The Labor Code of the Philippines is a legal code that determines all employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. This is to help protect employees and employers- while ensuring that neither is subject to unfair treatment or exploitation.
Below are sets of rules that make up the Labor Code:
Working Hours in the Philippines
No employee in the Philippines must work for over 8 hours a day. He is worthy of a 1-hour lunch break daily, without fail. However, a worker is only required to work for a maximum of 8 hours per day from the office. There are no laws that mandate his working hours from home.
Working hours include the time during which the employer is required to be at the workplace, all hours that he is asked to work, and the breaks in between to avoid burnout.
Employees Exempt from Completing Working Hours
Article 82 of the Labor Code states that employees under all establishments and undertakings need to complete a certain set of working hours, except:
- Government employees
- Managerial employees
- Field personnel
- Family members of the employer who are dependent for support
- Domestic help
- Individuals who provide personal service to others
- Workers given wages/salary based on the Secretary of Labor regulations
Meal Times
The Labor Code dictates that all employers must get no less than a 60-minutes break to finish their meals. The usual time during day-shifts is 12.00 PM.
Night Shift
In case an employer requires a worker to work during the night- any time between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM- he must be paid a minimum of 10% over and above his regular wage for each hour.
Rules for Overtime Work
Since the maximum work hours allowed in the Philippines are 8-hours, in case an employee works for longer, he must be paid extra. This includes additional compensation of 25% of his regular work wage.
The employer is liable to pay an additional compensation equivalent to the average 8-hour pay, including 30% more if he has asked his employee to work beyond 8-hours on a holiday or rest day. Working on a rest day may be required in case of an emergency, urgent work, loss to the business, or as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Equipment.
It is essential to note that an employee can be asked to perform overtime work in national or local emergency cases determined by the state, or if the business is at stake.
Rules for Under-time Work
According to the Article 88 of the Labor Code, under-time work on a business day will not influence overtime work on any given day. This means that if an employee leaves work early, he cannot be made to work overtime the next day to make up for those hours. This is because the rate of overtime per hour is higher than the missed hours.
The Labor Code also states that in case an employee receives permission to take leave on a specific day, his employer is still required to pay for any additional compensation or overtime work done previously or in the future.
Leaves
All employers are subject to a weekly rest day of a full 24-hours after every 6 consecutive working days. The specific rest day can be mutually decided. However, an employee can argue his case if he prefers to be given a rest day based on a religious event or holiday.
All workers reserve the right of holiday pay. This will include his regular daily wage. In case they are called into work on a holiday, they must be paid twice their regular rate.
If an employee has worked for a minimum of one year for his company, he must be offered a yearly service incentive leave of five days with regular pay.
In summary, the Labor Code of the Philippines ensures that no worker is abused while giving authority to employers to assign overtime work or work on holidays as long as they pay the wages stated by the law. To learn more about labor and compliance in the Philippines, click here
