Article 94 of the Labor Code: Right to holiday pay
Status: In force
What does Article 94 say?
(a) Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays, except in retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten (10) workers;
(b) The employer may require an employee to work on any holiday but such employee shall be paid a compensation equivalent to twice his regular rate; and
(c) As used in this Article, "holiday" includes: New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the ninth of April, the first of May, the twelfth of June, the fourth of July, the thirtieth of November, the twenty-fifth and thirtieth of December and the day designated by law for holding a general election.
Read the Labor Code on the DOLE website (it uses the article numbers before 2015)
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 94 of the Labor Code gives workers holiday pay. On a regular holiday, a covered worker gets his or her regular daily wage even without working. If the employer requires work on a holiday, the pay is twice the regular rate. Retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten workers are excluded.
The article keeps the same number after the 2015 renumbering of the Labor Code, as the DOLE renumbered edition shows.
How does it work in real life?
Jessa: a regular holiday at home
Jessa works in a supermarket with 60 employees. On a regular holiday she does not work. Under Article 94(a), she still gets her regular daily wage for that day.
Mark: required to work on a regular holiday
Mark works in the same supermarket and is asked to work eight hours on the regular holiday. Under Article 94(b), he is paid twice his regular rate for that day.
Aida: a very small store
Aida works in a sari-sari store with three workers. It is a retail establishment regularly employing less than ten workers, so the holiday pay rule of Article 94(a) does not cover her.
What does this mean in practice?
- The regular holidays of each year are in the holiday calendar, not in the list printed in Article 94(c).
- The holiday pay calculator and the holiday pay rules guide give the amounts and DOLE's yearly rules. The premium pay rates table shows the rates side by side.
- Holiday pay is a different benefit from service incentive leave and from 13th month pay.
- Unpaid holiday pay is a money claim, filed within three years from the time it accrued. See labor money claims prescription and Free legal help in the Philippines.
What does Article 94 say?
Paragraphs (a) and (b) are the two pay rules:
(a) Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays, except in retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten (10) workers;
(b) The employer may require an employee to work on any holiday but such employee shall be paid a compensation equivalent to twice his regular rate; and
Paragraph (c) is a list of holidays:
(c) As used in this Article, "holiday" includes: New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the ninth of April, the first of May, the twelfth of June, the fourth of July, the thirtieth of November, the twenty-fifth and thirtieth of December and the day designated by law for holding a general election.
Is the holiday list in Article 94 still used?
No. The list in paragraph (c) is old: it still has the fourth of July and does not have days that later laws added. Today, regular holidays and nationwide special days come from Section 26 of Executive Order No. 292 (the Administrative Code of 1987), as amended by Republic Act No. 9492, which lists them "unless otherwise modified by law, and or proclamation". Later laws and the President's yearly proclamations add, move or declare days. For the days of each year, see the 2026 holidays and the 2027 holidays.
Article 94 is about regular holidays. Work on special days is paid under Article 93: see Regular holiday vs special non-working day.
How do the implementing rules apply it?
The implementing rules of the Labor Code (1989 text on the Supreme Court E-Library), Book III, Rule IV, set the details:
- Work on a regular holiday (Section 4): at least 200% of the regular daily wage for up to eight hours. If the holiday is also the employee's scheduled rest day, an additional premium of at least 30% of the 200% rate.
- Overtime on a regular holiday (Section 5): the rate for the first eight hours on that holiday plus at least 30% of it.
- Absences (Section 6): an employee on leave without pay on the day immediately before a regular holiday may not be paid the holiday pay if he or she does not work on the holiday.
- Monthly-paid employees (Section 2): employees uniformly paid by the month, with at least the minimum wage, are paid for all days in the month whether worked or not.
These are the 1989 rules. DOLE may have issued later rules that are not reflected here.
Who is not covered?
Paragraph (a) itself excludes retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten workers. Article 82 also leaves out of Book Three, Title I government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, dependent family members of the employer, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another and some workers paid by results.
In Atienza v. Saluta (2019), the Supreme Court held that a personal driver was not entitled to holiday pay, because persons in the personal service of another are exempted under Articles 82 and 94. Household workers are covered by their own law: see kasambahay rights.
Can extra holiday pay become a company practice?
Yes. In Nippon Paint Philippines v. Nippon Paint Philippines Employees Association (2021), the employer had given additional holiday pay for Eidul Adha for two years. The Supreme Court held it had ripened into a company practice that the employer could not withdraw, under the non-diminution rule of Article 100. The Court also said: "Holiday pay is a legislated benefit enacted as part of the constitutional imperative that the State shall afford protection to labor."
Frequently asked questions
What is holiday pay under Article 94?
Article 94(a) says every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays, except in retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten workers. A covered worker gets this pay for a regular holiday even without working on it.
How much do I get if I work on a regular holiday?
Article 94(b) says an employee required to work on any holiday is paid twice his regular rate. The implementing rules (1989 text) put it as at least 200% of the regular daily wage for the first eight hours.
Is the list of holidays in Article 94 still used?
No. The list in Article 94(c) is from the 1970s. The regular holidays and special days now come from Section 26 of Executive Order No. 292 as amended by Republic Act No. 9492, from later laws and from the yearly proclamations.
Are drivers and household helpers entitled to holiday pay?
Persons in the personal service of another are not covered. In Atienza v. Saluta (2019), the Supreme Court held that a personal driver was not entitled to holiday pay. Household workers have their own law, the Batas Kasambahay.
Can an employer stop giving extra holiday pay it gave before?
Not if it ripened into a company practice. In Nippon Paint (2021), extra holiday pay given for Eidul Adha for two years became a company practice that the employer could not withdraw.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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