1) Overview: why security guards have holiday “double pay”

Security guards in the private sector are generally rank-and-file employees covered by Philippine labor standards on holiday pay and premium pay. The fact that a guard is deployed to a client site through a security agency does not remove these rights. Holiday entitlements arise from the Labor Code’s holiday pay provisions and implementing rules, reinforced by DOLE issuances for the private security industry.

What most people call “double pay” refers to the rule that work performed on a regular holiday is paid at 200% of the employee’s daily wage for the first eight (8) hours (subject to certain combinations with rest day and overtime).

2) Who is entitled (and why guards are covered)

A. General rule: guards are entitled

Security guards are typically:

supervised as to time and performance,
required to log attendance/duty hours,
assigned to posts with schedules and timekeeping.

Because of this, they are not treated as “field personnel” (who are often excluded from certain labor standards due to unsupervised work hours). A typical guard is therefore entitled to:

holiday pay / holiday premium pay
overtime pay
night shift differential
rest day premium
other statutory benefits

B. Common exceptions (usually not applicable to guards)

Holiday pay rules have exclusions for certain categories (e.g., some managerial staff, certain unsupervised field personnel, and specific exempt establishments). As a practical matter, these exclusions rarely fit ordinary security guards.

3) Know the day type: regular holiday vs special day (this determines the premium)

Holiday pay disputes often happen because people mix up the types of holidays.

A. Regular holidays (the usual “double pay” days)

Regular holidays are the days that, by law or proclamation, carry holiday pay even if no work is done (subject to eligibility rules). If work is performed, the premium is 200% for the first 8 hours.

Core idea: Regular holiday work = double pay.

B. Special (non-working) days (not double pay)

Special non-working days are generally under the “no work, no pay” rule unless a company policy, practice, or CBA provides otherwise. If the employee works, the premium is usually 130% of the daily rate for the first 8 hours (not 200%).

Core idea: Special non-working day work = 30% premium, not double pay.

C. Special working days (treated like ordinary working days)

A “special working holiday/day” is typically treated as a regular working day for pay purposes, unless it coincides with a rest day or there is a favorable company policy/CBA.

Core idea: Special working day work = 100% (unless rest day premium applies).

D. Local holidays and one-off proclamations

Some holidays apply only to specific cities/provinces. The pay treatment depends on whether the declaration makes it a regular holiday, special non-working day, or special working day.

4) Regular holiday pay rules (the “double pay” rules)

A. If the guard does NOT work on a regular holiday

Daily-paid guard: entitled to 100% of daily wage, if eligible (see Section 8 on eligibility).
Monthly-paid guard: typically already paid because monthly pay normally covers regular holidays.

B. If the guard WORKS on a regular holiday (first 8 hours)

Pay = 200% of the daily wage That’s the classic “double pay.”

If the guard works less than 8 hours, pay is computed proportionately:

Hourly rate × 200% × hours worked

C. If the regular holiday is also the guard’s rest day and the guard WORKS

Pay = 260% of the daily wage (first 8 hours) This is the standard combination rule: regular holiday premium (200%) plus rest day premium applied on the holiday rate.

5) Special (non-working) day pay rules (often mistaken as “double pay”)

A. If the guard does NOT work on a special non-working day

General rule: no work, no pay, unless there is:

a company policy,
an established practice, or
a CBA granting pay.

B. If the guard WORKS on a special non-working day (first 8 hours)

Pay = 130% of the daily wage

C. If the special non-working day is also the guard’s rest day and the guard WORKS

Pay = 150% of the daily wage (first 8 hours)

6) Overtime, night shift differential, and 12-hour guard shifts on holidays

Security guards often render 12-hour shifts. Legally, the pay components usually stack like this:

A. Overtime on a regular holiday

Overtime pay is computed as an added premium on the hourly rate of that day.

Regular holiday hourly base = (daily rate ÷ 8) × 2
Overtime premium = +30% of that holiday hourly rate

So each overtime hour on a regular holiday is typically:

basic hourly rate × 2 × 1.3 = 260% of basic hourly

B. Overtime on a regular holiday that is also a rest day

Holiday-rest-day hourly base = basic hourly × 2.6
Overtime hour = 2.6 × 1.3 = 338% of basic hourly

C. Overtime on a special non-working day

Special day hourly base = basic hourly × 1.3
Overtime hour = 1.3 × 1.3 = 169% of basic hourly

D. Night shift differential (NSD) on holidays

NSD is generally +10% for each hour worked between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM. In practice, NSD is computed based on the applicable hourly rate for that hour (which may already include holiday/rest day/overtime premiums). For guards who work nights on holidays, this can materially increase pay.

E. Worked example (12-hour duty on a regular holiday)

Assume:

Daily rate = ₱700
Basic hourly = ₱700 ÷ 8 = ₱87.50
Shift worked = 12 hours on a regular holiday (not a rest day)

First 8 hours (regular holiday):

₱700 × 2 = ₱1,400

Overtime 4 hours:

Holiday hourly = ₱87.50 × 2 = ₱175.00
OT hourly = ₱175.00 × 1.3 = ₱227.50
4 OT hours = ₱227.50 × 4 = ₱910

Total (excluding NSD if applicable): ₱1,400 + ₱910 = ₱2,310

If part of the shift falls between 10 PM and 6 AM, add NSD for those hours.

