The normal hours of work are 8 hours a day, with a meal period of not less than 60 minutes which is generally not compensable.
Work beyond 8 hours is overtime and carries a premium on the hourly rate. Work on a rest day or holiday carries its own premium, and these stack: overtime worked on a holiday attracts both.
Night work between 10pm and 6am carries a night shift differential of not less than 10 percent, calculated separately again.
Employment & Compliance
Working hours, overtime and holidays in the Philippines
In short
The normal working day is 8 hours with a mandatory meal period. Overtime attracts a premium, as do rest days, and the Philippines observes a substantial number of regular and special holidays with different pay treatments. For foreign employers the holiday calendar is usually the bigger planning surprise.
Hours and holidays are where foreign employers most often discover that assumptions from home do not transfer. None of it is complicated, and all of it affects both cost and delivery planning.
The standard day
The holiday calendar, which is the real planning issue
The Philippines distinguishes between regular holidays and special non working days, and they are treated differently for pay.
Regular holidays generally carry pay even when no work is performed, and work performed on them attracts a substantial premium. Special non working days generally follow a no work no pay principle unless company policy or agreement provides otherwise, with a premium for work performed.
The number of these is higher than most Western countries, and the list is set by proclamation each year rather than being fixed permanently. Additional days are sometimes declared with limited notice.
The practical consequences: build the calendar into delivery planning rather than discovering it, and do not assume a date that was a holiday last year will be one this year, or the reverse.
Regular holidays generally carry pay even when no work is performed, and work performed on them attracts a substantial premium. Special non working days generally follow a no work no pay principle unless company policy or agreement provides otherwise, with a premium for work performed.
The number of these is higher than most Western countries, and the list is set by proclamation each year rather than being fixed permanently. Additional days are sometimes declared with limited notice.
The practical consequences: build the calendar into delivery planning rather than discovering it, and do not assume a date that was a holiday last year will be one this year, or the reverse.
What this means for coverage
For any function that requires continuous coverage, support in particular, the holiday calendar is a staffing question rather than an administrative one.
If your customers are in the US or UK, their working days will regularly fall on Philippine holidays. Deciding in advance whether those days are covered, and at what premium, avoids the conversation happening on the day.
Companies that plan for this typically either accept reduced coverage on Philippine holidays and communicate it, or roster deliberately and budget the premium. Both work. Assuming full coverage without either is what does not.
If your customers are in the US or UK, their working days will regularly fall on Philippine holidays. Deciding in advance whether those days are covered, and at what premium, avoids the conversation happening on the day.
Companies that plan for this typically either accept reduced coverage on Philippine holidays and communicate it, or roster deliberately and budget the premium. Both work. Assuming full coverage without either is what does not.
Leave entitlements
Service incentive leave of 5 days per year applies to employees who have rendered at least 1 year of service, subject to exemptions where equivalent or greater benefits are already provided.
Beyond the statutory minimum, most employers offering competitive terms provide considerably more, and leave is one of the terms candidates compare directly. Separate statutory leave entitlements exist for specific circumstances, including maternity, paternity, solo parents and victims of violence.
The statutory floor is genuinely a floor. Setting your offer at it is legal and it will affect who accepts.
Beyond the statutory minimum, most employers offering competitive terms provide considerably more, and leave is one of the terms candidates compare directly. Separate statutory leave entitlements exist for specific circumstances, including maternity, paternity, solo parents and victims of violence.
The statutory floor is genuinely a floor. Setting your offer at it is legal and it will affect who accepts.
Where planning goes wrong
Modelling cost on base salary alone. Overtime, rest day, holiday and night premiums are real and, for shift based functions, material.
Assuming a fixed holiday calendar. It is proclaimed annually and can change.
Treating leave as the statutory minimum by default. Competitive offers do not, and candidates compare.
Building a delivery plan that assumes 52 identical weeks. It will not be.
This is general information rather than legal advice. Take advice on how the premiums apply to your specific arrangement.
Assuming a fixed holiday calendar. It is proclaimed annually and can change.
Treating leave as the statutory minimum by default. Competitive offers do not, and candidates compare.
Building a delivery plan that assumes 52 identical weeks. It will not be.
This is general information rather than legal advice. Take advice on how the premiums apply to your specific arrangement.
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