Philippines hiring guideHiring guide

Leave and holidays in the Philippines.

The paid leave your hire is entitled to and the country’s public holidays, in plain English. Holiday and leave pay run through the payroll we handle as the employer.

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Philippine public holidays, 2026

12 regular holidays. 8 special days.

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Time off, by the book.

What the law gives your hire in paid leave and public holidays, how holiday pay works, and what we take care of as the employer.

5 days of paid leave
After a year of service, the law gives at least 5 days of paid leave a year.
12 regular holidays
Paid even when not worked. 2026 also has 8 special non-working days.
Holiday pay
Working a regular holiday pays double. Working a special day pays 30% more.
No separate sick leave
Beyond the 5 days, more vacation or sick leave is company policy, not law.
Leave for life events
Maternity, paternity, solo parent and more, set by law. See the Benefits guide.
The official calendar
Set yearly by presidential proclamation; Eid holidays are announced later.

Paid leave under Philippine law

Under Article 95 of the Labor Code, an employee with at least one year of service gets at least 5 days of paid service incentive leave a year.

Unused service incentive leave can be converted to cash at the end of the year, and any balance is paid out when the employee leaves.

Beyond those 5 days, the Labor Code doesn’t require general vacation or sick leave. More paid leave comes from company policy or the employment contract.

For longer illness, the SSS sickness benefit pays 90% of the employee’s average daily salary credit when they can’t work for at least 4 days, up to 120 days a year, once paid company sick leave is used up.

Leave for life events

Maternity leave: 105 days at full pay for a live birth, 15 more for solo mothers, and 60 days for a miscarriage (Republic Act No. 11210).
Paternity leave: 7 days at full pay for married fathers, for the first four deliveries (Republic Act No. 8187).
Solo parent leave: up to 7 working days a year after 6 months of service (Republic Act No. 11861).
Leave for victims of violence against women and their children: up to 10 days (Republic Act No. 9262).
Special leave for women: 2 months at full pay after surgery for a gynecological disorder (Republic Act No. 9710).

See the Benefits guide

Public holidays in 2026

The 2026 holidays are set by Proclamation No. 1006, with Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha added by Proclamations No. 1189 and 1264.

Date	Holiday	Type
Thu, Jan 1	New Year’s Day	Regular
Tue, Feb 17	Chinese New Year	Special
Fri, Mar 20	Eid’l Fitr	Regular
Thu, Apr 2	Maundy Thursday	Regular
Fri, Apr 3	Good Friday	Regular
Sat, Apr 4	Black Saturday	Special
Thu, Apr 9	Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor)	Regular
Fri, May 1	Labor Day	Regular
Wed, May 27	Eid’l Adha	Regular
Fri, Jun 12	Independence Day	Regular
Fri, Aug 21	Ninoy Aquino Day	Special
Mon, Aug 31	National Heroes Day	Regular
Sun, Nov 1	All Saints’ Day	Special
Mon, Nov 2	All Souls’ Day	Special
Mon, Nov 30	Bonifacio Day	Regular
Tue, Dec 8	Feast of the Immaculate Conception	Special
Thu, Dec 24	Christmas Eve	Special
Fri, Dec 25	Christmas Day	Regular
Wed, Dec 30	Rizal Day	Regular
Thu, Dec 31	Last day of the year	Special

February 25, the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, is a special working day: it’s paid as a normal day. Some cities and provinces also have their own local holidays.

How holiday pay works

Regular holiday, not worked: 100% of the daily wage, if the employee worked or was on paid leave the day before.
Regular holiday, worked: 200% for the first 8 hours, plus 30% more per hour of overtime.
Regular holiday on a rest day, worked: 260%.
Special non-working day, not worked: no pay, unless company policy or practice says otherwise.
Special non-working day, worked: 130%, or 150% on a rest day.
Special working day: normal pay.

Philippine holidays and your schedule

Your hire works the hours you set, whether that’s US, UK, or Australian business hours, so some Philippine holidays fall on your working days.

How Remote Employee® handles leave and holidays

As the legal employer, we run payroll, so holiday pay, leave pay, and the cash value of unused leave go through it. You pay one set monthly invoice.

Sources

We checked the Philippine rules on this page against these official sources. Rates and rules change, so check the latest before you act on them.

FAQ

Questions about Vacation in the Philippines.

Still figuring out if we’re what you need? Here are a few questions we get asked a lot.

At least 5 days of paid service incentive leave a year after one year of service, under Article 95 of the Labor Code. Many employers give more as company policy.

12 regular holidays, including Eid’l Fitr (March 20) and Eid’l Adha (May 27), and 8 special non-working days. February 25 is a special working day.

A regular holiday is paid even if not worked. Working it pays 200% of the daily wage, or 260% if it’s also a rest day. Working a special non-working day pays 130%.

Not separately. The 5 days of service incentive leave can be used for illness, and the SSS sickness benefit covers longer absences. Extra sick leave is company policy.

Unused service incentive leave can be converted to cash at the end of the year, and any balance is paid out when the employee leaves.

We do. As the legal employer, we run payroll, so holiday pay and leave pay are calculated and paid there. You pay one set monthly invoice.