To Upcoming Law Students ...

Hello prospective law students. As I stand before this group today, you and I have something in common. We have all made a poor life decision, the decision to attend law school. But unlike you, I, as a 3L, am too close to the end to rectify my situation, but you all are not. Come Monday, you will step foot into this building and you will officially become a law student. If I were you, I would do some heavy soul searching this weekend and decide if you really want to do that. Take it from me, you do not.

But if you must see for yourself, I suggest you just come to class for two weeks and see how you like it. You can still get a full tuition refund after two weeks. Treat those two weeks as a test drive. You can do the reading for classes if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you are called on, just tell the professor you are taking a test drive. After all, no one expects you to put gas in a car during a test drive. But give it two weeks, and if you really want to be here...well, don't say I didn't warn you.

I know some of you are scoffing at me right now. You see a big firm in your future, with a six-figure salary and a comfortable lifestyle. But ask yourself, do you really want it? Sure, the money is great, but do you really want to put in 80+ hours weeks of high stress legal work? Do you want to develop an ulcer and a drinking problem? Do you want to cheat on your loving significant other with a skanky paralegal because you are in such need of validation, her menthol and perfume odor is as sweet as a bed of roses? Because the life of a big firm associate is not easy. You won't have time to enjoy that big salary because you will spend all your time at the office. Your senses will be numbed by endless hours toiling in front of law books. You will become so devoid of feeling that you will have to resort to hardcore S&M just to get sexual gratification, because that will be the only way you can even feel anymore.

And if you are one of the "lucky" ones to make it as a partner, are you prepared for that? Are your prepared to go thorough a messy divorce from your formerly loving significant other, and lose most of the stuff you accumulated through your endless toil as an associate? Are you prepared to become a souless bastard who's life revolves around arcane statutes and pain and suffering of others? Are you prepared to look at your daughter's face after you missed her piano recital because "Daddy had to file for another continuance, because Daddy is trying to get as much money from the client as he can before the client realizes he has no case"? Are you prepared to live an isolated existence, so consumed by your own greed and desire that you end up dying alone and miserable? And when you die, are you prepared to be dragged to hell by creepy little ghouls, like in the movie Ghost, when the bad guy got impaled by that giant shard of glass?

If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you will do just fine. Thank you, and best of luck with law school.

From the Author of Barely Legal: The Blog

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Employee Benefits in the Philippines

Under the Philippine Labor Code are six basic employee benefits, for an individual who is legally working in the Philippines. These basic employee benefits cover most occupations, agricultural or non-agricultural, provided that the associated compensation for every salient Daily Minimum Wages still apply.

Under general circumstances, any legally employed worker who work eight (8) hours a day on a 48 hours a week schedule is covered under the Philippine Labor Code. Commencing from the time the employee starts to work and until twenty-four (24) hours later is considered one work day. The eight-hour work need not be continuous and may be staggered within the one workday stretch.

The term "employee" denotes any person legally employed in the Philippines, any person compulsorily covered by the GSIS under the Commonwealth Act 186, or any person compulsorily covered by the SSS under Republic Act 1161. Such employee is automatically covered for these government mandated employee benefits.

Here are the Basic Benefits for Employees covered by the Philippine Labor Code:

1. Social Security Systems (SSS) Contributions
   Republic Act No. 8282, otherwise known as the Social Security Act of 1997, refers to the social security system in the Philippines that is initiated, developed and promoted by its Government. The social security system is aimed at providing protection for the SSS member against socially recognized hazard conditions, such as sickness, disability, maternity, old age and death, or other such contingencies not stated but resulted in loss of income or results to a financial burden.
   
   The employee and his/her employer(s) are to contribute for the social security benefits of the said employee in accordance to a given schedule by the Philippine Social Security System. Monthly employee contribution depends on the employee's actual monthly salary. (See: Circular No. 33-P)
   
   
2. Contribution to National Health Insurance Program (NHIP)
   The employee and his/her employer(s) are to contribute for the medical insurance of the said employee in accordance to the Republic Act 7835 on Medicare Program which is administered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth). Monthly employee contribution depends on the employee's actual monthly salary. The contribution schedule is provided by Philhealth. (See: Philhealth Premium Contribution Schedule)
   
   
3. Contribution to Home Development and Mutual Fund (HDMF)
   The employer(s) is required to contribute per month not less than P100.00 to the employee's Home Development and Mutual Fund. In accordance to the periodic remittance schedule provided by HDMF, the employer(s) will remit this contribution, in addition to that of the employee's, which is to be deducted from his/her payroll.
   
   
4. The 13th Month Pay
   As mandated by the Presidential Decree No. 851, the employee shall receive a bonus salary equivalent to one (1) month, regardless of the nature of his/her employment, not later than December 24 of every year.
   
