Report Notes

(Arts. 141–152, Labor Code of the Philippines,

in relation to R.A. No. 10361 [Batas Kasambahay])

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
1. Domestic or household service - service in the employer’s home which is usually
necessary or desirable for the maintenance and enjoyment thereof and includes
ministering to the personal comfort and convenience of the members of the employer’s
household, including services of family drivers.
2. Domestic work - work performed in or for a household or households. (par. (c), Section
4, R.A. No. 10361)
3. Domestic worker or Kasambahay - any person engaged in domestic work within an
employment relationship such as, but not limited to, the following:
a. general househelp
b. nursemaid or yaya
c. cook
d. gardener
e. or laundry person
f. those on a live-in or live out arrangement (Section 2, Rule I, IMPLEMENTING
RULES AND REGULATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10361, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “DOMESTIC WORKERS ACT” OR “BATAS
KASAMBAHAY”)
g. Excluded:
i. any person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically
and not on an occupational basis. (par. (d), Section 4, R.A. No. 10361)
ii. 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
iii. service providers (Section 2, Rule I, IMPLEMENTING RULES AND
REGULATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10361, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “DOMESTIC WORKERS ACT” OR “BATAS
KASAMBAHAY”)
iv. family drivers (Ibid.)
4. Employer - any person who engages and controls the services of a domestic worker and
is party to the employment contract. (par. (e), Section 4, R.A. No. 10361)
5. Household - the immediate members of the family or the occupants of the house that are
directly provided services by the domestic worker. (par. (f), Section 4, R.A. No. 10361)

CONTRACT:
 Maximum 2 years
 May be renewed upon agreement of both parties
 Mandatory (Sec. 11, R.A. No. 10361)
 Should include:
 o Duties and responsibilities of the domestic worker;
o Period of employment
o Compensation
o Authorized deductions
o Hours of work and proportionate additional payment
o Rest days and allowable leaves
o Board, lodging and medical attention
o Agreements on deployment expenses, if any
o Loan agreement
o Termination of employment; and
o Any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENT:
 Optional:
o Medical certificate or a health certificate issued by a local government health
officer
o Barangay and police clearance
o National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance; and
o Duly authenticated birth certificate
o Any other document showing the age of the domestic worker such as voter’s
identification card, baptismal record or passport.

WAGES:
 Minimum wage:
o P2,500 a month for those employed in the National Capital Region (NCR)
o P2,000 a month for those employed in chartered cities and first-class
municipalities
o P1,500 a month for those employed in other municipalities
 Payment of wages:
o Shall be made on time and given to the employee directly
o Shall be by cash
o Promissory notes, vouchers, coupons, tokens, tickets, chits, or any object other
than the cash wage not allowed
o Employer shall make no other deductions other than those mandated by law,
unless employee expressly consents in writing
o 13th month pay
o Pay slip shall also be provided (Sec. 26)

BENEFITS:
 SSS payments
 PhilHealth
 Home Development Mutual Fund or PAG-IBIG
 Other benefits under the law
  Daily rest period of 8 hours/day
 Weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours/week
 Upon agreement:
o Offsetting absences with rest days
o Waiver of rest day for one day’s pay
o Accumulation of no more than 5 consecutive rest days
o Other similar arrangements
 Leave benefits of 5 days for 1 year of service
o Unused leaves shall neither be cumulative nor convertible to cash
 Board, Lodging, and Medical Attendance
o Employer-furnished
o Free
o Adequate
o Sanitary
 At least 3 meals a day
 Rest and assistance in cases of illnesses and injuries sustained during service without loss
of benefits
 “At no instance shall the employer withdraw or hold in abeyance the provision of these
basic necessities as punishment or disciplinary action to the domestic worker.”
 Opportunity for education
 Skills training

ASSIGNMENT TO NON-HOUSEHOLD WORK:

 “No househelper shall be assigned to work in a commercial, industrial or agricultural
enterprise at a wage or salary rate lower than that provided for agricultural or non-
agricultural workers as prescribed herein.”

