PHILIPPINE LABOR LAWS AND

OTHER GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

Presented by
DR. HENRY G. MAGAT, LPT
Lecturer, TNEEP Graduate Studies
Philippine Christian University
Coverage
■ Labor Management Relations
■ Labor Law and other Government Regulations
What is Labor Law?
Labour law, the varied body of law applied to such matters as
employment, remuneration, conditions of work, trade unions,
and industrial relations.
In its most comprehensive sense, the term includes social security and
disability insurance as well
The basic subject matter of labour law can be considered under nine
broad heads:

■ employment
■ individual employment relationships
■ wages and remuneration
■ conditions of work
■ health, safety, and welfare
■ social security
■ trade unions and industrial relations
■ the administration of labour law
■ special provisions for particular occupational or other groups.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/labour-law
LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
Article XIII Sec. 3 of the Philippine Constitution
on Labor-Management Relations, at a Glance:

a) Full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized;

b) Full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all;
c) Right of all workers to:
■ self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations;
■ engage in peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law;
■ security of tenure, humane conditions of work and a living wage; and
■ participate in policy and decision making processes affecting their rights
and benefits as may to provided by law;
d) Promotion of the principle of shared responsibility between workers
and employers;
e) Preferential use of voluntary modes in setting disputes, including
conciliation.
f) Recognition of the right of labor to its just share in fruits of production;
and
g) Right of enterprises to reasonable return of investment and to
expansion and growth.
Article 211 of the Labor Code, as amended by
R.A. 6715, on the State Policy on Labor Relations:

a) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations,
including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor or
industrial disputes;
b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy
and the promotion of social justice and development;
c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement;
d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as
union members and as employees;
Article 211 of the Labor Code, as amended by R.A. 6715,
on the State Policy on Labor Relations:

e) To provide an adequate administrative machinery for the expeditious

settlement of labor or industrial disputes;
f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace; and
g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policy-making
processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare.
LABOR LAW AND OTHER
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
What are the main statutes and regulations relating to
employment?

The Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442, as

amended) (the Labor Code) and the Omnibus Rules Implementing the
Labor Code, as amended are the main employment statutes and
regulations in the Philippines.
Types of Employment in the Philippines
https://kcrecruitment.com/hr-consulting/labor-and-employment/types-of-employment/
Regular or Permanent Employment
■ Regular or Permanent Employment is when an employee performs
activities that are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business
or trade of the employer. They enjoy the benefit of security of tenure
provided by the Philippine Constitution and cannot be terminated for
causes other than those provided by law and only after due process is
given to them.
■ However, some employers can require their new employees to
undergo probationary employment before they can be qualified for
regular employment. Although probationary employment is not a
formal type of employment in the Philippines, it is widely practiced to
help employers observe the skills, competence, and performance of
new employees and determine if they are able to meet the reasonable
standards to become permanent employees.
Regular or Permanent Employment
■ Under Article 281 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, the maximum
length of probationary employment shall be six (6) months, and is
counted from the date an employee started working. When the
employment is not terminated after the six-month probationary period,
it shall then be considered regular employment.
■ It is important to note that the employer must notify the employee of
the probationary period and the standards they must satisfy on or
before the end of the probationary employment. If the employee is not
properly notified of the arrangement, then they are prescribed by law
to be classified as a regular employee from the time they started
working for the company.
Term or Fixed Employment
■ Term or Fixed-Term Employment is when the employee renders service
for a definite period of time and the employment contract must be
terminated after such period expires. This type of employment is
determined not by the activities that the employee is expected to
perform but by the commencement and termination of the
employment relationship.
Term or Fixed Employment
■ Fixed-term employment is highly regulated and is subject to the
following criteria:
 be voluntarily and knowingly agreed upon by the parties without
any force, duress or improper pressure being brought to bear
upon the employee and absent any vices of consent; or
 it satisfactorily appears that the employer and the employee
dealt with each other on more or less equal terms.
Project Employment
■ Project Employment is defined when an employee is hired for a
specific project or undertaking and the employment duration is
specified by the scope of work and/or length of the project. A project
employee may acquire the status of a regular employee when they are
continuously rehired after the completion of the project or when the
tasks they perform are vital, necessary, and indispensable to the
usual business or trade of the employer.
Seasonal Employment

