Sprout Solutions: How to Calculate Holiday Pay in the Philippines

There’s a joke going around that you should plan your vacation this November rather than on Christmas–and no wonder, because we have a grand total of five non-working days and one holiday coming up, all falling on weekdays!

Here’s the full list:

October 31, 2017 (Tuesday) – Additional Special (Non-Working) Day
November 1, 2017 (Wednesday) – All Saints’ Day
November 13-15, 2017 (Monday to Wednesday)* – Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit
November 30, 2017 (Thursday) – Bonifacio Day

*Even though it wasn’t present in the original declaration of holidays and non-working days for 2017, DOLE declared Nov. 13 to 15 as special non-working days in certain areas (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga).

Out of these, only Nov. 30 (Bonifacio Day) is a holiday; the rest are non-working days. If you’re wondering about the schedule for Christmas, you can check out our coverage of all the 2017 holidays here.

Holidays vs. Special Non-Working Days

It seems like a relaxed month ahead–or hectic, if you’re grappling with shorter deadlines. Out-of-town trips aside, you might also be wondering what’ll happen to your holiday pay. Do you still get your regular salary even if you don’t show up for work, or do you get nothing? What if, dedicated employee that you are, you decide to head to the office anyway?

To answer these questions, we have to differentiate between holidays and non-working days. As explained in our blog post about overtime pay, holidays tend to be more fixed–you’ll encounter them year after year–while special non-working days are usually declared by the government.

Holidays thus have more weight behind them. You still get paid 100% of your salary even if you don’t go to work on a holiday; for special non-working days, though, you pretty much don’t get paid. Overtime rates also vary: working on a holiday pays more than working on a special non-working day.