Househelpers and

Homeworkers
Gonzales, Cerynna Gabrielle
9 AM to 12 PM TBA 1 (Sunday)
COVERAGE
• c. Househelpers

• i. Kasambahay Law (RA No 10361)

• i. Labor Advisory 10-18

• ii Labor Code as amended by RA No 7655 (An act increasing the Minimum wage of Househelpers

• Apex Mining Corp v NLRC, April 22, 1991

• d. Employment of Homeworkers

• e. Apprentices and Learners

C. HOUSEHELPERS as defined in “Magna Carta for the
Kasambahay 2005”

• Househelpers or “kasambahay”

• Refers to any person employed in the employer's residence,

performing tasks ascribed as household work for which he or she is
being paid wages by the employer for services rendered.
HOUSEHELPERS as defined in Kasambahay Law (RA No 10361)

• Domestic worker or “Kasambahay” refers to any person engaged in

domestic work within an employment relationship such as, but not
limited to, the following: general househelp, nursemaid or “yaya”,
cook, gardener, or laundry person, but shall exclude any person who
performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on
an occupational basis.
Kasambahay Law (RA No 10361)
• AN ACT INSTITUTING POLICIES FOR THE PROTECTION
AND WELFARE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS

• known as the “Domestic Workers Act” or “Batas Kasambahay”.

• Sec 3 Coverage: applies to all domestic workers employed and

working within the country.
Rights and Privileges Art II Book 3 of Labor Code (Sec 5-
6)
• Sec 5: Shall not abuse nor inflict any form of physical violence or harassment or any act tending to
degrade the dignity of a domestic worker.
This also includes harassing the HH in the form of oral communication, embarrassing the HH
privately or publicly, bad mouthing, etc.

• Sec 6: provide for the basic necessities, 3x meals, and humane sleep
-rest and assistance in case of illnesses and injuries sustained during service without loss of
benefits.
Employers shall categorize Wants vs Needs of HH, give them appropriate rest, provide medical
assistance

• Employer shall not withdraw or hold in abeyance the provision of these basic necessities as
Punishment and Disciplinary action
• Sec 7: Guarantee of Privacy (respect to the domestic helper)
If she wants to keep her family and love life private, RESPECT that.

• Sec 8: Access to Outside Communication (Use of communication facilities as provided by

employer)
Law does not require employer to buy HH gadgets

• Sec 9: Right to Education and Training (Employer shall afford the OPPORTUNITY and
ALLOW the HH to finish basic ed/ALS)
Give considerations to, not necessarily give them education

• Sec 10: Prohibition Against Privileged Information (inadmissible in evidence except

when the suit involves the employer or any member of the household in a crime against
persons, property, personal liberty and security, and chastity.)
Ex. Rape by father to daughter, not a privileged information
PRE-EMPLOYMENT
• Sec 11: Employment Contract – in a dialect understood by BOTH parties

(a) Duties and responsibilities of the domestic worker;

(b) Period of employment;
(c) Compensation;
(d) Authorized deductions;
(e) Hours of work and proportionate additional payment;
(f) Rest days and allowable leaves;
(g) Board, lodging and medical attention;
(h) Agreements on deployment expenses, if any;
(i) Loan agreement;
(j) Termination of employment; and
(k) Any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties.
• SEC. 12. Pre-Employment Requirement. – Prior to the execution of the
employment contract, the employer MAY require the following from
the domestic worker:
Not Mandatory, subject to employer’s choice

(a) Medical certificate or a health certificate issued by a local

government health officer;
(b) Barangay and police clearance;
(c) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance; and
(d) Duly authenticated birth certificate or if not available, any other
document showing the age of the domestic worker such as voter’s
identification card, baptismal record or passport.
• SEC. 14. Deposits for Loss or Damage. – It shall be unlawful for the
employer or any other person to require a domestic worker to make deposits
from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss or
damage to tools, materials, furniture and equipment in the household.
HH is not obliged to pay for loss unless proven to be products of
theft/robbery

• SEC. 15. Prohibition on Debt Bondage. – It shall be unlawful for the

employer or any person acting on behalf of the employer to place the
domestic worker under debt bondage.
Debt bondage refers to the rendering of service by the domestic worker as
security or payment for a debt where the length and nature of service is
not clearly defined or when the value of the service is not reasonably
applied in the payment of the debt.
EMPLOYMENT
• Sec 16 : Employment Age of Domestic Workers
• 15 years above
• Working children who are fifteen (15) years old and above but below
eighteen (18) years old.

