The 2026 Holiday Calendar
Under Proclamation No. 1006, s. 2025, the Philippines has 10 regular holidays and 8 special (non-working) days for 2026, plus Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha (dates proclaimed separately based on the Islamic calendar).
Regular Holidays 2026:
- January 1 — New Year’s Day
- March 20 — Eid’l Fitr
- April 2 — Maundy Thursday
- April 3 — Good Friday
- April 9 — Araw ng Kagitingan
- May 1 — Labor Day
- June 12 — Independence Day
- August 31 — National Heroes Day
- November 30 — Bonifacio Day
- December 25 — Christmas Day
- December 30 — Rizal Day
- Eid’l Adha — date to be proclaimed
Special (Non-Working) Days 2026:
- February 17 — Chinese New Year
- April 4 — Black Saturday
- August 21 — Ninoy Aquino Day
- November 1 — All Saints’ Day
- November 2 — All Souls’ Day
- December 8 — Feast of the Immaculate Conception
- December 24 — Christmas Eve
- December 31 — Last Day of the Year
DOLE typically issues a Labor Advisory ahead of each holiday (for 2026, Labor Advisory No. 12-25 covers the full-year schedule, with separate advisories like Labor Advisory No. 04, s. 2026 issued closer to specific dates such as Eid’l Fitr) restating the applicable pay rules. Always check the advisory tied to the actual date, since classification can shift if a date is moved by subsequent proclamation.
Regular Holiday Pay Rules
Regular holidays carry the strongest pay protection under the Labor Code.
If the employee does not work: They receive 100% of their daily wage, provided they reported to work or were on paid leave on the workday immediately before the holiday. If that preceding day is itself a non-working day or the employee’s rest day, the same rule applies based on the last workday before that.
If the employee works: They receive 200% of their daily wage for the first eight hours.
If the employee works overtime on a regular holiday: The overtime hours are paid at an additional 30% of the hourly rate on top of the 200% — effectively 260% of the hourly rate for excess hours.
If the regular holiday falls on the employee’s rest day and they work: Add another 30% on top of the 200%, bringing the first eight hours to 260% of the daily wage. Overtime on top of that is computed on the already-elevated rate.
Worked example: An employee with a daily rate of ₱700 works eight hours on a regular holiday (not their rest day).
Pay = ₱700 × 200% = ₱1,400 for the day.
If that same employee works 2 hours of overtime: Overtime pay = (₱700 ÷ 8) × 200% × 130% × 2 hours = ₱87.50 × 2.60 × 2 = ₱455 in overtime, on top of the ₱1,400 base.
Special (Non-Working) Day Pay Rules
Special non-working days follow a different default principle.
“No work, no pay” applies unless a favorable company policy, employment contract, or CBA grants pay regardless of attendance.
If the employee works: They receive an additional 30% of the basic wage for the first eight hours — 130% of the daily wage.
If the special non-working day also falls on the employee’s rest day and they work: The premium increases to an additional 50% — 150% of the daily wage for the first eight hours.
Overtime on a special non-working day is computed on the elevated rate, not added on top of the regular rate — i.e., the OT premium multiplies the already-adjusted hourly rate, not the base hourly rate.
Worked example: An employee with a daily rate of ₱700 works on a special non-working day that is also their scheduled rest day.
Pay = ₱700 × 150% = ₱1,050 for the day.
Rest Day Premium Pay (No Holiday Involved)
Outside of holidays entirely, ordinary rest day work still carries a premium.
If the employee works on their scheduled rest day (and it isn’t a holiday): They receive an additional 30% of the basic wage — 130% of the daily wage for the first eight hours.
Worked example: A ₱700/day employee called in to work on an ordinary Sunday rest day earns ₱700 × 130% = ₱910 for that day.
Quick Reference Table
| Scenario | Pay Rate |
|---|---|
| Regular holiday, no work | 100% |
| Regular holiday, worked | 200% |
| Regular holiday + rest day, worked | 260% |
| Special non-working day, no work | No work, no pay (unless company policy says otherwise) |
| Special non-working day, worked | 130% |
| Special non-working day + rest day, worked | 150% |
| Ordinary rest day, worked | 130% |
Where These Computations Usually Break Down
Three things consistently trip up manual payroll processing: first, the “report to work the day before” condition for unworked regular holidays, which requires checking attendance records, not just the calendar. Second, the rest-day-plus-holiday stacking rules, since the multiplier depends on whether the rest day and the holiday coincide — a detail that’s easy to miss when an employee’s rest day schedule isn’t synced with the payroll system. Third, overtime computed on top of an already-elevated holiday or rest-day rate, which requires multiplying rates sequentially rather than adding percentages, a common source of underpayment.
None of this is conceptually difficult — but doing it correctly for every employee, every cutoff, across a workforce with different rest day schedules, is exactly the kind of rules-based calculation that shouldn’t be left to spreadsheets. With Everything at Work, holiday and rest day classifications are built into the payroll engine, attendance records automatically determine eligibility for unworked holiday pay, and the correct stacked multiplier is applied without anyone needing to remember whether a given day is 130%, 150%, 200%, or 260%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an employee get holiday pay if they’re on leave the day before the holiday?
Yes, as long as the leave is with pay. An employee on paid leave of absence on the workday immediately preceding a regular holiday is still entitled to the 100% holiday pay even if they don’t work the holiday itself.
What’s the difference between a regular holiday and a special non-working day for payroll purposes?
Regular holidays guarantee pay even if the employee doesn’t work (subject to the attendance condition). Special non-working days follow “no work, no pay” by default — the employee is only entitled to premium pay if they actually report for work, unless company policy states otherwise.
How is overtime computed when it falls on a regular holiday?
Overtime pay is computed on the already-increased holiday hourly rate, not the regular hourly rate. The formula is: hourly rate × 200% × 130% × number of overtime hours (and × 260% × 130% if the holiday also coincides with the employee’s rest day).
Where can employers verify the official 2026 holiday classifications and pay rules?
Cross-check against Proclamation No. 1006, s. 2025 for the holiday dates and the corresponding DOLE Labor Advisories (such as Labor Advisory No. 12-25) issued for the year, available through the Official Gazette and the DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions website, since holiday classifications and advisory numbers are updated periodically.
Want holiday and premium pay computed correctly without manually tracking multipliers and rest day schedules? See how Everything at Work HRIS automates payroll compliance for Philippine employers, or read our guide to SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG contribution tables for 2026.