One of the more confusing matters, for employees and HR people alike, is the computation of holiday pay, complicated by the fact that there are different “kinds” of holidays. This is cleared by Memorandum Circular No. 1 of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the full text of which is reproduced and discussed below.
(8 March 2004)
Pursuant to the provisions of the Labor Code, as amended in relation to the observance of declared holidays and in response to the queries received every time a Presidential Proclamation or a law is enacted by Congress which declares certain days either as a regular holiday, a special day or a special working holiday, the following guidelines shall be observed by all employers in the private sector:
1. For regular holidays as provided for under EO 203 (incorporated in EO 292) as amended by RA 9177:
New Year’s Day – January 1
Maundy Thursday – Movable Date
Good Friday – Movable Date
Araw ng Kagitingan – April 9
Labor Day – May 1
Independence Day – June 12
National Heroes Day- Last Sunday of August
Bonifacio Day – November 30
Eidul Fitr – Movable Date
Christmas Day – December 25
Rizal Day – December 30
the following rules shall apply:
1. If it is an employee’s regular workday
* If unworked – 100%
* If worked
- 1st 8 hours – 200%
- excess of 8 hours – plus 30% of hourly rate on said day
2. If it is an employee’s rest day
* If unworked – 100%
* If worked
- 1st 8 hours – plus 30% of 200%
- excess of 8 hours – plus 30% of hourly rate on said day
2. For declared special days such as Special Non-Working Day, Special Public Holiday, Special National Holiday, in addition to the two (2) nationwide special days (November 1, All Saints Day and December 31, Last Day of the Year) listed under EO 203, as amended, the following rules shall apply:
1. If unworked
* No pay, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment of wages on special days even if unworked.
2. If worked
* 1st 8 hours – plus 30% of the daily rate of 100%
* excess of 8 hours – plus 30% of hourly rate on said day3. Falling on the employee’s rest day and if worked
* 1st 8 hours – plus 50% of the daily rate of 100%
* excess of 8 hours – plus 30% of hourly rate on said day
3. For those declared as special working holidays, the following rules shall apply:
For work performed, an employee is entitled only to his basic rate. No premium pay is required since work performed on said days is considered work on ordinary working days.
Please be guided accordingly.
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Note: If you still don’t know it yet, one of the more helpful government websites is that of the DOLE. It boasts of useful features such as the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and, to my delight, a fully functional email-query system.
To test the email-query system, I sent a query regarding holiday pay for regular holidays falling on the employee’s rest day (in this case, 29 April 2006, Araw ng Kagitingan). In an hour or so, I received a reply. Here’s my e-mail:
Gentlemen:
I write in connection with DOLE Memorandum Circular No. 01, which provides a summary of an employee’s entitlement to holiday pay for regular, special working and special non-working holidays.
As stated in said Circular, if a regular holiday falls on an employee’s rest day and it is UNWORKED, the employee receives 100% of his/her daily salary. This, however, has caused confusion because some MONTHLY-paid employees believe that they are entitled to an additional payment of one day. This is exacerbated by the news item which appeared on 7 April 2006 on your website (“DOLE issues Araw ng Kagitingan pay rules“), which states that “[i]f the day falls on an employee’s rest day and is unworked, he or she is paid on that day. xxx” Kindly clarify that there should be a distinction between monthly-paid and daily-paid employees, as the former is deemed paid for the entire month, even on regular holidays.
Your usual prompt action on this matter is highly appreciated.
Here’s the reply:
Dear Mr. Pamaos:
Good afternoon.
Anent your query, MONTHLY PAID EMPLOYEE refers to one who is paid his wage or salary for every day of the month, including rest days, Sundays, regular or special days, although he does not regularly work on these days.
DAILY PAID EMPLOYEE refers to one who is paid his wage or salary only on the days he actually worked, except in cases of regular holidays wherein he is paid his wage or salary even if he does not work during those days, provided that he is present or on leave of absence with pay on the working day immediately preceding the regular holiday.
As distinguished from monthly-paid employees who are assured of being paid for every day of the month, the provision of the Labor Code on holiday pay is principally intended to benefit a daily-paid employee who is normally bound by the principle of “no work no pay”. Before the advent of the Labor Code, they are not paid for unworked regular holidays.
We hope that this answers your query.
Please be informed that our opinion on the matter is strictly advisory and may not be invoked in any court of law or before any administrative body.
Thank you for writing.
Legal Service, DOLE
By the way, please note that the opinion contained in the reply is merely “advisory” and, for one reason or another, you may not necessarily agree that it’s correct.
Nevertheless, credit must be given where it is due. Congratulations to the DOLE’s electronic portal team.
(Added: Please note that Congress enacted R.A. 9492, rationalizing the celebration of national holidays. Here’s the list of 2008 holidays.)
Im a monthly paid employee but when i work on special holiday they only pay me hourly rate is this the rule?
Hi,
what if for example I wasn’t able to report to work on december 23, 2014. would I still get paid during the holiday (december 24,25 and 26, 2014). I was not required by the company to report to work during Philippine holidays.