   
5. Service Incentive Leave
   Book III, Chapter III of the Labor Code of the Philippines covers the employee's benefit for Service Incentive Leaves. According to Article 95, an employee who has rendered at least one year of service is entitled to a yearly five days service incentive leave with pay. (See: Article 95, Conditions of Employment)
   
   
6. Meal and Rest Periods
   Under Article 83, the employee is provided a one-hour employee benefit for regular meals, when working on an eight (8 hour) stretch. Employees are also provided adequate rest periods in the morning and afternoon which shall be counted as hours worked. (See: Article 83, Conditions of Employment).

All these provisions apply in addition to every new employee benefits furnished that are in excess of what is stipulated by the Philippine Labor Code. Other regular Philippine employees benefits furnished by the employer(s) but are outside of the mandated employee benefit includes, but not limited to:

1. Housing and housing plans
2. Expense Account
3. Company sponsored vehicle
4. Paid Holiday and Vacation
5. Educational assistance or plans to the employee and/or his direct dependents.

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CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Title I
Working Conditions and Rest Periods

Chapter 1

HOURS OF WORK

Article 82. Coverage. The provision of this Title shall apply to employees in all establishments and undertakings, whether for profit or not, but not to government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, members of the family of the employer who are dependent on him for support, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another and workers who are paid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate regulations.

As used herein, "managerial employees" refers to those whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof, and to other officers or members of the managerial staff.

"Field personnel" refers to 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.

Article 83. Normal hours of work. The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight 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. For purposes of this Article, "health personnel" shall include: resident physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians, paramedical technicians, psychologists, midwives, attendants and all other hospital or clinic personnel.

Article 84. Hours worked. Hours worked shall include (a) all time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace, and (b) 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.

Article 85. Meal periods. Subject to such regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may prescribe, it shall be the duty of every employer to give his employees not less than sixty minutes time-off for their regular meals.

Article 86. Night shift differential. 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.

Article 87. Overtime work. 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.

Article 88. Undertime not offset be overtime. Undertime work on any particular day shall not be offset by overtime work on any other day. Permission given to the employee to go on leave on some other day of the week shall not exempt the employer from paying the additional compensation required in this Chapter.

Article 89. Emergency overtime work. Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases:

(a) When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by Congress or the Chief Executive;

(b) 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;

(c) 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;

(d) When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods;

(e) 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.

Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.

Article 90. Computation of additional compensation. For purposes of computing overtime and other additional remuneration as required by this Chapter, the "regular wage" of an employee shall include the cash wage only, without deduction on account of facilities provided by the employer.

Chapter 2
WEEKLY REST PERIODS

Article 91. Right to weekly rest day. (a) It shall be the duty of every employer, whether operating for profit or not, to provide each of his employees a rest period of not less than twenty-four consecutive hours after every six consecutive normal work days.

(b) The employer shall determine and schedule the weekly rest day of his employees, subject to collective agreement and to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may provide. However, the employer shall respect the preference of employees as to their weekly rest day when such preference is based on religious grounds.

Article 92. When employer may require work on a rest day. The employer may require his employees to work on any day:

(a) 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;

(b) In case of urgent work to be performed on the machinery, equipment or installation to avoid serious loss which the employer would otherwise suffer;

(c) In the event of abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances, where the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures;

(d) To prevent loss or damage to perishable goods;

(e) Where the nature of the work requires continuous operations and the stoppage of work may result in irreparable injury or loss to the employer; and

(f) Under other circumstances analogous or similar to the foregoing as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

Article 93. Compensation for rest day, Sunday or holiday work. (a) 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. An employee shall be entitled to such additional compensation for work performed on Sunday only when it is his established rest day.

(b) 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.

(c) 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.

(d) Where the collective bargaining agreement or other applicable employment contract stipulates the payment of a higher premium pay than that prescribed under this Article, the employer shall pay such higher rate.

Chapter 3
HOLIDAYS, SERVICE INCENTIVE LEAVES AND SERVICE CHARGES

Article 94. Right to holiday pay. (a) Every worker shall be paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays, except in retail and service establishment regularly employing less than ten workers;

(b) 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; and

(c) As used in this Article, "holiday" includes: 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, and the day designated by law for holding a general election.

Article 95. Right to service incentive leave. (a) 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.

(b) This provision shall not apply to those who are already enjoying the benefit herein provided, those enjoying vacation leave with pay at least five days and those employed in establishments regularly employing less than ten employees or in establishments exempted from granting this benefit by the Secretary of Labor after considering the viability or financial condition of such establishment.

(c) The grant of benefit in excess of that provided herein shall not be made a subject of arbitration or any court or administrative action.

