The Short Answer
Most private-sector workers are. The normal workday is 8 hours. Work past that is overtime, paid at least 25% more per hour on an ordinary day. If you work on a regular holiday, you get at least double your daily pay; if you work on a special non-working day or your rest day, at least 30% more. Managers and some field workers are not covered by these rules.
Example: Joy Bacalso, a Store Crew in Cebu City
Names and details in this example are made up.
Joy Bacalso works at a shoe store with about 20 employees in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City. She works 8 hours a day, six days a week, with Sunday as her rest day. To keep the arithmetic simple, say her daily pay is ₱600. This is only a sample figure, not the minimum wage in Cebu. Her hourly rate is ₱600 ÷ 8 = ₱75.
In December, the store is busy. Here is the least she should get for the extra work:
| What Happened | How It Is Worked Out | Pay for That Work |
|---|---|---|
| Stayed 2 hours past her 8 hours on an ordinary Tuesday | ₱75 × 125% × 2 hours | ₱187.50 on top of her ₱600 |
| Was asked to work on her rest day, a Sunday | ₱600 × 130% | ₱780 |
| Worked on 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (a special non-working day) | ₱600 × 130% | ₱780 |
| Worked on 25 December, Christmas Day (a regular holiday) | ₱600 × 200% | ₱1,200 |
| Did not work on 30 December, Rizal Day (a regular holiday) | Paid even without working, if she qualifies | ₱600 |
Night work. During inventory, Joy works from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Each hour between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. earns at least 10% more: ₱75 × 10% = ₱7.50 an hour, or ₱30 for the four hours, on top of her pay for those hours.
Leave. Joy has worked there for two years, so she also has at least 5 days of paid service incentive leave a year, unless the store already gives her at least 5 days of paid vacation leave.
If her payslip shows none of these, she can ask HR for a breakdown in writing. If that fails, she can file a request for assistance at the DOLE office that covers Cebu City.
Overtime, Rest Days and Night Work
The Labor Code sets the rules. The article numbers below are the same in the renumbered Code.
- Normal hours (Art. 83): no more than 8 hours a day. Meal breaks of at least an hour are generally not counted as work time.
- Overtime on an ordinary day (Art. 87): at least your hourly rate plus 25% for each hour past 8.
- Overtime on a holiday or rest day (Art. 87): at least the rate for that day plus 30% of it, for each hour past 8.
- Work on your rest day (Art. 93): at least 130% of your daily pay. You should get a rest day of at least 24 hours in a row after every six days of work (Art. 91).
- Night shift differential (Art. 86): at least 10% more of your hourly rate for each hour worked between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Undertime (working fewer hours than required) on one day cannot be cancelled out by overtime on another day (Art. 88). Leaving two hours early on Monday does not erase two hours of overtime on Wednesday.
Regular Holidays and Special Days
The law treats the two kinds of holidays differently. The list of holidays is set by law and by the President's proclamation each year.
| Day | If You Do Not Work | If You Work (First 8 Hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Regular holiday (like New Year's Day, Araw ng Kagitingan, Labor Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day, Rizal Day) | 100% of your daily pay, if you qualify | At least 200% of your daily pay (Art. 94) |
| Regular holiday that falls on your rest day | 100% of your daily pay, if you qualify | At least 200%, plus 30% of that (260%) |
| Special non-working day (like 8 December or All Saints' Day) | Generally no work, no pay, unless company policy, a contract or a union agreement gives pay | At least 130% of your daily pay |
| Special non-working day that falls on your rest day | No work, no pay, unless policy says otherwise | At least 150% of your daily pay |
To be paid for a regular holiday you did not work, the implementing rules generally require that you were at work, or on paid leave, on the workday just before the holiday. DOLE issues a yearly advisory on the pay rules for each year's holidays.
Service Incentive Leave
After one year of service, you are entitled to at least 5 days of paid leave a year, called service incentive leave (Art. 95). You can use it, or have the unused days paid in cash at the end of the year or when you leave the job. It is part of your final pay.
It does not apply if you already get at least 5 days of paid vacation leave, or if your employer regularly has fewer than 10 workers.
Who Is Not Covered
The rules on hours, overtime, night differential, rest days, holiday pay and service incentive leave do not cover everyone (Art. 82). The main groups left out are:
- Managerial employees (people whose main job is to manage the business or a department and who can hire, fire or discipline others, or recommend it), and officers or staff of the managerial team who meet the tests in the implementing rules;
- Field personnel (workers who regularly work away from the office or shop and whose actual hours cannot be checked with reasonable certainty, like some sales agents);
- workers paid by results, like piece-rate or task workers, under the conditions in the implementing rules;
- family members who depend on the employer for support;
- kasambahay, who have their own rules under the Domestic Workers Act (see rights of a kasambahay); and
- government workers, who follow Civil Service rules.
Retail and service businesses that regularly employ fewer than 10 workers are not required to give regular holiday pay (Art. 94).
Your job title alone does not decide this. A "supervisor" or "officer-in-charge" who does not actually manage may still be entitled to overtime. What matters is what you really do.
If You Are Not Paid
Overtime, holiday pay and night differential are not part of the basic salary used for your 13th month pay, unless your contract or company practice treats them so. But they are money the employer owes you.
- Keep your own record: time cards or biometrics screenshots, schedules, group chat messages asking you to stay late, and payslips.
- Ask HR in writing for a breakdown.
- If nothing happens, file a request for assistance at DOLE under the Single Entry Approach (SEnA), a 30-day settlement process. If it does not settle, the case goes to the DOLE regional office or the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).
Money claims must be filed within three years from when the pay was due (Art. 306). Older unpaid overtime may be lost.
For the steps and papers, see complaining about your employer.
Common Questions
Pinag-Overtime Ako Pero Walang Bayad. Is That Allowed?
No, if you are covered. Hours you worked past 8 because the employer required it, or knowingly let you work, are generally paid at least 25% more per hour on an ordinary day. Keep a record of the hours and ask HR in writing.
Can My Boss Force Me to Do Overtime?
Generally, overtime is by agreement. The Labor Code lists cases when an employer may require it, such as during an emergency, to prevent serious loss or damage, or to finish work that would otherwise be spoiled (Art. 89). Required or not, overtime must still be paid.
I Did Not Work on a Special Non-Working Day. Will I Be Paid?
Generally no. The rule is "no work, no pay" on special non-working days, unless your company policy, contract or union agreement gives pay. If you do work that day, you get at least 30% more.
I Am a "Supervisor." Do I Get Overtime?
It depends on what you actually do, not your title. Managerial employees are excluded. A worker who only has a supervisor title but follows set hours and cannot hire, fire or discipline others, or effectively recommend it, may still be covered. DOLE or the NLRC decides from the facts.
Is Overtime Part of My 13th Month Pay?
No, unless your contract or company practice treats it as part of basic salary. The 13th month pay is based on basic salary only.
Not legal advice. This is general information. For advice on your own situation, consult a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or an IBP legal aid office may help for free.
Government fees, rules and requirements change, so always check with the office concerned before you go. This page explains the general rules; it cannot tell you how they apply to your own family or case. Last reviewed October 8, 2026.