Despite the crippling impact of the COVID-19 on the economy and businesses, the labor department reminded the employers in the private sector to comply with their legal obligation in providing proper wages to their workers for the declared holidays in November 2021.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the government commiserates with various small and medium enterprises in the country who are struggling to survive due to the imposition of COVID-19 health protocols, however, the proper payment of wages for their workers, not only during the declared holidays, should not be compromised as stated under the law.

Labor Advisory No. 19, series of 2021 issued by Acting Secretary Ana Dione specified the proper computation of workers’ wages for the declared special non-working holiday on November 1, 2021, special working holiday on November 2, and for the regular holiday on November 30, 2021.

It can be noted that President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 1107 which declares November 1 as a special non-working holiday for the commemoration of the All Saints Day, November 2 (special working holiday) for the All Soul’s Day, and a regular holiday on November 30, 2021, for Andres Bonifacio day.

The advisory prescribes that for the special non-working day on November 1, the following pay rules shall apply:

If the employee did not work, the “no work, no pay” principle shall apply, unless there is a company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment on a special day.

For work done during the special day, he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her basic wage on the first eight hours of work [(basic wage x 130%) + COLA].

For work done more than eight hours (overtime work), he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her hourly rate on the said day [hourly rate of the basic wage x 130% x 130% x number of hours worked].

If an employee works on a special day that also falls on his/her rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 50 percent of his/her basic wage on the first eight hours of work [(basic wage x 150%) + COLA].

For overtime work on a special day that also falls on his/her rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his/her hourly rate on the said day [Hourly rate of the basic wage x 150% x 130% x number of hours worked].

While for the declared special working holiday on November 2, the labor advisory states that should a worker report for duty, the employee is entitled to receive only his/her daily wage and no premium is required since it is considered an ordinary working day.

On the other hand, the following premium pay computation is required to be paid for the worker who will perform their jobs during the Regular holiday on November 30:

If the employee did not work, he/she shall be paid 100% of his/her salary for days indicated [(Basic wage + COLA) x 100%], while for work done during the regular holiday, the employee shall be paid 200% of his/her regular salary for the first eight hours [(Basic wage + COLA) x 200%].

For overtime work (work done more than eight hours), he/she shall be paid an additional 30% of his/her hourly rate [Hourly rate of the basic wage x 200% x 130% x number of hours worked].

If an employee works on a regular holiday that also falls on his/her rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 30% of his/her basic wage of 200% or [(Basic wage + COLA) x 200%] + [30% (Basic wage x 200%)].

For overtime work on a regular holiday that also falls on his/her rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 30% of his/her hourly rate on the said day [Hourly rate of the basic wage x 200% x 130% x 130% x number of hours worked].

Meanwhile, establishments that have totally closed or ceased operation during the community quarantine period are exempted from the payment of the holiday pay on November 30, 2021, the advisory added. ### Paul Ang