Employee Wages and Wage-Related Benefits in the Philippines

Under the Philippine Labor Code, employee wage implies of the monetary equivalent the legally employed worker in the Philippines will receive from his/her employer(s) upon completion of eight (8) hours of work, whether consecutive or broken, and that falls on a 24-hour period, or one workday. One work day commences from the minute the employee starts to work and counting twenty-four (24) hours later. The eight-hour work rendered by the employee need not be continuous and may be staggered as long as its falls within the one work day stretch.

The employee wage may be reduced proportionately if work rendered is less than the prescribed eight (8) hours of work a day.

According to the employer - employees' arrangement, the employee's wage may be paid on a predetermined period, whether it is calculated hourly, daily or monthly. For a predetermined period of work, the minimum employee compensation for eight (8) hours of work will not be lower than the salient minimum daily wage applicable to the region as determined by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board.

If the employee wage is paid by results of the work, the employee will receive the minimum daily wage for the eight (8) hours of work.

The employer(s) cannot make any adjustment on the employee's wage without the permission of the employee, except for insurance premiums, for withholding taxes, SSS contribution premiums and other deductions expressly authorized by law, such as union dues or similar.

Employee wages also include related benefits such as overtime, rest day, holiday, night differential and the 13th month pay. By extension, the term 'wage benefit' implies the facilities customarily furnished by the employer(s), the value of board and lodging, the expense accounts (which in a strict sense imply the expenses used solely for the benefit of the employee), health or life insurance premiums including other non-life insurance premiums or similar, interest on loans that are better than market rate, and discounts on other goods and services.

Overtime Work
Article 87 states that work rendered in the excess of the prescribed eight (8) hours a day will be treated as Overtime Work. The employee will be paid for the overtime work the wage benefit equivalent to his/her regular wage plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof. On rest days and holidays, the employee will be paid the compensation equivalent to the rate of a non-working day, plus the wage benefit equivalent plus at least thirty percent (30%) thereof.

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