■ Seasonal Employment is when the work to be performed is only for a

certain time or season of the year and the employment is only for that
duration. This type is common practice to Retail, Food and Beverage,
Hospitality and other related industries as augmentation to their
workforce to cover for the demand during peak seasons.
■ A common practice for some employers is to hire “regular seasonal
employees” who are called to work during peak seasons (e.g.
Christmas season) and are temporarily suspended during off-seasons.
These employees are not separated from service but are only
considered on Leave of Absence (LOA) without pay until re-employed.
Casual Employment
■ There is Casual Employment when an employee performs work that is
not usually necessary or primarily related to the employer’s business
or trade. The definite period of employment should be made known to
the employee at the time they started rendering service.
■ If the employee has rendered service for at least one (1) year in the
same company, whether the casual employment is continuous or not,
they shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the
activity they are employed and will continue rendering service while
such activity exists.
Probationary

A worker may be considered "probationary" in a few situations:

■ when the worker is first hired (whether under a union contract or
based on the employer's personnel policies);
■ when the worker is being disciplined by the employer.
■ When an existing employee receives a new position within the
company but did not complete its initial probationary period; and
■ When an existing, or a new, employee is appointed to their first
supervisory or managerial position.
Special Categories of Workers

■ Labour law includes many provisions for particular occupational or

other groups. These sometimes appear as special parts of a general
code, special legislation, or provisions that limit specific legislative
provisions with regard to particular groups.
■ These special provisions are common and important in mining,
transportation (and in particular maritime transport), commercial
occupations, and agriculture.
■ Cutting across these broad sectors of economic activity are the
traditional legal distinctions made in some countries between blue-
collar workers and salaried employees and certain newer distinctions,
such as that between employees who earn annual salaries and have
rights of tenure and persons with no such rights engaged and
remunerated on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis.
 Is there any law prohibiting discrimination or
harassment in employment?

If so, what categories are regulated under the law?

Law prohibiting discrimination or harassment in employment.
The Labor Code prohibits discrimination against women on account of their gender, and
against children on account of their age.
■ The Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710, as amended) prohibits
discrimination against women and expressly imposes liability for damages on the
person directly responsible for such discrimination.
■ The Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act (Republic Act No. 10911) prohibits
discrimination on account of age, and imposes penalties for violation of the Act.
■ The Magna Carta for Persons with Disability (Republic Act No. 7277, as amended)
provides that a qualified employee with disability shall be subject to the same terms
and conditions of employment as a qualified able-bodied person.
Law prohibiting discrimination or harassment in employment.
■ The Solo Parents’ Welfare Act (Republic Act No. 8972) prohibits an employer from
discriminating against any solo parent employee with respect to the terms and
conditions of employment on account of the employee being a solo parent.
■ The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Republic Act No. 8371) prohibits discrimination
against Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples with respect to
recruitment and conditions of employment on account of their descent.
■ The Mental Health Act (Republic Act No. 11036) requires employers to develop
appropriate policies and programmes on mental health in the workplace designed
to, among others, raise awareness on mental health issues, correct the stigma and
discrimination associated with mental health conditions, identify and provide
support for individuals at risk and facilitate access of individuals with mental health
conditions to treatment and psychosocial support.
■ The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (Republic Act No. 7877) prohibits sexual
harassment in the workplace.
■ The Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act (Republic Act No. 11166) also prohibits the
rejection of job application, termination of employment, or other discriminatory
policies in hiring, provision of employment and other related benefits, promotion or
assignment of an individual solely or partially on the basis of actual, perceived or
suspected HIV status. This law also states that policies and practices that
discriminate on the basis of perceived or actual HIV status, sex, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity and expression, age, economic status, disability and
ethnicity are deemed inimical to national interest.
 What are the primary government agencies or
other entities responsible for the enforcement of
employment statutes and regulations?
Responsible for the enforcement of employment
statutes and regulations
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is
the primary policy-making, programming, coordinating
and administrative entity in the field of labour and
employment.
It has primary responsibility for the promotion of
gainful employment opportunities, the advancement
of workers’ welfare and promoting harmonious,
equitable and stable employment relations.
Responsible for the enforcement of employment
statutes and regulations
Some of the major agencies of the DOLE that play major roles in the
enforcement of employment statutes and regulations include:
■ the Bureau of Labor Relations, which sets policies, standards and
procedures on the registration and supervision of labour unions and
their activities;
■ the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, which handles
conciliation, mediation and voluntary arbitration of labour disputes;
and
■ the National Labor Relations Commission, which is a quasi-judicial
agency that has original jurisdiction to adjudicate specific labour
claims and disputes.
Background Information on Applicants
Are there any restrictions or prohibitions against background checks on
applicants? Does it make a difference if an employer conducts its own
checks or hires a third party?

