DBM, GCG, CSC sign Joint Circular on the implementation of night shift differential pay for govt workers

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairperson Karlo Alexi Nograles, and Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG) Chairperson Ret. Justice Alex L. Quiroz signed on Tuesday, 1 August 2023, the Joint Circular (JC) on the Rules and Regulations on the Grant of Night Shift Differential Pay to Government Employees.

The JC for the Night Shift Differential Pay marks an important step toward appreciating the sacrifices made by government personnel who work the graveyard shift.

“This is your government appreciating all of you, our modern-day heroes, who are going the extra mile and working longer hours out of their sheer sense of public service and are greatly contributing to the reactivation of our economy,” Secretary Pangandaman said.

“Your presence in your respective workplaces — whatever jobs you keep in the unusual hours, we thank you for keeping the flame of public service burning and going. In return, this government wants to assure you, too, that it is just for all of you to be taken care of,” she added.

The JC is issued to widely disseminate the guidelines on the grant of night shift differential pay to government employees to ensure uniform policy interpretation, and effective and efficient implementation of Republic Act 11701 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

“Our beloved President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has always underscored his desire to raise the well-being of our public servants after the overwhelming sacrifices they made at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At DBM, we support these efforts that aim to safeguard their health and welfare. We recognize the role that our government employees play in our nation’s recovery and growth,” the DBM Secretary said.

In his message, CSC Chairperson Karlo Nograles thanked civil servants for their efforts and deciation in serving the country.

“I want to take this moment to not just recognize the efforts of our night shift workers, but most importantly to thank them for their unwavering commitment to public service during the late hours, often in challenging circumstances, and even our experience with the Covid-19 pandemic taught us that. It is a privilege to stand here and acknowledge their tireless dedication to serving our nation, ensuring that essential services of government are provided round the clock. Saludo po kami sa inyong lahat,” Chairperson Nograles said.

For his part, GCG Chairperson Alex Quiroz said that the night differential is a much-deserved benefit for public servants, especially those who continue to work even beyond the prescribed hours.

“We can all agree that providing proper compensation is a fundamental human right. The enactment of RA 11701, which institutionalizes the grant of night shift differential pay in the public sector is a welcome development para sa ating mga kawani ng gobyerno. Isa sa mga direktiba ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ay pangalagaan ang kapakanan ng ating sambayanang manggagawa. Indeed, the night shift differential pay is a much-deserved benefit for the employees heavily relied upon by the government to keep its operations running beyond the ordinary operating hours,” Chairperson Quiroz said.

The signing ceremony took place at Boncodin Hall of the DBM Central Office in Manila, strengthening the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11701. This legislation awards a compensation premium to government employees occupying positions/items from Division Chief and below, or their equivalent, in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), local government units (LGUs), and constitutional bodies, including those in GOCCs with original charters, with official working hours that fall between 6PM and 6AM of the following day.

Officers filling in executive or managerial roles as officers-in-charge shall likewise be eligible for the night shift differential pay, as long as their working hours are between 6PM and 6AM.

However, excluded from the differential pay are government employees whose regular schedule of work falls between 6AM and 6PM, and those whose services are required, or are on call, 24-hours a day such as military and uniformed personnel, as well as the workers engaged through job order, contract of service, or other similar schemes.

Pay Rates

According to the law’s IRR, the night shift differential pay shall be “at a rate not exceeding 20 percent of the hourly basic rate of the employee, as determined by the head of the agency, for each hour of work performed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. of the following day.”

In the case of public health workers, the rate “shall not be lower than 10 percent of their hourly basic rate.”

The amount necessary for the initial implementation of the law and rules shall be charged against the existing appropriations in case of national government agencies; for local government units, from their respective funds subject to the provisions of Sections 325 and 331 of the Local Government Code of 1991; and for GOCCs and their subsidiaries, from their respective corporate funds.

Republic Act 11701, signed on 13 April 2022, took effect on 2 June 2022. The CSC, in coordination with the DBM, promulgated its IRR, which took effect on 25 February 2023.

The DBM and the GCG are mandated by law to administer the Compensation and Position Classification Systems in the government pursuant to PD 985, as amended, and RA 10149, respectively, which include the grant of night shift differential pay.

Review of the existing benefit rates

Secretary Pangandaman highlighted that the General Appropriations Act of 2023 has allocated approximately P48 million from the Government Corporate Counsel’s (GCG) budget to facilitate a study on the governmental compensation structure.

“This is to ensure that the compensation of all civilian personnel will be competitive with those in the private sector,” she stressed.

Apart from the conduct of the study, Secretary Pangandaman also said that the DBM is undertaking a review of the rates of the existing benefits being provided to government employees, in order to assess if there is a need to adjust them in the future.

“The salary increase, and now, the night differential, is intended to help cushion the daily challenges of living and raising a family. It is my hope that this will inspire my fellow workers in government to continue doing good—to continue serving the country with efficiency, integrity, and dedication,” Pangandaman said.