“Wage” – paid to any employee shall mean the remuneration or earnings, however designated, capable of being expressed in terms of money.
1. Concepts
“Wage” – paid to any employee shall mean the remuneration or earnings, however designated, capable of being expressed in terms of money, whether fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece, or commission basis, or other method of calculating the same, which is payable by an employer to an employee under a written or unwritten contract of employment for work done or to be done, or for services rendered or to be rendered and includes the fair and reasonable value, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, of board, lodging, or other facilities customarily furnished by the employer to the employee. “Fair and reasonable value” shall not include any profit to the employer, or to any person affiliated with the employer. (Article 97[f], P.D. 442, Labor Code)
2. Payment of Wages
a. Payment by Results
The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall regulate the payment of wages by results, including pakyao, piecework, and other non-time work, in order to ensure the payment of fair and reasonable wage rates, preferably through time and motion studies or in consultation with representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations. (Article 101[a], Ibid.)
b. Forms of Payment
No employer shall pay the wages of an employee by means of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons, tokens, tickets, chits, or any object other than legal tender, even when expressly requested by the employee. (Article 102, Ibid.)
Payment of wages by check or money order shall be allowed when such manner of payment is customary on the date of effectivity of this Code, or is necessary because of special circumstances as specified in appropriate regulations to be issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment or as stipulated in a collective bargaining agreement. (Paragraph 2, Article 102, Ibid.)
c. Time of Payment
Wages shall be paid at least once every two (2) weeks or twice a month at intervals not exceeding sixteen (16) days. If on account of force majeure or circumstances beyond the employer’s control, payment of wages on or within the time herein provided cannot be made, the employer shall pay the wages immediately after such force majeure or circumstances have ceased. No employer shall make payment with less frequency than once a month.
The payment of wages of employees engaged to perform a task which cannot be completed in two (2) weeks shall be subject to the following conditions, in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration award:
1. That payments are made at intervals not exceeding sixteen (16) days, in proportion to the amount of work completed;
2. That final settlement is made upon completion of the work. (Article 103, Ibid.)
d. Place of Payment
Payment of wages shall be made at or near the place of undertaking, except as otherwise provided by such regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may prescribe under conditions to ensure greater protection of wages. (Article 104, Ibid.)
e. Direct Payment of Wages
Wages shall be paid directly to the workers to whom they are due, except:
1) In cases of force majeure rendering such payment impossible or under other special circumstances to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate regulations, in which case, the worker may be paid through another person under written authority given by the worker for the purpose; or
2) Where the worker has died, in which case, the employer may pay the wages of the deceased worker to the heirs of the latter without the necessity of intestate proceedings. The claimants, if they are all of age, shall execute an affidavit attesting to their relationship to the deceased and the fact that they are his heirs, to the exclusion of all other persons. If any of the heirs is a minor, the affidavit shall be executed on his behalf by his natural guardian or next-of-kin. The affidavit shall be presented to the employer who shall make payment through the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his representative. The representative of the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall act as referee in dividing the amount paid among the heirs. The payment of wages under this Article shall absolve the employer of any further liability with respect to the amount paid. (Article 105, Ibid.)
3. Prohibitions regarding Wages
a. Non-Diminution of Benefits
Nothing in the Labor Code shall be construed to eliminate or in any way diminish supplements, or other employee benefits being enjoyed at the time of promulgation of this Code. (Article 100, Ibid.)
b. Non-Interference in Disposal of Wages
No employer shall limit or otherwise interfere with the freedom of any employee to dispose of his wages. He shall not in any manner force, compel, or oblige his employees to purchase merchandise, commodities or other property from any other person, or otherwise make use of any store or services of such employer or any other person. (Article 112, Ibid.)
c. Wage Deduction
No employer, in his own behalf or in behalf of any person, shall make any deduction from the wages of his employees, except:
(a) In cases where the worker is insured with his consent by the employer, and the deduction is to recompense the employer for the amount paid by him as premium on the insurance;
(b) For union dues, in cases where the right of the worker or his union to check-off has been recognized by the employer or authorized in writing by the individual worker concerned; and
(c) In cases where the employer is authorized by law or regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment. (Article 113, Ibid.)
d. Deposits for Loss or Damage
No employer shall require his worker to make deposits from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss of or damage to tools, materials, or equipment supplied by the employer, except when the employer is engaged in such trades, occupations or business where the practice of making deductions or requiring deposits is a recognized one, or is necessary or desirable as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate rules and regulations. (Article 114, Ibid.)
e. Limitations
No deduction from the deposits of an employee for the actual amount of the loss or damage shall be made unless the employee has been heard thereon, and his responsibility has been clearly shown. (Article 115, Ibid.)
f. Withholding of Wages and Kickbacks Prohibited
It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to withhold any amount from the
wages of a worker or induce him to give up any part of his wages by force, stealth, intimidation, threat or by any other. (Article 116, Ibid.)
g. Deduction to Ensure Employment
It shall be unlawful to make any deduction from the wages of any employee for the benefit of the employer or his representative or intermediary as consideration of a promise of employment or
retention in employment. (Article 117, Ibid.)
h. Retaliatory Measures
It shall be unlawful for an employer to refuse to pay or reduce the wages and benefits, discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee who has filed any complaint or instituted any proceeding under this Title or has testified or is about to testify in such proceedings. (Article 118, Ibid.)
i. False Reporting
It shall be unlawful for any person to make any statement, report, or record filed or kept pursuant to the provisions of [the Labor Code] knowing such statement, report or record to be false in any material respect.
4. Worker Preference in Case of Bankruptcy
In the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of an employer’s business, his workers shall enjoy first preference as regards their wages and other monetary claims, any provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding. Such unpaid wages and monetary claims shall be paid in full before claims of the government and other creditors may be paid. (Article 110, Ibid.)
References
⦁ Book III, Presidential Decree No. 442, a.k.a. Labor Code of the Philippines
