Holy Week Holidays in the Philippines 2013
Filipinos all over the country will have a rare four-day holiday toward the end of March as the predominantly Catholic nation marks the annual Holy Week. These non-working days had been identified by President Benigno Aquino III in his Proclamation 459, which was issued last year. Click here to access the contents of Proclamation 459. The said holidays are listed below:
March 28, 2013 – Maundy Thursday (regular holiday)
March 29, 2013 – Good Friday (regular holiday)
March 30, 2013 – Black Saturday (special non-working holiday)
Some points of clarification for our readers: First, as written in this blog in the past, regular holidays and special non-working holidays are governed by different pay rules as mandated by the Department of Labor and Employment. Even if an employee chooses to not report for work on Maundy Thursday, he or she will still get 100% of his or her salary for that day. This applies regardless of a worker’s employment status.
Meanwhile, employers are not required to pay their employees during special non-working days (ergo, the policy “no work, no pay”) “unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment on a special day.” Read the detailed DOLE pay rules here.
Because of the three consecutive holidays, some employees may be tempted to prolong their vacation. According to DOLE, workers are entitled to holiday pay only when they are “on leave of absence with pay on the workday immediately preceding the regular holiday.” Click here to read DOLE’s Handbook on Worker’s Statutory Monetary Benefits (2010 edition).
What about Easter Sunday, which falls on March 31, 2013? Curiously, it is listed neither as a regular holiday nor as a special non-working day. Ergo, if the nature of your job requires you to work on this day, chances are, there’s no premium pay for you.
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