Filipino Staffing – Useful Resources


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On this page, you will find useful information for Filipino staff and clients for whom we provide off-shore staff.

Holidays & 13th month – Philippines

What is the 13th month?

The so-called “13th month” is simply a Christmas bonus, traditionally paid to workers in the Philippines.  It is usually equivalent to one full month’s salary.  At Holistic Web Presence, we recognize this tradition and pay it out in November’s salary. Client’s who have outsourced staff provided by Holistic should therefore be careful to budget for a double month in November. Filipino staff who have not worked a full year by November your 13th-month bonus will be prorated for the year. However, if your employment ends before November in any given year the 13th month will not apply or be paid.

Philippine National Holidays

We recognize all the standard Philippine holidays and full-time (40 hours per week employees) are paid for those holidays. See holiday dates are in the table below.

Personal Vacation Days

Vacation time (Service Incentive Leave) is awarded after one year with the company (for full-time employees only). To be used within the year awarded.

2025 Philippine Holiday Table

List of 2025 Philippine Holidays (Only paid to full-time employees):

Click here to download a PDF file version

 

Philippine Holidays - 2025

JANUARY 01 WEDNESDAY New Year's Day
JANUARY 29 WEDNESDAY Chinese New Year
APRIL 09 WEDNESDAY Day Of Valor
APRIL 17 THURSDAY Maundy Thursday
APRIL 18 FRIDAY Good Friday
APRIL 19 SATURDAY Black Saturday
MAY 01 THURSDAY Labor Day
JUNE 12 THURSDAY Independence Day
AUGUST 21 THURSDAY Ninoy Aquino Day
AUGUST 25 MONDAY Last Monday of August
OCTOBER 31 FRIDAY All Saints' Day Eve
NOVEMBER 01 SATURDAY All Saints' Day
NOVEMBER 30 SUNDAY Bonifacio Day
DECEMBER 08 MONDAY Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
DECEMBER 24 WEDNESDAY Christmas Eve
DECEMBER 25 THURSDAY Christmas Day
DECEMBER 30 TUESDAY Rizal Day
DECEMBER 31 WEDNESDAY New Year's Eve

Working hours

Full-time employees are expected to put in a minimum of 40 hours a week.  We are not especially concerned with which hours during the day you work. This can sometimes be arranged to suit the specific work individuals do. In general, we are more project-driven than concerned about specific hours. There are likely to be times when we are under pressure to complete a project on time and others where work may be slower when you may find you are able to complete your project and work fewer hours.

Flexibility, completing projects on time, good communication, and availability are more valued than specific hours worked.

Bonuses

  • We regularly pay additional bonuses for creative problem solving, great work, and projects completed early and correctly.

Pay Schedule

  • We pay monthly at the end of each calendar month.
  • For staff starting at the beginning of a month, we usually make a special arrangement to pay mid-month just to build trust and make them feel comfortable that they will actually get paid.
  • If your start date will be near the end of a month, we will pay you in the middle of the following month and again at the end of the month.
  • From then on, you will be paid at the end of each calendar month with our normal payroll run which is usually around the 26th of the month.
  • In order to be paid, you will need to have a BDO bank account.

Starting Process

After accepting employment with Holistic Web Presence you should receive an email letting you know that we are in the process of setting you up in our system.  This includes giving you access to the training,  getting you a Holistic email,  making sure you’re in the system correctly for payroll purposes.

You will soon be hearing from Rachael Spangler from our HR department asking for your address and any other details required, you will also be hearing from Cherelyn Conel who does our Filipino payroll, amongst other things, asking for whatever information is needed in order to get you paid properly and on time.

Whether you are a full or part-time employee here are the things you can expect:

Your reviews after your start date:

  • Review after the first month
  • Review after 3 months
  • Review after 6 months
  • Review after 12 months
  • Thereafter reviews every 6 months

We assess staff based on the quality and speed of their work as well as their ability to communicate well. The first month is considered a probation period, all reviews can potentially impact salary.

More Useful Resources

If you have not looked at them already, you might find these links interesting: