Category Archives: HR and Labor

Primer on Wage Order No. NCR-19 (15-Peso Increase in Minimum Wage)

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR (RTWPB-NCR) has approved Wage Order No. NCR-19 (full text), providing that all private sector minimum wage workers and employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) shall receive an increase in the existing Basic Wage in the amount of FIFTEEN PESOS (P15.00) per day. The new daily minimum wage rates of covered workers in the private sector in the NCR are as follows: Continue reading

The System of Fixing the Minimum Wage in the Philippines

Calls for the increase of minimum wages have surfaced with the constant increase of oil prices. This increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel almost always have the effect of raising all prices of goods and commodities. How is minimum wage fixed? What is the process in fixing the minimum wage? Let’s have a brief discussion on minimum wage determination. Continue reading

Implementation of Higher Cap (P82,000) for Tax-Exempt Bonuses and Other Benefits

There is a new cap for the exemption of bonuses and other benefits, from the former amount of P30,000. Under Republic Act (RA) No.10653, signed into law in 2015, gross benefits received by officials and employees of public and private entities up to a maximum amount of Eighty Two Thousand Pesos (P82,000) are excluded from the computation of the gross income of the recipients of such benefits, and thus, such amounts are exempt from income tax. To implement RA 10653, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulations (RR) 3-2015. Here’s a briefer of RR 3-2015. Continue reading

P15 Minimum Wage Hike for NCR (Wage Order No. NCR-19, full text)

A 15-peso increase minimum wage was approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) and announced by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz. “The new minimum wage in the National Capital Region has been raised to P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P444 for workers in the agricultural sector. The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed by the NWPC this week, and the RTWPB will publish it, after which it will take effect 15 days after its publication,” DOLE-NCR Regional Director Alex Avila said in a report. This issuance is Wage Order No. NCR-19, reproduced in full below (see also Primer on Wage Order NCR-19). Continue reading

Increase of Tax Exclusion to P82,000 for 13th Month Pay and Other Benefits (BIR Revenue Regulations No. 3-2015; Full Text)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVUENUE
Quezon City

March 9, 2015

REVENUE REGULATIONS NO. 3-2015

SUBJECT: Implementing the Provisions of Republic Act No. 10653, More Particularly on the Increase of the Total Amount of Exclusion to P82,000.oo for 13th Month Pay and Other Benefits from Gross Income Effectively Further Amending the Pertinent Provisions of Revenue Regulations No. 2-98 Continue reading

Due Process in Termination and Disciplinary Actions; Minimum Period for Reply to Show-Cause Notice

Practitioners in the field of labor or Human Resources (HR), as well as managers and executive officers of companies, are aware that an employee may only be dismissed for cause. Disciplinary actions, including dismissal from work, must comply with both substantive and procedural due process. Substantive due process requires a valid cause for the dismissal. For procedural due process, outlined below, an interesting question is this: is there a minimum period that must be given to the employee to answer the show-cause notice? Continue reading

“At-Will” Employment and Due Process in Labor Law

Among the first concepts that we have to extensively discuss with foreign clients is the absence of “at-will employment” under Philippine labor law. “At-will employment” basically refers to an employment arrangement wherein either the employer or the employee can terminate the relationship even without cause. In the Philippines, the employer can only terminate an employee for cause and after complying with due process. Continue reading