General information, not legal advice. This answer was written by the PhilippineLaws team from the law it cites and checked for accuracy to the best of our knowledge, last on Sep 21, 2026. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Read the cited law yourself, and for your own situation talk to a lawyer or the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).
What is the difference between holiday pay and premium pay, and what am I owed on a holiday?
Holiday pay is the 100% of your daily wage you receive on a regular holiday even without working; premium pay is the extra percentage added when you do work on a day you were not supposed to. On a regular holiday you get 200% for the first eight hours, while a special non-working day is no-work-no-pay and 130% if you work it.
Illustrated Legal Brief
Full Plate"No work, no pay" ba talaga kapag REGULAR HOLIDAY?
HINDI! Bayad ka pa rin kahit walang pasok!
Karaniwang misconception sa maraming kumpanya na kapag walang pasok dahil Regular Holiday (tulad ng New Year, Araw ng Kagitingan, Labor Day, Independence Day, Christmas, atbp.), awtomatikong "no work, no pay." Ayon sa batas, MALI po ito!
Narito ang mga dapat mong malaman sa ilalim ng Article 94 ng Labor Code of the Philippines:
Bayad ang Regular Holiday Kahit Walang Pasok (100%)
Ayon sa Article 94, ang bawat manggagawa ay may karapatan sa kanilang regular daily wage kapag Regular Holiday, kahit hindi sila pumasok o pinag-leave ng kumpanya.
Ang "Golden Condition" para Mabayaran
Para makuha ang 100% pay sa unworked regular holiday:
- Dapat PRESENT ka o naka-LEAVE WITH PAY sa workday bago ang holiday.
(Halimbawa: Kung holiday ang Biyernes, dapat pumasok ka o naka-paid leave ka noong Huwebes).
Paano Kung Pinapasok Ka sa Trabaho?
Kung pinagtrabaho ka sa Regular Holiday, dapat kang makatanggap ng:
- 200% ng iyong regular wage (Double Pay) para sa unang 8 oras!
Regular Holiday vs Special Non-Working Day
Huwag magpalito:
- Regular Holiday (e.g., Dec 25, Jan 1, May 1, June 12):
- Walang pasok = 100% Bayad
- May pasok = 200% (Double Pay)
- Special Non-Working Day (e.g., Ninoy Aquino Day, All Saints Day):
- Walang pasok = No work, no pay (maliban kung may company policy/CBA)
- May pasok = Daily rate + 30% (Total 130%)
Exception sa batas: Ang holiday pay rule ay hindi mandatory sa mga maliliit na retail/service establishments na regular na nag-eempleyo ng mas mababa sa sampung (10) manggagawa.
I-share sa mga katrabaho at kaibigan para walang malalamangan sa sweldo tuwing holiday!
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| Situation | Rate |
|---|---|
| Special day, not workedNo work, no pay — unless policy or a CBA says otherwise | 0% |
| Regular holiday, not workedIf you were present or on paid leave the day before | 100% |
| Special day, workedFirst 8 hours | 130% |
| Special day on your rest dayFirst 8 hours | 150% |
| Regular holiday, workedFirst 8 hours | 200% |
| Regular holiday on your rest dayFirst 8 hours | 260% |
| An ordinary working day = 100% | |
Holiday pay is the 100% you get for a regular holiday you did not work. Premium pay is the extra for working a day you were not scheduled to. Check the current year’s proclamation — it decides which dates are which.
Why
The two terms get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. Holiday pay under Article 94 is payment for a day you did not work: on a regular holiday, every covered employee is paid their regular daily wage even if the business was closed. Premium pay is the additional compensation for work performed on a day that is not an ordinary working day, meaning a rest day, a special day, or a holiday. Overtime pay is a third thing again, and applies to hours beyond eight on any day.
On a regular holiday the rates run like this. Unworked, you receive 100% of your daily wage, provided you were present or on paid leave on the working day immediately before. Worked, you receive 200% for the first eight hours. If the regular holiday also falls on your rest day and you work it, the rate is 260%. Overtime beyond eight hours on a regular holiday carries an additional 30% of the hourly rate applicable on that day.
A special non-working day works on the opposite default. The principle is no work, no pay, so if you do not work you are not paid, unless a company policy or collective bargaining agreement grants payment. If you do work, you get 130% for the first eight hours, and 150% if the special day also falls on your rest day. Overtime on a special day again carries an additional 30% of the applicable hourly rate.
Rest days on their own carry a 30% premium: work on your scheduled rest day is paid at 130% of the daily wage for the first eight hours.
Which days are which is not fixed by a single statute. The Administrative Code, as amended by RA 9492 and RA 9849, sets out the regular holidays and the two Islamic observances, but the President issues a proclamation each year that fixes the actual dates and declares the special days. For any given year, that proclamation is the authority, not last year's list.
Not everyone is covered. Article 82 places government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, members of the employer's family dependent on them for support, domestic workers, persons in the personal service of another, and workers paid by results outside the working-conditions provisions. Holiday pay in particular also does not cover retail and service establishments regularly employing fewer than ten workers.
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