PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN

PROBLEMS AND
MANDATORY OVERTIME
ISSUES IN
MANDATORY
OVERTIME
By: ANN GRETHEL R. TAN, RN
 Mandatory overtime is one of the many workplace
issues that may be contributing to nurses leaving the
workforce. Mandatory overtime is when employers
require employees to work in excess of 40 hours per
workweek, even if employees don't want to.
Subsequently, employees often refer to it as forced
mandatory overtime or simply forced overtime.
 Mandatory overtime may cause or lead to increased stress on
the job, less patient comfort and mental and physical fatigue
that can contribute to errors and "near-misses" with
medications and case-related procedures. The practice of
mandatory overtime ignores the responsibilities nurses may
have at home with children, other family members, or other
obligations. Being forced into excessive overtime can cause
an exhausted RN to practice unsafe patient care, jeopardizing
her nursing licensure status.
 Impact is felt at the level of the bedside nurse
in three major areas identified through current
literature: medication errors, quality patient
care, and nurses' legal liability.
THE LABOR CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES
 Stands as the law governing employment
practices and labor relations in the Philippines.
It was enacted on Labor day of 1974 by
President Ferdinand Marcos, in the exercise of
his then extant legislative powers.
Features:
 The Labor Code prescribes the rules for hiring and
termination of private employees; the conditions of work
including maximum work hours and overtime; employee
benefits such as holiday pay, thirteenth month pay and
retirement pay; and the guidelines in the organization
and membership in labor unions as well as in collective
bargaining.
 The Labor Code contains several provisions which are
beneficial to labor. It prohibits termination from
employment of Private employees except for just or
authorized causes as prescribed in Article 282 to 284 of
the Code.
The Department of Labor and Employment is mandated to
protect the rights of workers and
promote their welfare, as enshrined in the 1987
Constitution and in the 1974 Labor Code of the
Philippines. Books III and IV of the Labor Code establish
the minimum standards with regard to:

(i) wages and other monetary benefits, working conditions

(ii) medical and dental benefits
(iii) occupational safety and health
ARTICLE 82. Coverage
 All employees in all establishments and undertakings
whether for profit or not are entitled to overtime pay for
work rendered beyond eight (8) hours. But this does not
apply to managerial employees, field personnel, members
of the family of the employer who are dependent on him
for support, domestic helpers, persons in the personal
service of another, and workers who are paid by results.
Employees in the government are also entitled to overtime
pay but they are governed by Civil Service laws and rules.
Only employees in the private sector are covered by the
Labor Code.
ARTICLE 83. Normal hours of
work
 For health personnel in cities and
municipalities with a population of at least one
million (1,000,000) or in hospitals and clinics
with a bed capacity of at least one hundred
(100), their normal hours of work are eight (8)
hours a day, for five (5) days a week,
exclusive of time for meals.
ARTICLE 84. Hours worked.

 Hours worked shall include (a) all time during

which an employee is required to be on duty
or to be at a prescribed workplace; and (b) all
time during which an employee is suffered or
permitted to work.
ARTICLE 85. Meal periods

 Subject to such regulations as the Secretary of

Labor may prescribe, it shall be the duty of
every employer to give his employees not less
than sixty (60) minutes time-off for their
regular meals.
ARTICLE 86. Night shift
differential
 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 oclock in the evening
and six oclock in the morning.
ARTICLE 87. Overtime work
 Work may be performed beyond eight (8) hours a day
provided that the employee is paid for the overtime work,
an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage
plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof. Work
performed beyond eight hours on a holiday or rest day
shall be paid an additional compensation equivalent to the
rate of the first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at
least thirty percent (30%) thereof.
Can an employee be compelled
to render overtime?
 When an employee spends additional time for work, he
puts in more physical and mental effort. It is but proper
that he be compensated for that. He is also delayed in
going home and cannot spend time with family and enjoy
the comforts of his home. As such, the law discourages
employers to require employees to work overtime.
Generally, he cannot compel the employee to render
overtime, except in certain instances to wit (Article 89)
ARTICLE 89. Emergency overtime
work
 1) When the country is at war or when any other national
or local emergency has been declared by the National
Assembly or the Chief Executive;
 2) When overtime work is necessary to prevent loss of life
or property, or in case of imminent danger to public safety
due to actual or impending emergency in the locality
caused by serious accident, fire, floods, typhoons,
earthquake, epidemic or other disaster or calamities;
 3) When there is urgent work to be performed on
machineries, installations, or equipment, in order
to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer
 4) When the work is necessary to prevent loss or
damage to perishable goods;
 5) When the completion or continuation of
work started before the 8th hour is necessary to
prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the
business or operations of the employer;
 6) When overtime work is necessary to avail of
favorable weather or environmental conditions
where performance or quality of work is
dependent thereon.
If the employee who is required to
work overtime is a professional, such
as a nurse, she may be required to
work overtime after considering:

 The opportunity to consult supervision

 The availability of relief from the oncoming
shift
 Possible risk to the patient
Can an employee insist on
working overtime?

 The employee cannot compel his employer to

allow him to work overtime when the
circumstances does not require him to do so as
when there is actually no work to be
performed.
ARTICLE 88. Under time not
offset by overtime
 Under time work on any particular day shall not
be offset by overtime work on any other day. The
reason behind this is fairness. If the employee
works for less than eight hours, he will be paid
only for the corresponding number of hours he
had actually worked. If on another day he works
beyond the maximum hours, he should be given
additional compensation.
 Non-payment of overtime pay is not only illegal but
also contrary to public policy. The employer cannot
use the overtime to offset the under time because
payment of overtime pay is mandatory. However, he
may either deduct the under time from the wage of
the employee, or through other approaches.
Although these methods are not provided by law,
these may be found in company policies or
established by company practices.
Employees' Refusal of Overtime

 Management has the right to determine

whether overtime is necessary, and, in the
absence of contract language to the contrary,
employees may be asked to work a reasonable
amount of overtime. Failure to work required
overtime may lead to discharge.
 Sometimes, however, employees cannot be
discharged for refusing to work overtime. For
instance, an employee cannot be required to
work an unreasonable amount of overtime. A
temporarily disabled employee cannot be
discharged for refusing to work overtime if the
employer did not make a reasonable
accommodation of the employee's disability.
Alternatives to Overtime:
1. Solicit volunteers for overtime.
2. Rotate the overtime so that the same
employees do not have to
work extra hours every week.
3. Transfer employees temporarily to the
understaffed area.
4. Bring in part-time or temporary employees.
Give Plenty of Notice
 As a final point, if you do have to institute a
mandatory overtime requirement, make sure to
explain the policy to your employees. In
particular, update handbooks and job
descriptions to cover the possibility of overtime.
In addition, give affected employees as much
advance notice as possible prior to the
scheduled overtime. This way, even if they do
not want the extra time, at least they will be
able to plan for it.
 The mandatory overtime dilemma like so many in
nursing, comes down to a conflict between costs,
availability of resources and safety states:

 Mandatory overtime is a lightning rod issue for both

nurses and hospital administrators. Worried that
there wont be enough nurses on the floor to care for
all the patients, administrators feel they must
compel nurses to stay late and work an extra shift.
On the flip side, nurses contend that they get so
tired from working extra that they make potentially
dangerous mistakes.