working Holidays (when declared)

Often treated like an ordinary working day for pay purposes (depending on how declared).

Because people casually say “holiday,” many disputes happen when a special non-working day is treated like a regular holiday, or vice versa.

4) The general rule on “No Work, No Pay” in Philippine labor

In Philippine labor standards, “no work, no pay” is a general principle for ordinary working days (if you didn’t work and you’re not on paid leave, you generally don’t get paid).

Regular holidays are a major exception: the law creates a right to pay even without work (again, for covered employees who meet eligibility rules).

So, it’s misleading when workplace posters or casual advice say “no work, no pay” as if it applies to every holiday. It does not apply the same way to regular holidays.

5) Regular holiday pay: the default rule

If you do not work on a regular holiday

A covered employee is generally entitled to 100% of the daily basic wage, even if no work is performed.

If you do work on a regular holiday

The covered employee is generally entitled to 200% of the daily basic wage for the first 8 hours.

If the regular holiday falls on the employee’s rest day and the employee works

Pay is typically 200% + an additional premium (commonly resulting in 260% of the daily rate for the first 8 hours, using the standard premium structure applied in labor standards computations).

Important: “Basic wage” generally means the employee’s wage rate for normal working days. Many allowances are treated differently depending on their nature (whether integrated into the wage or not). When in doubt, compute from the established “basic” rate used for labor standards.

6) Eligibility conditions: when a covered employee can lose regular holiday pay

Even for regular holidays, entitlement is not always automatic in every scenario. Common disqualifying situations include:

A. Absence without pay on the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday

A widely applied rule is that the employee must be present or on paid leave on the workday immediately before the regular holiday to be entitled to holiday pay.

If the employee is absent without pay on that preceding workday, the employer may lawfully treat the holiday as unpaid, unless an exception applies.

B. The employee is on a status that is genuinely unpaid and breaks entitlement

Examples may include certain unpaid leaves or periods where the employment relationship is not requiring pay by law (highly fact-specific).

C. The employee is not actually covered by holiday pay rules

(See the exclusions section below.)

7) Who is covered (and who is commonly excluded)

Holiday pay rules generally protect rank-and-file employees in the private sector, but some categories are commonly excluded from holiday pay coverage under labor standards rules and IRR.

Common exclusions (often encountered in practice) include:

Government employees (generally governed by civil service rules rather than private labor standards)
Managerial employees (as defined under labor standards concepts)
Certain members of managerial staff (depending on how they meet the criteria)
Field personnel and others whose working time cannot be determined with reasonable certainty (depending on the legal definition and actual work arrangement)
Some small retail/service establishments under specific conditions (historically, certain exemptions exist; application depends on the establishment’s classification and number of workers)

Because exclusions are technical and fact-dependent, employers should be careful: misclassifying an employee as “managerial” or “field personnel” is a common cause of labor standards liability.

8) Monthly-paid vs daily-paid employees: why pay slips look different

Monthly-paid employees

Many monthly-paid employees are paid a fixed monthly salary that already “covers” regular holidays in the sense that the monthly salary is computed to include paid days (including holidays). The practical effect is:

The employer typically does not deduct pay just because a regular holiday was not worked.
The holiday pay is effectively built into the salary structure.

Daily-paid employees

Daily-paid workers are often paid only for days worked—except for legally paid days like regular holidays (if eligible). Therefore:

The regular holiday typically shows up as a paid day even without work, unless disqualified.

9) The pay rates cheat sheet (most used computations)

Below is the commonly applied structure for the first 8 hours (premium rules can differ for overtime and night shift, discussed next):

Day Type	If Not Worked	If Worked (First 8 Hours)
Regular Holiday	100% (if eligible)	200%
Regular Holiday that falls on Rest Day	100% (if eligible)	260% (typical premium structure)
Special Non-Working Day	“No work, no pay” (default)	130%
Special Non-Working Day that falls on Rest Day	“No work, no pay” (default)	150%
Special Working Day (if declared as such)	Ordinary day rules	Ordinary day rules

Notes:

These are the standard labor standards computations used in practice. Actual payroll application can vary based on company policy/CBA (which may be more generous) and specific DOLE advisories for particular holidays.