• SEC. 20. Daily Rest Period (8 hours a day)

• SEC. 21. Weekly Rest Period. (1 day/24 consecutive hours)
• SEC. 23. Extent of Duty The HH and the employer may mutually
agree for the former to TEMPORARILY perform a task that is
outside the latter’s household for the benefit of another household
 Labor Code as amended by RA No
Kasambahay Law (RA No 7655 (An act increasing the Minimum
10361) wage of Househelpers

• SEC 24. Minimum Wage. – The minimum • “ART. 143. Minimum wage. — (a) Househelpers shall be paid
the following minimum wage rates;
wage of domestic workers shall not be less         
than the following: (1) Eight hundred pesos (P800.00) a month for househelpers in
Manila, Quezon, Pasay and Caloocan cities and municipalities of
Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Malabon,
Parañaque, Las Piñas, Pasig, Marikina, Valenzuela, Taguig and
(a) Two thousand five hundred pesos Pateros in Metro Manila and in highly urbanized cities;
(P2,500.00) a month for those employed in (2) Six hundred fifty pesos (P650.00) a month for those in other
chartered cities and first class municipalities; and
the National Capital Region (NCR);
(3) Five hundred fifty pesos (P550.00) a month for those in other
(b) Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) a month municipalities;
for those employed in chartered cities and •  Provided, That the employees shall review the employment
contracts of their househelpers every three (3) years with the
first class municipalities; and end in view of improving the terms and conditions thereof.
(c) One thousand five hundred pesos •  Provided, further, That those househelpers who are receiving at
least One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) shall be covered by the
(P1,500.00) a month for those employed in Social Security System (SSS) and be entitled to all the benefits
other municipalities. provided thereunder.”
• HH must be given a monthly wage with pay slips. It should not go under the
minimum wage assigned to each region.

• For Metro Manila HH, a Php1,500 wage hike was recently approved by the
Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region. Once
the order takes effect, the new monthly minimum wage rate will be at Php5,000.

• (1) year of service shall be entitled to an annual service incentive leave of five (5)
days with pay:

In addition to that, employers are mandated to have their kasambahays registered as

members of SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG. 
However, if the domestic worker is receiving a wage of Php5,000 and above per
month, the kasambahay must pay the proportionate share in the premium payments or
contributions, as provided by law.
POST EMPLOYMENT
• SEC. 32. Termination of Service: Neither the domestic worker nor the
employer may terminate the contract before the expiration of the term
EXCEPT for grounds provided in Sec 33 and 34

•  unjustly dismissed = compensation already earned plus the equivalent

of fifteen (15) days work by way of indemnity. 
• HH leaves without justifiable reason = any unpaid salary due not
exceeding the equivalent fifteen (15) days work shall be forfeited. In
addition, the employer may recover from the domestic worker costs
incurred related to the deployment expenses
Termination Initiated by the Domestic Worker.
• SEC 33 : The domestic worker may terminate the employment relationship at any time before
the expiration of the contract for any of the following causes:

(a) Verbal or emotional abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the
household;
(b) Inhuman treatment including physical abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any
member of the household;
(c) Commission of a crime or offense against the domestic worker by the employer or any
member of the household;
(d) Violation by the employer of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and
other standards set forth under this law;
(e) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of
the household; and
(f) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Termination Initiated by the Domestic Worker. cont
• SEC 34: an employer may terminate the services of the domestic worker at any time before the
expiration of the contract, for any of the following causes:

(a) Misconduct or willful disobedience by the domestic worker of the lawful order of the employer
in connection with the former’s work;
(b) Gross or habitual neglect or inefficiency by the domestic worker in the performance of duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach of the trust reposed by the employer on the domestic worker;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the domestic worker against the person of the employer or
any immediate member of the employer’s family;
(e) Violation by the domestic worker of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and
other standards set forth under this law;
(f) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the
household; and
(g) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
LABOR ADVISORY 10 series of 2018
• ENTITLEMENT OF KASAMBAHAY TO OTHER STATUTORY LEAVE
BENEFITS AND LABOR STANDARD BENEFITS

