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What is the difference between regular and special public holidays?

How many public holidays in the Philippines?

Navigating Public Holiday Philippines 2025 Pay

Managing Leave and Public Holiday Pay with Omni

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Public holidays play a crucial role in shaping a company’s culture. These designated days off represent more than just breaks from the regular work routine; they are important in fostering a balanced and inclusive workplace.

Recognizing and appropriately managing public holidays is an essential part of HR functions, contributing to employee well-being, morale and legal compliance. As we welcome the new year, HR professionals need to keep track of the public holiday Philippines 2025, as it affects work schedules, payroll, leave management, and overall business productivity.

This comprehensive public holiday Philippines 2025 guide will provide you with important information on the Philippines' regular and special public holidays, employee entitlements and managing public holiday pay during these dates.

What is the difference between regular and special public holidays?

The public holiday Philippines is classified into both regular and special (non-working) holidays, and it’s important for employers to identify them accurately as they impact employee compensation.

Regular holidays

Regular holidays, also known as legal holidays, are holidays with fixed dates or those that are deeply rooted in national or religious significance. It is recognized nationwide, and employees are paid regardless of whether they worked that day.

Special holidays

Special holidays are usually declared by local government units or specific industries to commemorate certain events or for cultural observances. Employees may or may not be paid depending on the employer’s policy.

How many public holidays in the Philippines?

Every year, the President of the Philippines issues proclamations, officially declaring the list of regular holidays and special holidays. Here is the list of public holiday Philippines 2025:

Regular holidays

New Year’s Day - 1 January 2025
Araw ng Kagitingan - 9 April 2025
Maundy Thursday - 17 April 2025
Good Friday - 18 April 2025
Labor Day - 1 May 2025
General Election - 12 May 2025
Eid al-Fitr - 31 May 2025
Eid al-Adha - 6 June 2025
Independence Day - 12 June 2025
National Heroes Day - 25 August 2025
Bonifacio Day - 30 November 2025
Christmas Day - 25 December 2025
Rizal Day - 30 December 2025

Special holidays

Chinese New Year - 29 January 2025
EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary - 25 February 2025
Black Saturday - 19 April 2025
Ninoy Aquino Day - 21 August 2025
All Saints’ Day Eve - 31 October 2025
All Saints’ Day - 1 November 2025
Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary - 8 December 2025
Christmas Eve - 24 December 2025
Last Day of the Year - 31 December 2025

Download your calendar now!

Navigating Public Holiday Philippines 2025 Pay

As public holiday Philippines include both regular and special holidays, it is important to take note of their implications on employee pay.

What is the pay for working on a regular public holiday Philippines?

The general rule for regular public holidays is to treat them as mandatory paid time off.

Non-working employees: Employers must pay 100% of the employee’s daily wage, even if they aren’t working.
Working employees: Employers must pay 200% of the employee’s daily wage for the first eight hours of work. Any work beyond eight hours incurs overtime pay, on top of the 200%.

Omni note: When working beyond eight hours on any day, there’s an overtime premium, which is typically an additional 30% of the regular hourly rate.

Example 1: New Year’s Day (a regular holiday) falls on Monday, and Maria was not scheduled to work.

Daily salary: PHP 500
Outcome: Maria is entitled to her regular daily wage of PHP 500, even though she didn’t work on New Year's Day.

Example 2: Independence Day (a regular holiday) falls on a Wednesday, and Juan is scheduled to work 10 hours.

Daily salary: PHP 600
For the first 8 hours = PHP 600 x 200% (holiday pay rate) = PHP 1,200.
For the 2 overtime hours:
- Regular hourly rate = PHP 600 / 8 hours = PHP 75 per hour
- Overtime rate (holiday + overtime premium) = PHP 75 x 200% x 130% = 195 PHP per overtime hour
- Overtime pay: PHP 195 x 2 hours = PHP 390

Total pay = PHP 1,200 + PHP 390 = PHP 1,590

Outcome: Juan receives PHP 1,590 for working 10 hours on Independence Day.

What is the pay for working on a special public holiday Philippines?

When it comes to special holidays, the ‘no work, no pay’ rule applies generally.

Non-working employees: Employers are not obligated to pay employees who don’t work on a special public holiday.
Working employees: If employees are working on a special public holiday, they are entitled to an additional 30% of their daily wage.

Example 1: Ninoy Aquino Day falls on a Monday, and Ana is scheduled to work 10 hours.

Daily salary: PHP 800
For the first 8 hours: PHP 800 x 130% (special holiday pay rate) = PHP 1,040
For the 2 overtime hours:
- Regular hourly rate = PHP 800 / 8 hours = PHP 100 per hour
- Overtime rate (holiday + overtime premium) = PHP 100 x 130% x 130% = PHP 169 per overtime hour
- Overtime pay = PHP 169 x 2 hours = PHP 338

Total pay = PHP 1,040 + PHP 338 = PHP 1,378

Outcome: Ana receives PHP 1,378 for working 10 hours on Ninoy Aquino Day.

It’s important to note that employers with the means have the option to provide paid time off on special holidays as a benefit, which can boost employee morale and improve retention. If you do choose to provide additional paid time off, create a clear company policy and include it in your employee handbook to avoid employee confusion.

To summarize, here’s the public holiday Philippines pay table:

Type of Holiday	Non-working Employee	Working Employee (First 8 Hours)	Working Employee (Overtime)
Regular Holiday	100% of daily wage	200% of daily wage	200% of daily wage + 30% overtime premium (260% total)
Special Holiday	‘No work, no pay’ unless company policy states otherwise	130% of daily wage	130% of daily wage + 30% overtime premium (160% total)

Managing Leave and Public Holiday Pay with Omni

Managing leave and public holiday Philippines 2025 is crucial at the workplace. Employers should communicate holiday schedules early, ensuring enough coverage during peak employee absence periods. Clear rules on holiday pay and time-off requests, especially during festive times, contribute to fair time off management and payroll practices.

Omni’s time off management capabilities empower managers and HR teams to swiftly navigate employee leave applications. Our platform allows you to approve leave applications on the go and keep track of who’s in and out of the office with at-a-glance scheduling.

Our employee self-service portal enables employees to submit their time off requests, which automatically route to the appropriate manager thanks to customizable approval workflows. Automated calculations offer real-time leave balance visibility without the need for HR intervention.

Check out our employee time-off request form template!

For public holiday entitlements, Omni’s comprehensive payroll solution integrates seamlessly with leave management. Supporting PHP and offering automated public holiday pay, tax calculations, and managed contributions, Omni simplifies payroll processing while ensuring compliance.

Choose Omni to effortlessly manage your public holiday Philippines 2025 leave and entitlements, tailored to meet your evolving business needs. Book a demo with our team today to learn more.

Get a copy of your Philippine holiday calendar now!

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