Telecommuting Act

Section 2 declares State policy to affirm labor as a primary social economic force.
The State policy includes protecting workers’ rights and promoting their welfare in light of technological development enabling telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements.

Section 4 allows a private-sector employer to offer a telecommuting program to employees on a voluntary basis.
Section 4 requires that the parties’ terms and conditions shall not be less than the minimum labor standards set by law.
Section 4 requires the telecommuting terms to include compensable work hours, a minimum number of work hours, overtime, rest days, and entitlement to leave benefits.
Section 4 requires the employer to provide the telecommuting employee with relevant written information to apprise the employee of:
- the terms and conditions of the telecommuting program, and
- the employee’s responsibilities.

Section 5 requires the employer to ensure telecommuting employees receive the same treatment as comparable employees working at the employer’s premises.
Section 5 mandates the following minimum treatment for all telecommuting employees:
- (a) Receive a rate of pay, including overtime and night shift differential, and other similar monetary benefits not lower than those in applicable laws and collective bargaining agreements.
- (b) Have the right to rest periods, regular holidays, and special nonworking days.
- (c) Have the same or equivalent workload and performance standards as comparable workers at the employer’s premises.
- (d) Have the same access to training and career development opportunities, be subject to the same appraisal policies, and receive appropriate training tied to technical equipment and the characteristics/conditions of telecommuting.
- (e) Receive appropriate training on the technical equipment they use and on the characteristics and conditions of telecommuting.
- (f) Receive the same collective rights as workers at the employer’s premises and shall not be barred from communicating with workers’ representatives.
Section 5 requires measures to prevent telecommuting employees from being isolated by:
- giving opportunities to meet with colleagues on a regular basis, and
- allowing access to company information.

Section 6 makes the employer responsible for taking appropriate measures to ensure the protection of data used and processed by the telecommuting employee for professional purposes.
Section 6 requires the employer to inform telecommuting employees of all relevant:
- laws, and
- company rules concerning data protection.
Section 6 requires telecommuting employees to ensure confidential and proprietary information is protected at all times.
Section 6 gives suppletory effect to the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Section 7 establishes that the parties to a telecommuting work arrangement are primarily responsible for its administration.
Section 7 provides grievance-handling guidelines when there are differences in interpretation:
- (a) Treat differences as grievances under the employer’s applicable grievance mechanism.
- (b) If there is no grievance mechanism or it is inadequate, refer the grievance to the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that has jurisdiction over the workplace for conciliation.
Section 7 requires employers to keep and maintain, as part of their records, documents proving the telecommuting work arrangement was voluntarily adopted.

Section 8 directs the DOLE to establish and maintain a telecommuting pilot program in select industries.
Section 8 limits the pilot program to a period of not more than three (3) years.
Section 8 requires DOLE to conduct base lining, scoping and profiling research work prior to implementation.
Section 8 requires regular quarterly monitoring, and evaluation during the pilot.
Section 8 requires DOLE to submit a report to Congress at the end of the program on its findings.

Section 9 requires the Secretary of Labor and Employment to issue the Act’s implementing rules and regulations within sixty (60) days from the Act’s effectivity.
Section 9 requires consultation with the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council and relevant stakeholders in issuing the implementing rules.

Section 12 provides that the Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.
Section 10 contains a separability clause: if any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts remain in full force and effect.
Section 11 contains a repealing clause: all laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the Act are repealed or amended accordingly.

The Act was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on October 3, 2018.
It is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1363 and House Bill No. 7402.
The Act was approved on December 20, 2018, by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.