2019 Philippine Holiday Calendar and Asking Your VA to Work Over The Holidays

In our previous calendar posts we’ve talked about paid time off for your Filipino virtual assistants. This time, I’d like to talk about something else, working over the other holidays.

I know that the Philippines has more holidays compared to other countries. This discrepancy has made working over the holidays a thorny issue for those who outsource.

Believe it or not, a lot of virtual assistants do understand that there will be holidays when they would need to work. Asking your VA to do that doesn’t have to be a contentious process. There are things you can do make this a painless process.

1. Check out the Philippine Holiday Calendar

The best place to start is to know how many holidays there really are in the Philippines. They have regular and special holidays. Regular holidays are the ones that most Filipinos observe. The banks, schools and government offices are closed on those days. Special holidays are usually religious holidays and often optional. To help you guys out, here’s the holiday calendar for 2019.

Holiday NameDateWeekday
Holiday NameDateWeekday
New Year's DayJanuary 1Tuesday
The Day of Valor / Araw ng Kagitingan April 9Tuesday
Maundy ThursdayApril 18Thursday
Good FridayApril 19Friday
Labor DayMay 1Wednesday
Independence DayJune 12 Wednesday
National Heroes DayAugust 26Monday
Bonifacio DayNovember 30Saturday
Christmas DayDecember 25Wednesday
Rizal DayDecember 30Monday
HolidayDateWeekday
HolidayDateWeekday
Chinese New YearFebruary 5Tuesday
EDSA People Power Revolution AnniversaryFebruary 25Monday
Black SaturdayApril 20Saturday
Ninoy Aquino DayAugust 21Wednesday
All Saints DayNovember 1Friday
Additional Non-Working HolidaysNovember 1Friday
December 24Tuesday
Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion of MaryDecember 8Sunday
Last Day of the YearDecember 31Monday

2. Create your own calendar on what holidays they can have the day off and the holidays they need to work.

Now that you know what the Philippine holidays are, you also need to look at your own holiday calendar. Combine them into one calendar. On that calendar you mark:

  • what holidays your VA absolutely needs to work
  • what holidays are negotiable
  • what holidays they can take the day off

We recommend that you do this every year. Laying this out ahead of time gives your virtual assistant the opportunity to plan their schedules. This will also allow you to budget for their holiday pay (if you want them to work over the holidays) early on.

3. Lay-out your policies on paid and unpaid time off

Now that it’s clear what holidays can take their days off, you need to set up policy on filing leaves and vacation days. What your virtual assistant need to do if they want to take a holiday or sick leave. Do they need to email you? Call you? Do you have a form that needs to be filled out? How many days in advance do they need to do this?

This system varies from business to business. You can use your experience as a guide or talk to your staff to figure out what your best work for you as a team.

4. Include the holiday schedule and paid time off policy in your onboarding process.

Presenting these leave policies early on not only is good employment practice, it helps avoid any misunderstanding that might arise once the holidays come up. When VAs know as soon as they’re hired,

  • when they can start earning leave credits,
  • what holidays they need to work,
  • what paid holidays they have off,
  • how much their holiday pay is,
  • and how they can file leaves,

they can get to work right away. They (and you) don’t have to feel anxious when holidays come up. You have a system in place that you can use when needed. And with clear policies like this, outsourcing can be a less stressful experience.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our Philippine Holiday Calendar. It will open your google calendar in a new tab, where you’ll be prompted with the image below. Just click add.

 


Julia Sta RomanaAbout Julia Jasmine M. Sta Romana

Julia has been working for OnlineJobs.ph since 2012, first as a writer and now as its social media manager and content development specialist. She also founded the Davao Virtual Assistants Association, the biggest VA association in Davao City.

She’s a full-time wife and mom and volunteers her time as an internet rights advocate.

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Comments

  1. Rex Manlantao says

    Hi,

    Do you have any online classes that focus on how to be a VA? Like what are the basic VA tasks, applications that are expected to be learned by VAs.

    • says

      Hi May Ann, you need to increase your ID Proof score in order to increase your chances in finding an online job that you like. Kindly email our support team (support@onlinejobs.ph) so that they can assist you

  2. Michaela says

    I am looking for a VA for the first time, at the beginning part time, could tell me how many paid holiday days + bank holidays + sick days are usual for a part-time VA?

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