I. Labor Standards: The kasambahay shall be entitled to all the rights and
benefits granted under RA 10361.
The employers are not prohibited from granting such other benefits in addition to
the minimum requirements of the law

II. Labor Standard benefits: In addition to (5) days Service Incentive Leave
granted under Art 95 of the Labor Code, kasambahay is entitled to Special Leave
Benefit (RA 9710), Solo Parent Leave (RA 8972), VAWC Leave (RA 9262),
provided he/she meets all the conditions for entitlement.
Apex Mining Corp v NLRC, April 22, 1991
ISSUE:

Is the househelper in the staff houses of an industrial company a

domestic helper or a regular employee of the said firm?
FACTS:
• Private respondent Sinclita Candida was employed by petitioner Apex Mining
Company, to perform laundry services at its staff house 
• while she was attending to her assigned task and she was hanging her laundry,
she accidentally slipped and hit her back on a stone.
• As a result of the accident she was not able to continue with her work. She
was offered the amount of P 2,000.00 which was eventually increased to
P5,000.00 to persuade her to quit her job, but she refused the offer and
preferred to return to work. Petitioner did not allow her to return to work and
dismissed her.

• The main thrust of the petition is that private respondent should be treated as
a mere househelper or domestic servant and not as a regular employee of
petitioner.
Apex Mining Corp v NLRC, April 22, 1991
Going back to the ISSUE:

Is the househelper in the staff houses of an industrial company a

domestic helper?

NO
Private respondent is a regular employee of the said firm
HOUSEHELPERS As defined in Apex Mining v NLRC

• The term "househelper" as used herein is synonymous to the term

"domestic servant" and shall refer to any person, whether male or
female, who renders services in and about the employer's home and
which services are usually necessary or desirable for the maintenance
and enjoyment thereof, and ministers exclusively to the personal
comfort and enjoyment of the employer's family
HELD:
• The foregoing definition clearly contemplates such househelper or domestic servant who is
employed in the employer's home to minister exclusively to the personal comfort and enjoyment of
the employer's family.
• Thus, the definition cannot be interpreted to include househelp or laundrywomen working in
staffhouses of a company, like petitioner who attends to the needs of the company's guest and other
persons availing of said facilities. 

• The criteria is the personal comfort and enjoyment of the family of the employer in the home of said
employer. 

• The mere fact that the househelper or domestic servant is working within the premises of the
business of the employer and in relation to or in connection with its business, as in its staffhouses for
its guest or even for its officers and employees, warrants the conclusion that such househelper or
domestic servant is and should be considered as a regular employee of the employer and not as a
mere family househelper or domestic servant as contemplated in Rule XIII, Section l(b), Book 3 of
the Labor Code, as amended.
d. Employment of Homeworkers
• Homeworker : is an industrial worker who works in his/her home
processing raw materials into finished products for an employer. It is a
decentralized form of production with very limited supervision or
regulation of methods of work
 Definitions:

• "Home" means any room, house, apartment, • “Processing" means manufacturing,

or other premises used regularly, in whole fabricating, finishing, repairing, altering,
or in part, as a dwelling place, except those packing, wrapping or handling any
situated within the premises or compound of material.
an employer, contractor, and the work
performed therein is under the active or
personal supervision by, or for, the latter.

•  "Contractor" or "sub-contractor" means • "Employer" means any natural or

any person who, for the account or benefit of artificial person who, for his own
an employer, delivers or caused to be account or benefit, or on behalf of any
delivered to a homeworker goods or articles to
be processed in or about his home and
person residing outside the Philippines,
thereafter to be returned, disposed of or directly or indirectly, or through any
distributed in accordance with the direction of employee, agent, contractor, sub-
the employer. contractor; or any other person:
SECTION 4. Deductions.
• No employee, contractor, or sub-contractor shall make any deduction from the
homeworker's earnings for the value of materials which have been lost, destroyed, soiled
or otherwise damaged unless the following conditions are met:

(a) The homeworker concerned is clearly shown to be responsible for the loss or damage;

(b) The employee is given reasonable opportunity to show cause why deductions should not
be made;

(c) The amount of such deduction is fair and reasonable and shall not exceed the actual loss
or damages; and

(d) The deduction is made at such rate that the amount deducted does not exceed 20% of the
homeworker's earnings in a week.
SECTION 5. Conditions for payment of work.

