THE

LABOR CODE
OF THE
PHILIPPINES
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442,
AS AMENDED.

A DECREE INSTITUTING A LABOR CODE THEREBY REVISING AND CONSOLIDATING LABOR AND SOCIAL LAWS TO AFFORD
PROTECTION TO LABOR, PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND INSURE INDUSTRIAL PEACE
BASED ON SOCIAL JUSTICE.

PRELIMINARY TITLE
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1. Name of Decree. - This Decree shall be known as the "Labor Code of the Philippines".

ART. 2. Date of effectivity. - This Code shall take effect six (6) months after its promulgation.

ART. 3. Declaration of basic policy. - The State shall afford protection to labor, promote full employment, ensure
equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed and regulate the relations between workers and employers.
The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and
humane conditions of work.

ART. 4. Construction in favor of labor. - All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this
Code, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor.

ART. 5. Rules and regulations. - The Department of Labor and other government agencies charged with the
administration and enforcement of this Code or any of its parts shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules
and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall become effective fifteen (15) days after announcement of their
adoption in newspapers of general circulation.

ART. 6. Applicability. - All rights and benefits granted to workers under this Code shall, except as may otherwise be
provided herein, apply alike to all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural. (As amended by Presidential
Decree No. 570-A, November 1, 1974).

Chapter II
EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS
ART. 8. Transfer of lands to tenant-workers. - Being a vital part of the labor force, tenant-farmers on private
agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn under a system of share crop or lease tenancy whether classified
as landed estate or not shall be deemed owner of a portion constituting a family-size farm of five (5) hectares, if not
irrigated and three (3) hectares, if irrigated.

In all cases, the land owner may retain a n area of not more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is cultivating
such area or will now cultivate it.

ART. 9. Determination of land value. - For the purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the
tenant-farmer, the value of the land shall be equivalent to two and one-half (2-1/2) times the average harvest of three
(3) normal crop years immediately preceding the promulgation of Presidential Decree No. 27 on October 21, 1972.

The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum, shall be paid by the tenant in
fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15) equal annual amortizations.

In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by the farmers’ cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-
farmer is a member, with the cooperative having a right of recourse against him.

The government shall guarantee such amortizations with shares of stock in government-owned and government-
controlled corporations.

ART. 10. Conditions of ownership. - No title to the land acquired by the tenant-farmer under Presidential Decree No.
27 shall be actually issued to him unless and until he has become a full-fledged member of a duly recognized farmers’
cooperative.
Title to the land acquired pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 27 or the Land Reform Program of the Government
shall not be transferable except by hereditary succession or to the Government in accordance with the provisions of
Presidential Decree No. 27, the Code of Agrarian Reforms and other existing laws and regulations.

ART. 11. Implementing agency. - The Department of Agrarian Reform shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations to implement the provisions of this Chapter.

BOOK ONE
PRE-EMPLOYMENT

ART. 12. Statement of objectives. - It is the policy of the State:

a) To promote and maintain a state of full employment through improved manpower training, allocation and
utilization;

b) To protect every citizen desiring to work locally or overseas by securing for him the best possible terms and
conditions of employment;

c) To facilitate a free choice of available employment by persons seeking work in conformity with the national
interest;

d) To facilitate and regulate the movement of workers in conformity with the national interest;

e) To regulate the employment of aliens, including the establishment of a registration and/or work permit system;

f) To strengthen the network of public employment offices and rationalize the participation of the private sector in the
recruitment and placement of workers, locally and overseas, to serve national development objectives;

g) To insure careful selection of Filipino workers for overseas employment in order to protect the good name of the
Philippines abroad.

Title I
RECRUITMENT
AND
PLACEMENT OF WORKERS

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ART. 13. Definitions. - (a) "Worker" means any member of the labor force, whether employed or unemployed.

(b) "Recruitment and placement" refers to any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring
or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or
abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided, That any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a
fee, employment to two or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement.

(c) "Private fee-charging employment agency" means any person or entity engaged in recruitment and placement of
workers for a fee which is charged, directly or indirectly, from the workers or employers or both.

(d) "License" means a document issued by the Department of Labor authorizing a person or entity to operate a private
employment agency.

(e) "Private recruitment entity" means any person or association engaged in the recruitment and placement of
workers, locally or overseas, without charging, directly or indirectly, any fee from the workers or employers.

(f) "Authority" means a document issued by the Department of Labor authorizing a person or association to engage in
recruitment and placement activities as a private recruitment entity.
(g) "Seaman" means any person employed in a vessel engaged in maritime navigation.

(h) "Overseas employment" means employment of a worker outside the Philippines.

(i) "Emigrant" means any person, worker or otherwise, who emigrates to a foreign country by virtue of an immigrant
visa or resident permit or its equivalent in the country of destination.

ART. 14. Employment promotion. - The Secretary of Labor shall have the power and authority:

(a) To organize and establish new employment offices in addition to the existing employment offices under the
Department of Labor as the need arises;

(b) To organize and establish a nationwide job clearance and information system to inform applicants registering with
a particular employment office of job opportunities in other parts of the country as well as job opportunities abroad;

(c) To develop and organize a program that will facilitate occupational, industrial and geographical mobility of labor
and provide assistance in the relocation of workers from one area to another; and

(d) To require any person, establishment, organization or institution to submit such employment information as may
be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.

ART. 15. Bureau of Employment Services. - (a) The Bureau of Employment Services shall be primarily responsible for
developing and monitoring a comprehensive employment program. It shall have the power and duty:

1. To formulate and develop plans and programs to implement the employment promotion
objectives of this Title;

2. To establish and maintain a registration and/or licensing system to regulate private

sector participation in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally and overseas,
and to secure the best possible terms and conditions of employment for Filipino contract
workers and compliance therewith under such rules and regulations as may be issued by
the Minister of Labor;

3. To formulate and develop employment programs designed to benefit disadvantaged

groups and communities;

4. To establish and maintain a registration and/or work permit system to regulate the
employment of aliens;

5. To develop a labor market information system in aid of proper manpower and

development planning;

6. To develop a responsive vocational guidance and testing system in aid of proper human
resources allocation; and

7. To maintain a central registry of skills, except seamen.

(b) The regional offices of the Ministry of Labor shall have the original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters or
cases involving employer-employee relations including money claims, arising out of or by virtue of any law or
contracts involving Filipino workers for overseas employment except seamen: Provided, That the Bureau of
Employment Services may, in the case of the National Capital Region, exercise such power, whenever the Minister of
Labor deems it appropriate. The decisions of the regional offices of the Bureau of Employment Services, if so
authorized by the Minister of Labor as provided in this Article, shall be appealable to the National Labor Relations
Commission upon the same grounds provided in Article 223 hereof. The decisions of the National Labor Relations
Commission shall be final and inappealable. (Superseded by Exec. Order 797, May 1, 1982).

(c) The Minister of Labor shall have the power to impose and collect fees based on rates recommended by the Bureau
of Employment Services. Such fees shall be deposited in the National Treasury as a special account of the General
Fund, for the promotion of the objectives of the Bureau of Employment Services, subject to the provisions of Section
40 of Presidential Decree No. 1177.
ART. 16. Private recruitment. - Except as provided in Chapter II of this Title, no person or entity other than the public
employment offices, shall engage in the recruitment and placement of workers.

ART. 17. Overseas Employment Development Board. - An Overseas Employment Development Board is hereby
created to undertake, in cooperation with relevant entities and agencies, a systematic program for overseas
employment of Filipino workers in excess of domestic needs and to protect their rights to fair and equitable
employment practices. It shall have the power and duty:

1. To promote the overseas employment of Filipino workers through a comprehensive market promotion and
development program;

2. To secure the best possible terms and conditions of employment of Filipino contract workers on a government-to-
government basis and to ensure compliance therewith;

3. To recruit and place workers for overseas employment on a government-to-government arrangement and in such
other sectors as policy may dictate; and

4. To act as secretariat for the Board of Trustees of the Welfare and Training Fund for Overseas Workers.

ART. 18. Ban on direct-hiring. - No employer may hire a Filipino worker for overseas employment except through
the Boards and entities authorized by the Secretary of Labor. Direct-hiring by members of the diplomatic corps,
international organizations and such other employers as may be allowed by the Secretary of Labor is exempted from
this provision.

