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 Labor Law
27th Foundation Course of the Paralegal Training Program (PTP27)
Arnold F. de Vera
2023
Employment
Employer

What : Work
When : Day, Time,
Duration
Agreement Who : Qualifications
How : Manner in which
the work is done
Employee
How much: Rate of Pay
 1987 Constitution

Legislative Executive Judiciary

Issuances by the
Presidential Decree Cases decided by the
Department of Labor
442 and Employment Supreme Court

Republic Acts
Foundation of Social Legislation such as Labor Laws

Social Justice

• Social justice is "neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor

anarchy," but the Humanization of laws and the equalization of social and
economic forces by the State so that justice in its rational and objectively
secular conception may at least be approximated. Social justice means the
promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by the
Government of measures calculated to insure economic stability of all the
competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper
economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of
the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures
legally justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of
powers underlying the existence of all governments on the time-honored
principle of salus populi est suprema lex. (Calalang v Wiliams, 70 Phil 726)
 Employee
Lack of jobs
Poverty
Poor
Education

Resources

Employer Other
applicants
 Lack of jobs
Poverty
Law
Poor

Employee
Education

Employer Resources
Law
Other
applicants
Equality v Equity
Article XIII, Sec. 3 Labor
Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized
and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all.
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 to investments, and to expansion and growth.
Outline of Discussion
•Employment Relationship
•Kinds of Employees
•Wages and Related Benefits
•Termination
1. Employment Relationship
4 fold test
 Employer

HIRE WAGES FIRE CONTROL

esults
d R
s an
ean
M
EMPLOYEE
2. Kinds of Employees

If one is an employee, then we can ask:

What kind?
Articles 295 and 296
 Employer
Probationary

Regular Project Seasonal Casual

EMPLOYEE
Article 295 LC
• Art. 295. Regular and casual employment. The provisions of written agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the
parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has
been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in
the usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has
been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of
which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or
where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the
employment is for the duration of the season.
• An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding
paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of
service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a
regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his
employment shall continue while such activity exists.
Article 295 LC
• Art. 295. Regular and casual employment. The provisions of written agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the
parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has
been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the
usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been
fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which
has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or where
the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is
for the duration of the season.
• An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding
paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of
service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a
regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his
employment shall continue while such activity exists.
Article 295 LC
• Art. 295. Regular and casual employment. The provisions of written agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the
parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has
been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the
usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been
fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of
which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or
where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the
employment is for the duration of the season.
• An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding
paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of
service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a
regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his
employment shall continue while such activity exists.
Article 295 LC
• Art. 295. Regular and casual employment. The provisions of written agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the
parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has
been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the
usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been
fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which
has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or where
the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment
is for the duration of the season.
• An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding
paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of
service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a
regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his
employment shall continue while such activity exists.
Probationary
employment
 Probationary Article 296
• Probationary employee is one who is on trial by an
employer during which the employer determines whether
or not he is qualified for permanent employment.
• At the time of engagement, the probationary employee
must be informed of the reasonable standards by which he
or she may qualify as a regular employee.
• Beyond 6 months, probationary employees become
regular employees.
 Probationary Article 296

• The employer and the employee may voluntarily agree to

extend the probationary period if the employee fails the
probationary period
• Private school teachers are given 3 years probationary
period - that’s 6 consecutive semesters in the case of
tertiary level
 Employer
Probationary

Regular Project Seasonal Casual

FIXED TERM CONTRACT

EMPLOYEE
Brent School Inc. v Zamora,
G.R. No. L-48494 February 5, 1990
It should have no application to instances where a fixed period of
employment was agreed upon knowingly and voluntarily by the
parties, without any force, duress or improper pressure being
brought to bear upon the employee and absent any other
circumstances vitiating his consent, or where it satisfactorily
appears that the employer and employee dealt with each other
on more or less equal terms with no moral dominance whatever
being exercised by the former over the latter.
 Independent
Talent
contracting

Corporate
Relationships which Lease
Officer
may be confusingly
similar to that of
employment
Partnership
Because of the popularity of independent
contracting – the economic reality test

SC: The better approach would therefore be to adopt a two-tiered test

involving: (1) the putative employer’s power to control the employee
with respect to the means and methods by which the work is to be
accomplished; and (2) the underlying economic realities of the activity
or relationship.

