Employers reminded of holiday pay rules

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has reminded employers to ensure correct wage payments for employees who work during the declared holidays for Kalag-Kalag 2024.

November 1 (All Saint's Day) and November 2 (All Soul's Day) are considered to be special non-working holidays which means that "no work, no pay" policy will apply.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has issued guidelines for employers to follow in paying their employees for the said special holidays. Workers who rendered their service on special holidays will receive their regular daily wage plus an additional 30 percent.

If they work overtime, they will be compensated with an extra 30 percent based on the company's hourly rate.

For those working on a special holiday that coincides with their rest day, they are entitled to an additional 50 percent of their regular daily wage for the first eight hours and an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate if they work overtime.

Furthermore, DOLE's guidelines also include November 30 or Bonifacio Day which is a regular holiday.

For this kind of holiday, employers should check for these obligations while employees should see their rights.

Employees who do not work on Bonifacio Day will still receive their daily wage, as long as they reported to work or were on leave with pay the day before.

Meanwhile, with cases where the holiday coincides with an employee s rest day, those working will receive 200 percent of their regular daily wage, plus an additional 30 percent. For overtime work on that day, an extra 30 percent of the hourly rate will also apply.

For media professional like Hoehnferdz Gonzaga of Teleradyo Serbisyo working on special holidays like Kalag-Kalag to keep the public informed makes him feel the balance between work and life.

 "Working on holidays makes me feel the imbalance between work and life. However, if the nature of the job requires presence on a holiday, its something that a worker should acknowledge and be mindful of," he said.

Although Gonzaga cannot make it to physically visit his departed loved ones, observing these traditions can take many forms like a prayer and a candle.

On the other hand, Stephen Soco who is working as Human Resources Officer in a fuel company shared that as to their company's policy, they don't work on All Souls and All Saints Day which allows him to observe the holidays with his family.

If ever Soco would be required to work on the holiday in case of emergency, he stated that "In my case, I work at a company where were scheduled from 8 am to 5 pm, so I can still visit my loved ones. However, I still have limited time to prepare some traditional setups.

Workers like Soco and Gonzaga shared the same sentiment that balance between work and the need to honor the Filipino traditions remains a significant consideration for them to take. — /FPL (FREEMAN)