DOLE: 4-day workweek allowed even without law, department order

Employers may implement a four-day workweek even without a new law or a department order providing for the measure, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier suggested the imposition of a four-day workweek to conserve energy and alleviate the public’s expenses amid the series of big-time oil price hikes.

“Sa panukalang gawing four-day workweek, sa tingin ko hindi na kailangan ng isang batas pa diyan o panibagong department order sapagkat noong mga nakaraang taon nakapag-issue na tayo ng mga labor advisory na ang mga employer ay pwede silang mag-implement ng mga flexible work arrangement,” DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez said at a virtual press briefing.

(On the proposal for a four-day workweek, I think there is no need for a new law or department order for it because we have already issued labor advisories concerning this, such that they can implement flexible work arrangements.)

Since 2020, many companies in the Philippines have been implementing flexible work arrangements such as work-from-home, reduction of normal workdays, and job rotation.

Benavidez said that employers had “management prerogative” on how to regulate or conduct their operations.

“Ang saklaw po nung management prerogative na ‘yun ay ‘yung napakalawak na discretion ng mga employer na itakda o i-regulate ‘yung conduct ng kanilang business kasama na po doon ‘yung pagtatakda ng work arrangements, ‘yung lugar, at ‘yung oras ng pagtatrabaho,” Benavidez said.

(That management prerogative covers a very wide discretion of employers how to regulate or conduct their businesses which includes work arrangements, the place, and time of work.)

Under the National Economic and Development Authority’s proposal, workers will still work 40 hours per week but instead of five days, it will be four days, thus the work hours in a day will be increased to ten hours per day.

Benavidez, however, said a four-day workweek can be implemented while still retaining the eight hours a day duty as this can be agreed upon by employers and employees.

“Kailangan konsultahin ang mga worker,” he said.

Meanwhile, Benavidez also said that there was no stopping employers from extending work-from-home arrangements for their workers.

But in the case of IT-business process outsourcing firms operating in economic zones, Benavidez said the consequence would be losing their tax incentives.

The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) denied requests to extend remote-work arrangements beyond March 31, 2022.

The FIRB, during its February 21 meeting, upheld its Resolution No, 19-21, which allows firms in economic zones to implement work-from-home (WFH) arrangements for 90% of their workforce only until March 31, 2022.

This means that IT-BPO firms’ WFH arrangements will cease by the end of the month and all workers should return for on-site duty beginning April 1, 2022.

Firms located in economic zones that fail to comply with the FIRB's rules cannot enjoy fiscal incentives such as income tax holidays and 5% tax on gross income earned. —NB, GMA News