Private sector work arrangements flexible, say DOLE, ECOP

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Saturday said private sector companies may adopt flexible work arrangements, provided both employers and employees agree.

According to a "24 Oras" Weekend report by Jaime Santos, DOLE noted that the law allows any work rotation, provided it is mutually agreed upon.

The agency also highlighted several ways to implement a four-day workweek without affecting work output, salary, or benefits.

“We’ve had a policy framework for adopting alternative and flexible work arrangements for a long time. In 2019, this was institutionalized under the Telecommuting Law, Republic Act 11165,” said DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions Director Alvin Curada.

He outlined two four-day workweek options: “The first is extending daily work hours beyond eight hours, as long as employees do not exceed their normal weekly workload. The second is keeping Monday to Thursday as eight-to-five workdays and making Friday a hybrid schedule.”

Meanwhile, ECOP emphasized that any work arrangement should consider employees’ safety and productivity.

“It can be studied, but it cannot be made compulsory,” ECOP Chairman and President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.—Jiselle Anne Casucian/MCG, GMA Integrated News