INTRODUCTION TO

LAW
LABOR LAW
 Labor Law

Laws that govern the rights and obligations of

employers and employee, providing as well for the
rules by which such rights and obligations may be
enforced.

The primary source of labor laws is PD No. 442,

otherwise known as the Labor Code of the
Philippines. It was enacted on May 1, 1974, by
Ferdinand Marcos.
“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 employees. The state shall assure the rights of workers
to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure
and just and human conditions of work.”
–Art. 3, New Labor Code
 Labor Standards

Refers to the minimum requirements prescribed

by existing law, rules and regulations relating to
wages, hours of work, cost of living allowance and
other monetary and welfare benefits, including
occupational, safety and health standards.
 Labor Relations

Refers to laws, rules and regulations which governs

the relationship between employees and their
employers, promote the right of the employees to
self-organization and collective bargaining,
penalize unfair labor practice, and provide modes
for the settlement of labor disputes such as
conciliation, mediation, grievance machinery,
voluntary arbitration and compulsory arbitration.
 Employer & Employee

An employer is an organization, institution,

government entity, agency, company, professional
services firm, nonprofit association, small business,
store or individual who employs or puts to work, a
person who is called an employee.

An employee is an individual who was hired by an

employer to do a specific job.
Four Fold Test

Selection

Payment of wages

Power of dismissal

Power to control
 Control Test

Refers to the employer’s power to control the

employee’s conduct not only as to the result of the
work to be done but also with respect to the means
and methods by which the work is to be
accomplished.
 Sonza V. ABS-CBN Broadcasting
Corporation

Facts: Respondent ABS-CBN signed an Agreement with the

Mel and Jay Management Development Corporation where
the latter agreed to provide petitioner Sonza’s services
exclusively to ABS-CBN as talent for radio and television.
Later, Sonza tendered a letter rescinding their agreement and
filed a complaint before the DOLE for payment of his labor
standard benefits. ABS-CBN contends on the ground that no
employer-employee relationship existed between the parties.
The Labor Arbiter found for respondent citing that Sonza as
a ‘talent’ cannot be considered an employee of petitioner.
Both NLRC and CA affirmed.
Issue: Whether or not employer-employee relationship
existed between petitioner and ABS-CBN.

Ruling: Applying the control test to the present case,

we find that SONZA is not an employee but an
independent contractor. The control test is the most
important test our courts apply in distinguishing an
employee from an independent Contractor. This test is
based on the extent of control the hirer exercises over
a worker. The greater the supervision and control the
hirer exercises, the more likely the worker is deemed
an employee. The converse holds true as well – the less
control the hirer exercises, the more likely the worker
is considered an independent contractor.
We find that ABS-CBN was not involved in the actual
performance that produced the finished product of SONZA’s
work. ABS-CBN did not instruct SONZA how to perform his
job. ABS-CBN merely reserved the right to modify the
program format and airtime schedule “for more effective
programming.” ABS-CBN’s sole concern was the quality of
the shows and their standing in the ratings. Clearly, ABS-CBN
did not exercise control over the means and methods of
performance of SONZA’s work. In any event, not all rules
imposed by the hiring party on the hired party indicate that
the latter is an employee of the former. In this case, SONZA
failed to show that these rules controlled his performance. We
find that these general rules are merely guidelines towards
the achievement of the mutually desired result, which are top-
rating television and radio programs that comply with
standards of the industry.
Being an exclusive talent does not by itself mean
that SONZA is an employee of ABS-CBN. Even
an independent contractor can validly provide his
services exclusively to the hiring party. In the
broadcast industry, exclusivity is not necessarily
the same as control.
 Management Rights

Range of discretion in managing an organization

reserved for its management under most corporate
legislation.

Comprise of core rights (such as to determine the

organization’s mission, budget and strategy) and
operational rights (such as to assign, direct, hire
and fire)
 Kinds of Employment
Probationary Employment - when the employee, upon his
engagement is made to undergo a trial period where the
employee determines his fitness to qualify for regular
employment, based on reasonable standards made known to him
at the time of engagement. It shall not exceed six (6) months from
the date the employee started working.

Regular Employment - the primary standard that determines

regular employment is the reasonable connection between the
particular activity performed by the employee in relation to the
usual business or trade of the employer; the emphasis is on the
necessity or desirability of the employee’s activity.
Project Employment - employees hired: (1) for a
specific project or undertaking; and (2) the
completion or termination of such project has
been determined at the time of their engagement.

Seasonal Employment - the work or service to be

performed by the employee is seasonal in nature
and the employment is for the duration of the
season.
Casual Employment - the work of the job for which an
employee was hired is merely incidental to the principal
business of the employer and such work or job is for a
definite period made known to the employee at the time
of the engagement.

Fixed Term Employment - valid when: (a) the fixed

period of employment was knowingly and voluntarily
agreed upon by the employer and employee without
any force, duress, or improper pressure being brought
to bear upon the employee and absent any other
circumstances vitiating his consent; or (b) it satisfactorily
appears that the employer and the employee dealt with
each other on more or less equal terms with no moral
dominance exercised by the former or the latter.
Terms and Conditions of Employment

Minimum Wage Rates

Rules on Hours of Work

Leaves under Special Laws

13th Month Pay

 Standard Pay
Overtime work - work may be performed beyond eight
(8) hours a day provided that the employee is paid for
the overtime work, an additional compensation
equivalent to his regular wage plus at least twenty-five
percent (25%) thereof. Work performed beyond eight
hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid an
additional compensation equivalent to the rate of the
first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at least
thirty percent (30%) thereof.
Night differential - every employee shall be paid a night shift
differential of not less than ten percent (10%) of his regular
wage for each hour of work performed between ten o’clock
in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.

Work during regular holidays - that the employee is entitled

to at least 100% of his daily wage rate even if he does not
report for work during a regular holiday, provided he is
present or is on leave of absence with pay on the work day
immediately preceding the holiday. If the employee reports to
work on a regular holiday, he shall be entitled to 200% of his
daily wage rate (100% holiday pay + 100% pay for actual
work done for the day).Where the holiday falls on the
scheduled rest day of the employee, he shall be entitled to at
least an additional 30% of the employee’s regular holiday
rate of 200%, or a total of at least 260%.
Work during special non-working days - the “no work, no
pay” principle applies for those who do not report to
work. For those who do, they shall receive an additional
30% of their daily wage. When the special day falls on
the employee’s rest day, and the employee reported to
work, then he shall be entitled to an additional 50% of his
daily wage.

Work during rest day - where an employee is made or

permitted to work on his scheduled rest day, he shall be
paid an additional compensation of at least thirty percent
(30%) of his regular wage. An employee shall be entitled
to such additional compensation for work performed on
Sunday only when it is his established rest day. 

 Who are entitled?

It shall apply to employees in all establishments

and undertakings whether for profit or not, but not
to government employees, managerial employees,
field personnel, members of the family of the
employer who are dependent on him for support,
domestic helpers, persons in the personal service
of another, and workers who are paid by results as
determined by the Secretary of Labor in
appropriate regulations.
 RA No. 9429

AN ACT DECLARING SEPTEMBER 18 OF

EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL WORKING
HOLIDAY IN THE CITY OF TACURONG,
PROVINCE OF SULTAN KUDARAT, TO
COMMEMORATE ITS CHARTER DAY
ANNIVERSARY
 RA No. 10151

AN ACT ALLOWING THE EMPLOYMENT

OF NIGHT WORKERS, THEREBY
REPEALING ARTICLES 130 AND 131 OF
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBER FOUR
HUNDRED FORTY-TWO, AS AMENDED,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR
CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES