How many days of service incentive leave do you get?
Five days of paid leave a year once you've worked a year: who gets service incentive leave, who doesn't, and how unused days are paid when you resign.
5 min read. Updated . By Catalyst Outsourcing.
Five days with pay, every year, once you've worked for a year. That's service incentive leave, or SIL, under Article 95 of the Labor Code. DOLE's handbook says you can use it for sickness, a vacation or other reasons, and turn unused days into cash, including the days left when you resign. Here's who gets it, who doesn't and how to compute it, from the Labor Code and DOLE's handbook, read on 7 October 2026.
This guide explains the law for employees in the Philippines. It's general information and isn't legal advice. If you have a dispute with your employer, you can call DOLE Hotline 1349.
How many days of service incentive leave you get
Article 95 says "Every employee who has rendered at least one year of service shall be entitled to a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay." DOLE's handbook describes it as paid leave "that may be used for sick, vacation, and other leave purposes".
One year doesn't have to mean 12 straight months, because the handbook says it's "service within 12 months, whether continuous or broken, reckoned from the date the employee started working". It counts authorized absences, unworked rest days and paid regular holidays. If your contract or company sets a shorter period, that shorter period counts as one year.
Who doesn't get service incentive leave
Article 95 and DOLE's handbook leave out:
- Employees who already get the same leave, or vacation leave with pay of at least five days
- Employees of establishments regularly employing less than ten employees
- Government employees
- Managerial employees, and officers or members of the managerial staff, as the handbook defines them
- Field personnel, and others whose time and performance the employer doesn't supervise
- Persons in the personal service of another
So if your company gives 10 days of vacation leave with pay, on our reading that already covers SIL, since Article 95 excludes "those enjoying vacation leave with pay of at least five days".
On our reading, these are employee rules: Article 95 opens with "Every employee". If you freelance or work as an independent contractor, check what your contract says about paid leave.
How to compute unused service incentive leave
The handbook says you can use the days or convert them to cash "if not exhausted at the end of the year". The computation uses "the salary rate at the date of the commutation", and both use and conversion "may be on a pro rata basis".
Example: your daily rate is PHP 700 and you have 3 unused days at the end of the year. PHP 700 x 3 = PHP 2,100.
DOLE's own example: Employee A was hired on 1 January 2023, never used or converted any SIL, and resigned on 1 March 2024 at a daily rate of PHP 610. He earned 5 days for 2023, plus 2 / 12 x 5 = 0.833 days for January and February 2024, so 5.833 days. PHP 610 x 5.833 = PHP 3,558.13.
What happens to your SIL when you resign
Unused days are paid out when you leave: the handbook says an employee who doesn't use or convert their SIL is entitled "upon his/her resignation or separation from work to the commutation of the same".
That money is part of your final pay, since DOLE's Labor Advisory No. 06, Series of 2020 lists "Cash conversion of unused Service Incentive Leave (SIL)" in final pay. It says final pay "shall be released within thirty (30) days from the date of separation or termination of employment", unless your company policy or agreement is better.
Leaving soon? Our resignation letter template has samples you can copy, and you can ask for your certificate of employment at the same time.
Next
Check the other paid time the law sets: holiday pay, overtime pay and, for new parents, maternity leave. When you're ready for your next role, browse remote jobs. It's free to apply.
Questions
How many days is service incentive leave?
Five days with pay a year, once you've worked at least one year.
Can service incentive leave be converted to cash?
Yes. DOLE's handbook says unused days can be converted at the end of the year, at your salary rate on the day of conversion.
Do I get paid for unused SIL when I resign?
Yes. The handbook says unused SIL is converted when you resign or are separated, and DOLE's Labor Advisory No. 06-20 lists it in final pay, due within 30 days.
Can service incentive leave be pro-rated?
DOLE's handbook says use and conversion "may be on a pro rata basis", and its own example counts two months as 2/12 of five days.
Is service incentive leave the same as vacation leave?
No, but Article 95 says SIL doesn't apply to employees who already get vacation leave with pay of at least five days.
Sources
- DOLE, Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended and renumbered, 2022 edition, Article 95, https://bwc.dole.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Labor-Code-of-the-Philippines.pdf, read 7 October 2026
- DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions, Handbook on Workers' Statutory Monetary Benefits, 2024 Edition, https://bwc.dole.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Workers-Statutory-Monetary-Benefits-Handbook-2024-Edition.pdf, read 7 October 2026
- DOLE, Labor Advisory No. 06, Series of 2020, Guidelines on the Payment of Final Pay and Issuance of Certificate of Employment, https://www.dole.gov.ph/php_assets/uploads/2020/02/Labor-Advisory-No.-06-20-Guidelines-on-the-Payment-of-Final-Pay-and-Issuance-of-Certificate-of-Emplo.pdf, read 7 October 2026