Am I paid if I don't work on a regular holiday?

Yes. Under the Labor Code, employees are entitled to 100% of their daily rate on regular holidays even if they don't work — this is the 'no work, pay' rule. The only exception is if the employee is absent without leave on the workday immediately before the holiday (the day-before-holiday rule under Article 94).

What is the pay rate for working on a rest day that falls on a regular holiday?

If an employee works on a day that is both a regular holiday and their rest day, they are entitled to 260% of their daily rate. This is the highest standard holiday multiplier. For example, if the daily rate is P700, the holiday pay is P700 x 260% = P1,820.

Are special non-working holidays paid if the employee doesn't work?

No. Special non-working holidays follow the 'no work, no pay' rule. If an employee doesn't report for work on a special non-working holiday, they are not entitled to any pay for that day (unless the company has a more generous policy).

How is night shift differential computed on holidays?

Night shift differential (NSD) is an additional 10% of the hourly rate for work performed between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM. On holidays, NSD stacks on top of the holiday multiplier. For example, if working on a regular holiday (200% rate), NSD is 10% of the 200% rate, making the effective NSD rate 20% of the regular hourly rate.

Holiday Pay Computation in the Philippines: Rates, Rules, and Worked Examples

Q: What is the day-before-holiday rule (Article 94)?

Under Article 94 of the Labor Code, an employee who is absent without leave on the workday immediately preceding a regular holiday forfeits the holiday pay for that regular holiday. This rule only applies to regular holidays, not special non-working holidays.

Holiday pay computation is one of the most complex parts of Philippine payroll. Different holiday types have different rates, rest day stacking changes the multiplier, and special rules like the day-before-holiday provision add further complexity.

This guide breaks down every scenario with worked examples.

Types of Holidays in the Philippines

The Philippines has three types of holidays:

Regular Holidays — Full pay even if the employee doesn't work ("no work, pay" rule)
Special Non-Working Holidays — No pay if the employee doesn't work ("no work, no pay" rule)
Special Working Days — Regular rate applies; essentially a normal workday with a holiday designation

Holiday Pay Multiplier Table

Here is the complete multiplier table for all holiday scenarios:

Regular Holidays

Scenario	Multiplier	Formula
Worked (regular day)	200%	Daily Rate x 2.00
Not worked (regular day)	100%	Daily Rate x 1.00
Worked (rest day)	260%	Daily Rate x 2.60
Not worked (rest day)	100%	Daily Rate x 1.00

Special Non-Working Holidays

Scenario	Multiplier	Formula
Worked (regular day)	130%	Daily Rate x 1.30
Not worked (regular day)	0%	No pay
Worked (rest day)	150%	Daily Rate x 1.50
Not worked (rest day)	0%	No pay

Special Working Days

Scenario	Multiplier
Worked	100% (regular rate)
Not worked	0% (no pay)

Worked Examples

Let's use a daily rate of P700 for all examples.

Example 1: Worked on a Regular Holiday

Daily rate: P700
Multiplier: 200%
Holiday pay: P700 x 2.00 = P1,400
Additional pay above regular: P1,400 - P700 = P700

Example 2: Did Not Work on a Regular Holiday

Daily rate: P700
Multiplier: 100% (no work, pay rule)
Holiday pay: P700 x 1.00 = P700
The employee receives their full daily rate even without working.

Example 3: Worked on a Special Non-Working Holiday (Rest Day)

Daily rate: P700
Multiplier: 150% (special non-working + rest day)
Holiday pay: P700 x 1.50 = P1,050
Additional pay above regular: P1,050 - P700 = P350

Example 4: Worked on Regular Holiday + Rest Day

Daily rate: P700
Multiplier: 260%
Holiday pay: P700 x 2.60 = P1,820
This is the highest standard multiplier — the employee earns more than double their regular rate.

The Day-Before-Holiday Rule (Article 94)

Article 94 of the Labor Code contains an important provision that many employers miss:

An employee who is absent without leave on the workday immediately preceding a regular holiday forfeits the holiday pay.

How It Works

If Christmas Day (December 25) is a Tuesday, the workday immediately before it is Monday, December 24
If the employee is absent without leave on December 24, they lose the December 25 holiday pay
If the employee has an approved leave for December 24, the rule does NOT apply — they still get the holiday pay

Key Points

This rule applies only to regular holidays, not special non-working holidays
"Absent without leave" means AWOL — no approved leave, no authorized absence
The "workday immediately preceding" skips non-working days (if Monday is also a holiday, check Friday)

Night Shift Differential on Holidays

Night shift differential (NSD) — an additional 10% of the hourly rate for work between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM — stacks on top of holiday multipliers.

How NSD Stacking Works

Scenario	Base Rate	NSD Rate	Effective NSD
Regular day	100%	+10% of 100%	+10%
Regular holiday (worked)	200%	+10% of 200%	+20%
Special non-working (worked)	130%	+10% of 130%	+13%
Rest day + regular holiday	260%	+10% of 260%	+26%

Worked Example: NSD on Regular Holiday

Hourly rate: P87.50 (P700 / 8 hours)
Holiday multiplier: 200%
Holiday hourly rate: P87.50 x 2.00 = P175.00
NSD (10% of holiday rate): P175.00 x 10% = P17.50/hour
Total hourly rate with NSD: P192.50

Common Holiday Pay Mistakes

Paying special holidays when not worked — Special non-working holidays follow "no work, no pay." Only regular holidays have the "no work, pay" rule.
Ignoring rest day stacking — When a holiday falls on an employee's rest day, the multiplier increases. Don't use the regular-day multiplier.
Forgetting the day-before-holiday rule — Check attendance on the workday before each regular holiday. AWOL employees forfeit the holiday pay.
Miscalculating NSD on holidays — NSD stacks on the holiday rate, not the base rate. A 10% NSD on a 200% holiday rate is 20% of base, not just 10%.
Not accounting for location-specific holidays — Some holidays are local (e.g., city charter days). Ensure you only apply local holidays to employees at that location.

2026 Philippine Regular Holidays

Date	Holiday
January 1	New Year's Day
February 20	Eid al-Fitr*
April 2	Maundy Thursday
April 3	Good Friday
April 9	Araw ng Kagitingan
May 1	Labor Day
May 27	Eid al-Adha*
June 12	Independence Day
August 31	National Heroes Day
November 30	Bonifacio Day
December 25	Christmas Day
December 30	Rizal Day

*Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha dates are approximate — actual dates are declared by the President based on NCMF recommendation per the lunar calendar.

How TalinoHR Computes Holiday Pay

TalinoHR's payroll engine handles every holiday pay scenario automatically:

Holiday type detection — The engine checks each date against the company's holiday calendar, including location-specific holidays
Full multiplier table — All multiplier combinations (holiday type x worked/not-worked x rest day) are built into the engine
Day-before-holiday rule — Attendance on the preceding workday is automatically checked per Article 94
NSD stacking — Night shift differential is computed on top of the holiday-adjusted rate
Rest day detection — The engine knows each employee's rest day schedule and applies stacking automatically
Location-aware holidays — Local holidays only apply to employees assigned to that work location

No manual multiplier lookups. No missed rules. Book a demo to see TalinoHR's holiday pay computation in action.