Planning for Coverage During Philippine Long Weekends in 2026

You know what happens every year?

November rolls around. December follows. And suddenly you’re scrambling to figure out who’s working when your Filipino team wants time off.

The Philippines has a lot of holidays. Like, a lot.

All Saints’ Day. Bonifacio Day. Christmas. New Year. Plus all the special non-working days that pop up.

And here’s the thing most employers don’t realize until it’s too late.

If you’re hiring Filipino employees (not independent contractors), Philippine holiday pay rules apply. 

Miss this and you’ll either overpay (wasting money) or underpay (breaking the law and making your team upset).

But if you’re hiring independent contractors or freelancers? The rules are completely different.

I’m going to walk you through exactly how to plan coverage for these long weekends.

Two Types of Holidays That Cost Employees Different Amounts

If you’ve got Filipino employees on payroll, here’s what you’re dealing with.

The Philippines doesn’t just have “holidays.” They have regular holidays and special non-working days. And the pay difference between them is huge.

Regular holidays are the big ones. Independence Day. Christmas. Bonifacio Day.

If your employee doesn’t work on a regular holiday, you still pay them. Full wage. They stay home, you pay them anyway.

If they DO work on a regular holiday, you pay them 200% of their daily rate. Double pay for the first eight hours.

And if that regular holiday happens to fall on their rest day? Now you’re paying 260%.

Special non-working days are different.

These are days like All Saints’ Eve (October 31) and All Saints’ Day (November 1). The government says “eh, take the day off if you want.”

No work, no pay. Unless your company decides to pay them anyway.

If they work on a special non-working day, you pay 130% of their daily rate. Not double, just an extra 30%.

Falls on their rest day? That jumps to 150%.

See the difference? Same November long weekend, completely different costs depending on which type of holiday it is.

For November 2025, here’s what you’re dealing with for employees:

• October 31 and November 1 are special non-working days (130% or 150% if rest day)
• November 30 (Bonifacio Day) is a regular holiday (200% or 260% if rest day)

DOLE puts out advisories every year spelling this out. Labor Advisory No. 13, Series of 2025 covers these specific dates.

For independent contractors? None of this applies unless your contract specifies holiday premiums. Most don’t.

Making Schedules That Don’t Make Everyone Hate You

Okay, now you know who needs to work. How do you pick who actually works these holidays?

This is different for employees versus contractors.

For employees:

The first option is always to ask for volunteers. 

Send a message three weeks out. “Hey, we need coverage for November 30. Anyone willing to work for double pay?”

You’d be surprised. Some people actually want the extra money. 

Some don’t have family plans for specific holidays. Some would rather work and take a different day off later.

Let volunteers go first.

If you don’t get enough volunteers, now you’re assigning people.

The fairest way? Rotate.

Track who worked last year’s holidays. Those people go to the bottom of the list this year.

Or rotate alphabetically. Or by seniority. Or by team.

Just be consistent. Don’t play favorites.

The absolute worst thing you can do is have the same people always working holidays while others always get them off. That creates resentment fast.

For contractors:

You ask. They tell you if they’re available.

If they say no, you either accept it or you find backup contractors who are available.

But you can build incentives into your agreements. “I need guaranteed coverage on Philippine holidays, and I’m willing to pay 1.5x your rate for those days.”

Some contractors will jump at that. Others still won’t work holidays.

Put the schedule in writing either way.

When Everyone Wants The Same Days Off

Holiday time off requests are predictable.

Everyone wants the long weekends off. Everyone wants December 24-26. Everyone wants January 1.

You can’t give everyone what they want. So you need a system that feels fair.

For employees, here’s what doesn’t work: first come, first served.

That rewards people who plan way ahead and punishes people who have less predictable personal situations.

Better way:

Set a deadline. “All PTO requests for November and December need to be submitted by October 15.”

Everyone submits their requests during that window.

Then you look at all of them together and approve based on business needs and fairness.

If three people request November 1 but you can only spare one, who gets it?

The person who worked last year’s All Saints’ Day. The person who hasn’t taken much PTO recently. The person with the most seniority.

Pick criteria that make sense for your team and apply them consistently.

For contractors, you don’t manage PTO. They just tell you when they’re not available.

But you still need to track it so you know who’s working when.

Three weeks out, send a message: “Who’s planning to be off November 1-2 for All Saints’ Day? Let me know by October 15 so I can plan coverage.”

Then you figure out if you have enough people or need to find backup.

Tell people your decision within a week of the deadline. Not weeks later when they’ve already made plans hoping you’ll say yes.

If you deny an employee’s request, explain why and offer alternatives.

“I can’t spare you November 1 because we’re short-staffed, but you could take November 7-8 instead if that works?”

Document everything. Every request. Every approval. Every denial.

Creates a record if disputes come up. Helps you plan next year by seeing patterns.

December Is Different And Needs Earlier Planning

December is not like other months.

Christmas Day (December 25) is a regular holiday, yes. But culturally, Filipinos expect more time off than just Christmas Day.

Many companies make December 24 and 26 company holidays too. Add a weekend and you’ve got a five-day break.

Some companies basically shut down December 24 through January 2.

You need to plan this in August or September. Not November.

Because the most desirable December dates get claimed fast.

Wait until November and you’re either denying requests people already planned around or scrambling for coverage.

Also ask yourself: does my business actually need coverage during Christmas week?

For employees:

If you do need December coverage, consider short blocks instead of full shifts.

Four hours on Christmas Day at 200% pay costs way less than eight hours. And it’s less burdensome for whoever’s working.

Some employers just close December 24-January 2 and pay everyone their regular wages despite not working. Avoids premium pay requirements entirely.

Works if your business can tolerate the downtime and your cash flow can handle paying wages for that period.

For companies that need coverage, offer incentives for December volunteers.

Standard 200% holiday pay plus a bonus for working Christmas Day. Maybe 50% extra on top.

For contractors:

Expect that most won’t be available December 24-26 and January 1.

If you need coverage during this period, negotiate it way in advance. And pay premium rates.

Or hire backup contractors specifically for holiday coverage who are willing to work when your primary team is off.

Also remember: Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and Media Noche (New Year’s Eve) are culturally huge in the Philippines.

Software Makes This Way Easier

You can manage all of this manually.

Spreadsheets for schedules. Calculator for pay math. Email for communications.

But it’s painful and error-prone.

Workforce management platforms automate most of this.

Time tracking tools definitely helps. You see when they’re working and can verify availability.

But you don’t need the complex holiday pay calculations. Just track hours at agreed rates.

PTO management shows you who’s working and who’s off at a glance. 

Automated notifications remind people about schedules. Integration between time tracking and communication creates smooth workflows.

Mobile apps let people view schedules and (for employees) track their holiday premiums in real-time.

Cloud-based platforms maintain records automatically. Every schedule change gets timestamped and stored.