DOLE to employers: Inform workers on holiday pay rules

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) urged employers to inform their workers about holidays and the corresponding wage rules. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said workers have the right to be informed about days declared as holidays and the wages due them if they report for work on such days. “It will be beneficial for companies to regularly provide their workers information or reminders on days declared as holidays and how wages are computed if they report for work on such days as this will minimize, if not eliminate, the hassle of workers making inquiries concerning holidays and holiday pay computation which can disrupt efficiency and productivity at work," Baldoz said in an article on the DOLE website. She said employers and workers groups can contact the DOLE for the list of holidays and rules on the computation of holiday pay. Baldoz noted that most of the DOLE Call Center’s callers in August wanted to verify days that had been declared holidays and inquired about the computation of holiday pay. The DOLE Call Center, also called Serbisyong Magalang, Mahusay na Impormasyon sa Labor at Employment (SMILE), reported 5,393 callers, or an average of 207 a day, in August. It said the highest number of calls, about 1,040, were about holidays. About 823 of these calls were inquiries about holiday pay computation. The other inquiries were about: