Can You Be Made to Work on Your Rest Day?

Book III, Rule III, Section 3 of the implementing rules says: "Every employer shall give his employees a rest period of not less than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours after every six consecutive normal work days."

So the rule is one rest period of at least a full day after every six normal work days.

The rules protect one choice of the employee: a rest day based on religion. Section 4 says: "The preference of the employee as to his weekly day of rest shall be respected by the employer if the same is based on religious grounds." The employee must make the preference known to the employer in writing at least seven days before the desired rest day is to take effect.

There is one limit. If the religious choice would inevitably cause serious prejudice or obstruction to the operations of the business, and the employer cannot normally be expected to use other remedies, the employer may schedule the preferred rest day for at least two days a month.

Not freely. Section 6 opens: "An employer may require any of his employees to work on his scheduled rest day for the duration of the following emergencies and exceptional conditions:" It then lists six situations:

1. actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accident, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic or other disaster or calamity, to prevent loss of life or property, or in cases of force majeure or imminent danger to public safety;
2. urgent work on machinery, equipment or installations to avoid serious loss to the employer;
3. abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances, where the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures;
4. work needed to prevent serious loss of perishable goods;
5. work that by its nature has to go on continuously for seven days a week or more, such as the crew of a vessel completing a voyage; and
6. work needed to take advantage of favorable weather or environmental conditions on which the work depends.

The section then says: "No employee shall be required against his will to work on his scheduled rest day except under circumstances provided in this Section". An employee who volunteers to work on a rest day in other situations must say so in writing, and the rest day premium still applies.

Two things follow from this wording:

• the employer needs one of the listed situations, not just a busy week; and
• the requirement lasts only "for the duration" of that emergency or condition.

Except for employees the rules exclude, such as qualifying managerial employees, work on a rest day is paid with a premium. Book III, Rule I, Section 9(a) of the implementing rules says an employee who works on a designated rest day that is not a regular holiday "shall be paid with an additional compensation as premium pay of not less than thirty percent (30%) of his regular wage." Work beyond eight hours on that day is paid at the rate for the first eight hours plus at least 30% of it.

If the rest day is also a regular holiday, Rule IV, Section 4 adds a premium of at least 30% of the regular holiday rate of 200%.

The Labor Code itself sets the same 30% minimum for work on a scheduled rest day in Article 93. For all the premium rates side by side, see the premium pay rates table, and for the other pay rules the wages and hours topic.

This page does not compute the amounts. Use the holiday pay calculator or the overtime pay calculator, and see the holiday pay rules guide.

A contract, a collective bargaining agreement or a company practice may give more rest days or a higher premium than the rules. A benefit that has ripened into company practice is protected by the non-diminution rule of Article 100. See Can an employer take away benefits you already get?

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Mylene works Monday to Saturday at a grocery in Iloilo, with Sunday as her rest day. Her manager asks her to work one Sunday because the store is busy for a sale. A busy sale is not a disaster or an emergency. It could fall under "abnormal pressure of work" only if there are special circumstances and the employer cannot ordinarily use other measures, which depends on the facts. Otherwise she may not be required to work against her will. If she does work, she is paid at least the 30% premium.

Yusuf is a Muslim employee who asks in writing, two weeks ahead, for Friday as his weekly rest day for religious reasons. Under Section 4, the employer shall respect that preference, unless it would seriously prejudice the operations of the business, in which case the rules allow the employer to give him that rest day at least two days a month.

Talk to a lawyer if you are regularly made to work on your rest day without premium pay, if you were disciplined for refusing rest day work, or if you are an employer planning rest day schedules. Complaints usually start with conciliation at DOLE: see How to file a labor complaint. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.