Part-time employee may demand 13th month pay

Dear PAO,
I am a part-time teacher in a computer school here in Negros Occidental. I am usually paid on an hourly basis for my work. For five years now, I have not received any 13th month pay. I thought this is ok until I read the Labor Code of the Philippines stating that the 13th month pay should be paid regardless of the status of employment. Am I right in saying that I should receive a 13th month pay? Am I right to demand from the school administrator for my 13th month pay for the last five years? What should I do in case the administration refuses my demand?
Martin

Dear Martin,
The 13th month pay is a mandatory benefit given to employees as an additional pay or earnings as provided by law under Presidential Decree No. 851. As defined by its Implementing Rules and Regulations, the 13th month pay shall be one twelfth (1/12) of the basic salary of an employee within a calendar year payable not later than December 24 of every year. This law was amended by Memorandum Order No. 28, wherein amendments were introduced requiring all employers to pay all their rank-and-file employees the said benefit. It likewise required that to be entitled to the said benefit, an employee must have worked for at least one (1) month during the calendar year where the same is being given.

A rank-and-file employee, according to the Labor Code of the Philippines, is any employee other than managerial employees who are vested with powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. (Article 212 (m) Labor Code of the Philippines).

Assuming that aside from being a part-time teacher, you are employed as a full-time employee, Item No. 5
(b) of Memorandum Order No. 28 applies. It provides as follows:
“5. 13th Month Pay for Certain Types of Employees.

(a) xxx

(b) Those with Multiple Employers.—Government employees working part time in a private enterprise, including private educational institutions, as well as employees working in two or more private firms, whether on full or part time basis, are entitled to the required 13th month pay from all their private employers regardless of their total earnings from each or all their employers.

(c)xxx”

Having established your right to receive a 13th month pay from your employer as a part-time teacher, it is your right to demand payment of the same. In the event that your employer refuses to give you the said benefit, you may file a case before the National Labor Relations Commission or before the Department of Labor and Employment, if your claim does not exceed five thousand pesos (P5,000). This is the proper remedy to oblige your employer to abide by the law on 13th month pay. However, you can only recover the 13th month pay your employer ought to pay you for the last three years. –Persida Acosta, Manila Times