ART. 19. Office of Emigrant Affairs. - (a) Pursuant to the national policy to maintain close ties with Filipino migrant
communities and promote their welfare as well as establish a data bank in aid of national manpower policy
formulation, an Office of Emigrant Affairs is hereby created in the Department of Labor. The Office shall be a unit at
the Office of the Secretary and shall initially be manned and operated by such personnel and through such funding as
are available within the Department and its attached agencies. Thereafter, its appropriation shall be made part of the
regular General Appropriations Decree.

(b) The office shall, among others, promote the well-being of emigrants and maintain their close link to the homeland
by:

1) serving as a liaison with migrant communities;

2) provision of welfare and cultural services;

3) promote and facilitate re-integration of migrants into the national mainstream;

4) promote economic; political and cultural ties with the communities; and

5) generally to undertake such activities as may be appropriate to enhance such

cooperative links.

ART. 20. National Seamen Board. - (a) A National Seamen Board is hereby created which shall develop and maintain
a comprehensive program for Filipino seamen employed overseas. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To provide free placement services for seamen;

2. To regulate and supervise the activities of agents or representatives of shipping

companies in the hiring of seamen for overseas employment and secure the best possible
terms of employment for contract seamen workers and secure compliance therewith;

3. To maintain a complete registry of all Filipino seamen.

(b) The Board shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters or cases including money claims,
involving employer-employee relations, arising out of or by virtue of any law or contracts involving Filipino seamen
for overseas employment. The decisions of the Board shall be appealable to the National Labor Relations Commission
upon the same grounds provided in Article 223 hereof. The decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission
shall be final and inappealable.
 ART. 21. Foreign service role and participation. - To provide ample protection to Filipino workers abroad, the labor
attaches, the labor reporting officers duly designated by the Secretary of Labor and the Philippine diplomatic or
consular officials concerned shall, even without prior instruction or advice from the home office, exercise the power
and duty:

(a) To provide all Filipino workers within their jurisdiction assistance on all matters arising out of employment;

(b) To insure that Filipino workers are not exploited or discriminated against;

(c) To verify and certify as requisite to authentication that the terms and conditions of employment in contracts
involving Filipino workers are in accordance with the Labor Code and rules and regulations of the Overseas
Employment Development Board and National Seamen Board;

(d) To make continuing studies or researches and recommendations on the various aspects of the employment market
within their jurisdiction;

(e) To gather and analyze information on the employment situation and its probable trends, and to make such
information available; and

(f) To perform such other duties as may be required of them from time to time.

ART. 22. Mandatory remittance of foreign exchange earnings. - It shall be mandatory for all Filipino workers abroad
to remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings to their families, dependents, and/or beneficiaries in the country
in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.

ART. 23. Composition of the Boards. - (a) The OEDB shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor and Employment as
Chairman, the Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, and a representative each of the Department of Foreign
Affairs, the Department of National Defense, the Central Bank, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, the
National Manpower and Youth Council, the Bureau of Employment Services, a workers’ organization and an
employers’ organization and the Executive Director of the OEDB as members.

(b) The National Seamen Board shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor and Employment as Chairman, the
Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and a representative
each of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, the Central Bank, the
Maritime Industry Authority, the Bureau of Employment Services, a national shipping association and the Executive
Director of the NSB as members.

The members of the Boards shall receive allowances to be determined by the Board which shall not be more than
P2,000.00 per month.

(c) The Boards shall be attached to the Department of Labor for policy and program coordination. They shall each be
assisted by a Secretariat headed by an Executive Director who shall be a Filipino citizen with sufficient experience in
manpower administration, including overseas employment activities. The Executive Director shall be appointed by
the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and shall receive an annual
salary as fixed by law. The Secretary of Labor shall appoint the other members of the Secretariat.

(d) The Auditor General shall appoint his representative to the Boards to audit their respective accounts in
accordance with auditing laws and pertinent rules and regulations.

ART. 24. Boards to issue rules and collect fees. - The Boards shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to carry out
their functions. They shall have the power to impose and collect fees from employers concerned, which shall be
deposited in the respective accounts of said Boards and be used by them exclusively to promote their objectives.

