Labor Law

• Employer-Employee Relationship


  • The "four-fold test" is applied to determine if an employer-employee relationship exists: 1) the selection and engagement of the employee, 2) the payment of wages, 3) the power of dismissal, and 4) the employer's power to control the employee's conduct (the 'control test')
• Employees not covered by the provisions on working conditions and rest periods

  • Government employees
  • Managerial employees
  • Field personnel
  • Members of the employer's family who are dependent on him for support
  • Domestic helpers
  • Persons in the personal service of another
  • Workers paid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
• Managerial employees


  Those whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof, and other officers or members of the managerial staff
• 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
• The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) in a day
• Health personnel in cities or 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 days a week, or a total of forty hours a week, exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of the service require that such personnel work for six days, forty-eight hours, in which case they shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at least 30 percent of their regular wage for work on the sixth day
• Health personnel


  Resident physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians, paramedical technicians, psychologists, midwives, attendants and all other hospital or clinic personnel
• Hours worked


  All time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace, and all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work. Rest periods of short duration during working hours shall be counted as hours worked.
• Every employer shall give his employees not less than sixty minutes time-off for their regular meals
• Every employee shall be paid a night shift differential of not less than ten percent of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning
• Work may be performed beyond eight 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 thereof
• Work performed beyond eight hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid an additional compensation equivalent to the rate for the first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at least 30 percent thereof
• Undertime work on any particular day shall not be offset by overtime work on any other day
• Cases where an employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work

  • When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by Congress or the Chief Executive
  • When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic or other disaster or calamity
  • When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installation or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature
  • When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods
  • Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the 8th hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer
• For purposes of computing overtime and other additional remuneration, the "regular wage" of an employee shall include the cash wage only, without deduction on account of facilities provided by the employer
• It shall be the duty of every employer to provide each of his employees a rest period of not less than twenty-four consecutive hours after every six consecutive normal work days
• Cases where the employer may require an employee to work on a rest day


  • In case of actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic or other disaster or calamity to prevent loss of life and property or imminent danger to public safety
  • In case of urgent work to be performed on the machinery, equipment or installation to avoid serious loss which the employer would otherwise suffer
  • In the event of abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances, where the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures
  • To prevent loss or damage to perishable goods
  • Where the nature of the work requires continuous operations and the stoppage of work may result in irreparable injury or loss to the employer
  • Under other circumstances analogous or similar to the foregoing as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
• Where an employee is made or permitted to work on his scheduled rest day, he shall be paid an additional compensation of at least 30 percent of his regular wage
• 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 an additional compensation of at least 30 percent of his regular wage for work performed on Sundays and holidays
• Work performed on any special holiday shall be paid an additional compensation of at least 30 percent of the regular wage of the employee. Where such holiday work falls on the employee's scheduled rest day, he shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at least 50 percent of his regular wage
• Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays, except in retail and service establishment regularly employing less than ten workers
• The employer may require an employee to work on any holiday but such employee shall be paid a compensation equivalent to twice his regular rate
• Holidays

  • New Year's Day
  • Maundy Thursday
  • Good Friday
  • the ninth of April
  • the first of May
  • the twelfth of June
  • last Sunday of August
  • first of November
  • the thirtieth of November
  • the twenty-fifth and the thirtieth of December
  • thirty-first of December
  • the day designated by law for holding a general election
• Every employee who has rendered at least one year of service shall be entitled to a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay
• Employees not covered by the service incentive leave

  • Those of the government and any of its political subdivisions, including government-owned and controlled corporations
  • Domestic helpers and persons in the personal service of another
  • Managerial employees
  • Field personnel and other employees whose performance is unsupervised by the employer including those who are engaged on task or contract basis, purely commission basis, or those who are paid a fixed amount for performing work irrespective of the time consumed in the performance thereof
• The service incentive leave shall be commutable to its money equivalent if not used or exhausted at the end of the year
• All service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and similar establishments shall be distributed at the rate of 85 percent for all covered employees and 15 percent for management
• Categories of Solo Parents

  • A parent who provides sole parental care and support of the child or children due to birth as a consequence of rape, death of the spouse, detention of the spouse for at least three (3) months or service of sentence for a criminal conviction, physical or mental incapacity of the spouse, legal separation or de facto separation for at least six (6) months, declaration of nullity or annulment of marriage, or abandonment by the spouse for at least six (6) months
  • Spouse or any family member of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), or the guardian of the child or children of an OFW
  • Unmarried mother or father who keeps and rears the child or children
  • Any legal guardian, adoptive or foster parent who solely provides parental care and support to a child or children
  • Any relative within the fourth (4th) civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the parent or legal guardian who assumes parental care and support of the child or children
  • A pregnant woman who provides sole parental care and support to her unborn child or children
• A forfeitable and noncumulative parental leave of not more than seven (7) working days with pay every year shall be granted to any solo parent employee, regardless of employment status, who has rendered service of at least six (6) months
• The DepEd, CHED, and TESDA shall provide scholarship programs for solo parents and a full school scholarship for one (1) child of a solo parent in institutions of basic, higher and technical vocational skills education
• Non-formal education programs appropriate for solo parents and their children may, likewise, be provided
• For purposes of the educational benefits, the children must be dependent on the solo parent for support, unmarried, unemployed, and twenty-two (22) years of age or below
• A means-, pension-, and subsidy-tested monthly cash subsidy of One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) per month per solo parent who is earning a minimum wage and below, to be allocated by the concerned city or municipal government
• Non-formal education programs appropriate for solo parents and their children may be provided
• Solo parents


  Parents who are unmarried, unemployed, and have dependent children 22 years old or below
• The DepEd, CHED, and TESDA shall promulgate rules and regulations for the proper implementation of this program
• Monthly cash subsidy


  P1,000 per month for solo parents earning minimum wage or below
• Eligibility for monthly cash subsidy

  • Earning minimum wage or below
  • Not a recipient of any other cash assistance or subsidy from any other government programs
  • Not a senior citizen or person with disability (PWD) or if a beneficiary, may continue receiving senior citizen or PWD benefits without forfeiting the benefits under this Act
• Discount and exemption from VAT

  10% discount and exemption from VAT on baby's milk, food and micronutrient supplements, sanitary diapers, prescribed medicines, vaccines, and other medical supplements purchased from the birth of the child or children until six (6) years of age
• Eligibility for discount and VAT exemption

  • Solo parent earning less than P250,000 annually