12 Days of Christmas using 3 VLs

Among all the Philippine holidays, Christmas is probably the most anticipated. Christmas season is welcomed as early as September, when nights become longer and the city breeze blows a little colder. Now that December is just around the corner, there’s nothing subtle about the celebration anymore. Whatever you’re personally planning for this Christmas—be it a grand reunion with your family or a vacation somewhere out-of-town—we’re certain that you wouldn’t want to be interrupted by work.

Luckily, with how the remaining 2019 Philippine holidays are placed on the calendar, the 12 days of Christmas wouldn’t just be a song for you; using only three Vacation Leave (VL) credits, you’ll be able to enjoy 12 consecutive days off of work, and we’ll teach you how!

In reference to the Official Gazette of the Philippines, there are five official holidays you can take advantage of:

• December 24 – Christmas Eve (special non-working holiday)
• December 25 – Christmas Day (regular holiday)
• December 30 – Rizal Day (regular holiday) 
• December 31 – Last Day of the Year (special non-working holiday)
• January 1 – New Year’s Day (regular holiday)

If you strategically file your VLs for December 23, 26, and 27, you’ll start your break on the Saturday of December 21 to the 1st Day of 2020. That’s 12 days of uninterrupted Christmas celebration using only three VL credits!

But regardless of how and with whom you celebrate, it is important that you remain a reliable and responsible employee:

• Make sure that your leave requests abide by your company’s policies.
• Before or on December 20 (your last working day before you start your Christmas vacation), finish as many tasks as you can, but prioritize urgent ones.
• Inform the company on ways to contact you, should any unexpected concern arise. You know what they say, hope for the best but expect the worst.
• When you get back to work, get updates on the operations of your company and ask if there are any tasks that require your contribution.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!