Chapter II
REGULATION OF RECRUITMENT AND PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES

ART. 25. Private sector participation in the recruitment and placement of workers. - Pursuant to national development objectives and
in order to harness and maximize the use of private sector resources and initiative in the development and implementation of a
comprehensive employment program, the private employment sector shall participate in the recruitment and placement of workers,
locally and overseas, under such guidelines, rules and regulations as may be issued by the Secretary of Labor.
ART. 26. Travel agencies prohibited to recruit. - Travel agencies and sales agencies of airline companies are
prohibited from engaging in the business of recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment whether
for profit or not.

ART. 27. Citizenship requirement. - Only Filipino citizens or corporations, partnerships or entities at least seventy-
five percent (75%) of the authorized and voting capital stock of which is owned and controlled by Filipino citizens
shall be permitted to participate in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally or overseas.

ART. 28. Capitalization. - All applicants for authority to hire or renewal of license to recruit are required to have such
substantial capitalization as determined by the Secretary of Labor.

ART. 29. Non-transferability of license or authority. - No license or authority shall be used directly or indirectly by
any person other than the one in whose favor it was issued or at any place other than that stated in the license or
authority be transferred, conveyed or assigned to any other person or entity. Any transfer of business address,
appointment or designation of any agent or representative including the establishment of additional offices anywhere
shall be subject to the prior approval of the Department of Labor.

ART. 30. Registration fees. - The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of fees for the registration of all
applicants for license or authority.

ART. 31. Bonds. - All applicants for license or authority shall post such cash and surety bonds as determined by the
Secretary of Labor to guarantee compliance with prescribed recruitment procedures, rules and regulations, and terms
and conditions of employment as may be appropriate.

ART. 32. Fees to be paid by workers. - Any person applying with a private fee-charging employment agency for
employment assistance shall not be charged any fee until he has obtained employment through its efforts or has
actually commenced employment. Such fee shall be always covered with the appropriate receipt clearly showing the
amount paid. The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of allowable fees.

ART. 33. Reports on employment status. - Whenever the public interest requires, the Secretary of Labor may direct
all persons or entities within the coverage of this Title to submit a report on the status of employment, including job
vacancies, details of job requisitions, separation from jobs, wages, other terms and conditions and other employment
data.

ART. 34. Prohibited practices. - It shall be unlawful for any individual, entity, licensee, or holder of authority:

(a) To charge or accept, directly or indirectly, any amount greater than that specified in the schedule of allowable fees
prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, or to make a worker pay any amount greater than that actually received by him
as a loan or advance;

(b) To furnish or publish any false notice or information or document in relation to recruitment or employment;

(c) To give any false notice, testimony, information or document or commit any act of misrepresentation for the
purpose of securing a license or authority under this Code.

(d) To induce or attempt to induce a worker already employed to quit his employment in order to offer him to another
unless the transfer is designed to liberate the worker from oppressive terms and conditions of employment;

(e) To influence or to attempt to influence any person or entity not to employ any worker who has not applied for
employment through his agency;

(f) To engage in the recruitment or placement of workers in jobs harmful to public health or morality or to the dignity
of the Republic of the Philippines;

(g) To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by the Secretary of Labor or by his duly authorized representatives;

(h) To fail to file reports on the status of employment, placement vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange earnings,
separation from jobs, departures and such other matters or information as may be required by the Secretary of Labor.

(i) To substitute or alter employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor from the time of
actual signing thereof by the parties up to and including the periods of expiration of the same without the approval of
the Secretary of Labor;
 (j) To become an officer or member of the Board of any corporation engaged in travel agency or to be engaged directly
or indirectly in the management of a travel agency; and

(k) To withhold or deny travel documents from applicant workers before departure for monetary or financial
considerations other than those authorized under this Code and its implementing rules and regulations.

ART. 35. Suspension and/or cancellation of license or authority. - The Minister of Labor shall have the power to suspend or cancel any
license or authority to recruit employees for overseas employment for violation of rules and regulations issued by the Ministry of Labor,
the Overseas Employment Development Board, or for violation of the provisions of this and other applicable laws, General Orders and
Letters of Instructions.

