Employee Leave in Philippines: A Complete Guide to Entitlements in 2026

Hiring or managing Filipino employees means navigating leave entitlements that are more layered than they first appear. The law mentions only five paid days of service leave, but employers also need to factor in holiday pay, maternity benefits, paternity rights, solo parent provisions, and cases where unused leave must be monetised. For companies hiring without a local entity, an employer of record becomes relevant because leave compliance must reflect Philippine regulations even if payroll is run from another market.

It becomes even trickier if your organisation runs a regional team, because you cannot simply apply one blanket policy across borders. That complexity is exactly why business leaders search for clear answers: what are the minimum legal requirements in the Philippines, and what are the practical expectations to stay competitive?

This guide gives you a straightforward explanation of employee leave entitlements in the Philippines for 2026. You will understand what the law mandates, what benefits employees commonly receive in practice, and what matters when designing policies for remote or cross border teams. It helps you stay compliant while offering a fair and attractive package for Filipino talent.

Overview of Employee Leave in Phillipines

Here’s how employees leave in Phillipines:

1. Public Holiday in Philippines in 2026

Public holidays are treated separately from paid leave entitlements and are governed by national laws. Filipino employees are entitled to full pay for regular holidays even if they do not work, and higher pay rates apply when work is performed on these dates.

• In addition to SIL, employees are entitled to pay for regular holidays. Even if they do not work on those days, they should still receive their regular daily wage.
• If required to work on a regular holiday, they must receive 200% of their regular daily wage (double pay).
• The law also mandates a weekly rest day: after every six consecutive normal workdays, employees must receive at least 24 consecutive hours off.

2. Annual Leave Entitlements in 2026

Here’s the overview of annual leave in Philippines:

• Employees who have rendered at least one year of service are entitled to 5 days of paid leave per year.
• This 5-day Service Incentive Leave (SIL) can be used for vacation, sickness, or personal matters at the employee’s discretion.
• If these leave days are not used by year’s end, the employer must convert them to cash (i.e. unused SIL must be monetized).
• SIL applies to rank-and-file (non-managerial) employees. Some categories (e.g. certain managerial roles, establishments with fewer than 10 employees) may be exempt.

3. Parental & Special Leave

Maternity Leave

• Under 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law (applicable on top of the Labor Code), female employees are entitled to 105 days of paid maternity leave for childbirth.
• After 105 paid days, there is an option to extend leave by an additional 30 days unpaid.
• For solo parents who are mothers, law gives an additional 15 days paid leave on top of the 105-day baseline.
• In case of miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, the law provides 60 days paid leave.

Paternity Leave

• Under Paternity Leave Act of 1996 (RA 8187), married male employees are entitled to 7 days of paid leave when their spouse gives birth (or suffers a miscarriage).
• In some cases, the mother may transfer part of her maternity leave to the father (subject to company policy or agreement), though this depends on employer practice.

Solo Parent Leave (for Single Parents)

• Under Solo Parents’ Welfare Act (RA 8972), solo parents — upon qualifying (e.g. holding a Solo Parent ID) — get 7 working days of paid parental leave per year.

Leave for Women under Special Circumstances

• Female employees recovering from gynecological surgery may be eligible for additional paid leave under certain laws (for example, under Magna Carta of Women / related provisions).
• Victims of violence (as defined under Anti‑Violence Against Women and Their Children Act, RA 9262) are entitled to up to 10 days paid leave (extendable depending on the protection order).

How an EOR Partner Can Help

Managing leave compliance in the Philippines can feel challenging when you need to get the statutory rules right while still offering benefits that employees actually appreciate. The complexity grows further when you’re hiring across multiple Southeast Asian markets and want to maintain consistency without breaching local laws. This is where working with an EOR becomes valuable.

With Glints TalentHub EOR, you get structured support to handle all leave-related requirements accurately. Your leave framework can be designed to comply with local regulations while still aligning with your internal culture. Payroll calculations linked to holidays and absences are administered correctly, and documentation stays organised across every employee record. When you’re hiring without a local entity, this level of structure helps reduce risk and makes your cross-border operations run much smoother.

This article is brought to you by Glints TalentHub. Leading companies are actively building their borderless teams in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and beyond. However, the prospect of going borderless can be daunting due to complex regulations and cultural ambiguities. With Glints TalentHub, you’ll have a dedicated team of in-market legal, HR, and talent experts by your side at every step of the way.

Glints TalentHub offers an end-to-end, tech-enabled talent solution that encompasses talent acquisition, EOR, and talent development. We empower businesses to leverage the strengths of regional talent efficiently to build high-performing, cost-efficient teams.

Schedule a no-obligation consultation with our experts to receive a tailored proposal today!