There is no law prohibiting background checks on applicants, whether conducted by the

employer or a third party. There are, however, specific laws that apply with respect to
applications and background checks. For example:
■ The Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act (Republic Act No. 10911) specifically
prohibits requiring the declaration of age or birth date during the application
process.
■ The implementing rules of the Data Privacy Act (Republic Act No. 10173) also
provide that the applicant or data subject has a right to be informed if personal data
is being collected for purposes of profiling, or for other forms of data processing.
Under this law, ‘profiling’ includes the automated processing of personal data
(defined as information from which the identity of an individual is apparent or can
be ascertained) consisting of the use of such personal data to evaluate certain
personal aspects relating to a natural person.
■ The Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act prohibits the rejection of a job application
solely or partially on the basis of actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status.
Are there any restrictions or prohibitions against requiring a medical
examination as a condition of employment?

■ The Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act prohibits the rejection of a job application
solely or partially on the basis of actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status. Access
to personal data relating to an employee’s hepatitis B status is bound by the rules of
confidentiality and is strictly limited to medical personnel or if legally required (DOLE
Department Advisory No. 05-10).
■ In addition to the foregoing, medical examination results should not be used to deny
employment when the denial of employment would constitute discrimination under
the laws.
 For example, discrimination under the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability
includes using qualification standards, employment tests or other selection
criteria that screen out or tend to screen out a disabled person unless such
standards, tests or other selection criteria are shown to be job-related for the
position in question and are consistent with business necessity.
Are there any restrictions or prohibitions against drug and alcohol testing
of applicants?