Thanks
Hi, I would like to ask regarding special non working day pay. Actually we are being paid 100% of basic salary even we did not report to work. What if, I reported to work during special non working day, aside from payment to me 100% for the unworked, will I receive another 100% plus 30% on my basic?
Thanks and regards!
Good day sir,
I just want to ask what if a national holiday and a provincial holiday falls on the same day (ex. Dec 30 – rizal day & dec -30 cityhood holiday or fiesta) how daily paid employees are paid… Thank you very much.. Hope to hear from you soon..
Hi sir/ma’am,
just want to clarify. our company is sometime giving us a two days off. when suddenly my off falls to December 24 (special holiday/no work no pay policy) and December 25 (regular holiday). it is true that even in 25 December i should not get a 100% pay because they told me that under DOLE it stated that we have to report before and after holiday for us to be paid 100%.
i haven’t read that rules.
please help me clear this out.
thank you so much.
yours sincerely,
vanessa
Good Day,I’m a student and I just have a question. It was stated above that if an employee worked 8 hours, he will be entitled with 200% of his daily rate. But, does this necessarily mean he need at least 8 hours of work? What if he worked for half the day or maybe lesser hours than that (e.g. 2 hours), will he still be entitled with the 200% or not? Could it be the management discretion?
I’ve already called DOLE but they gave some shady answer. I hope you’ll give me a clear one. Thank you!
Same question here my boss said that she will not pay our holiday if we work less than 8 hrs. Ayon daw sa batas dapat daw naka work ka ng 8hrs. Semi-month po ako.
Dear Sir,
We work in a GOCC as job orders/ contractuals. As stated in our contract: “that in full consideration of the services to be performed ..” we are paid a specific amount, according to our salary grade per month and “the said remuneration will be paid every 15th and 30th of each month of service”.
When we got our salary for the first half of the month, we were told that two days were deducted because the date of our contract started Jan 5 (start of working days) instead of Jan 1. But the change of date, we were told by HR, was upon the advise of DBM.
We just want some clarification, seems that the principle “no work, no pay” is being enforced here?
Hi atty. I am part of the company’s management team. We have decided to report on a special non working holiday however, during that day, many of our employees are absent. This caused caused delays and many of our bookings were unserved. What is the best way for us to counter this problem? Are there existing disciplinary action that we can serve to our employees?
Hi…sumasahod po kmi every 15th and 30th or 31st of the month. 451/day plus allowance, fixed po na 13 days semi- monthly ang sinasahod namin(less pag absent pero bayad kami ng holiday pag pumatak ng mon-fri)-pasok mo namin is 8am to 6:30pm (ung 1 ½ hour po na sobra everyday eh bayad po namin ng Saturday since Monday to Friday lang po pasok namin. Ang tanong po kasi ng tao namin paano kung nag fall ang holiday/special non working day on Saturday or Sunday? Eh bayad naman namin ung Sat? Do we still have the right to claim for a holiday pay on Saturday? Hope for your response soon.(or can I just have DOLE’s EMAIL add?
Thanks.
what if I am a regular employee and I worked half day on regular holiday.How will I compute my salary for that particular day?
good day! Sir, i am working now as HR. my contract contents of 20k month (including overtime pay if needed) monday to saturday, but my status is probationary. and we have 24 months bonds. here’s the contents of contract… after sing and get training from company, you agreed to bond for twenty four months, incase you resign with twenty four months you agree to pay back 80% your total payroll paid by company.if not pay you agree to accept legal action from company against you…i need for clarifications for this contract sir and if its legal?thank you have a nice day…
good day! Sir, i am working now as HR. my contract contents of 20k month (including overtime pay if needed) monday to saturday, but my status is probationary. and we have 24 months bonds. here’s the contents of contract… after sing and get training from company, you agreed to bond for twenty four months, incase you resign with twenty four months you agree to pay back 80% your total payroll paid by company.if not pay you agree to accept legal action from company against you…i need for clarifications for this contract sir and if its legal?thank you have a nice day…
Is there a holiday pay for supervisors, managers and VPs? Are they entitled to holiday pay? How much is the computation?
Good day po,
My question is, what if:
regular employee: filed and approved for a SIL on Apr 2, 2015 (Maundy Thu), is he entitled for a legal holiday pay? provided he was present Apr 1, 2015..
Good day Sir/Ma’am,
Im from Pampanga currently employed in a BPO company. I just have a question regarding Holiday pay falling on 2nd day off.
Here’s the scenario.
May 1, 2015 is a Legal Holiday (Labor Day) Friday
Working Days Mon, Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun 6am – 3pm.
My rest day is every Thursday and Friday.
If i worked Wednesday which the last day before my 2 days off. Since Thursday is the 1st day of my off and Friday is my 2nd rest day which is Holiday(Labor day).
Am i paid on that said Holiday(Labor day) even if its the 2nd day of my rest day?
Please enligthen me on this, your response will deeply appreciated.