Government employees may soon enjoy longer weekends without reducing public service hours after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) expanded guidelines allowing agencies to adopt more flexible four-day compressed workweeks.
Under the revised policy, government workers may complete the required 40-hour workweek over four days instead of the traditional five. Agencies will have the flexibility to determine daily work schedules and assign employees’ additional day off, provided government offices remain fully accessible to the public from Monday to Friday.
CSC Chairperson Marilyn Yap said the updated rules give agencies greater flexibility to improve employee well-being while ensuring uninterrupted delivery of public services.
The arrangement may also cover frontline and on-site personnel with agency approval, as long as face-to-face services are not disrupted.
The CSC clarified that employee benefits will remain intact. Civil servants will continue to earn 1.25 vacation and 1.25 sick leave credits each month. However, employees absent during a scheduled 10-hour workday will be charged 1.25 leave credits. The deduction returns to one leave credit per day if agencies shift back to the standard eight-hour schedule. Wellness Leave and Special Privilege Leave remain unchanged.
The commission also laid down rules for holidays and work suspensions. If either falls on a scheduled 10-hour workday, employees will be deemed to have completed the required hours, except those assigned to essential round-the-clock skeleton forces.
The revised guidelines take effect retroactively from March 6, 2026, in line with Office of the President Memorandum Circular No. 114. The CSC said agencies and employees who implemented the arrangement in good faith under earlier interpretations will not face administrative sanctions.
The updated policy reflects the government’s broader effort to modernize workplace practices while balancing employee flexibility with uninterrupted delivery of frontline public services. (Marjohara Tucay)
