February 1, 2022 is a special non-working holiday nationwide as mandated by President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 1236. The holiday falls on a Tuesday this year. Proclamation 1236, which lists all nationwide regular and special non-working holidays this year, was released last October 2021.
In making the holiday proclamation, Duterte noted that the Chinese New Year is “one of the most revered and festive events celebrated not only in China but also in the Philippines.”
Chinese New Year was first declared a non-working holiday in 2012 and it now stands as one of the legacies of the late former President Benirno Aquino III, who has Chinese ancestry from his mother’s side. His predecessor former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo only went as far as declaring it a special working day.
Pay Rules For Chinese New Year – February 1, 2022
According to the 2020 DOLE handbook on workers statutory monetary benefits, the “no work, no pay” principle applies during special non-working holidays like Chinese New Year. This means that workers who are not required or permitted to work on February 1, 2022 are not entitled to any compensation unless there is a collective bargaining agreement or a company policy that provides for that.
The handbook likewise highlighted that employees who work during special non-working days are entitled to receive an additional pay of 30% for every hour that they render service.