See Francisco v NLRC, G.R. No. 170087 August 31, 2006 and Orozco v
Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 155207, August 13, 2008
 Investment
in Nature and Opportunity
Integral? equipment degree of for profit
and control and loss
facilities

Dependency
skill,
on the
judgment, Permanency
employer and
foresight and duration
continued
required
employment
Current Issue:
Subcontracting
Article 106 - 109, Department Order No. 174 - 17
Trend in Indirect Employment
Employer
(Principal)

ip
ion l
Subcontractor

lat ra
sh
Re late
i
Tr
ed
t
EMPLOYEE
ac
tr
on
bc
Su
 Job Contracting Labor Only Contracting
Employer
(Principal)
Substantial capital and No substantial capital
investment (5M) Subcontractor (5M)

EMPLOYEE subcontracted workers

subcontracted workers
perform activities not perform activities
directly related to the directly related to the
principal business of principal business of
such employer such employer
 Job Contracting Labor Only Contracting
Employer
(Principal)

Subcontractor Principal has

Subcontractor has
CONTROL over the CONTROL over
Employees work, EMPLOYEE employee (means
(results and means) and results)
Employer v Worker

Employers Workers
• Enables employers to adjust size • No rights: security of tenure,
organization, bargaining, living
of workforce according to wage, social protection
changes in output demand • Prevents workers from becoming
(flexibility) regular
• Enables employers to focus on • Reduces productivity, no incentive
to develop
core product or activity
• Low quality of life
(specialization)
• Expansion of Cooperatives
pretending to be subcontractors
worsen workers situation
3. Wages and Related Benefits
Wages:
Minimum Wage Setting or
Minimum Wage Determination

National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC)

• key policy-making body on wages, income, and productivity

Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs)

• issues "wage orders" which set the minimum wage for a region
Wages
Region Min Wage

NCR 573-610 (June 26, 2023)

Region 1 370-400 (May 2022)

Region 3 409 – 460 (January 1, 2023)

Region 4A 350-470 (effective Dec 2022)

Region 7 387-435 (June 2022)

BARMM 316-341 (June 2022)

Wage Related Benefits
Conditions of Employment
 Overview
• Hours of Work
• Overtime
• Night Shift Differential
• Rest Days
• Holiday Pay
• Service Incentive Leave
 Coverage - Article 82
• General Rule: Applies to ALL • Government employees
employees in all establishments • Managerial employees (includes
except: supervisors)
• Field personnel
• Members of the family of the Employer
who are dependent on him for support
• Domestic helpers or persons in the
personal service of another
• Workers paid by result (i.e. pakyao or
piece-rate)
 Working Hours
• NORMAL WORKING HOURS:
shall not exceed 8 hours a day HOURS WORKED include:

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.

Note: Rest periods of short duration during

working hours shall be counted as hours worked

Note: 1 meal non compensable meal break

 Working Hours

Report for Work

• coffee break of short duration

1 hour Meal Break

Report for Work

• coffee break of short duration

Go Home
 Overtime
• Overtime pay (beyond 8 hours) – 25%-30%
• Overtime work is VOLUNTARY except:
• war or any other national or local emergency declared by the National
Assembly or the Chief Executive;
• to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public
safety caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake,
epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;
 Compulsory OT
• Generally, overtime work should be consensual. But there are times
when the employer may require overtime work. These include:
• urgent work to be performed on machines to avoid serious loss or damage to
the employer or some other cause of similar nature;
• necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and
• completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is
necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or
operations of the employer.
Nightshift

