DOLE issues guidelines for paying wages on Eid'l Fitr, including deferment and exemption from paying holiday pay
Client Alert - 23 May 2020
The Department of Labor and Employment ("DOLE") has issued guidelines for paying wages for the regular holiday on 25 May 2020 in observance of Eid'l Fitr (Feast of Ramadan)
In Labor Advisory No. 20 series of 2020 (available here) the DOLE allowed employers to defer paying holiday pay to their employees on 25 May 2020 until such time that the present emergency situation has abated and normal business operations are resumed. Further, establishments that have totally closed or ceased operations during the community quarantine are exempted from paying holiday pay.
If the employer opts to pay holiday pay, the employer should pay according to the following rules:
Conditions |
Computation |
Unworked and the employee was present or on leave with pay on the working day immediately before the holiday |
(Basic wage + COLA) |
Worked |
(Basic wage + COLA) x 200% |
Additional pay for work done in excess of 8 hours |
(Hourly rate of the basic wage) x (number of hours worked) x 200% x 130% |
Worked and the holiday falls on the employee's rest day |
[(Basic wage + COLA) x 200%] + [(basic wage x 200%) x 30%] |
Additional pay for work done in excess of 8 hours and the holiday falls on the employee's rest day |
(Hourly rate of the basic wage) x (number of hours worked) x 200% x 130% x 130% |
How this affects you
Due to the difficult business environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, your business may consider deferring paying your employees' regular holiday pay. If your business has totally closed or ceased operations during the community quarantine, your business may even be exempted from paying holiday pay.
However, if your business is able to do so and opts to pay holiday pay, be sure to follow the DOLE's computation as summarized above.
If you have any questions regarding the guidelines and how your business can comply with the same, just send us a message on our Facebook page and we’ll arrange for our Partner Lawyers specializing in labor law to assist you.
Regards,
The Legal Tree team
Email: CustomerSupport@legaltree.ph
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LegalTreePh
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/legal-tree
Website: www.legaltree.ph