EXTENT OF DUTY:
 The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree for the former to temporarily
perform a task that is outside the latter’s household for the benefit of another household.
However, any liability that will be incurred by the domestic worker on account of such
arrangement shall be borne by the original employer. 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.

TREATMENT OF HOUSEHELPERS:
 Kasambahays are to be treated “in a just and humane manner.”
 Keywords: “Just” and “Humane”
 Physical violence to be used against or inflicted upon the person of the employee is
strictly prohibited.
  The employer or any member of the household shall not subject a domestic worker or
kasambahay to any kind of abuse nor inflict any form of physical violence or
harassment or any act tending to degrade the dignity of a domestic worker.

RESCUE AND REHABILITION OF ABUSED DOMESTIC WORKERS:

 Any abused or exploited domestic worker shall be immediately rescued by a municipal or
city social welfare officer or a social welfare officer from the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) in coordination with the concerned barangay
officials. The DSWD and the DILG shall develop a standard operating procedure for the
rescue and rehabilitation of abused domestic workers, and in coordination with the
DOLE, for possible subsequent job placement.

OTHER BENEFITS:
 PRIVACY of kasambahay; shall extend to all forms of communication and personal
effects
o “This guarantee equally recognizes that the domestic worker is obliged to render
satisfactory service at all times.” (Sec. 7, R.A. No. 10361)
 ACCESS TO OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION during free time; in cases of emergency,
communication during working hours is permitted
 If kasambahay uses employer’s communication facilities, costs are borne by employee
unless waived by employer (Sec. 8, R.A. No. 10361)
 Safeguard of HEALTH AND SAFETY with due consideration of the peculiar nature of
domestic work (Sec. 19, R.A. No. 10361)
 Prohibition against DEBT BONDAGE (Sec. 15, R.A. No. 10361)
 Prohibition on employer’s interference in the employee’s DISPOSAL OF WAGES, a.k.a.
SPENDING (Sec. 27, R.A. No. 10361)
 Employer cannot force employee to buy anything that the employer may be in the
business of selling
 Prohibition against PRIVILEGED INFORMATION (Sec. 10, R.A. No. 10361)
 CONFIDENTIALITY (Sec. 10, R.A. No. 10361)
 Prohibition against WITHHOLDING OF WAGES, especially when the employer-
employee has been terminated
 “If the domestic worker leaves without any justifiable reason, any unpaid salary for a
period not exceeding fifteen (15) days shall be forfeited. Likewise, the employer shall not
induce the domestic worker to give up any part of the wages by force, stealth,
intimidation, threat or by any other means whatsoever.” (Sec. 28, R.A. No. 10361)

TERMINATION OF SERVICES:
 If period is fixed, neither party can terminate the contract except for just cause
 If employee is unjustly dismissed: compensation already earned + compensation equal to
15 days’ wages as indemnity
  If the househelper leaves without justifiable reason, he or she shall forfeit any unpaid
salary due him or her not exceeding fifteen (15) days
 As protection for employer, in addition to Sec. 28, employer may recover costs related to
deployment, if any, if employee unjustly leaves within the first six months
 Alternatively, both parties can agree on a set date to end the employer-employee
relationship
 Just causes:
o Initiated by Domestic Worker:
 If the employer or any member of the household:
 Verbally or emotionally abuses the kasambahay
 Treats the kasambahay inhumanely (includes physical abuse)
 Commits a crime or offense against the kasambahay
 If the employer violates the T&C of the employment contract
 If there is any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the
employer, or member/s of the household
 Other causes analogous to the foregoing
o Initiated by Employer:
 If the employee:
 Commits any misconduct or will disobedience of the lawful order
of the employer
 Commits gross or habitual neglect of duties
 Commits fraud or willful breach of the employer’s trust
 Commits a crime against the person of the employer or any
immediate member of the employer’s family
 If the employee violates the T&C of the employment contract
 If there is any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the
employer, or member/s of the household
 Other causes analogous to the foregoing
 Upon termination:
o Employer to give the employee an employment certification, including
employee’s quality of work
o Upon request of employee, employer is given 5 days to provide the certificate of
employment
o Employer may choose to keep records that reflect the terms and conditions of the
employment of the kasambahay; the same shall be authenticated by the latter
either by signature or thumbmark