• Nightshift differential (10pm – 6am) –

10%

• Note: retail and service

establishments regularly employing
not more than five (5) workers not
entitled to nightshift
Rest Day
• Employer is obligated to
give the employee rest
period of not less than
24 hours after every 6
consecutive normal
working days
• Rest day – if worked,
additional 30%
• If worked rest day is also
holiday, additional 50%
Holidays
• 2 kinds of holidays, regular holidays and
special days.
• We have 12 regular holidays and 4 special
days. A major difference between them is
that employees are paid on regular
holidays even if they did not work. On
special days, the principle no work no pay
applies.
 12 Regular Holidays
• New Year’s Day - January 1 • Labor Day - Monday nearest May 1
• Maundy Thursday -Movable date • Independence Day - Monday
• Good Friday - Movable date nearest June 12
• Eidul Fitr - Movable date • National Heroes Day - Last Monday
• Eidul Adha - Movable of August
• Araw ng Kagitingan - Monday nearest • Bonifacio Day - Monday nearest
April 9 (Bataan and Corregidor Day)
November 30
• Christmas Day - December 25
• Rizal Day - Monday nearest
December 30
 4 Special days
• Ninoy Aquino Day - Monday nearest August 21
• All Saints Day - November 1
• Immaculate Conception – December 8
• Last Day of the Year - December 31
 Difference

Regular Holidays Special Day

• Worked: 200% • Worked: 130%

• Not worked: 100% • Not worked: 0
 Summary of Leaves under the law

Service Incentive Leave Solo Parents Leave

• 5 days • 7 days

Maternity leave Leaves under RA 9262

(Violence against women)
• 105 days
• 10 days

Paternity Leave RA 9710 (Gynecological

• 7 days surgery) –
• 2 months
Maternity Leave - RA 11210

105 days full pay 30 days 15 days

No pay Solo parent

Miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy

60 days full pay

 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Service Charge
• All service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and
similar establishments shall be distributed completely
and equally among its workers except managerial
Article 96 employees. (Article 96)
13th Month Pay = Basic salary within the year
12

Paid not later than December 24 of every year

Earnings which are not part of the basic salary such as payment for
vacation and sick leaves, overtime pay and premium work on rest day
are not included in computing for 13th month pay.
[Link] of Employment
Articles 297 to 299
 Dismissal by Employer
Just Cause Authorized
• Serious Misconduct Causes
• Willful Disobedience
• Gross and Habitual • Labor Saving
Negligence Device
• Fraud or Loss of Trust • Redundancy
• Crime against the
Employer • Retrenchment
• Analogous cases • Closure
 Just Cause Article 297
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the
lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his
work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him
by his employer or duly authorized representative;
(d) 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; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Serious Misconduct
• there must be a misconduct which must be grave and aggravated in character;
• the misconduct must relate to the performance of the employee's duties, and
• the employee must become unfit to continue working for the employer.
Willful Disobedience of the lawful orders of the employer
• there must be disobedience or insubordination which must be willful or intentional;
characterized by a wrongful or perverse attitude;
• the order violated must be reasonable, lawful and made known to the employee; and
• the order must pertain to the duties which he has been engaged to discharge.
Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his / her duties
• there must be neglect of duties; and
• the negligence must be both gross and habitual in character.
Fraud or willful breach of trust reposed in him
by the employer
• there must be an act, omission, or concealment which
justifies the loss of trust and confidence of the employer
on the employee;
• the employee must be holding a position of trust and
confidence;
• there is real loss of trust and confidence - it is not
simulated nor an afterthought to justify an earlier action
taken in bad faith
Fraud or Wilfull breach of trust

Managerial More
Trust
Supervisory
Less
Rank and File Trust
Commission of crime or offense by the employee against the
person of the employer, employer's immediate family or duly
authorized representative
• there must be an act or omission prohibited by law and
• the act or omission must be voluntary or willful on the part of the employee