(a) The employer may require the homeworker to re-do work which has
been improperly executed without having to pay the stipulated rate
more than once.

(b) An employer, contractor, or sub-contractor need not pay the

homeworker for any work which has been done on goods and articles
which have been returned for reasons attributable to the fault of the
homeworker.
SECTION 6. Disagreement between
homeworkers and employer. 
• Either party may refer the case to the Regional Office having
jurisdiction over the homeworker. The Regional Office shall decide
the case within ten (10) working days from receipt of the case. Its
decision shall be final and unappealable.
SECTION 7. Liability of employer and
contractor
•  it shall be the duty of such employer to provide in such contract that the
employees or homeworkers of the contractor and the latter's sub-
contractor shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of this Rule.

• In the event that such contractor or sub-contractor fails to pay the wages
or earnings of his employees or homeworkers as specified in this Rule,
such employer shall be JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY liable with the
contractor or sub-contractor to the workers of the latter, to the extent that
such work is performed under such contract, in the same manner as if the
employees or homeworkers were directly engaged by the employer.
APPRENTICES as defined in Book II Title II Chapter 1
Training and Employment of Special Workers
• “Apprenticeship” means practical training on the job supplemented by related
theoretical instruction.

• An “apprentice” is a worker who is covered by a written apprenticeship agreement

with an individual employer or any of the entities recognized under this Chapter.
 
• An “apprenticeable occupation” means any trade, form of employment or occupation
which requires more than three (3) months of practical training on the job
supplemented by related theoretical instruction.
 
• “Apprenticeship agreement” is an employment contract wherein the employer binds
himself to train the apprentice and the apprentice in turn accepts the terms of training.
• Art. 59. Qualifications of apprentice. To qualify as an apprentice, a person shall:
• Be at least fourteen (14) years of age;
• Possess vocational aptitude and capacity for appropriate tests; and
• Possess the ability to comprehend and follow oral and written instructions.

• Art. 60. Employment of apprentices. Only employers in the highly technical

industries may employ apprentices and only in apprenticeable occupations
approved by the Secretary of Labor and Employment. (As amended by Section 1,
Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986)

An apprenticeship agreement with a minor shall be signed in his behalf by his
parent or guardian, if the latter is not available, by an authorized representative of
the Department of Labor, and the same shall be binding during its lifetime.
• Art. 71. Deductibility of training costs. An additional deduction from
taxable income of one-half (1/2) of the value of labor training expenses
incurred for developing the productivity and efficiency of apprentices shall
be granted to the person or enterprise organizing an apprenticeship
program: Provided, That such program is duly recognized by the
Department of Labor and Employment: Provided, further, That such
deduction shall not exceed ten (10%) percent of direct labor wage: and
Provided, finally, That the person or enterprise who wishes to avail himself
or itself of this incentive should pay his apprentices the minimum wage.

• Art. 72. Apprentices without compensation. The Secretary of Labor and

Employment may authorize the hiring of apprentices without compensation
whose training on the job is required by the school or training program
curriculum or as requisite for graduation or board examination.
LEARNERS as defined in Book II Title II Chapter
2 Training and Employment of Special Workers
• Art. 73. Learners defined. Learners are persons hired as trainees in semi-skilled and
other industrial occupations which are non-apprenticeable and which may be learned
through practical training on the job in a relatively short period of time which shall not
exceed three (3) months.

• Art. 74. When learners may be hired. Learners may be employed when no

experienced workers are available, the employment of learners is necessary to prevent
curtailment of employment opportunities, and the employment does not create unfair
competition in terms of labor costs or impair or lower working standards.

• Art. 76. Learners in piecework. Learners employed in piece or incentive-rate jobs

during the training period shall be paid in full for the work done.
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