Night Shift Differential in the Philippines: 2026 Pay Guide

By Robin Salvador, co-founder, Caffeine Brothers
Last updated: October 21, 2026

Quick answer: Night shift differential is an extra pay of at least 10% of an employee’s regular hourly wage for each hour worked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Labor Code Article 86). In Metro Manila, at the NCR-28 minimum of ₱755 a day that took effect on September 26, 2026, the premium is about ₱9.44 an hour, or ₱75.50 for eight night hours. Retail and service businesses with five or fewer workers are exempt.

We run a roastery and supply coffee to offices, BPO pantries and cafés, and many of those teams work nights. This guide sets out the night differential rules from the Labor Code, the Omnibus Rules and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) handbook, with worked numbers at the current NCR minimum wage. It is a plain-language summary and not legal advice. For a specific case, check with DOLE or your payroll adviser.

What is night shift differential?

Article 86 of the Labor Code reads: “Every employee shall be paid a night shift differential of not less than ten percent (10%) of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.” The Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code repeat the same rate in Book III, Rule II, Section 2.

Three things follow from that wording. The premium is per hour, so only the hours that fall inside the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. window count. It is a minimum, so a company policy or collective agreement can pay more. And it is based on the employee’s own regular wage, so staff paid above minimum get 10% of their own hourly rate.

Who is entitled, and who is not?

The DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions handbook (2023 edition) lists the same exclusions as the Omnibus Rules. Everyone else in the private sector is covered.

The small-business line is the one café owners ask about most. Note that it is a different cutoff from the minimum wage tiers. Under NCR-28, retail and service establishments with 15 or fewer workers may pay ₱718 a day instead of ₱755, but only those with five or fewer are exempt from night differential. A 24-hour kiosk with eight baristas pays the lower minimum wage and still owes the 10% premium. Our barista salary guide breaks down the full monthly cost of a minimum-wage barista under NCR-28.

A commentary by the Respicio & Co. law firm (June 30, 2026) notes that BPO employees are generally covered when they work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and that a salary package that claims to “include” night differential is acceptable only if the employer can show the employee still received at least the legal minimum.

How much is night differential per hour in NCR in 2026?

GMA News reported that Wage Order NCR-28 took effect on September 26, 2026. It raised the daily minimum to ₱755 for non-agriculture workers (from ₱695) and to ₱718 (from ₱658) for agriculture, retail and service establishments with 15 or fewer workers, and manufacturing establishments with fewer than 10 workers. Divide by eight hours to get the hourly rate: ₱94.375 and ₱89.75.

The DOLE handbook gives a multiplier for every combination of day type, night work and overtime. Night work multiplies the day’s rate by 1.1. Overtime at night multiplies by a further 1.25 on ordinary days, or 1.3 on rest days and holidays.

How do you compute night differential? Three examples

Each example uses the ₱755 NCR rate and assumes a one-hour unpaid meal break.

1. Work out the hourly rate. ₱755 ÷ 8 = ₱94.375. For staff paid above minimum, use their own daily rate divided by 8.
2. Count the hours worked inside 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. A 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift with a meal break at 2 a.m. has 7 night hours (10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.) and 1 regular hour (6 a.m. to 7 a.m.).
3. Apply 10% to each night hour. 7 × ₱9.4375 = ₱66.06 on top of the basic ₱755, for ₱821.06 that day.
4. Use the day-type multiplier on holidays. The same 7 night hours on a regular holiday pay 7 × ₱207.625 = ₱1,453.38, and the 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. hour pays 200% of ₱94.375, or ₱188.75.
5. Add overtime on top. A ninth hour worked at night on an ordinary day pays at least 137.5% of the hourly rate, or ₱129.77.

A shift that sits fully inside the window, eight hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., adds ₱75.50 a night. Over 22 nights that is ₱1,661.00 a month at ₱755, or ₱1,579.60 at ₱718.

One case the sources we read do not settle is a shift that starts on one day type and ends on another, such as 10 p.m. on December 24 (a special day) to 6 a.m. on December 25 (a regular holiday). We did not find DOLE text on how to split those hours in the documents above, so confirm your method with DOLE or your payroll provider.

Which November and December 2026 dates change night pay?

Grant Thornton Philippines’ summary of DOLE Labor Advisory No. 12, series of 2025, issued under Proclamation No. 1006, lists these dates for the rest of 2026. The amounts assume eight night hours that all fall on that date, and that the day is not the worker’s rest day.

How should night crews time their coffee?

If your night team runs on coffee, the caffeine guidance is the same as for day workers. The European Food Safety Authority, as summarized by EUFIC, considers up to 400 mg a day and up to 200 mg in a single dose safe for healthy adults (not pregnant women). EUFIC notes that caffeine can affect sleep at doses of around 100 mg in some people, “particularly when consumed close to bedtime.”

For a night worker, bedtime is usually morning. In a study by Drake and colleagues (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2013), 400 mg of caffeine taken 0, 3 or 6 hours before bedtime all disturbed sleep compared with placebo, and the authors support avoiding substantial caffeine for at least 6 hours before bed. On that guidance, someone who sleeps at 7 a.m. after a 6 a.m. finish would have their last large coffee by about 1 a.m.

The National Coffee Association, citing USDA data, puts brewed coffee at 12 to 16 mg of caffeine per ounce (page updated February 5, 2026). An 8-ounce cup is therefore about 96 to 128 mg, so two cups early in the shift stay within EFSA’s daily figure.

For comparison, the night differential for one full-time night worker at ₱755 is ₱1,661.00 a month, so a brewed-coffee pantry for that worker costs about 20% to 27% of the premium. We worked through daytime numbers in our office coffee cost per cup guide, and our article on coffee breaks and the Labor Code covers when short breaks count as paid work time.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Labor Code of the Philippines, Book Three (Conditions of Employment). library.laborlaw.ph, page modified April 2, 2024. Used for the text of Article 86 (night shift differential) and Article 87 (overtime).
2. Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code, Book III. library.laborlaw.ph, page modified October 9, 2023. Used for Rule II coverage, exclusions and holiday night differential rules.
3. Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits, 2023 edition. DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions. Used for coverage, definitions and the pay multiplier table (pages 23 to 26).
4. DOLE: P60 wage hike in NCR takes effect Sept. 26. GMA News, September 26, 2026. Used for the NCR-28 rates of ₱755 and ₱718.
5. DOLE Labor Advisory No. 12-25. Grant Thornton Philippines, October 14, 2025. Used for the 2026 holiday dates under Proclamation No. 1006 and holiday pay rules.
6. Night Shift Differential Pay in the Philippines: Employee Rights Explained. Respicio & Co., June 30, 2026. Used for BPO coverage and the fixed-salary point. Law firm commentary, not an official source.
7. EFSA opinion on the safety of caffeine. EUFIC, last updated June 23, 2015. Used for the 400 mg, 200 mg and 100 mg figures.
8. Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. Drake, Roehrs, Shambroom and Roth, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 9(11), November 15, 2013. Used for the 6-hour finding.
9. Espresso brewing guide. National Coffee Association, updated February 5, 2026. Used for the USDA figure of 12 to 16 mg of caffeine per ounce of brewed coffee.
10. Caffeine Brothers wholesale and shop prices. Checked October 21, 2026. Used for the pantry cost table.

Stocking a pantry for a night team? Our wholesale coffee comes in 10 kg boxes with free Metro Manila delivery, and drip bags suit stations without a brewer. Contact us for a quote.