BLACK SATURDAY | April 4 2015 declared a holiday
President Benigno Aquino III has declared Black Saturday, which this year falls on April 4, 2015, as a special non-working holiday.
This is indicated in Proclamation 831, which was released last July. Read more about Proclamation 831 here. The proclamation also designates April 2 and 3 as regular holidays because Maundy Thursday and Good Friday fall on these dates.
In certain industries like the business process outsourcing sector, being required to work during these holidays is not unusual.
As per the Department of Labor and Employment’s Statutory Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Benefits (2012 edition, downloadable in this link), employers should comply with the following pay rules:
• If the employee did not work, the “no work, no pay” principle shall apply, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment on a special day.
• If the employee worked, he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her daily rate on the first eight hours of work.
Sample computation: (Daily rate x 130%) + COLA).
ILLUSTRATION: Jac is a factory worker earning P560 or P70 an hour. Here’s how the scenarios discussed above will play out for him:
A. If he opts not to go to work on April 4, he will not earn anything because of the “no work, no pay” rule.
B. If he is required to be on duty during those days, he should plus 30% to his regular hourly rate for every hour of service (in this case, P70 plus 30% is P91).
REMINDER: The aforementioned DOLE Statutory Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Benefits definitively states that employees will only be entitled to a holiday premium if they are present or is on leave of absence with pay on the work day that immediately comes before the holiday.
In other words, if you want to not report for work from March 30 up to April 1 (which is the last regular work day before the Holy Week holidays), then you should file a leave now. Otherwise, your company will have the right not to give you a holiday premium for April 2, 3, and 4.
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