Contracts and Dismissals
Written Employment Particulars
The Labour Code provides for the following categories of employment:
i. __Regular: __an employment where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer.
ii. Project: where the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking, the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee;
iii. Seasonal: where the work or services to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season; and
iv. Casual: where the employment is not covered by the above-mentioned types, provided that an employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether continuous or not, shall be considered regular with respect to the activity in which he or she is employed and his or her employment shall continue while the activity exists.
v. Probationary a contract which cannot exceed more than six months, after which the employer must either be regarded as permanent by their workplace, or be fired.
Civil Code recognizes another category of employment, i.e., “term employment” or “fixed term employment”. Under the Civil Code, obligations with a fixed term take effect at once, but terminate on ending of the term. The decisive determinant in 'term employment' should not be the activities that the employee is called upon to perform, but the certain days agreed upon by the parties for the commencement and termination of the employment relationship. Stipulations in employment contracts providing for 'term employment' or 'fixed period employment' are valid when the period has been agreed upon knowingly and voluntarily by the parties, without force, duress or improper pressure exerted on the employee, and when such stipulations were not designed to circumvent the laws on security of tenure.
For a contract to be regular, it must be written. The law does not contain any provisions that require the employer to provide the employee with the letter of appointment or written particulars with details about employment.
Source: §295 & 296 of the Labour Code, as amended; §1193 of the Civil Code of the Philippines 1949
Fixed Term Contracts
Under the Civil Code, fixed-period or term employee is one whose employment is only for a particular duration which has already been conveyed to the employee at the time of his engagement. As explained above, a fixed term contract must fulfill the following criteria: (a) The term employment was agreed upon knowingly and voluntarily by the parties, without any force, duress or improper pressure on the employee and is not done in circumstances impairing worker’s consent; or (b) the parties dealt with each other on more or less equal terms.
There are no clear provisions on the lengths of single fixed term contracts, the maximum renewals allowed and the maximum length of fixed term contracts including renewals.
Source: §1193 of the Civil Code of the Philippines 1949
Probation Period
The legal provision on the Probation is contained within the Labour Code. Probationary employment cannot exceed six (6) months from the date of commencement of employment, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.
Labour Code further stipulates that the purpose of the probationary period is for the employee “to undergo a trial period during which the employer determines his fitness to qualify for regular employment based on reasonable standards made known to him at the time of engagement.”
The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known to him at the time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after completion of probationary period is considered a regular employee.
Labour Code does not require different probationary periods for different job types.
Source: §295 of the Labour Code, as amended
Regulations on Employment Security
- Labour Code (Presidential decree No. 442 of 1974)
- Proclamation No 269 of 2017
