Philippines: Pay and benefits

Original and updating authors: Marianne M. Miguel and Easter Princess U. Castro-Ty, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

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Summary

• The "wage" is defined as the remuneration or earnings, however designated, capable of being expressed in terms of money, 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. (See General)
• Wages must be paid in money and in legal tender at least every two weeks, or at least twice a month at intervals not exceeding 16 days. (See Payment of wages)
• Employers must not make any deductions from their employees' wages, except as permitted by law. (See Deductions)
• Employers must pay female employees the same compensation as male employees for work of equal value, while pay discrimination is prohibited on grounds such as sex, race, creed, age and disability. (See Equal pay)
• Statutory minimum wage rates in the private sector are set at the level of individual regions, with separate rates for the agriculture and "non-agriculture" sectors, and often specific rates for certain types of enterprise within the non-agriculture sector. (See Minimum wages)
• A Social Security Programme (SSP) old-age pension is available to individuals who have paid at least 120 months' SSP contributions when they reach the age of 65 (or, in some cases, 60) and employers may voluntarily offer private retirement benefit schemes. (See Pensions)
• Employers must withhold employees' income tax at source, and employers and employees must pay statutory social security and related contributions. (See Income tax and social security)
• Employees who are insured under the public Social Security System are entitled to sickness benefit if they are unable to work owing to sickness or injury for at least four days. (See Sick pay)
• Employers are required to pay many employees an additional annual payment, known as "13th-month pay", worth at least one-12th of the total basic salary earned by the relevant employee in the calendar year. (See 13th-month pay)
• Employees may provide employees with benefits in kind. (See Benefits in kind)