10) Overtime, night shift, and other premiums on holidays

Overtime on a holiday

Overtime pay is typically computed as an additional premium based on the hourly rate on that day. In practice:

Determine the hourly rate for the holiday (which is already premium for regular holidays), then
Apply the overtime premium (commonly +30% of the hourly rate on said day, subject to the day type and rest day rules).

Night shift differential (NSD) on a holiday

If night shift differential applies, it is commonly computed as a percentage (often 10%) of the hourly rate on that day, including the holiday premium base.

Because these computations stack, payroll errors are common—especially when a holiday is also a rest day and includes overtime and NSD.

11) Two consecutive regular holidays (e.g., Maundy Thursday and Good Friday)

When there are two successive regular holidays, special rules and DOLE guidance are often applied in payroll practice. A common structure is:

If an employee is absent without pay on the day immediately preceding the first holiday, the employee may lose entitlement to holiday pay for the holidays—unless the employee works on the first holiday, which can restore entitlement to pay for the second holiday depending on the rule set applied.

Because these situations are frequently audited in labor disputes, employers should apply a consistent rule grounded in labor standards guidance, and employees should check whether a disqualifying absence actually occurred on the correct “immediately preceding” workday.

12) “Double holidays” (two regular holidays on the same date)

Sometimes two legal bases declare the same date as a regular holiday (a “double holiday”). Common payroll treatment (in many DOLE holiday computation examples) is:

If not worked: pay may be computed at 200% of the daily rate (because two regular holidays fall on the same day).
If worked: pay may be computed at 300% of the daily rate for the first 8 hours.
If it is also a rest day: additional rest day premiums may apply.

This is a highly payroll-sensitive scenario; many companies rely on DOLE-issued holiday pay computation examples for the specific year.

13) So—when is “No Work, No Pay” on a regular holiday legal?

It can be legal only in situations like these:

The employee is excluded from holiday pay coverage (e.g., properly classified managerial employee, properly classified field personnel, etc.).
The employee is covered but not eligible due to a valid disqualifying rule (commonly, absence without pay on the workday immediately preceding the holiday, subject to exceptions).
The day is not actually a regular holiday (it’s a special non-working day or special working day), so different rules apply.

If none of these apply, then withholding pay solely because “no work” happened on a regular holiday is generally unlawful.

14) Remedies and enforcement (what employees and employers should know)

For employees

If you believe you were improperly placed on “no work, no pay” for a regular holiday:

Document: keep your payslips, time records, schedule, HR notices, and the holiday classification.
Consider using DOLE’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA) for conciliation-mediation.
If unresolved, a labor standards money claim may be pursued through proper channels (depending on the circumstances and amounts).

Money claims under the Labor Code generally have prescriptive periods (commonly 3 years for many money claims), so delays can matter.

For employers

Common risk points include:

Misclassification of holiday type (regular vs special)
Misclassification of employees as managerial/field personnel
Wrong stacking of rest day + holiday + OT + NSD premiums
Incorrect disqualification (wrong “day immediately preceding,” incorrect tagging of paid leave vs unpaid absence)

15) Practical examples (quick illustrations)

Assume daily basic wage = ₱1,000.

Example 1: Regular holiday, not worked, eligible

Pay due: ₱1,000 (100%)

Example 2: Regular holiday, worked 8 hours

Pay due: ₱2,000 (200%)

Example 3: Special non-working day, not worked (no company policy granting pay)

Pay due: ₱0 (default “no work, no pay”)

Example 4: Special non-working day, worked 8 hours

Pay due: ₱1,300 (130%)

(Overtime/NSD would add more based on the hourly computations.)

16) Bottom line

Calling a regular holiday “no work, no pay” is usually illegal for covered employees who meet eligibility rules.
It becomes legal only when the employee is excluded, disqualified under a valid rule, or the day is misidentified and is not actually a regular holiday.
Most disputes are solved by verifying three things:
1. What kind of holiday was it (regular vs special vs special working)?
2. Is the employee covered by holiday pay rules?
3. Was the employee eligible (especially regarding the preceding workday and paid leave status)?

This is general legal information in the Philippine labor context, not individualized legal advice. If you want, paste a sample scenario (holiday date, your work schedule, pay scheme, and what HR did), and I’ll map the rule set to your facts and compute the pay step-by-step.