Causes analogous to the foregoing

• there must be an act or omission similar to those specified under Article 297
and
• the act or omission must be voluntary or willful on the part of the employees.
 Procedure in Just Cause Terminations
Just Cause First Notice
(to explain)
• Serious Misconduct
• Opportunity to
• Willful Disobedience Explain
• Gross and Habitual
Negligence
• Fraud or Loss of Trust
• Crime against the This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Employer Second Notice

• Analogous cases (of action)
 Authorized Cause Article 298

Installation of
Redundancy
LSD

Closure
Retrenchment • Closure due to
financial losses
Installation of Labor Saving Devices

• there is an introduction of machinery, equipment or other device done in good faith

• the prupose is to save on cost, enhance efficiency or similar aim
• there must be no other option except to terminate the employment of workers affected
• there must be fair and reasonable criteria in selecting employees to be terminated

Redundancy

• there must be superfluous positions or services of employees;

• the positions or services are in excess of what is reasonably demanded by the actual
requirements of the enterprise to operate in an economical and efficient manner;
• there must be good faith in abolishing redundant positions;
• there must be fair and reasonable criteria in selecting the employees to be terminated;
and
• there must be adequate proof of redundancy such as but not limited to the new staffing
pattern, feasibility studies, on the viability of the newly created positions, job description
and the approval by the management of the restructuring.
Retrenchment
• must be reasonably necessary and likely to
prevent business losses;
• the losses must not be de minimis but should
be substantial, serious, actual and real, or, if
expected to occur, reasonably imminent;
• the losses must be proved by sufficient and
convincing evidence;
• must be done in good faith and not to defeat
or circumvent the employees' right to security
of tenure;
• there must be fair and reasonable criteria in
ascertaining who would be dismissed and who
would be retained such as status, efficiency,
seniority, physical fitness, age, and financial
hardship for certain workers.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Closure
• there must be a
decision to close or
cease operation of the
enterprise by the
employer
• the decision was made
in good faith
 Authorized Cause
Notice to the Authorized
employee and
to the DOLE 1
Causes
month before • Labor Saving
termination Device
1 month per year of • Redundancy
service or 1 month
whichever is higher Separation • Retrenchment
½ month per year of
Pay • Closure
service or 1 month
whichever is higher
 Cause for Termination: Disease
Art. 299
For disease to justify the termination of the employment relationship, the following
must be complied with:

• The employee must have a disease;

• The continued employment of the employee is prohibited by law or prejudicial to
her/his health of co-employees
• There must be certification by a competent public health authority that the disease is
incurable within a period of 6 months even with proper medical treatment.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 Employer may suspend operations for
a period not exceeding 6 months

Notice of suspension must be given to

Article 301: the DOLE

Suspension of
Employee does not receive pay during
Operations period of suspension of operations
unless leaves are applicable

After 6 months, the employee is

deemed terminated.
 Article 301 ns

6 months
io
at
er
Op
of
n
s io

o yer
p l ion s
en

e m at
sp

pay n, e r
No iratio e op
Su

rk
o wo exp esum rs
N fore : r
s o r ke
B e os e s s w
i
c ho dis m
or
 Resignation
• With 30 day notice, no need for cause
• Without notice - for cause
(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; and
(4) Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.
 Retirement

§Collective Bargaining Agreement takes

precedence.
§Else, 60 to 65 years of age with at least 5
years of service
§22.5 days per year of service
[Link] in case of
illegal dismissal
 Reliefs in cases of Illegal Termination
Substantive Due Procedural Due DISMISSAL
Process Process is

VALID
✓ ✓
ILLEGAL
✗ ✗
ILLEGAL
✗ ✓
VALID but with damages
✓ ✗
 Reliefs in cases of Illegal Termination

• Reinstatement
• Full Backwages
• Damages
• Attorney’s fees
SEnA
Sample flow of a simple labor case
Complaint
1 year

Labor Arbiter

1 year
NLRC 1 year

Court of
Appeals

Sample Total Supreme

Court

= 5 years 2 years
Outline

•Employment Relationship
•Kinds of Employees
•Wages and Related Benefits
•Termination
•Reliefs in case of Illegal Dismissal
Salamat po