ADDITIONAL IMPOSITIONS BY R.A. NO. 10361:

 No employer can hire a kasambahay who is aged 14 years old or younger
 Should a kasambahay aged 15 to 17 be hired, the pertinent and relevant provisions of
R.A. No. 7610 shall apply: “Section 10(A), paragraph 2 of Section 12-A, paragraph 4 of
Section 12-D, and Section 13”
  These working children are entitled to minimum wage and all benefits provided by R.A.
No. 10361.
 “Any employer who has been sentenced by a court of law of any offense against a
working child under this Act shall be meted out with a penalty one degree higher and
shall be prohibited from hiring a working child.” (Sec. 16, R.A. No. 10361)
 Kasambahays shall be registered in the barangay where the employer’s residence is
located (Sec. 17, R.A. No. 10361)
 The DOLE Regional Office in the location of the workplace has jurisdiction over labor-
related disputes between kasambahay and employer. DOLE must exhaust all efforts to
reconcile and mediate the relationship before rendering a decision (Sec. 37, R.A. No.
10361)
 If crimes or offenses have been committed, jurisdiction lies with the regular courts (Sec.
37, R.A. No. 10361)
 Araw ng mga Kasamabahay: January 18 (Sec. 39, R.A. No. 10361)
 Penalty: not less than P10,000 but not more than P40,000 (Sec. 40, R.A. No. 10361)

PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY:

 Any individual, legitimate partnership, corporation or entity licensed to engage in the
recruitment and placement of domestic workers for local employment (par. (g), Section 4,
R.A. No. 10361)
 Responsibilities (Pt. 1):
o Ensure that domestic workers are not charged or levied any recruitment or
placement fees
o Ensure that the employment agreement between the domestic worker and the
employer stipulates the terms and conditions of employment and all the benefits
prescribed by this Act
o Provide a pre-employment orientation briefing to the domestic worker and the
employer about their rights and responsibilities in accordance with this Act
o Keep copies of employment contracts and agreements pertaining to recruited
domestic workers which shall be made available during inspections or whenever
required by the DOLE or local government officials
o Assist domestic workers with respect to complaints or grievances against their
employers
o Cooperate with government agencies in rescue operations involving abused or
exploited domestic workers (Sec. 36, R.A. No. 10361)

ENCUMBRANCES TO COMPLIANCE AND EXPLOITATION:

 Kasambahays not knowing exactly how much they make, their wage going directly to
bank accounts as per arrangements with respective employers
 Kasambahays not earning the minimum wage mandated by law because they do not
know how much they should be paid at the minimum—some earning less than P2,500 per
month
 Kasambahays not being able to report because they are stuck inside the walls of their
employers
 Kasambahays not being paid their SSS contributions because their employers are
suddenly faced with unintended retroactivity of the mandatory SSS payment, e.g., a
middle-class senior citizen employer reported to be hit with a total of P80,000 for
penalties, fines, and retroactive SSS payment for kasambahay hired in the mid-90s
because of R.A. No. 7655, a 1993 law that, among other things, granted kasambahays the
right to have SSS coverage
 Kasambahays who were outright dismissed by their employers who chose instead to not
pay said fines and penalties
 Kasambahays who are being hired strictly as a part-time worker—in other words, an
exception to the law: “… any other person who performs work occasionally or
sporadically and not on an occupational basis”
 Kasambahays being forced to declare themselves to be an exception provided by law,
e.g., a kasambahay of a lawyer who, upon registration, was forced to say she was a
freelance labandera working from different households on a per-day basis, i.e., “… any
other person who performs work occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational
basis”
 Kasambahays who cannot register for SSS membership because of missing documents,
e.g., birth certificate