7) Agency-deployed guards: who must pay the holiday premium

A. The security agency is the direct employer

If the guard is employed by a security agency and deployed to a client, the agency is the guard’s employer and must pay:

holiday pay/premium pay,
overtime, NSD, rest day premium,
and other labor standards benefits.

B. The client/principal can still be held liable in many situations

In legitimate contracting arrangements, Philippine labor rules commonly impose joint and solidary liability on the principal for certain labor standards violations by the contractor. Practically, this means:

the guard may pursue claims against the agency, and
the client may also be included depending on the legal and factual setup.

C. “Our contract doesn’t cover holiday pay” is not a legal excuse

A service contract between agency and client cannot reduce statutory entitlements. Holiday premiums are owed to the guard whether or not the client reimburses them.

8) Eligibility rules that affect holiday pay (especially for daily-paid guards)

For regular holidays, daily-paid employees are generally entitled to holiday pay even if they do not work, but there are standard eligibility conditions.

A. The “day immediately preceding” rule (common issue)

A daily-paid employee may lose entitlement to regular holiday pay if they are absent without pay on the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday, unless:

the absence is on an approved leave with pay, or
the employee actually worked on the preceding workday, or
other recognized exceptions apply.

B. Successive regular holidays (e.g., two regular holidays in a row)

When there are two consecutive regular holidays, some payroll disputes arise if the employee was absent without pay on the workday before the first holiday. Employers often apply rules that can affect entitlement to both days depending on attendance status immediately before the holiday period.

C. Monthly-paid vs daily-paid matters

Monthly-paid employees: their monthly salary is typically computed to include payment for all days, including regular holidays (and often rest days).
Daily-paid employees: paid only for days worked, except regular holiday pay (subject to eligibility rules).

Many security agencies pay guards on a “daily rate” system even if the client billing is monthly, so verifying whether the guard is treated as monthly-paid or daily-paid (and how the monthly rate is computed) is important.

9) What counts as the “daily wage” base for holiday pay

Holiday premiums are generally computed from the guard’s regular wage. In many payroll setups:

the base includes the basic wage, and for minimum wage earners, the mandated COLA is commonly included in the computation of statutory wage-based benefits,
but non-wage allowances (pure reimbursements, some discretionary allowances) may be excluded unless they have been integrated into the wage by law, contract, or long practice.

Disputes often require checking payslips and the structure of pay components.

10) Common misconceptions in security guard holiday pay

“Special non-working days are double pay.” Not by default. Special non-working day work is generally 130%, not 200%.
“Holiday pay is already included in my daily rate.” For daily-paid guards, holiday premiums must still match the statutory computation. “All-in” rates that silently undercut premiums can lead to wage differentials.
“We give a compensatory day off instead of holiday premium.” Statutory premium pay is primarily a monetary entitlement. A day off may be granted by policy, but it should not be used to deprive the guard of legally mandated pay.
“Because guards work at the client site, the client’s rules apply.” Statutory pay rules apply regardless of client preference; the employer (agency or in-house) must comply.

11) How to check if a guard was properly paid (quick audit guide)

Gather:

duty schedule / DTR (especially if 12-hour shifts),
payslips showing holiday premiums and overtime breakdown,
the classification of the day (regular holiday vs special day),
whether the day is the guard’s scheduled rest day,
night hours rendered (10 PM–6 AM).

Then verify:

Regular holiday worked: 200% (or 260% if rest day) for the first 8 hours
Special non-working day worked: 130% (or 150% if rest day) for the first 8 hours
Overtime correctly computed on the day’s adjusted hourly rate
NSD added for qualifying night hours

12) Remedies if holiday double pay is not paid

A. Workplace approach

Request a written explanation and recomputation from the agency’s HR/payroll.
Ask for itemized breakdown (regular hours, holiday premium, rest day premium, OT, NSD).

B. DOLE enforcement mechanisms

Unpaid holiday premiums are typically pursued as labor standards money claims (wage differentials). The usual administrative path involves DOLE’s complaint/referral mechanisms and settlement processes, and can escalate depending on the amount and posture of the dispute.

C. What can be claimed

Depending on the facts and prescription rules, claims may include:

holiday premium differentials,
overtime and NSD differentials,
rest day premium differentials,
attorney’s fees in proper cases,
and other unpaid statutory benefits discovered in the audit.

13) Key takeaways

“Double pay” (200%) applies to work on a regular holiday for the first 8 hours.
If the regular holiday is also a rest day, the first 8 hours are typically 260%.
Special non-working days are not double pay by default: usually 130% if worked (or 150% if also a rest day).
For 12-hour guard shifts, overtime and night shift differential can substantially increase holiday pay beyond the basic “double pay.”
Deployed guards remain fully entitled to holiday premiums; the agency must pay, and the client can be liable in many labor standards violations depending on the arrangement.