Article 167Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 167

LABOR LAWS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION SPECIAL LAWS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

employers

on

the

use

of

such

model employment

contract.

In cases where the employment of the domestic

worker

is

facilitated

through

a

private

employment

agency, the PEA shall keep a copy of all employment

contracts

of

domestic

workers

and

shall

be

made

available for verification and inspection by the DOLE.

Section 12. Pre-Employment Requirement. – Prior to

the execution of the employment contract, the employer

may require the following from the domestic worker:

(a) Medical certificate or a health certificate issued by

a local government health officer;

(b) Barangay and police clearance;

(c) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance;

and

(d) Duly authenticated birth certificate or if not

available, any other document showing the age of the

domestic

worker

such

as

voter’s identification card,

baptismal record or passport.

However,

Section

12(a),

(b),

(c)

and

(d) shall be

standard requirements when the employment of the

domestic worker is facilitated through the PEA.

The cost of the foregoing shall be borne by the

prospective employer or agency, as the case may be.

Section

13.

Recruitment

and

Finder’s

Fees.

–

Regardless of whether the domestic worker was hired

through a private employment agency or a third party, no

share in the recruitment or finder’s fees shall be charged

against

the

domestic

worker

by

the

said

private

employment agency or third party.

Section 14. Deposits for Loss or Damage. – It shall be

unlawful for the employer or any other person to require a

domestic

worker

to

make

deposits

from

which

deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss

or damage to tools, materials, furniture and equipment in

the household.

Section 15. Prohibition on Debt Bondage. – It shall be

unlawful for the employer or any person acting on behalf

of the employer to place the domestic worker under debt

bondage.

Section 16. Employment Age of Domestic Workers. –

It shall be unlawful to employ any person below fifteen

(15) years of age as a domestic worker. Employment of

working children, as defined under this Act, shall be

subject to the provisions of Section 10(A), paragraph 2 of

Section 12-A, paragraph 4 of Section 12-D, and Section 13

of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended, otherwise known

as the "Special Protection of Children Against Child

Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act".

Working children shall be entitled to minimum wage,

and all benefits provided under this Act.

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.

Section

17.

Employer’s Reportorial Duties. – The

employers shall register all domestic workers under their

employment in the Registry of Domestic Workers in the

barangay where the employer’s residence is located. The

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)

shall,

in

coordination

with

the

DOLE,

formulate

a

registration system for this purpose.

Section

18.

Skills

Training,

Assessment

and

Certification. – To ensure productivity and assure quality

services, the DOLE, through the Technical Education and

Skills

Development

Authority

(TESDA), shall facilitate

access

of

domestic

workers

to

efficient

training,

assessment

and

certification

based

on

a

duly

promulgated training regulation.

ARTICLE IV EMPLOYMENT – TERMS AND

CONDITIONS

Section 19. Health and Safety. – The employer shall

safeguard the health and safety of the domestic worker in

accordance with laws, rules and regulations, with due

consideration of the peculiar nature of domestic work.

Section 20. Daily Rest Period. – The domestic worker

shall be entitled to an aggregate daily rest period of eight

(8) hours per day.

Section 21. Weekly Rest Period. – The domestic

worker shall be entitled to at least twenty-four (24)

consecutive hours of rest in a week. The employer and

the

domestic

worker

shall

agree in writing on the

schedule of the weekly rest day of the domestic worker:

Provided, That the employer shall respect the preference

of the domestic worker as to the weekly rest day when

such preference is based on religious grounds. Nothing in

this provision shall deprive the domestic worker and the

employer from agreeing to the following:

(a) Offsetting a day of absence with a particular rest

day;

(b) Waiving a particular rest day in return for an

equivalent daily rate of pay;

(c) Accumulating rest days not exceeding five (5)

days; or

(d) Other similar arrangements.

Section 22. Assignment to Nonhousehold Work. – No

domestic

worker

shall

be

assigned

to

work

in

a

commercial, industrial or agricultural enterprise at a wage

rate

lower

than

that

provided

for

agricultural

or

nonagricultural workers. In such cases, the domestic

worker shall be paid the applicable minimum wage.

Section 23. 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.

Section 24. Minimum Wage. – The minimum wage of

domestic workers shall not be less than the following:

(a) Two thousand five hundred pesos (P2,500.00) a

month for those employed in the National Capital Region

(NCR);

(b) Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) a month for

those

employed

in

chartered

cities

and

first

class

municipalities; and

(c) One thousand five hundred pesos (P1,500.00) a

month for those employed mother municipalities.

After one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, and

periodically

thereafter,

the

Regional

Tripartite

and

Productivity Wage Boards (RTPWBs) shall review, and if

proper, determine and adjust the minimum wage rates of

domestic workers.

Section 25. Payment of Wages. – Payment of wages

shall be made on time directly to the domestic worker to

whom they are due in cash at least once a month. The

employer,

unless

allowed

by

the

domestic

worker

through a written consent, shall make no deductions

from the wages other than that which is mandated by

law. No employer shall pay the wages of a domestic

worker by means of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons,

tokens, tickets, chits, or any object other than the cash

wage as provided for under this Act.

The domestic worker is entitled to a thirteenth month

pay as provided for by law.

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