QUEZON CITY -- Employees in the private sector who will be working on May 9 must receive an additional 30 percent in their pay, the Department of Labor and Employment reminded employers. 

This after President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 1357 declaring the May 9, 2022 national and local elections as a Special (Non-Working) Holiday.

“We highly encourage our workers who are registered voters to exercise their rights to suffrage, and if they will report to work on May 9 after casting their votes, they must receive an additional 30 percent in their daily pay,” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said.

Under Labor Code’s Chapter III, Article 94, or the right to holiday pay, the wage rules for Special (Non-Working) Holiday provides that “if employees 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, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their basic wage on the first eight hours of work [(basic wage x 130%) + COLA].

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

If employees work on a special day that also falls on their day off, they shall be paid an additional 50 percent of their 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 their rest day, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of their hourly rate on the said day [Hourly rate of the basic wage x 150% x 130% x number of hours worked].

Bello advised workers who are faced with issues on underpayment and non-payment of proper wages to report such to the DOLE Hotline 1349 or to the nearest DOLE office in their locality. (DOLE)