■ There are no restrictions against drug and alcohol testing, and there is no law
prohibiting an employer from refusing to hire an applicant who refuses to submit to
a test. However, the DOLE has issued the Guidelines for the Implementation of a
Drug-Free Workplace Policies and Programs for the Private Sector (DOLE
Department Order No. 053-03), which states that only drug-testing centres
accredited by the Department of Health shall be utilised for drug testing.
Hiring of Employees
Hiring of employees
To what extent are FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT contracts permissible?
Fixed-term contracts are permitted provided that either of these two criteria are met:
■ the fixed period of employment was knowingly and voluntarily agreed upon by the
parties without any force, duress or improper pressure being brought to bear on the
employee and without any circumstances vitiating consent; or
■ it satisfactorily appears that the employer and employee dealt with each other on
more or less equal terms with no moral dominance whatsoever being exercised by
the former on the latter.
While labour laws and jurisprudence do not provide for a maximum duration for fixed-
term employment contracts, the Philippine Supreme Court has recognised the validity of
a fixed-term employment contract with a duration of five years.
Hiring of employees
What is the maximum probationary period permitted by law?
■ The Labor Code provides that probationary employment shall not exceed six months
from the date the employee started working unless it is covered by an
apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.
However, the Philippine Supreme Court has held that the probationary employee may
voluntarily agree to an extension if it would afford the employee another chance to pass
the standards for regularisation after having initially failed the probationary period.
Hiring of employees
What are the primary factors that distinguish an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR from an
EMPLOYEE?
■ An independent contractor is one who carries on a distinct and independent
business and undertakes to perform the job, work or service on its own account and
under one’s own responsibility according to one’s own manner and method, free
from the control and direction of the principal in all matters connected with the
performance of the work except as to the results thereof.
■ A job contractor refers to any person or entity engaged in a permissible contracting
or subcontracting arrangement providing services for a specific job or undertaking
farmed out by principal under a service agreement.
Hiring of employees
There is permissible JOB CONTRACTING when all the following concur:
■ the contractor or subcontractor is engaged in a distinct and independent business
and undertakes to perform the job or work on its own responsibility, according to its
own manner and method;
■ the contractor or subcontractor has substantial capital to carry out the job farmed
out by the principal on his or her account, manner and method, investment in the
form of tools, equipment, machinery and supervision;
■ in performing the work farmed out, the contractor or subcontractor is free from the
control or direction of the principal in all matters connected with the performance of
the work except as to the result thereto; and
■ the service agreement ensures compliance with all the rights and benefits for all the
employees of the contractor or subcontractor under our labour laws.
Hiring of employees
(Direct hire CONTRACTUAL)
On the other hand, jurisprudence has also recognised another kind of independent
contractor in the form of individuals with unique skills and talents that set them apart
from ordinary employees. The ‘control test’ is the primary factor determinative of the
presence or absence of an employer-employee relationship.
Under the control test, an employer-employee relationship exists where the person for
whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end
achieved, but also the manner and means to be used in reaching that end.
Hiring of employees
Are there any special rules relating to PART-TIME or fixed-term employees?
■ The DOLE Explanatory Bulletin on Part-Time Employment (1996) defines part-time
employees as those whose regular hours of work are substantially less than the
normal hours prescribed.
 Employers may proportionately decrease the daily wage and wage-related
benefits granted by law in accordance with the hours worked, but part-time
workers remain entitled to overtime, premium, holiday and 13th month pay.
They may also earn service incentive leave with pay, computed proportionately
to the daily work rendered and daily salary received. Part-time employees also
receive benefits upon retirement.
Hiring of employees
Are there any special rules relating to PART-TIME or fixed-term employees?
■ The DOLE Explanatory Bulletin on Part-Time Employment (1996) defines part-time
employees as those whose regular hours of work are substantially less than the
normal hours prescribed.
 Employers may proportionately decrease the daily wage and wage-related
benefits granted by law in accordance with the hours worked, but part-time
workers remain entitled to overtime, premium, holiday and 13th month pay.
They may also earn service incentive leave with pay, computed proportionately
to the daily work rendered and daily salary received. Part-time employees also
receive benefits upon retirement.
ADMINISTRATION OF LABOR LAW
Administration of Labor Law
Labor Union
■ Another feature of labour law involves the ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF
ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES such as labour departments, labour inspection
services, and other organs of enforcement. Administration of the law
also encompasses the operation of labour courts and other bodies for the
settlement of grievances arising from existing contracts or collective agreements
and of industrial disputes arising between labour and management.
■ The principal problem in many countries is to relate the process of labour
administration and its special intimacy with labour and management to overall
economic and social planning in a manner that gives proper weight to social
considerations in economic policy. This problem falls mostly outside the scope of
labour law, but its solution does depend in part on the extent to which labour law
provides for and secures effective standards of administration.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.

Presented by
DR. HENRY G. MAGAT, LPT
Lecturer, TNEEP Graduate Studies
Philippine Christian University