Article 96. Service charges. 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. The share of the employees shall be equally distributed among them. In case the service charge is abolished, the share of the covered employees shall be integrated into their wages.

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Service Incentive Leave

Basis

The basis of the grant of Service Incentive Leave to qualified employees is found in Article 95 (Book Three, Title I) of the Labor Code.

Section 2, Rule V, Book III of the Omnibus Rules contains the rules and regulations for the implementation this right.

Employees entitled to SIL

Every employee (subject to the exceptions below) who has rendered at least one year of service is entitled to yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay.

“At least one year of service” Meaning

The term “at least one-year service” means service for not less than 12 months, whether continuous or broken.

The 12-month period shall be reckoned from the date the employee started working, including authorized absences and paid regular holidays.

However, where the operation of the establishment as a matter of practice or policy, or that provided in the employment contract, is less than 12 months, such period shall be considered as one year.

Employees not covered

The following employees are excluded from entitlement to SIL under the Labor Code (but they may be entitled to the same or similar benefits if so provided under other laws, or collective bargaining agreement or employment contract):

1. Those of the government and any of its political subdivisions, including government-owned and controlled corporations;
2. Domestic helpers and persons in the personal service of another;
3. Managerial employees as defined in Book Three of the Labor Code;
4. 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;
5. Those who are already enjoying the benefit herein provided;
6. Those enjoying vacation leave with pay of at least five days; and
7. Those employed in establishments regularly employing less than ten employees. (Omnibus Rules)

Manner of availment

The service incentive leave may be used for sick and vacation leave purposes. And, at the end of the year, the unused SIL may be commuted to cash.

Commutability to cash

Under the Omnibus Rules, the unused service incentive leave is commutable to its money equivalent at the end of the year. [N.B. Not found in the LC.]

Accumulation of Leave Credits

Instead of using up SIL, the employee may accumulate it and opt for its commutation to cash upon his resignation or separation from employment.

Computation of SIL

In computing SIL, the basis shall be the salary rate at the date of commutation. The availment and commutation of this benefit may be on a pro rata basis. (DOLE Handbook)

Illustration

An employee was hired on January 1, 1997, and resigned on March 1, 1998. Assuming he has not used or commuted any of his SIL credits, he is entitled upon his resignation to the commutation of his accumulated SIL as follows:

SIL earned as of Dec. 31, 1997 = 5 days
Proportionate SIL for Jan. and Feb. 1998 = (2/12) x 5 days = 0.833 day
Total as of March 1, 1998 = 5.833 days

Part-time Workers

Are part-time workers entitled to the full five days SIL, or should the entitlement be on pro-rata basis? Part-time workers are entitled to full five days SIL. (BWC Advisory Opinion)

The reason is that the Labor Code speaks of number of months worked in a year, not number of hours worked in a day, as basis for entitlement.

Vacation and Sick leave

The Labor Code treats vacation leave and sick leave under the same category as Service Incentive Leave or leave with pay.

Thus, the grant of vacation or sick leave with pay of at least five days may be credited as compliance with SIL. For example, if a company is giving its employees 15 days vacation leave, five days of which is with pay, the five-days paid vacation leave may be credited as SIL.

Case

1. Petitioner CIT claimed that teachers are not entitled to SIL because they are engaged by the school on contractual basis. The claim was not sustained. It was held that the phrase “those who are engaged on task or contract basis” as mentioned in the Omnibus Rules should be read in relation to “field personnel”. Teachers, not being field personnel, are entitled to SIL. (CIT vs. Ople, 1987.)
2. Applying Article 291 of the Labor Code in light of this peculiarity of the service incentive leave, we can conclude that the three (3)-year prescriptive period commences, not at the end of the year when the employee becomes entitled to the commutation of his service incentive leave, but from the time when the employer refuses to pay its monetary equivalent after demand of commutation or upon termination of the employee’s services, as the case may be. (Auto Bus Transport, Inc. vs. Bautista, 2005)
3. Petitioner’s contention that respondent is not entitled to the grant of service incentive leave just because he was paid on purely commission basis is misplaced. What must be ascertained in order to resolve the issue of propriety of the grant of service incentive leave to respondent is whether or not he is a field personnel. (Auto Bus Transport, Inc. vs. Bautista, 2005)
4. Exemptions. To claim exemption from payment of service incentive leave pay, it is the employer’s duty to prove that it is covered under the exemption. Thus, where the employer claims that the employee is not entitled to service incentive leave pay inasmuch as establishment employing less than ten (10) employees are exempted from paying service incentive leave pay, it has the duty to prove that there were less than ten employees in the company. (C. Planas Commercial, et al. vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 144619, November 11, 2005.)

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