Holiday pay during Holy Week 2023

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a proclamation last August 2022, declared Maundy Thursday (April 6) and Good Friday (April 7) as regular holidays in the Philippines.

The proclamation also amended the dates of other regular holidays, to be celebrated on the nearest Friday or Monday, in line with Marcos’ promotion of holiday economics, to “encourage domestic travel and increase tourism expenditures” during the extended break.

Similar to how these days were also declared regular holidays last 2022, Black Saturday (April 8) was also declared a special non-working day.

As other Filipinos would take the time to go out with families on vacation, others would also be working through the holidays. (LIST: Mall schedules for Holy Week 2023)

How will wages be calculated during the Holy Week, according to the Philippine Labor Code?

Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

April 3, 4, and 5 are regular working days. As such, there are no special wages to be given during these three days. Assuming a regular work day is 8 hours, wages can be calculated by the hour (daily wage divided by 8) or by the day (hourly wage multiplied by 8).

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

Filipinos working during these days fall will receive wages falling under holiday pay. This means that an employee will be paid twice their regular rate of pay for those days.

Employees who work for the day will receive 100% of their basic wage, on top of the number of hours they work for the day. So if they work the full eight hours, they will receive 200% of the day’s wages.

Black Saturday

Black Saturday is considered a special non-working day. Its main difference with regular holidays is the pay received by the employee.

Employees working regularly during a special non-working day will receive 130% of their basic wage. If the holiday falls under a rest day, however, employees will receive 150% of their basic wage.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is considered a regular day. Employees who are contracted to work on this day will receive regular wages. If an employee does not have fixed work days, they will receive 130% of their basic wage.

Below is a table of calculations that could help calculating wages on days, based on an eight-hour work day, earning P100/hour. Overtime calculations are based on two hours of overtime work: