Professional Documents
Culture Documents
LABOR LAW - Humi
LABOR LAW - Humi
LABOR RELATIONS
* All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the Code including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved
in favor of labor.
The policy is to extend the applicability of the decree to a greater number of employees who can avail of the benefits under the law,
which is in consonance with the avowed policy of the State to give maximum aid and protection to labor.
*The Commission shall sit en banc only for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of
cases before any of its division and regional branches and formulating policies affecting its administration and operations.
*The divisions of the Commission shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over cases within their respective territorial jurisdiction.
* All labor-related issues involving kasambahays regardless of the amount must be elevated to the Regional Office of the DOLE
having jurisdiction regarding of the matter.
The NLRC shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor Arbiters.
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The court ruled that since the transfer of ownership of the vehicle to the employee was connected to his separation from the
employer and arose from the employer-employee relationship of the parties, the employer’s claim fell within the Labor Arbiter’s
jurisdiction. As a general rule, therefore, a claim only needs to be sufficiently connected to the labor issue raised and must arise from
an employer-employee relationship for the labor tribunals to have jurisdiction.
Section 37. All labor-related disputes shall be elevated to the DOLE Regional Office having jurisdiction over the workplace without
prejudice to the filing of a civil or criminal action in appropriate cases. The DOLE Regional Office shall exhaust all conciliation and
mediation efforts before a decision shall be rendered.
Ordinary crimes or offenses committed under the Revised Penal Code and other special penal laws by either party shall be filed with
the regular courts.
* Labor cases should not be dismissed if the only ground is jurisdiction or lack of it.
Except: If the violation of the CBA provision is gross violation, it becomes unfair labor practice. It now falls within the jurisdiction of
the Labor Arbiter.
* A gross violation of the CBA is the malicious and flagrant refusal to comply with the economic provisions of the CBA.
(b) No attorney’s fees negotiation fees or similar charges of any kind arising from any collective bargaining agreement shall be
imposed on any individual member of the contracting union: provided, however, that attorney’s fees may be charged against union
funds in an amount to be agreed upon by the parties.
Article 111
(a) In cases of unlawful withholding of wages, the culpable party may be assessed attorney’s fees equivalent to 10% of the amount of
wages recovered.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to demand or accept, in any judicial or administrative proceedings for the recovery of wages,
attorney’s fees which exceed 10% of the amount of wages recovered.
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*The Labor Arbiter cannot award attorney’s fees to the employer. It is discretionary upon the court to award attorney’s fees or
damages.
Laborer/Management Labor Arbiter (30 days) NLRC (Appeal or MR within 10 days) Court of Appeals - Rule 65 (60 days)
Supreme Court – Rule 45 (15 days)
If the petitioner can show that the labor tribunal acted capriciously and whimsically or total disregard of evidence material to the
controversy, the factual findings of the NLRC may be subjected to review and ultimately rejected.
*Appellant shall pay appeal fee of P500.00 to the Regional Arbitration Branch or Regional Office of origin, and the official receipt of
such payment shall form part of the records of the case.
REINSTATEMENT
- The reinstatement aspect is immediately executory, even pending appeal. No need for writ of execution.
- The employee shall either be admitted back to work under the same terms and conditions or, at the option of the employer, merely
reinstated in the payroll (in case of strained relations).
- The posting of a bond by the employer shall not stay the execution for reinstatement provided therein.
On the other hand, if the employee has been reinstated during the appeal period and such reinstatement order is reversed with
finality, the employee is not required to reimburse whatever salary he received for he is entitled to such, more so if he actually
rendered services during the period.
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The Secretary of Labor and Employment or any Regional Director, the Commission or any Labor Arbiter, or Med-Arbiter or Voluntary
Arbitrator may, motu proprio or on motion of any interested party, issue a writ of execution on a judgment within five (5) years
from the date it becomes final and executory.
Aldovino vs. Gold and Green Manpower, June 19, 2019 – Leonen
Quitclaims do not bar employees from filing labor complaints and demanding benefits to which they are legally entitled. They are
ineffective in barring recovery of the full measure of a worker’s rights, and acceptance of benefits therefrom does not amount to
estoppel.
The law does not recognize agreements that result in compensation less than what is mandated by law. These quitclaims do not
prevent employees from subsequently claiming benefits to which they are legally entitled.
SINGLE ENTRY APPROACH – an administrative approach to provide a speedy, impartial, inexpensive and accessible settlement
procedure for all issues/complaints arising from employer-employee relations to prevent them from ripening into full blown
disputes.
Under this approach, all labor and employment disputes shall undergo a 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation process to effect
settlement among the contending parties.
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2. The Bureau or Regional Offices shall act upon the application for registration of such CBA within five (5) calendar days from receipt
thereof.
3. The Regional Offices shall furnish the Bureau with a copy of the CBA within five (5) days from its submission.
CONTRACT BAR RULE – the BLR and/or the Regional Director of DOLE are not allowed by law to entertain any petition for
certification election while a valid collective bargaining agreement is existing in the industry.
*The law prohibits the holding of certification elections during the lifetime of the collective bargaining agreement.
Exceptions:
1. During the freedom period – period of sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the CBA (Life of CBA is 5 years).
2. When CBA is not registered with the Regional Office of the DOLE or the BLR.
*The chapter shall acquire legal personality only for purposes of filing a petition for certification election from the date it was issued
a charter certificate.
The chapter shall be entitled to all other rights and privileges of a legitimate labor organization only upon the submission of the
following documents in addition to its charter certificate:
(a) Names of the chapter’s officers, their addresses, and the principal office of the chapter; and
(b) The chapter’s constitution and by-laws: Provided, that where the chapter’s constitution and by-laws are the same as that of the
federation or the national union, this fact shall be indicated accordingly.
*Additional supporting requirements shall be certified under oath by the secretary or treasurer of the chapter or treasurer of the
chapter and attested by its president.
*The report of creation of a chartered local shall be accompanied by a charter certificate issued by the federation or national union
indicating the creation or establishment of the chartered local.
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give the mother federation the license to act independently of the local union. It only gives rise to a contract of agency, where the
former acts in representation of the latter.
A decision of the BLR cancelling the union’s certificate of registration may be appealed to the Secretary of Labor whose decision on
the matter shall be final and unappealable.
Registration/Cancellation filed with Regional Office (decide within 30 days) Bureau of Labor Relations (Appeal within 10 days;
MR 10 days) Court of Appeals (Rule 65 - 60 days; may file TRO) Supreme Court (Rule 45 – 15 days)
Registration/Cancellation >>> directly filed with the Bureau of Labor Relations (decide within 30 days) >>> Secretary of DOLE
(Appeal within 10 days; MR 10 days) >>> Court of Appeals (Rule 65 - 60 days; may file TRO) >>> Supreme Court (Rule 45 – 15 days)
In case of cancellation, nothing herein shall restrict the right of the union to seek just and equitable remedies in the appropriate
courts.
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(2) An application to cancel registration is thereafter submitted by the board of the organization, attested to by the president
thereof.
EQUITY OF THE INCUMBENT – All the existing federations and national unions which meet the qualifications of a legitimate labor
organization and none of the grounds for cancellation shall continue to maintain their existing affiliates regardless of the nature of
the industry and the location of the affiliates. (Article 249, Labor Code)
1. Political right – right to vote and be voted for subject to the qualifications mandated by law.
3. Right over the funds of the union – all union members have the right against imposition of excessive fees, against unauthorized
collection and disbursements, to demand accounting and auditing of union funds, access financial records, vote on compensation of
officers, vote on special assessments and issue written authorization on special assessments.
UNION DUES – money collected for payment of membership fees in the union.
Check off – a method of deducting from an employee’s pay at prescribed period, the amounts due to the union for fees, fines or
assessments for the purpose of raising funds for the union.
*No special assessments, attorney’s fees, negotiation fees or any other extraordinary fees may be checked off from any amount due
to an employee without an individual written authorization duly signed by the employee. The authorization should specifically state
the amount, purpose and beneficiary of the deduction.
*No deduction can be made from the salaries of the concerned employees other than those mandated by law.
AGENCY FEES – collected from employees in the bargaining unit who are not members of the union but they benefit from the
collective bargaining agreement.
4. Right to information – right to be informed and participate in the adoption and/or ratification of the constitution and by-laws
including amendments thereto and in the adoption and/or ratification of the collective bargaining agreement.
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4. Own property, real or personal.
5. Sue and be sued in its registered name.
6. Undertake all other activities not contrary to law for the benefit of the organization and its members.
*Failure to comply shall not be a ground for cancellation of union registration but shall subject the erring officers or members to
suspension, expulsion from membership, or any appropriate penalty.
RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION
Since the terms and conditions of employment in the government, including any political subdivision or instrumentality thereof and
government-owned and controlled corporations with original charters are governed by law, the employees therein shall not strike
for the purpose of securing changes thereof.
*Security guards and other personnel employed by the security service contractor shall have the right to form, join or assist in the
formation of a labor organization of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining and to engage in concerted activities
which are not contrary to law, including the right to strike. (Meralco vs. Secretary of Labor, May 20, 1991)
In the absence of statute, public employees do not have the right to engage in concerted work stoppages for any purpose.
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MPSTA vs Laguio, Jr.
The mass actions staged by public school teachers were to all intents and purposes a strike, they constituted a concerted and
unauthorized stoppage of, or absence from, work which it was the teacher’s sworn duty to perform, undertaken for essentially
economic reasons it denied the petition, since the right to strike did not extend to civil service employees.
MANAGERIAL EMPLOYEES – vested with powers and prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or hire,
transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees.
1) Primary duty consists of management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof;
2) They customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more employees therein; and
3) They have the authority to hire and fire other employees of lower rank; or their suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring
and firing and as to the promotion or any other change of status of other employees are given particular weight.
SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES – those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the
exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment.
*The inclusion as union members of employees outside the bargaining unit shall not be a ground for the cancellation of the
registration of the union. Said employees are automatically deemed removed from the list of membership of said union.
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE – acts that violate the workers’ right to self-organize.
A dismissal of a union officer is not necessarily discriminatory, especially when that officer committed an act of misconduct. In fact,
union officers are held to higher standards.
The Labor Arbiters shall give utmost priority to the hearing and resolution of all cases involving unfair labor practices. They shall
resolve such cases within thirty (30) calendar days from the time they are submitted for decision.
The prescriptive period is within one (1) year from the accrual of the act of ULP.
*The criminal proceeding is suspended once the civil or administrative aspect is filed. The criminal proceeding only continue once
the administrative case has attained finality. The final judgment in the administrative proceeding finding ULP is a pre-requisite in
the filing of the criminal case for ULP.
1. Interfering, restraining or coercing employees to discourage them from joining, forming or assisting in the formation of labor
union.
2. When an employer requires as a condition of employment that a person or an employee shall not join a labor organization or shall
withdraw from one to which he belongs. This is known as yellow dog contract.
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3. Contracting out of service when such will interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to self-
organization.
4. Company unionism – employer initiating, dominating, assisting or otherwise interfering with the formation or administration of
any labor organization, including the giving of financial or other support to it or its organizers or supporters.
5. Discrimination in regard to wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment in order to encourage or
discourage membership in any labor organization.
6. Retrenchment if it has some relations with the employee’s membership or non-membership with the union.
7. Paid negotiation
8. Refusal to bargain with the union
*Run-away shop – wherein employer moves its business to another location or it temporarily closes its business for anti-
union purposes.
*Blue-sky bargaining – act of making exaggerated or unreasonable proposals.
*Boulwareism – an offer or counter-offer that is not meant to be negotiated. This is a “take it or leave it” strategy.
*Surface bargaining – “going through the motions of negotiating” without any legal intent to reach an agreement.
UNION SECURITY CLAUSE – a stipulation contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement whereby the employer undertakes to
recognize the right of the union who negotiated the CBA to maintain and protect its membership by imposing certain terms and
conditions in hiring employees and retention of employment.
“Union security” is a generic term, which is applied to and comprehends “closed shop”, “union shop, “maintenance of membership,”
or any other form of agreement which imposes upon employees the obligation to acquire or retain union membership as a condition
affecting employment.
Closed shop agreement – agreement whereby an employer binds himself to hire only members of the contracting union who must
continue to remain members of the union in good standing for the duration of the agreement as a condition for continued
employment.
Maintenance membership shop – when employees, who are union members as of the effective date of agreement, or who
thereafter become members, must maintain union membership as a condition for continued employment until they are promoted
or transferred out of the bargaining unit, or the agreement is terminated.
Union shop agreement – all new regular employees are required to join the union within a certain period as a condition for their
continued employment.
Agency shop – arrangement that requires an employee, as a condition of employment to pay the contracting union a service fee
known as “agency fee” for the benefits these employees receive from the collective bargaining agreement as a result of the efforts
of the contracting union.
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Rank-and-file employees who are not union members because they are “old” employees not covered by the maintenance of
membership clause are covered by the CBA but are not union members; they simply pay “agency fees” to avoid being “free riders”
to the CBA.
Preferential shop agreement – recognizes the right of the employer to select his employees but requires him to give preference to
members of the contracting union who are qualified.
*Members of religious groups may not be compelled to join labor organizations if their religions prohibit their members from joining
such organizations.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT – contract executed upon request of either the employer or the exclusive bargaining
representative incorporating the agreement reached after negotiations with respect to wages, hours of work and all other terms and
conditions of employment.
A CBA is not an ordinary contract but one impressed with public interest. Where a proposal raised by a party does not find print in
the CBA, it is not part thereof and the proponent has no claim whatsoever to its implementation.
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(8) Interpretation and application – in case of ambiguity, it shall be construed in favor of labor
*A CBA that is not registered remains valid and binding between the parties, however, it may not be used to apply the contract
bar rule and prevent any legitimate labor union from filing a petition for certification election.
Article 264 – Duty to bargain collectively when there exists a collective bargaining agreement
Neither party shall terminate nor modify such agreement during its lifetime. However, either party an serve a written notice to
terminate or modify the agreement at least sixty (60) days prior to its expiration date. (Contract Bar Rule)
It shall be the duty of both parties to keep the status quo and to continue in full force and effect the terms and conditions of the
existing agreement during the 60-day period and/or until a new agreement is reached by the parties.
Automatic Renewal Clause (Evergreen Clause) - The CBA shall remain effective and enforceable even after the expiration of the
period fixed by the parties as long as no new agreement is reached by them and no petition for certification election is filed.
*Any agreement on other provisions of the CBA entered into within six (6) months from the date of expiry of the term of such other
provisions, shall retroact to the day immediately following such date. If entered beyond six months, the parties shall agree on the
duration of the retroactivity thereof.
Any petition filed before or after the 60-day period shall be dismissed outright.
SUBSTITUTIONARY DOCTRINE – when there occurs a shift in employees’ union allegiance after the execution of a bargaining
contract with their employer, merely states that even during the effectivity of a collective bargaining agreement executed between
the employer and employees thru their agent, the employees can change said agent but the contract continues to bind them up to
its expiration date.
*They may bargain however for the shortening of said expiration date.
Example:
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Union X is the collective bargaining agent in Company B. On the 2 nd year of the existing CBA, Union Z filed a petition for cancellation
of registration of Union X based on Art. 247. The BLR cancelled Union X’s registration and it became final. In the certification election
held thereafter, Union Q won. Union Q will be the substitute union and it may not repudiate the existing CBA but may request for
that its lifetime be shortened.
Article 266
GR: No temporary or permanent injunction or restraining order in any case involving or growing out of labor disputes shall be issued
by any court or other entity.
XPN: As provided in Articles 218 and 264 of the Labor Code.
Not every controversy or money claim by an employee against the employer or vice-versa is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the
Labor Arbiter. Actions between employees and employer where the employer-employee relationship is merely incidental and the
cause of action precedes from a different source of obligation is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the regular court.
BARGAINING UNIT – group of employees sharing mutual interests within a given employer unit, comprised of all or less than all of
the entire body of employees in the employer unit or any specific occupational or geographical grouping within such employer unit.
(1) CERTIFICATION ELECTION – process of determining through secret ballot the sole and exclusive representative of the employees
in an appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining or negotiation. It is ordered by the DOLE.
● Double majority rule: 1. Majority of the bargaining unit must have voted; and 2. The winning union must have garnered majority
of the valid votes
Failure of election – where the number of votes cast in a certification or consent election is less than the majority of the number of
eligible voters and there are no materially challenged votes.
A failure of election shall not bar the filing of a motion for the immediate holding of another certification or consent election within
six (6) months form date of failure of election.
*No union as a choice in a certification election can win if this choice gets the majority of all valid votes cast in the said election. This
is premised on the fact that the right to join unions carries with it the right not to join any labor union.
● Run-off election – In a certification or consent election with three (3) or more choices, where such election results in none of the
three (3) or more choices receiving the majority of the valid votes cast; the labor unions receiving the two highest number of votes,
provided that the total number of votes for all contending unions is at least 50% of the number of votes cast.
*The “no union” shall not be a choice in a run-off election.
● Re-run election – when a certification, consent or run-off election results to a tie between the two choices, the election officer
shall immediately notify the parties of a re-run election. The election officer shall cause the posting of a notice of a re-run election
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within five (5) days from the certification, consent or run-off election. The re-run election shall be conducted within ten days after
the posting of notice.
(2) CONSENT ELECTION - process of determining through secret ballot the sole and exclusive representative of the employees in an
appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining or negotiation. It is voluntarily agreed upon by the parties, with or
without the intervention by the DOLE.
(3) VOLUNTARY RECOGNITION – process by which a legitimate labor union is recognized by the employer as the exclusive bargaining
representative or agent in a bargaining unit, reported with the Regional Office.
● One-year Bar Rule – entry of voluntary recognition shall bar the filing of a petition for certification election by any labor
organization for a period of one (1) year from the date of entry of voluntary recognition.
Upon expiration of the one-year period, any legitimate labor organization may file a petition for certification election in the same
bargaining unit represented by the voluntarily recognized union, unless a CBA between the employer and voluntarily recognized
labor union was executed and registered with the Regional Office.
● Negotiation Bar Rule – once the negotiation for a new CBA has been commenced, a petition for certification election may no
longer be validly entertained by the DOLE.
● Deadlock Bar Rule – a petition for certification election can only be entertained if there is no impending deadlock submitted to
conciliation or arbitration or had become the subject of a valid notice of strike or lockout.
● Appeal Bar Rule – the filing of the memorandum of appeal from the order or decision of the Med-Arbiter stays the holding of any
certification election.
Article 270 – When an employer may file petition for certification election
When requested to bargain collectively, an employer may petition the Bureau of Labor Relations for an election. If there is no
existing certified CBA in the unit, the Bureau shall, after hearing, order a certification election.
All certification cases shall be decided within twenty (20) working days. The Bureau shall conduct a certification election within 20
days.
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1. Being notified or informed of petitions of such nature; and
2. Submitting the list of employees during the pre-election conference should the Med-Arbiter act favorably on the petition.
Bystander Rule – employers are strangers to these proceedings. They are forbidden from influencing or hampering the employees’
rights under the law. They should not in any way affect, much less stay, the holding of a certification election by mere convenience
of filing an appeal with the labor secretary.
GRIEVANCE – any question by either the employer or the union regarding the
1. interpretation or implementation of any provision of the CBA or
2. interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies
In the absence of applicable provision in the CBA, a grievance committee shall be created within ten (10) days from signing of the
CBA. The committee shall be composed of at least two (2) representatives each from the members of the bargaining unit and the
employer, unless otherwise agreed upon.
All grievances submitted to the grievance machinery which are not settled within seven (7) calendar days from the date of its
submission shall be automatically be referred to voluntary arbitration.
VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION – mode of settling labor-management disputes by which the parties select a competent, trained and
impartial third person who shall decide on the merits of the case and whose decision is final and executory.
◦ Compulsory Arbitration – settlement of labor disputes by a government agency which has the authority to investigate and to make
an award which is binding on all the parties, and where the parties are compelled to accept the resolution of their dispute through
arbitration by a third party.
Generally, the arbitrator is expected to decide only those questions expressly delineated by the submission agreement. He can
assume that he has the necessary power to make a final settlement since arbitration is the final resort for the adjudication of
disputes.
◦ Voluntary Arbitrator – any person accredited by the Board as such or any person named or designated in the CBA by the parties.
GR: Violations of a CBA shall no longer be treated as unfair labor practice and shall be resolved as grievances under the CBA.
XPN: Those which are gross in character. (Which shall be within the jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter)
Gross violations – flagrant and/or malicious refusal to comply with the economic provisions of the CBA.
WAGE DISTORTION – a situation where an increase in prescribed wage rates results in the elimination or severe contraction of
intentional quantitative differences in wage or salary rates between and among employee groups in an establishment as to
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effectively obliterate the distinctions embodied in such wage structure based on skills, length of service, or other logical bases of
differentiation.
◦ Unorganized establishments – employers and workers shall endeavor to correct such distortions. Any dispute arising therefrom
shall be settled through the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and, if it remains unresolved after ten (10) calendar days of
conciliation, shall be referred to the appropriate branch of the NLRC.
*The NLRC, its regional branches and Regional Directors of the DOLE shall not entertain disputes, grievances or matters under the
exclusive and original jurisdiction of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators and shall immediately dispose and
refer the same to the appropriate grievance machinery or voluntary arbitration provided in the CBA.
*The Voluntary Arbitrators or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, upon agreement of the parties, shall also hear and decide all other
labor disputes including unfair labor practice and bargaining deadlocks. May include termination disputes, provided the agreement
states in a clear and unequivocal language that the parties conform to the submission of termination disputes and unfair labor
practices to voluntary arbitration.
Grievance >>> Grievance Machinery (decide within 7 days) >>> Voluntary Arbitration (decide within 20 days; final and executory
after 10 days but may file MR within this period) >>> Court of Appeals (Rule 43; 15 days) >>> Supreme Court (Rule 45; 15 days)
*The decisions of a voluntary arbitrator fall within the exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals.
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*The parties to a CBA shall provide therein a proportionate sharing scheme on the cost of voluntary arbitration including the
Voluntary Arbitrator’s fee.
STRIKE – temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute.
*Strike is recognized and protected by our labor laws only when waged on account of a labor dispute, In the absence thereof, the
employees who engage themselves in work stoppage commit an illegal strike and should face the consequences thereof.
Collective bargaining deadlock – situation between the labor and the management of the company where there is failure in the
collective bargaining negotiations resulting in a stalemate.
Forms of Strike
1. Economic strike – demand higher wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, vacation pay, and other economic benefits. Collective
bargaining deadlock is the cause of the strike.
2. ULP strike – staged to protest against the employer’s acts of unfair labor practice, including gross violation of the CBA and union
busting.
3. Legal strike – staged for valid purpose and conducted through means allowed by law.
4. Illegal strike – staged for a purpose not recognized by law, or, if for a valid purpose, conducted through violation of the law.
5. Slow down strike – willful reduction in the rate of workers for the purpose of restricting the output of the employer in relation to
a labor dispute; as an activity by which workers, without complete stoppage of work, retard production of their performance of
duties and functions to compel management to grant their demands. It is generally condemned as inherently illicit and unjustifiable.
6. Quickie strike – brief and unannounced temporary work stoppage that is closely related to slow down strike. One of the forms of
illegal strikes.
7. Wildcat strike – staged without the approval of the majority of the members of the recognized bargaining agent. It constitutes a
violation of an existing CBA, so the strike is not protected unless the whole union joins them and ratifies the protest.
8. Sit down strike – where the workers stop working but do not leave their place of work.
9. Sympathy strike – kind of work strike staged by the workers of one company to make common cause with the strikes of other
companies without demands or grievances of their own against their employer. This is an illegal strike because there is no labor
dispute between the workers who are joining the strikes and the latter’s employer.
*In the event the result of the strike/lockout ballot is filed within the cooling-off period, the 7-day requirement shall be counted
from the day following the expiration of the cooling-off period.
*The requirements of cooling-off period and 7-day strike ban must both be complied with, although the labor union may take a
strike vote and report the same within the statutory cooling-off period.
*The requisites are mandatory, and union’s failure to comply renders the strike illegal.
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Examples:
No person engaged in picketing shall commit any act of violence, coercion or intimidation or obstruct the free ingress or engress
from the employer’s premises for lawful purposes, or obstruct public thoroughfares.
In labor disputes adversely affecting continued operation of such hospitals, clinics or medical institutions, it shall be the duty of the
striking union or locking-out employer to provide and maintain an effective skeletal workforce of medical and other health
personnel.
Such assumption or certification shall have the effect of automatically enjoining the intended or impending strike or lockout as
specified in the assumption or certification order. If one has already taken place at the time of assumption or certification, all striking
or locked out employees shall immediately return-to-work and the employer shall immediately resume operations and readmit all
workers under the same terms and conditions prevailing before the strike or lockout.
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*The discretion to assume jurisdiction may be exercised by the Secretary of Labor and Employment without the necessity of prior
notice or hearing given to any of the parties.
LOCKOUT – any temporary refusal of an employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or labor dispute.
*The same requisites with strike.
*Lockout vote must be approved by majority of the board of directors of the corporation or association or of the partners in a
partnership.
*Prohibited activities are found under Article 279 of the Labor Code.
PICKETING – right of workers to peacefully march to and fro before an establishment involved in a labor dipute generally
accompanied by the carrying and display of signs, placards and banners intended to inform the public about the dispute as well as
their grievances.
Article 284
GR: All aliens, natural or juridical, as well as foreign or organizations are strictly prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in all
forms of trade union activities without prejudice to normal contracts between Philippine labor unions and recognized international
labor centers.
XPN: Aliens working in the country with valid permits issued by the DOLE that said aliens are nationals of a country which grants the
same or similar rights to Filipino workers.
Article 285
No foreign individual, organization or entity may give any donations, grants or other forms of assistance, in cash or in kind, directly
or indirectly, to any labor organization, group of workers or any auxiliary thereof without prior permission by the Secretary of Labor.
EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
Four-fold Test:
(1) Power of selection and engagement of employees
(2) Control of the employee with respect to the means and methods by which work is to be accomplished
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(3) Power to dismiss and discipline employees
(4) Payment of employee’s wages
SECURITY OF TENURE – right of every employee not to be dismissed without just or authorized cause and in the absence of due
process.
The standard for constructive dismissal is “whether a reasonable person in the employee’s position would have felt compelled to
give up his employment under the circumstances.”
When the strong words from the employer happen without palpable reason or are expressed only for the purpose of degrading the
dignity of the employee, then a hostile work environment will be created.
Computation of backwages
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The base figure to be used in reckoning the full backwages is the salary rate of the employee at the time of dismissal.
The amount does not include the increases or benefits granted during the period of his dismissal because time stood still for him at
the precise moment of his termination, and move forward only upon his reinstatement. He should only receive backwages that
included the amounts being received by him at the time oh his illegal dismissal but not the benefits granted to his co-employees
after dismissal.
Instances when an illegally dismissed employee may be awarded separation pay in lieu of reinstatement:
1. Old age (force retirement age)
2. The position no longer exists
3. Establishment is taken over by another company
4. Insolvency of the employer
5. Closure of business
6. Strained relations
DOCTRINE OF STRAINED RELATIONS – the payment of separation pay is considered an acceptable alternative to reinstatement
when the latter option is no longer desirable or viable. On one hand, such payment liberates the employee from what could be a
highly oppressive work environment. On the other hand, it releases the employer from the grossly unpalatable obligation of
maintaining in its employ a worker it could no longer trust.
Kinds of Employees
1. Regular employees – engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary and desirable in the usual business or trade of the
employer.
- Any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or broken.
2. Project employees – those whose employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking, the completion or termination
of which has been determined at the time of the employees’ engagement.
3. Seasonal employees – perform services which are seasonal in nature, and whose employment lasts during the duration of the
season.
4. Casual employees – engaged to perform functions which are not necessary and desirable to the usual business and trade of trade
of the employer.
5. Fixed-term employees – hired only for a definite period of time. (based on jurisprudence)
“Project” could refer to one or the other of at least two (2) distinguishable types of activities.
Firstly, a project could refer to a particular job or undertaking that is within the regular or usual business of the employer company,
but which is distinct and separate, and identifiable as such, from the other undertakings of the company. Secondly, it could also refer
to, secondly, a particular job or undertaking that is not within the regular business of the corporation. Such job or undertaking must
also be identifiably separate and distinct from the ordinary or regular business operations of the employer, and begins and ends at
determined or determinable times
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*Repeated rehiring of project employees to different projects does not ipso facto make them regular employees. The length of
service through rehiring is not the controlling determinant of the employment tenure of project-based employees, but “whether the
employment has been fixed for a specified project or undertaking, with its completion having been determined at the time of their
engagement.”
The services of an employee who has been engaged in a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to
qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standard made known by the employer to the employee at the time of
his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.
Full-time teacher – whose total working day is devoted to the school, has no other remunerative employment, paid on a regular
monthly basis regardless of number of teaching hours, and that in college, the nominal teaching load shall be eighteen (18) hours a
week.
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Hiring and Firing Employees
The employer has absolute discretion in hiring his employees in accordance with his standards of competence and probity. This is his
prerogative. Once hired, however, the employees are entitled to the protection of the law even during the probation period and
more so after they have become members of the regular force.
MANAGEMENT PREROGATIVE – right of the employer to regulate all aspects of employment, such as the freedom to prescribe work
assignments, working methods, processes to be followed, regulation regarding transfer of employees, supervision of their work, lay-
off and discipline, and dismissal and recall of work, presupposing the existing of employer-employee relationship.
Adamson University Faculty Union vs. Adamson University, March 9, 2020 - Leonen
An employer’s management prerogative to dismiss and employee is valid as long as it is done in good faith and without malice. It is
the prerogative of management to regulate, according to its discretion and judgment, all aspects of employment.
Philippine Airlines, Inc. vs. Joselito Pascua
The exercise of management prerogative is not absolute. While it may be conceded that management is in the best position to know
its operational needs, the exercise of management prerogative cannot be utilized to circumvent the law and public policy on labor
and social justice.
Preventive suspension
The employer may place the worker concerned under preventive suspension if his continued employment poses a serious and
imminent threat to the life or property of the employer or of his co-workers.
No preventive suspension shall last longer than 30 days. The employer shall thereafter reinstate the worker in his former or in a
substantially equivalent position or the employer may extend the period of suspension provided that during the period of extension,
he pays the wages and other benefits due to the worker.
Grounds for validly terminating the services of an employee based on JUST CAUSE
1. Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection
with his work.
*Misconduct – improper or wrong conduct. It is the transgression of some established and definite rule of action, a
forbidden act, a dereliction of duty, willful in character and implies wrongful intent and not mere error of judgment.
*Misconduct to be serious must be of such grave and aggravated character and not merely trivial or unimportant.
Example: Sexual harassment committed by a person with moral ascendancy over his victim.
3. Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative.
*For loss of trust and confidence to be a valid ground for dismissal of an employee, it must be substantial and founded on
clearly established facts, sufficient to warrant the employee’s separation from employment.
*Employee must be holding a position of trust and confidence.
4. Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or
his duly authorized representative.
*Should be in connection to the work of the employee.
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(2) Existence of overt acts which show that the employee has no intention to return to work.
LBC vs. Mateo - (LBC rider left the motor vehicle without locking it and it was thereafter stolen)
An employer cannot legally be compelled to continue with the employment of a person admittedly guilty of gross negligence in the
performance of his duties.
What happened was not a simple case of oversight and could not be attributed to a simple lapse of oversight and could not be
attributed to a simple lapse of judgment. No amount of good intent, or previous conscientious performance of duty can assuage the
damage Mateo caused LBC when he failed to exercise the requisite degree of diligence required of him under the circumstances.
Afterwards, the employer must give the employee ample opportunity to be heard and defend himself or herself. A hearing,
however, is not a condition sine qua non.
*While the phrase “ample opportunity to be heard” may in fact include an actual hearing, it is not limited to a formal hearing only.
*The burden to prove a just cause for dismissal must be met by the employer.
Grounds for validly terminating the services of an employee based on AUTHORIZED CAUSE
1. Installation of labor-saving device
*Payment of separation pay equivalent to at least one pay or at least one month pay for every year of service, whichever is
higher
2. Redundancy – the services of an employee are in excess of what is reasonably demanded by the actual requirements of the
enterprise.
Requisites:
(i) written notice served on both the employees and the DOLE at least one month prior the intended date of redundancy
(ii) payment of separation pay equivalent to at least one pay or at least one month pay for every year of service, whichever
is higher
(iii) good faith in abolishing the redundant positions
(iv) fair and reasonable criteria in ascertaining what positions are to be declared redundant and accordingly abolished
3. Retrenchment to prevent losses
*Payment of separation pay equivalent to at least one pay or at least 1/2 month pay for every year of service, whichever is
higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months is considered as one whole year.
4. Closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking
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*No separation pay in case of retrenchment due to closure or cessation of operations of establishment due to serious
business losses or financial reverses.
5. Employee suffering from any disease and whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well
as to the health of his co-employees
Requisites:
(i) An employee suffering from any disease
(ii) His continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of his co-employees
(iii) A competent public health authority certifies that the disease is of such nature or at such a stage that it cannot be cured
within a period of six (6) months even with proper medical treatment.
*Payment of separation pay equivalent to at least one pay or at least 1/2 month pay for every year of service, whichever is
higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months is considered as one whole year.
Ineffectual Dismissal – the failure to hear the employee before he is dismissed renders the termination of his employment without
legal effect and therefore, be struck down as ineffectual.
*The employer is liable for the payment of indemnity in the form of nominal damages, the amount of which would be addressed to
the sound discretion of the court.
Termination by Employee
An employee may terminate without just cause the employer-employee relationship by serving a written notice on the employer at
least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages.
An employee may put an end to the employer-employee relationship WITHOUT NOTICE on the employer for any of the following
just causes:
(1) Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;
(2) Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;
(3) Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the
immediate members of his family;
(4) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
GR: An employee who voluntarily resigns from employment is not entitled to separation pay.
XPNS: (1) There is a stipulation for payment of such in the employment contract or collective bargaining agreement; or
(2) Payment of the amount is sanctioned by established employer practice or policy.
Temporary displacement or off-detail of a security guard is, generally, allowed in a situation where a security agency’s client decided
not to renew their service contract with the agency and no post is available for the relieved guard. Such situation does not normally
result in constructive dismissal.
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in the establishment, and shall be entitled to retirement pay equivalent to at least one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of
service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year.
*One-half month salary: 15 days + 1/12 of the 13 th month pay and the cash equivalent of not more than 5 days of service incentive
leaves = 22.5 days
*Retirement age for underground and surface miners is 50-60 years old, 60 years old is the compulsory retirement age.
LABOR LAW
LABOR STANDARDS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted
activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of
work, and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may
be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary
modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of
production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to expansion and growth.”
Employer-Employee Relationship
- By operation of law
- Not by parties’ agreement
- Not dependent on compensation
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Guidelines indicative of labor law “control,” should not merely relate to the mutually desirable result intended by the contractual
relationship; they must have the nature of dictating the means or methods to be employed in attaining the result, or of fixing the
methodology and of binding or restricting the party hired to the use of these means.
A position must be expressly mentioned in the By-Laws in order to be considered as corporate office. Thus, the creation of an office
pursuant to or under a By-Law enabling provision is not enough to make a position a corporate office.
The criteria for distinguishing between corporate officers who may be ousted from office at will, on one hand, and ordinary
corporate employees who may only be terminated for just cause, on the other hand, do not depend on the nature of the services
performed, but on the manner of creation of the office.
Article 58 - Apprentice
Apprenticeship – practical training on the job
Apprentice – worker who is covered by a written apprenticeship agreement with an individual employer
Apprenticeable occupation – any trade, form of employment or occupation which requires more than three (3) months of practical
training on the job supplemented by related theoretical instruction.
Apprenticeship agreement – employment contract wherein the employer binds himself to train the apprentice and the apprentice in
turn accepts the terms of training.
*The Secretary of DOLE may authorize the hiring of apprentices without compensation whose training on the job is required by the
school or training program curriculum or as a requisite for graduation or board examination.
Article 73 – Learners
Person hired as trainees in semi-skilled and other industrial occupations which are non-apprenticeable and which may be learned
through practical training on the job in a relatively short period of time which shall not exceed three months.
Regulating Contracting
The Secretary of Labor and Employment may, by appropriate regulations, restrict or prohibit the contracting out of labor to protect
the rights of workers. He may make appropriate distinctions between labor-only contracting and job contracting as well as
differentiations within these types of contracting, and determine who among the parties involved shall be considered the employer,
to prevent any violation or circumvention of any provisions of the Labor Code.
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Labor-only contracting – person supplying workers to an employer does not have substantial capital or investment in the form of
tools, equipment, machineries, work premises, among others, and the workers recruited and placed by such person are performing
activities which are directly related to the principal business of such employer.
*The person or intermediary shall be considered merely as an agent of the employer who shall be responsible to the workers in the
same manner and extent as if the latter were directly employed by him.
*The employer will not be excused if already paid the contractor in full.
Solidary Liability
Every employer or indirect employer shall be held responsible with his contractor or subcontractor for any violation of any provision
of the Labor Code.
*Applicable only to situations where the principal or employer directly participated or connived in the commission of the violation.
It is the totality of the facts and the surrounding circumstances of the case which is determinative of the parties’ relationship.
Several factors may be considered.
Where the termination result from the expiration of Service Agreement, or from the completion of the phase of the job or work for
which the employee is engaged, the latter may opt to wait for re-employment within three (3) months to resign and transfer to
another contractor-employer. Failure of the contractor to provide a new employment for the employee shall entitle the latter to
payment of separation benefits as may be provided by law or the Service Agreement, whichever is higher, without prejudice to
his/her entitlement to completion bonuses or other emoluments, including retirement benefits whenever applicable.
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Mandatory Registration
It shall be mandatory for all persons or entities acting as contractors to register with the Regional Office of the DOLE where it
principally operates. Failure to register shall give rise to the presumption that the contractor is engaged in labor-only contracting.
*The foregoing (D.O. No. 174) does not apply to BPOs and construction industry.
WAGE – paid to any employee shall mean the renumeration or earnings capable of being expressed in terms of money, whether
fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, or commission basis, or other method of calculating the same, which is payable by an
employer to an employee under a written or unwritten contract of employment for work done or to be done or for services
rendered or to be rendered.
*Includes the fair and reasonable value, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, of board, lodging or other
facilities customarily furnished by the employer to the employee.
Two-Tiered Wage System – an approach to minimum wage setting which aims to improve the coverage of minimum wages;
promote worker and enterprise productivity and; address the negative effects of minimum wage policies.
Pay system consisting of:
(1) Minimum wage; and (2) Incentive pay based on productivity improvement and gainsharing
Prohibitions:
(1) Non-interference in disposal of wages
(2) Wage deduction
(3) Deposits for loss or damage
(4) Withholding of wages and kickbacks
(5) Deduction to ensure employment
(6) Retaliatory measures
(7) False reporting
Worker preference
In the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of an employer’s business, his workers shall enjoy first preference as regards their unpaid
wages and other monetary claims, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. Such unpaid wages and monetary claims
shall be paid in full before the claims of the Government and other creditors may be paid.
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13th Month Pay
GR: All employers are required to pay their rank-and-file employees thirteenth-month pay, regardless of the nature of their
employment and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one (1) month during
the calendar year.
XPN: Employers of those who are paid on purely commission, boundary, or task basis, and those who are paid a fixed amount for
performing specific work, irrespective of the time consumed in the performance thereof.
XPN to XPN: Where the workers are paid on piece rate basis in which case the employer shall grant the required 13 th month pay to
such workers.
Service Charges
GR: All service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and similar establishments shall be distribute completely and equally among
the covered workers.
XPN: Managerial employees
*In the event that the minimum wage is increased by law or wage order, service charges paid to the covered employees shall not be
considered in determining the employer’s compliance with the increased minimum wage.
Hours of Work
◦ Normal hours of work – shall not exceed eight (8) hours in a day
*Health personnel in cities/municipalities with a population of at least one million or in hospitals or clinics with a bed capacity of at
least one hundred shall hold regular office hours for eight hours a day for five (5) days a week, or a total of forty (40) hours a week,
exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of service require that such personnel work for six (6) days, forty eight
hours, in which case they shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at least 30% of their regular wage for work on the sixth
day.
Meal Period
It shall be the duty of the employer to give his employees not less than 60 minutes time-off for their regular meals.
GR: Not less than 1 hour time-off for regular meals is non-compensable.
XPNs: Meal period of not less than 20 minutes: (compensable)
- Where the work is non-manual in nature or does not involve strenuous physical exertion
- Establishment regularly operates not less than 16 hours a day
- Actual or impending emergencies or there is urgent work to be performed on machineries, equipment or installations
- Work necessary to prevent serious loss of perishable good
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- Rest periods or coffee breaks
Overtime Pay
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 may be performed beyond eight (8) hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid an additional compensation equivalent to the
rate for the first 8 hours on a holiday or rest day plus at least thirty percent (30%) thereof.
*For purposes of computing overtime and other additional remuneration, the “regular wage” shall include the cash wage only,
without deduction on account of facilities provided by the employer. (Shall include amount of facilities like meal allowance etc.)
Example:
Employee’s wage rate: P640 per day
Employee rendered 8 hours of work and 2 hours of which rendered from 10pm-12 midnight
- Night shift differential: 10%
P80 x 10% = P8
(P100 x 10% = P10) – in case of overtime
- Total night shift differential for 2 hours: P16
(P20, in case of overtime)
GR: Hours of work provisions shall apply to employees in all establishments and undertakings, whether for profit or not.
XPNs: (1) Government employees; (2) Managerial employees; (3) Field personnel; (4) Members of the family of the employer who
are dependent on him for support; (5) Domestic helpers; (6) Persons in the personal service of another and workers who are paid by
results as determined by the Secretary of DOLE.
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Field personnel – non-agricultural employees who regularly perform their duties away from the principal place of business or branch
office of the employer and whose actual hours of work in the field cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
*Time and performance are unsupervised by the employer.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers may be allowed to work at night only if a competent physician, other than the company
physician, shall certify their fitness to render night work, and specify, in the case of pregnant employees, the period of pregnancy
that they can safely work.
*Night workers who are certified as unfit for night work, due to health reasons, shall be transferred, whenever practicable, to a
similar job for which they are fit to work. If such transfer is not practicable, they shall be granted the same benefits as other workers
who are unable to work, or to secure employment during such period.
Flexible arrangements:
1. Compressed work week - the normal week is reduced to less than 6 days but the total number of work hours of 48 hours per week
shall remain. The normal work day is extended to more than 8 hours, but should not exceed 12 hours without the corresponding
overtime premium.
2. Gliding or flexi-time schedule – employees are required to complete the core work hours, but are free to determine their arrival
and departure time.
3. Flexi-holidays schedule – employees agree to avail the holidays at some other days, provided there is no diminution of existing
benefits
Rest day
It is the duty of the employer to provide each of his employees a rest period of not less than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours
after every six (6) consecutive normal work days.
The employer shall determine and schedule the weekly rest days of his employees, subject to collective agreement and to such rules
and regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may provide. However, the employer shall respect the preference of
employees as to their weekly rest day when such preference is based on religious grounds. Except, when the choice of the employee
based on religious grounds cannot be accommodated by the employer since it will inevitably result prejudice or obstruction to the
operations, the employer may so schedule the weekly rest day of his choice for at least two (2) days in a month. (The other 2 days
will be on the preference of the employee based on religious grounds.
- When the nature of the work of the employee is such that he has no regular workdays and no regular rest days can be scheduled,
he shall be paid additional compensation of at least 30% of his regular wage for work performed on Sundays and holidays.
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Holiday pay
GR: Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays.
XPN: In retail and service establishments regularly employing less than ten (10) workers.
Employer may require an employee to work on any holiday but such employee shall be paid a compensation equivalent to twice his
regular rate.
Absences
(a) All covered employees shall be entitled to the benefits provided when they are on leave of absence with pay. Employees who are
on leave of absence without pay on the day immediately preceding a regular holiday may not be paid the required holiday pay if he
has not worked on such regular holiday.
(b) Where the day immediately preceding the holiday is a non-working day in the establishment of the scheduled rest day of the
employee, he shall not be deemed to be on leave of absence on that day, in which case he shall be entitled to the holiday pay he
worked on the day immediately preceding the non-working day or rest day.
Example:
10 hours of work rendered on a holiday
Employee’s wage rate: P640 per day
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- Overtime premium: 30% (because it is a holiday; not 25% - only on regular working day)
P160 x 30% = P48
- Total overtime pay/hour: P160 + P48 = P208
- Total OT pay for 2 hours of OT work: P416
Example:
10 hours of work rendered on a special day or rest day
Employee’s wage rate: P640 per day
*Service incentive leave shall be commutable to its money equivalent if not used or exhausted at the end of the year.
*Employee can recover all the unpaid money equivalent of unused service incentive leave since it is carried over until the last day of
the employee. The reckoning point of the 3-year prescriptive period is the last day of the employment.
Paternity Leave
◦ 7 days
◦ Married and cohabiting with the wife
*Under the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, 7 days of the maternity leave can be assigned to the child’s father (married or
unmarried)
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Special leave for women
◦ 2 months with pay
◦ For gynecological disorders requiring surgical procedure
Overseas Filipino worker – who is to engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he or she
is not a citizen or on board a vessel navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial
purposes or on an installation located offshore or on the high seas; to be used interchangeably with migrant worker.
*Whether deployed or not.
Overseas Filipinos – dependents of migrant workers and other Filipino nationals abroad who are in distress.
Overseas Filipino in distress – who has a medical, psychosocial or legal assistance problem requiring treatment, hospitalization,
counselling, legal representation or any other kind of intervention with the authorities in the country where he or she is found.
PH government recognizes any of the ff. as guarantee on the part of the receiving country for the protection of the rights of OFWs:
1. Country has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers;
2. It is a signatory and/or a ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers; and
3. It concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino
workers.
*The DFA shall issue certification to the POEA, specifying therein the pertinent provisions of the receiving country’s labor/social law,
or the convention/declaration/resolution, or the bilateral agreement/arrangement which protect the rights of migrant workers.
*Absence of any of the guarantees, no permit for deployment shall be issued by the POEA.
Deployment Ban
In the pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, the POEA Governing Board, after consultation with the
DFA, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.
ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT
● Failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the worker in connection with his documentation and processing for purposes of
deployment, in cases where the deployment does not actually take place without the worker's fault. Illegal recruitment when
committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage.
- even with or without the recruitment agency’s fault, as long as the worker is not at fault
● Allow a non-Filipino citizen to head or manage a licensed recruitment/manning agency.
Citizenship requirement
Only Filipino citizens or corporations, partnerships or entities a least seventy-five percent (75%) of the authorized and voting capital
stock of which is owned and controlled by Filipino citizens shall be permitted to participate in the recruitment and placement of
workers, locally or overseas.
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Illegal recruitment by a syndicate – if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one
another.
Illegal recruitment in large scale – if committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group.
*Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage.
*Penalty of life imprisonment and a fine not less than 2M or more than 5M.
Venue
A criminal action arising from illegal recruitment shall be filed with the Regional Trial Court of the province or city where the offense
was committed or where the offended party actually resides at the same time of the commission of the offense.
Money Claims
The Labor Arbiter shall have the original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within 90 calendar days after the filing of the
complaint, the claims arising out an employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for
overseas deployment including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damage.
*The liability of the principal/employer and the recruitment/placement agency shall be joint and several or solidary.
*Such liabilities shall continue during the entire period or duration of the employment contract and shall not affect by any
substitution, amendment or modification made locally or in a foreign country of the said contract.
Remedy
In case of termination of overseas employment without just, valid or authorized cause as defined by law or contract, the workers
shall be entitled to the full reimbursement of his placement fee with interest of twelve percent (12%) per annum, plus his salaries for
the unexpired portion of his employment contract
Prescriptive period
Illegal recruitment cases under this Act shall prescribe in five (5) years: Provided, however, that illegal recruitment cases involving
economic sabotage as defined herein shall prescribe in twenty (20) years.
Mandatory Repatriation
Upon discovery or being informed of the presence of migrant workers whose actual ages fall below the minimum age requirement
(below 18) for overseas deployment, the responsible officers in the foreign service shall without delay repatriate said workers.
The license of a recruitment/manning agency which recruited or deployed an underage migrant worker shall be AUTOMATICALLY
REVOKED and shall be imposed a fine not less than P500,000.00 but not more than P1,000,000.00.
COUNTRY-TEAM APPROACH - all officers, representatives and personnel of the Philippine government posted abroad regardless of
their mother agencies shall, on a per country basis, act as one country-team with a mission under the leadership of the ambassador.
In this regard, the ambassador may recommend to the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs the recall of officers,
representatives and personnel of the Philippine government posted abroad for acts inimical to the national interest such as, but not
limited to, failure to provide the necessary services to protect the rights of overseas Filipinos.
Direct Hires – refer to workers directly hired by employers for overseas employment as authorized by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment and processed by the POEA, including: (they do not go through recruitment agencies)
1. Those hired by international organizations;
2. Those hired by members of the diplomatic corps; and
3. Name hires or workers who are able to secure overseas employment opportunities with
employers without the assistance or participation of any agency.
Employment of Aliens
Any alien seeking admission to the Philippines for employment purposes and any domestic or foreign employer who desires to
engage an alien for employment in the Philippines shall obtain an employment permit from the DOLE.
Employment permit may be issued to a NON-RESIDENT alien or to the applicant employer after a determination of the non-
availability of a person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time of application to perform the services for
which the alien is desired.
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GR: Employers in the Philippines should only hire Filipinos.
XPN: No Filipino is competent, able and willing at the time of application to perform the services.
It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of
employment solely on account of her sex.
Prohibit acts:
(1) Deny any woman employee of benefits or to discharge any woman employed for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying
any of the benefits.
(2) Discharge such woman on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or confinement due to her pregnancy.
(3) Discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant.
*Any person who directs or induces another to commit any act of sexual harassment as herein defined, or who cooperates in the
commission thereof by another without which it would not have been committed, shall also be held liable.
*Sexual harassment is considered as serious misconduct which is a ground for termination of employment.
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(a) An act or series of acts involving any unwelcome sexual advances, requests or demand for sexual favors or any act of sexual
nature, whether done verbally, physically or through the use of technology such as text messaging or electronic mail or through any
other forms of information and communication systems, that has or could have a detrimental effect on the conditions of an
individual’s employment or education, job performance or opportunities;
(b) A conduct of sexual nature and other conduct-based on sex affecting the dignity of a person, which is unwelcome, unreasonable,
and offensive to the recipient, whether done verbally, physically or through the use of technology such as text messaging or
electronic mail or through any other forms of information and communication systems;
(c) A conduct that is unwelcome and pervasive and creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment for the recipient:
Provided, That the crime of gender-based sexual harassment may also be committed between peers and those committed to a
superior officer by a subordinate, or to a teacher by a student, or to a trainer by a trainee; and
(d) Information and communication system refers to a system for generating, sending, receiving, storing or otherwise processing
electronic data messages or electronic documents and includes the computer system or other similar devices by or in which data are
recorded or stored and any procedure related to the recording or storage of electronic data messages or electronic documents.
Employment of Children
GR: A child below fifteen (15) years of age shall not be employed.
XPN:
(1) When a child works directly under the sole responsibility of his parents or legal guardian and where only members of the
employer's family are employed: Provided, however, that his employment neither endangers his life, safety and health and morals,
nor impairs his normal development: Provided, further, That the parent or legal guardian shall provide the said minor child with the
prescribed primary and/or secondary education; or
(2) When a child's employment or participation in public & entertainment or information through cinema, theater, radio or
television is essential: Provided, the employment contract concluded by the child's parent or guardian, with the express agreement
of the child concerned, if possible, and the approval of the Department of Labor and Employment: Provided, That the following
requirements in all instances are strictly complied with:
(a) The employer shall ensure the protection, health, safety and morals of the child;
(b) the employer shall institute measures to prevent the child's exploitation or discrimination taking into account the
system and level of remuneration, and the duration and arrangement of working time; and;
(c) The employer shall formulate and implement, subject to the approval and supervision of competent authorities, a
continuing program for training and skill acquisition of the child.
In the above exceptional cases where any such child may be employed, the employer shall first secure, before engaging such child,
a work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment which shall ensure observance of the above requirement.
*No child shall be employed as model in any advertisement directly or indirectly promoting alcoholic beverages, intoxicating drinks,
tobacco and its by-products, gambling or any form of violence or pornography.
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The income of the working child and/or the property acquired through the work of the child shall be administered by both parents.
In the absence or incapacity of either of the parents, the other parent shall administer the same. In case both parents are absent or
incapacitated, the order of preference on parental authority as provided for under the Family Code shall apply.
The parent or legal guardian of a working child below eighteen (18) years of age shall set up a trust fund for at least thirty percent
(30%) of the earnings of the child whose wages and salaries from work and other income amount to at least two hundred thousand
pesos (₱200,000.00) annually, for which he/she shall render a semi-annual accounting of the fund to the DOLE. The child shall have
full control over the trust fund upon reaching the age of majority.
Domestic worker or “Kasambahay” – any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship such as, but not
limited to, the following: general househelp, nursemaid or “yaya”, cook, gardener, or laundry person, but shall exclude any person
who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis.
*Term shall not include children who are under foster family arrangement, and are provided access to education and given an
allowance incidental to education, i.e. “baon”, transportation, school projects and school activities.
*This law does not cover family drivers.
Non-household work
No domestic worker shall be assigned to work in a commercial, industrial or agricultural enterprise at a wage rate lower than that
provided for agricultural or non-agricultural workers. In such cases, the domestic worker shall be paid the applicable minimum wage.
In addition, such work performed outside the household shall entitle the domestic worker to an additional payment of not less than
the existing minimum wage rate of a domestic worker. It shall be unlawful for the original employer to charge any amount from the
said household where the service of the domestic worker was temporarily performed.
If the domestic worker is unjustly dismissed, the domestic worker shall be paid the compensation already earned plus the
equivalent of fifteen (15) days work by way of indemnity. If the domestic worker leaves without justifiable reason, any unpaid salary
due not exceeding the equivalent fifteen (15) days work shall be forfeited. In addition, the employer may recover from the domestic
worker costs incurred related to the deployment expenses, if any: Provided, that the service has been terminated within six (6)
months from the domestic worker’s employment.
If the duration of the domestic service is not determined either in stipulation or by the nature of the service, the employer or the
domestic worker may give notice to end the working relationship five (5) days before the intended termination of the service.
The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree upon written notice to pre-terminate the contract of employment to
end the employment relationship.
Minimum Wage
Not less than:
(a) Two thousand five hundred pesos (P2,500.00) a month for those employed in the National Capital Region (NCR);
(b) Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) a month for those employed in chartered cities and first-class municipalities; and
(c) One thousand five hundred pesos (P1,500.00) a month for those employed in other municipalities.
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Payment of wages shall be made on time directly to the domestic worker to whom they are due in cash at least once a month. The
employer, unless allowed by the domestic worker through a written consent, shall make no deductions from the wages other than
that which is mandated by law. No employer shall pay the wages of a domestic worker by means of promissory notes, vouchers,
coupons, tokens, tickets, chits, or any object other than the cash wage.
The domestic worker is entitled to a thirteenth month pay as provided for by law.
Rest Day
◦ Daily Rest Period: the domestic worker shall be entitled to an aggregate daily rest period of eight (8) hours per day.
◦ Weekly Rest Period: the domestic worker shall be entitled to at least twenty-four (24) consecutive hours of rest in a week.
The employer and the domestic worker shall agree in writing on the schedule of the weekly rest day of the domestic worker:
Provided, that the employer shall respect the preference of the domestic worker as to the weekly rest day when such preference is
based on religious grounds.
Nothing in this provision shall deprive the domestic worker and the employer from agreeing to the following:
(a) Offsetting a day of absence with a particular rest day;
(b) Waiving a particular rest day in return for an equivalent daily rate of pay;
(c) Accumulating rest days not exceeding five (5) days; or
(d) Other similar arrangements.
Leave Benefits
A domestic worker who has rendered at least one (1) year of service shall be entitled to an annual service incentive leave of five (5)
days with pay.
*Any unused portion of said annual leave shall not be cumulative or carried over to the succeeding years. Unused leaves shall not be
convertible to cash.
*They may be employed when their employment is necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities and when it does
not create unfair competition in labor costs or impair or lower working standards.
*The rate to be paid to the handicapped workers shall not be less than 75% of the applicable legal minimum wage.
Disabled Persons - those suffering from restriction of different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment, to
perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.
*Impairment is any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure of function.
Qualified Individual with a Disability - an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform
the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. However, consideration shall be given to
the employer’s judgement as to what functions of a job are essential, and if an employer has prepared a written description before
advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, this description shall be considered evidence of the essential functions of the job.
Employment
No disabled persons shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable employment. A qualified disabled employee shall be subject
to the same terms and conditions of employment and the same compensation, privileges, benefits, fringe benefits, incentives or
allowances as a qualified able-bodied person.
Five percent (5%) of all casual, emergency and contractual positions in the Department of Social Welfare and Development; Health;
Education, Culture and Sports; and other government agencies, offices or corporations engaged in social development shall be
reserved for disabled persons.
Homeworkers
A person who receives goods or articles from the employer for processing in or about a home.
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The employer of homeworkers includes any person who, for his account or benefit, or on behalf of any person residing outside the
country, directly or indirectly, or through an employee, agent contractor, sub-contractor or any other person:
(1) Delivers any goods, articles or materials to be processed or fabricated in or about a home and thereafter to be returned or to be
disposed of or distributed in accordance with his directions; or
(2) Sells any goods, articles or materials to be processed or fabricated in or about a home and then rebuys them after such
processing or fabrication either by himself or through some other person.
◦ Spouses who devote their full time to managing the household and family affairs, unless they are also engaged in other vocation or
employment which is subject to mandatory coverage, may be covered by the SSS on a VOLUNTARY basis.
Benefits:
-Monthly pension
-Dependent’s pension
-Retirement benefits
-Death benefits
-Permanent disability benefits
-Funeral benefits
-Sickness benefits
-Unemployment Insurance or Involuntary Separation Benefits
Beneficiaries – The dependent spouse until he or she remarries, the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted, and
illegitimate children, who shall be the primary beneficiaries of the member.
Provided, the dependent illegitimate children shall be entitled to fifty percent (50%) of the share of the legitimate, legitimated or
legally adopted children.
Provided, further, that in the absence of the dependent legitimate, legitimated or legally adopted children of the member, his/her
dependent illegitimate children shall be entitled to one hundred percent (100%) of the benefits. In their absence, the dependent
parents who shall be the secondary beneficiaries of the member. In the absence of all the foregoing, any other person designated by
the member as his/her secondary beneficiary.
Compulsory Membership
Membership in the GSIS shall be compulsory for all employees receiving compensation who have not reached the compulsory
retirement age, irrespective of employment status, except members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine
National Police, subject to the condition that they must settle first their financial obligation with the GSIS, and contractuals who have
no employer and employee relationship with the agencies they serve.
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Except for the members of the judiciary and constitutional commissions who shall have life insurance only, all members of the GSIS
shall have life insurance, retirement, and all other social security protections such as disability, survivorship, separation, and
unemployment benefits.
◦ Primary beneficiaries- The legal dependent spouse until he/she remarries and the dependent children.
◦ Secondary beneficiaries- The dependent parents and, subject to the restrictions on dependent children, the legitimate
descendants.
Benefits:
Monthly pensions
Separation benefits
Unemployment Insurance or Involuntary Separation Benefits
Retirement benefits
Disability benefits
Survivorship benefits
Funeral benefits
Life insurance benefits
Sec. 3. Provisions of any general or special law or rules and regulations to the contrary notwithstanding, a covered worker who
transfers employment from one sector to another or is employed in both sectors shall have his credible services or contributions in
both Systems credited to his service or contribution record in each of the Systems and shall be totalized for purposes of old-age,
disability, survivorship and other benefits in case the covered member does not qualify for such benefits in either or both Systems
without totalization: Provided, however, That overlapping periods of membership shall be credited only once for purposes of
totalization.
Population Coverage
Every Filipino citizen shall be automatically included into the NHIP, hereinafter referred to as the Program.
Service Coverage
(a) Every Filipino shall be granted immediate eligibility and access to preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative
care for medical, dental, mental and emergency health services, delivered either as population-based or individual-based health
services: Provided, that the goods and services to be included shall be determined through a fair and transparent HTA process;
(b) Within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act, PhilHealth shall implement a comprehensive outpatient benefit, including
outpatient drug benefit and emergency medical services in accordance with the recommendations of the Health Technology
Assessment Council (HTAC) created under Section 34 hereof;
(c) The DOH and the local government units (LGUs) shall endeavor to provide a health care delivery system that will afford every
Filipino a primary care provider that would act as the navigator, coordinator, and initial and continuing point of contact in the health
care delivery system: Provided, that except in emergency or serious cases and when proximity is a concern, access to higher levels of
care shall be coordinated by the primary care provider; and
(d) Every Filipino shall register with a public or private primary care provider of choice. The DOH shall promulgate the guidelines on
the licensing of primary care providers and the registration of every Filipino to a primary care provider.
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It shall be unlawful for an employer to:
(1) Print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, in any form of media, including the internet, any notice of advertisement
relating to employment suggesting preferences, limitations, specifications, and discrimination based on age;
(2) Require the declaration of age or birth date during the application process;
(3) Decline any employment application because of the individual’s age;
(4) Discriminate against an individual in terms of compensation, terms and conditions or privileges of employment on account of
such individual’s age;
(5) Deny any employee’s or worker’s promotion or opportunity for training because of age;
(6) Forcibly lay off an employee or worker because of old age; or
(7) Impose early retirement on the basis of such employee’s or worker’s age.
*It shall be unlawful for a labor contractor or subcontractor, if any, to refuse to refer for employment or otherwise discriminate
against any individual because of such person’s age.
Exceptions. - It shall not be unlawful for an employer to set age limitations in employment if:
(a) Age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary in the normal operation of a particular business or where the
differentiation is based on reasonable factors other than age;
(b) The intent is to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system that is not intended to evade the purpose of this Act;
(c) The intent is to observe the terms of a bona fide employee retirement or a voluntary early retirement plan consistent with the
purpose of this Act: Provided, that such retirement or voluntary retirement plan is in accordance with the Labor Code, as amended,
and other related laws; or
(d) The action is duly certified by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in accordance with the purpose of this Act.
Employees on a voluntary bases, and upon such terms and conditions as they may mutually agree upon: Provided, that such terms
and conditions shall not be less than the minimum labor standards set by law, and shall include compensable work hours, minimum
number of work hours, overtime, rest days, and entitlement to leave benefits. In all cases, the employer shall provide the
telecommuting employee with relevant written information in order to adequately apprise the individual of the terms and
conditions of the telecommuting program, and the responsibilities of employee.
Fair Treatment
The employer shall ensure that the telecommuting employee are given the same treatment as that of comparable employees are
given the same treatment as that of comparable employees working at the time employer's premises. All telecommuting employee
shall:
(a) Receive a rate of pay, including overtime and night shift differential, and other similar monetary benefits not lower than those
provided in applicable laws, and collective bargaining agreements.
(b) Have the right to rest periods, regular holidays, and special nonworking days.
(c) Have the same or equivalent workload and performance standards as those of comparable workerat the employer's premises.
(d) Have the same access to training and career development opportunities as those of comparable workers at the employer's
premises, and be subject to the same appraisal policies covering these workers.
(e) Receive appropriate training on the technical equipment at their disposal, and the characteristics and conditions of
telecommuting.
(f) Have the same collectible rights as the workers at the employer's premises, and shall not be barred from communicating with
workers' representatives.
The employer shall also ensure that measures are taken to prevent the telecommuting employee from being isolated from the rest
of the working community in the company by giving the telecommuting employee the opportunity to meet with colleagues on a
regular basis, and opportunity to meet with colleagues on a regular basis, and allowing access to company information.
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