Labor Attorney in Manila: Employment Laws That Not Everyone in the Philippines Know

Michael Benson Cao
3 min readOct 29, 2020

When you are employed, you have to equip yourself with fundamental information about Philippine labor law for you to know your privileges and rights as an employee. Of course, it’s also better to consult with a labor attorney in Manila, Philippines, in case things become too complicated.

Beside wage and money-related perks, employees may have other concerns including the standard working hours, rest days, and even holidays. Here are the basics:

Working hours

Under the provisions of Article 82 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, working hours apply to employees in all establishments and undertakings whether for profit or not, EXCLUDING the following:

  • government employees;
  • managerial employees;
  • field personnel;
  • family members of the employer who depend on him for support;
  • domestic helpers;
  • persons who provide personal service to other people; and
  • workers who are paid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor in appropriate regulations.

Employees must not work for more than 8 hours a day while health workers must have a limit of 40 hours per week. In the event that long stretches of work surpass 40 hours, the employee is qualified for 30% extra compensation.

While the law recommends 8 hours to be the maximum amount of work hours, the law does not prohibit working under eight hours. Part-time job is permitted and the pay will depend on the hours rendered.

With regards to the compensation and benefits of part-time employees, they ought to be in relation to the quantity of hours worked. For example, if the part-time employees earn PHP 400.00 for an eight-hour work, PHP 200.00 will be received done in four hours.

Overtime

The law on overtime applies to all types of employees. In any case, the following are absolved by the law: government representatives, managerial personnel, house helpers, piece rate employees, non-agricultural field staff whose work hours can’t be determined and relatives who are dependent upon the help of employer.

For work done somewhere in the range of 10PM and 6AM, the rate is higher. Under the Labor Code, those who work between the predetermined time will be paid a night differential of at the very least 10% of the customary compensation for every hour of worked performed.

Overtime work alludes to work rendered past 8 hours and the employee who renders extra time work will procure an extra compensation of 25%. In the event that additional time work is done on a rest day or falls on a holiday, the rate will be 30%. In case of undertime on another day, additional time pay should even apply as the law disallows offsetting overtime with undertime on another day.

Rest Days

Weekly rest day incorporates rest time of not less than 24 consecutive hours after each six workdays. The rest day is determined by the employer; however, the employer should regard the employee’s inclination if such reference depends on religious grounds.

On the off chance that you report to work on a rest day, the compensation will be your regular salary in addition to 30%. For employees working on a Sunday, they should be qualified for the extra 30% compensation if Sunday happens to be the rest day.

Holidays

Holiday pay is received if there is a special or a regular holiday declared by the government. For regular holidays, the employee should still be paid regardless of whether she didn’t report to work.

The employee will be qualified for double pay compensation if she is required to work on a regular holiday. With regards to special holidays, the employee won’t be paid if they would not report to work. If the employee works on a special holiday, she should be qualified for 130% of the regular pay.

Source:https://www.ykclaw.ph/labor-attorney-in-manila-philippines/

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Michael Benson Cao

Michael Benson Cao is the founder and CEO of Michael Cao Cryptocurrency (MCC) Inc., one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency consultancy firms in the world.