If you pay your Filipino virtual assistants on a weekly schedule, 2025 brings four months where you’ll process five paychecks instead of the usual four.
These extra payroll weeks might seem like a minor calendar quirk, but they have real implications for budgeting.
This guide breaks down exactly which months have five weekly payouts in 2025, why this happens, and what it means for managing payroll and finances.
The Four Months with Five Fridays in 2025
For teams paying weekly on Fridays (the most common global payroll standard), these are the months with five paydays:
January 2025 Fridays fall on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st
May 2025 Fridays fall on the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th
August 2025 Fridays fall on the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th
October 2025 Fridays fall on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st
These dates are straightforward to verify using any 2025 calendar. The pattern happens whenever a month starts early enough in the week to fit five Fridays before the month ends.
Why Five Paycheck Months Matter for a Filipino Virtual Assistant’s Payroll
Most months have four weeks and four paydays when paying weekly. But certain months stretch just long enough to include a fifth occurrence of your designated payday.
You’re not paying anyone extra or changing rates. You’re simply processing one additional regular paycheck because the month contains five pay periods instead of four.
If someone earns $400 per week, a five-paycheck month means $2,000 in payouts instead of the usual $1,600.
Multiply that across a team of ten people, and you’re looking at an extra $4,000 in cash outflow that month.
Weekly Payment Rules in the Philippines
Under Article 103 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, employees must be paid at least twice per month, with no more than 16 days between payouts.
However, most Filipino virtual assistants and remote workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.
This distinction matters because contractors are paid according to their contract terms, not under the mandatory payment frequency rules that apply to employees.
Weekly payment has become common practice for international clients working with Filipino contractors, even though it’s not legally required.
It aligns with global payroll standards and works well with popular Fintech platforms like Wise and PayPa.
How Weekly Pay Schedules Actually Work
| Aspect | Weekly Pay | Semi-Monthly / Monthly Pay |
| Number of Payroll Runs | 52 per year | 24 (semi-monthly) or 12 (monthly) |
| Pay Period Length | Fixed weekly cycles (e.g., Mon–Sun) | Periods vary depending on calendar |
| Payments per Month | 4 or 5 payouts depending on Fridays | Same number of payouts every month |
| Example Payout | $100/week → $400 or $500 per month | $100/week equivalent split evenly → predictable monthly total |
For time tracking and invoicing, weekly schedules create a clean Monday-to-Sunday or Sunday-to-Saturday work week.
Hours or deliverables from one week get invoiced and paid the following Friday.
Planning Your 2025 Payroll Budget
Knowing which months have five paydays lets you budget more accurately for the full year. Here’s how to account for this in annual planning:
- Know the calendar
2025 includes four five-paycheck months: January, May, August, and October.
That means 52 payouts per year, not 48. - Base your budget on the true annual cost
Weekly payroll × 52 = your real yearly payroll number. - Spread that total across the year
Divide the annual payroll by 12 to set your monthly budget target. - Expect higher spend during five-payday months
Example: Weekly team payroll = $2,000
Annual cost = $104,000 (2,000 × 52)
Average monthly = ~$8,667
Five-payday months = $10,000 spend
Four-payday months = $8,000 spend - Build a buffer ahead of time
Set aside extra cash monthly.
Tracking Hours and Deliverables in Five Week Months
Weekly payment schedules usually align with weekly time tracking or deliverable milestones. Each week stands alone as its own billing period.
In a five-paycheck month, you’re tracking and paying for five distinct work weeks. If someone works 40 hours per week, they’ll log 200 hours in that month instead of the typical 160.
You’re not paying overtime or bonus hours. You’re paying for five full weeks of work because the month contains five weeks.
You need accurate records showing exactly which hours fall into which weekly pay period. Platforms that automatically track time by week make this much simpler than manual timesheets.
For fixed-rate weekly payments (where someone receives the same amount regardless of exact hours), the tracking matters less for payment purposes but remains important for project management and productivity assessment.
You still want visibility into what got accomplished during each of those five weeks.
Alternative Schedules That Works and Why Weekly Payment Still Works Best
Weekly payment isn’t the only option for remote work arrangements, but it has become popular for good reasons.
Semi-monthly pay (twice per month, typically on the 15th and last day) means 24 consistent paychecks per year with predictable amounts. This makes budgeting easier for businesses and provides steady income for the remote workers.
Bi-weekly pay (every two weeks, typically every other Friday) gives 26 paychecks per year. Like weekly pay, it aligns with calendar weeks, but each paycheck represents two weeks of work instead of one. .
Monthly payment, while common for salaried employees in many countries, is actually prohibited under Philippine labor law for employees. It creates longer gaps, which many VAs find less appealing.
Weekly payment strikes a balance. It provides regular income, aligns with standard work weeks, makes time tracking straightforward, and creates faster feedback loops between work completion and payment.
Best Practices for Managing Weekly Payroll for Filipino VAs
Successfully managing weekly payroll for Filipino remote teams requires consistent processes and clear communication.
Document everything. Each weekly payment should link to verifiable work records, whether that’s tracked hours, completed deliverables, or confirmed tasks.
Standardize your pay day and stick to it. If Friday is payday, make it Friday every single week but if it falls on a holiday, process payment the day before rather than delaying until the following week.
Communicate early about schedule changes. If you need to adjust payment timing for any reason, give as much notice as possible..
Track everything in real time. Review hours and deliverables regularly. Check progress throughout the week so you can address issues before payday arrives.
Reconcile payments weekly. Match each payment to its corresponding invoice and time records immediately after processing.
Plan for five-paycheck months in advance. Mark January, May, August, and October in your financial calendar right now. Set aside the extra cash needed for that fifth weekly payment.
Looking Ahead
In any given year, there will typically be four or five months with five occurrences of your chosen payday. The pattern depends on which day of the week January 1st falls and whether it’s a leap year.
For 2026 and beyond, you can determine which months have five paydays by looking at a calendar and counting Fridays (or whichever weekday you use for payroll).
Any month starting on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday will have five Fridays. Any month starting on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday will have four.
This predictability lets you plan ahead. Once you know your annual payroll calendar, you can budget accurately.