Paid Time Off (PTO) in the Philippines

This page was last updated on April 12, 2023.

Vacation Leave Quota 

5 days off with pay. 

In the Philippines, employers are not required to provide standard vacation or sick leave. Instead, they are required to provide service incentive leave. 

Service incentive leave (SIL) provides eligible employees with 5 paid days off per year. These 5 days can be used as vacation or sick leave. Employees are entitled to SIL after one year of service for the company. 

Even though the number of days legally required isn’t generous, in reality most employers will provide longer leave. The average number of vacation days for employees in the Philippines is around 15 days with pay per year. In fact, because this is standard practice for most employers, people often assume that the number of days required by law is more than 5. 

Employers who provide more than 5 vacation days are not required by law to provide SIL. Also, employers with fewer than 10 employees are not required to provide either SIL or vacation leave. 

Employees who haven’t used service incentive leave can cash it out at the end of the year. These rules don’t apply to employers who provide longer vacation leave. Since there is no mention of carry-over or converting leave to cash in the Philippines labor law, these rules are up to the employer’s discretion.

Sick Leave in the Philippines

Not required by law, except as part of 5 days of service incentive leave. 

Employers in the Philippines are not required by law to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. They are only required to provide 5 days of service incentive leave, which can be used for sick leave (as described above in Paid Time Off (PTO) in the Philippines). Employers can offer additional sick leave benefits that are better than the statutory minimum requirement.  

Despite the lack of legal requirements for sick leave, insured employees who fall sick can claim 90% of their regular salary when they stay confined in a hospital or elsewhere. To qualify for this benefit, the employee must have made contributions to the Social Security System (SSS) for a minimum of 3 months within the preceding 12 months. This benefit will begin once the employee has used all the paid sick leave provided by the employer. This is entirely paid by the employer, but then the SSS will fully compensate the employer, at 100%. 

Maternity, Paternity, and Parental Leave in the Philippines

Maternity Leave 

105 days of leave paid by Social Security. 

Female employees are entitled to 105 days of fully paid (100%) maternity leave, regardless of whether the woman gave birth naturally or via cesarean delivery. Female employees can also take an extra 30 days off without pay. Single mothers are entitled to an additional 15 days of maternity leave. This leave is calculated in calendar days, including weekends and holidays.  

Additionally, the mother can choose to transfer up to 7 days of leave to the child’s father if she so desires. 

All pregnant women working in the private sector, regardless of their marital and employment status, are entitled to maternity leave benefits. According to the law, the employee must have made at least 3 monthly contributions to the Social Security System (SSS) during the 12 months before the semester of her childbirth or miscarriage. The pregnant employee also needs to inform her employer of her anticipated delivery date and submit a maternity leave request, to be eligible for maternity leave. 

An employee is eligible for 60 days of paid leave in the event of a miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy. 

Payout 

Female employees must receive full pay during maternity leave. An employer is responsible for covering the salary differential between the complete wages and the cash benefits obtained from the SSS. After receiving satisfactory proof of payment, the Social Security System (SSS) will promptly reimburse the employer the entire amount (100%). 

Paternity Leave 

7 days of paid leave (up to 14 days). 

An employee whose wife gave birth is entitled to 7 days of paid paternity leave. As we mentioned above, the employee’s wife (the female employee who gave birth) can transfer 7 days of maternity leave to the father of the child. This way, the father is entitled to 14 days of paternity leave. 

Paternity benefits are paid in the same manner as maternity benefits. 

Parental Leave for Solo Parents 

7 days of paid leave per year. 

Employees who are solo parents are entitled to parental leave of not more than 7 working days with full pay per year to perform their parental duties and responsibilities. To be eligible, the employee must have one year of service with the company. 

Special Leave Benefit for Women

2 months of paid leave. 

All female employees who underwent surgery caused by gynecological disorders and who rendered at least six months of continuous aggregate employment service for the last twelve months prior to surgery are entitled to 2 months of paid special leave (the Magna Carta of Women Act). 

Leave for Victims of Violence Against Women and Their Children 

10 days of paid leave. 

Female employees who have suffered violence are entitled to up to 10 days of paid leave to attend to medical and legal concerns. The use of the 10-day leave shall be at the option of the female employee. In the event that the leave benefit is not availed of, it shall not be convertible into money and shall not be cumulative. 

Bereavement Leave in the Philippines

Still not required by law. 

At this moment, an employer is not required by law to provide leave for employees who have lost a family member. Bereavement leave is not among the mandatory leaves. However, there were several bills proposed which suggested that the period of mandatory bereavement leave should range from 5 to 10 days, and it is only a matter of time before one of them becomes law. 

Despite all this, most companies already provide employees with 3 days of paid leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member. Some companies may provide longer bereavement leave. 

Jury Duty Leave in the Philippines

Not specified by law.

Military Leave in the Philippines

Not specified by law.  

However, in 2022, a bill has been filed suggesting that military reservists should receive 7 days of paid leave to attend military training or activities. 

Voting Leave in the Philippines

Not specified by law. 

In 2022, national and local elections were declared a special (non-working) holiday, giving voters enough time to exercise their rights. Those who had to work that day received 30% extra pay. 

Philippines Public Holidays for 2023

12 regular holidays with full pay, and several unpaid non-working holidays. 

In the Philippines, there are two types of holidays: regular and special. The regular holidays are always 12, while the number of special non-working holidays varies each year. There may be additional holidays declared at certain times. 

Regular holidays: Employees are paid even if they don’t work. Those who work are paid double wages (except in retail and service establishments regularly employing less than 10 employees). 

Special holidays: Employees are not paid if they don’t work. Those who work are paid 30% extra. 

A complete list of official holidays recognized and celebrated by the Philippines in 2023: 

Regular Holidays

* Araw ng Kagitingan is traditionally celebrated on April 9, but it was moved this year to April 10 (Monday nearest April 9) 

**To Be Determined: The dates for Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha are still not pronounced. The NCMF (National Commission on Muslim Filipinos) will need to inform the President’s office of the actual date, and only then will an official statement be made to confirm the dates. 

*** Bonifacio Day is traditionally celebrated on November 30, but it was moved this year to November 27 (Monday nearest November 30). 

Special (Non-Working) Holidays

Additional Special (Non-Working) Days

January 2 (Monday) 

November 2 (Thursday) 

Sources

1. Official Government Page > The Labor Code of the Philippines, https://www.dole.gov.ph/php_assets/uploads/2017/11/LaborCodeofthePhilippines20171.pdf
2. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT – BUREAU OF WORKING CONDITIONS > Handbook on workers’ statutory monetary benefits (Edition 2022), https://library.laborlaw.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022.Handbook..Workers.Benefits.pdf
3. Payroll and Benefits Guide Philippines, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/philippines/
4. Maternity Leave, https://laborlaw.ph/maternity-leave/10898/
5. Paternity Leave, https://laborlaw.ph/paternity-leave/10899/
6. Solo Parent Leave, https://laborlaw.ph/solo-parent-leave/10900/
7. Labor Laws in the Philippines, https://www.globalization-partners.com/globalpedia/philippines-peo/
8. Philippine Holidays for 2023 > Official Statement, https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2022/11nov/20221109-PROC-90-FRM.pdf

Updated: April 12, 2023 

To learn more about laws in various countries, check out our Leave Laws page.