Women
Discrimination against women is prohibited.
1. Concepts
“Women” – as contemplated by current labor law refers to workers who are anatomically or biologically classified as a female.
2. Facilities for Women
The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall establish standards that will ensure the safety and health of women employees. In appropriate cases, he shall, by regulations, require any employer to:
1) Provide seats proper for women and permit them to use such seats when they are free from work and during working hours, provided they can perform their duties in this position without detriment to efficiency;
2) To establish separate toilet rooms and lavatories for men and women and provide at least a dressing room for women;
3) To establish a nursery in a workplace for the benefit of the women employees therein; and
4) To determine appropriate minimum age and other standards for retirement or termination in special occupations such as those of flight attendants and the like. (Article 130, P.D. 442, Labor Code)
3. Maternity Leave
For more information, see Maternity Leave
4. Family Planning Services
Establishments which are required by law to maintain a clinic or infirmary shall provide free family planning services to their employees which shall include, but not be limited to, the application or use of contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices. (Article 132[a], Ibid.)
a. Incentives for Family Planning
In coordination with other agencies of the government engaged in the promotion of family planning, the Department of Labor and Employment shall develop and prescribe incentive bonus schemes to encourage family planning among female workers in any establishment or enterprise. (Article 132[b], Ibid.)
5. Discrimination Prohibited
It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on account of her sex. (Article 133, Ibid.)
The following are acts of discrimination:
1) Payment of a lesser compensation, including wage, salary or other form of remuneration and fringe benefits, to a female employee as against a male employee, for work of equal value; and
2) Favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes. (Paragraph 2, Article 133, Ibid.)
Criminal liability for the willful commission of any unlawful act as provided in this article or any violation of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to Section 2 hereof shall be penalized as provided in Articles 288 and 289 of this Code: Provided, That the institution of any criminal action under this provision shall not bar the aggrieved employee from filing an entirely separate and distinct action for money claims, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs. The actions hereby authorized shall proceed independently of each other. (Paragraph 3, Article 133, Ibid.)
6. Stipulation Against Marriage
It shall be unlawful for an employer to require as a condition of employment or continuation of employment that a woman employee shall not get married, or to stipulate expressly or tacitly that
upon getting married, a woman employee shall be deemed resigned or separated, or to actually dismiss, discharge, discriminate or otherwise prejudice a woman employee merely by reason of her marriage. (Article 134, Ibid.)
7. Prohibited Acts
It shall be unlawful for any employer:
1) To deny any woman employee the benefits provided for in this Chapter or to discharge any woman employed by him for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying any of the benefits provided under this Code;
2) To discharge such woman on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her pregnancy;
3) To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant. (Article 135, Ibid.)
8. Classification of Certain Women Workers
Any woman who is permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any night club, cocktail lounge, massage clinic, bar or similar establishments under the effective control or supervision of the employer for a substantial period of time as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, shall be considered as an employee of such establishment for purposes of labor and social legislation. (Article 132, Ibid.)
References
⦁ Book IV, Presidential Decree No. 442, a.k.a. Labor Code of the Philippines
Related
⦁ Maternity Leave Benefits – Labor Standard