Chapter III
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

ART. 36. Regulatory power. - The Secretary of Labor shall have the power to restrict and regulate the recruitment
and placement activities of all agencies within the coverage of this Title and is hereby authorized to issue orders and
promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the objectives and implement the provisions of this Title.

ART. 37. Visitorial Power. - The Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized representatives may, at any time, inspect
the premises, books of accounts and records of any person or entity covered by this Title, require it to submit reports
regularly on prescribed forms, and act on violation of any provisions of this Title.

ART. 38. Illegal recruitment. - (a) Any recruitment activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated under
Article 34 of this Code, to be undertaken by non-licensees or non-holders of authority, shall be deemed illegal and
punishable under Article 39 of this Code. The Department of Labor and Employment or any law enforcement officer
may initiate complaints under this Article.

(b) Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving
economic sabotage and shall be penalized in accordance with Article 39 hereof.

Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons
conspiring and/or confederating with one another in carrying out any unlawful or illegal transaction, enterprise or
scheme defined under the first paragraph hereof. Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large scale if committed
against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group.

(c) The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives shall have the power to cause the
arrest and detention of such non-licensee or non-holder of authority if after investigation it is determined that his
activities constitute a danger to national security and public order or will lead to further exploitation of job-seekers.
The Secretary shall order the search of the office or premises and seizure of documents, paraphernalia, properties and
other implements used in illegal recruitment activities and the closure of companies, establishments and entities
found to be engaged in the recruitment of workers for overseas employment, without having been licensed or
authorized to do so.

ART. 39. Penalties. - (a) The penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos
(P1000,000.00) shall be imposed if illegal recruitment constitutes economic sabotage as defined herein;

(b) Any licensee or holder of authority found violating or causing another to violate any provision of this Title or its
implementing rules and regulations shall, upon conviction thereof, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than
two years nor more than five years or a fine of not less than P10,000 nor more than P50,000, or both such
imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court;

(c) Any person who is neither a licensee nor a holder of authority under this Title found violating any provision
thereof or its implementing rules and regulations shall, upon conviction thereof, suffer the penalty of imprisonment
of not less than four years nor more than eight years or a fine of not less than P20,000 nor more than P100,000 or
both such imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court;

(d) If the offender is a corporation, partnership, association or entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the officer or
officers of the corporation, partnership, association or entity responsible for violation; and if such officer is an alien,
he shall, in addition to the penalties herein prescribed, be deported without further proceedings;
 (e) In every case, conviction shall cause and carry the automatic revocation of the license or authority and all the
permits and privileges granted to such person or entity under this Title, and the forfeiture of the cash and surety
bonds in favor of the Overseas Employment Development Board or the National Seamen Board, as the case may be,
both of which are authorized to use the same exclusively to promote their objectives.

Title II
EMPLOYMENT OF NON-RESIDENT
ALIENS

ART. 40. Employment permit of non-resident aliens. - Any alien seeking admission to the Philippines for
employment purposes and any domestic or foreign employer who desires to engage an alien for employment in the
Philippines shall obtain an employment permit from the Department of Labor.

The employment permit may be issued to a non-resident alien or to the applicant employer after a determination of
the non-availability of a person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time of application to
perform the services for which the alien is desired.

For an enterprise registered in preferred areas of investments, said employment permit may be issued upon
recommendation of the government agency charged with the supervision of said registered enterprise.

ART. 41. Prohibition against transfer of employment. - (a) After the issuance of an employment permit, the alien
shall not transfer to another job or change his employer without prior approval of the Secretary of Labor.

(b) Any non-resident alien who shall take up employment in violation of the provision of this Title and its
implementing rules and regulations shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Articles 289 and 290 of
the Labor Code.

In addition, the alien worker shall be subject to deportation after service of his sentence.

ART. 42. Submission of list. - Any employer employing non-resident foreign nationals on the effective date of this Code shall submit a
list of such nationals to the Secretary of Labor within thirty (30) days after such date indicating their names, citizenship, foreign and
local addresses, nature of employment and status of stay in the country. The Secretary of Labor shall then determine if they are entitled
to an employment permit.