Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma announced on Sunday, September 18, that employees under a work-from-home (WFH) arrangement can now enjoy overtime pay as well as night shift differential.
In a statement, Laguesma said that the DOLE has revised the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Telecommuting Law, and “these revised rules clarify and adequately address issues and concerns of the telecommuting sector.”
Under the revised IRR, workers shall receive pay, including overtime, night shift differential and other similar monetary benefits not lower than those provided for in applicable laws and authorized collective bargaining agreements.
WFH employees also have the right to rest days, regular holidays and special non-working days. They shall also have the same workload and performance standard as those of comparable workers at the employer’s premises.
Like those reporting on work sites, workers under the WFH scheme shall have access to training without additional cost and shall continue to have collective rights.
Laguesma said the revised IRR was the result of almost two months of consultations with concerned sectors, and it has passed scrutiny by the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council, a consultative body presided by the labor secretary and composed of labor and employer representatives.
Telecommuting employees are not considered field personnel, except when their actual hours of work cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
The new IRR also provides that “all time that an employee is required to be on duty, and all time that an employee is permitted or suffered to work in the alternative workplace shall be counted as hours worked.”
