National Holidays in the Philippines 2023

Local Holidays (Manila & Quezon City Day)

Holidays may be declared by local towns and municipalities based on their founding dates. For example, Manila Day (Araw ng Maynila) might be declared on June 24, Quezon City Day on August 19, and so on.

As stated in RA 9492, these holidays must be declared by the President and are treated as a unique non-working holiday for schools, government offices, and some corporate firms in a specified city or municipality. Most businesses, including BPOs, are unaffected by the holiday.

Pay for holidays, bonuses, and other perks

Employees may be compelled to work on holidays depending on the nature of the firm or the office’s operation. Malls, BPOs, media outlets, and other public service offices such as police stations, hospitals, and disaster risk management offices are all examples of this.

Employees may be compensated for their services on certain holidays, in addition to their given job. Especially in the BPO industry, where employees frequently follow their clients’ time zones, which are largely in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Foreign employers are not required to give their Filipino worker holidays but they offer these bonuses and incentives as a way of saying thank you to their workers who work on PH holidays.

All employers are required by law to offer paid holidays to their staff. However, employees occasionally decide not to take their legally mandated holidays for a variety of reasons.

Compensation and Pay Rules for Regular Working Holidays

According to Article 94 of the Labor Code, an employee may be required to work on any holiday as long as they are compensated at a rate equal to twice their regular rate. Employees are paid 200% of their daily wage and cost of living allowance on normal holidays. If an employee chooses not to work on certain days, they will be paid 100% of their regular daily wage for that day.

Compensation and Pay Rules for Non-Working Holidays

Employees are paid at least 130% of their daily pay and cost of living allowance on non-working holidays. The cost of local holidays is the same as the cost of non-working holidays.

Unless a corporate policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) giving payment within certain days is in existence, if the employee decides not to work on these days, a ‘no work, no pay policy will be implemented.

Overtime During Holidays

If an employee’s provided work on a holiday exceeds eight hours, an extra 30% of their hourly rate will be added to their holiday compensation, whether the holiday is a normal (200%) or special non-working (130%) holiday. Because their schedules align with their customers’ time zones, this is frequently the case for most outsourced staff. (The US, UK, and Australia)

Night Distinctions During Holidays

Employees are eligible to a night distinction of not less than 10% of their wage for working from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., in addition to their holiday pay, whether it’s a regular (200%) or special non-working (130%) holiday.

Offset Credit During Holidays

Employees in some offices may receive additional counterbalance credit for completing work during the holidays. They can exchange normal working days for additional rest days if they file for offset.

This operates in the same way as a regular leave credit. The main distinction is that, unlike vacation or sick leave, offset credits are not convertible to cash and must be used by the employee within a certain time frame. Otherwise, it will expire, unlike vacation or sick leave, which has no expiration date and is converted to cash after a year or so (sick leave).

As is the situation with the BPO industry. Because clients’ time zones differ from the Philippines’, offices continue to service clients even on non-working holidays (Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, etc.). As a result, workers who work on certain days are offered the option of choosing their desired offset date(s) to make up for their vacation.

Christmas Bonuses

Christmas is, as previously said, one of the country’s most important holidays. It’s the season for parties, gift-giving, and spending the majority of the holidays with family for Filipinos. It’s also when they get their year’s most anticipated bonuses: the 13th Month Bonus and the Christmas Bonus.

Paid Vacations and Vacation Time

There are numerous paid days off known as public holidays in the Philippines. If an employee works on a non-working holiday, they are entitled to 100% of their regular pay as well as a bonus for each holiday. Employees are paid the same amount on regular days even if they don’t work on paid holidays.

A national holiday that also falls on a moveable holiday is known as having two paid holidays on the same day. In this instance, in addition to their regular full salary, an employee is also entitled to double holiday pay.

Employee participation in national holidays, especially those with substantial cultural significance, is encouraged via paid public holidays.

Employers in the US might be familiar with some of these holidays, but not others. For instance, the People Power Revolution was a first in Filipino history. The national holiday honors the demonstration in 1986 that compelled dictator Ferdinand Marcos to resign from his office. For the Filipino people, many of whom had been activists opposed to Marcos’ tyranny long before 1986, it was a moment of victory. The government headed by President Corazon Aquino established policies that would overturn the laws made under Marcos’ rule as a result of their quest for social and economic development.

Approximately 6% of Filipinos practice Islam, despite the fact that the majority are Christians. President Robert Duterte declared June 5 of 2019 to be a national holiday in honor of the Muslim holiday known as Eid. The Filipino calendar currently includes Eid as a non-working holiday. The final day of Ramadan, which is the 29- to 30-day holy season of fasting in the Islamic tradition, is celebrated as the “Festival of Fast-breaking.”

Philippine Calendar 2023

These were the holidays that are commonly recognized in the Philippines, as well as the holidays that will be commemorated this 2023. This may be used as a reference for international and local enterprises, as well as workers and freelancers, to arrange their schedules and do business in the Philippines. The list is subject to change, based on each municipality’s local government and subsequent disclosures.

Employees at many BPO firms instead observe their clients’ national holidays. It’s a good thing Filipinos are flexible with their schedules. They can adjust their schedule to meet the company’s so that they can provide more services to their customers and increase their pleasure.