DoLE details women’s exemption from night work ban

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Labor and Employment has issued guidelines detailing the exemption of women from a long-standing ban contained in the Labor Code prohibiting them from working at night.

The decades’ old prohibition has been repeatedly violated as many Filipino women work in 24-7 jobs such as in business process outsourcing centers.

In DoLE Advisory No. 4, series of 2010, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said women employees may be allowed to work at night if they are 18 years old or older.

“The exemption is recognized under Article 131 of the Labor Code under analogous cases which also takes into account the Constitutional mandate for equal employment opportunities and the right against employment discrimination,” Baldoz said.

The advisory requires employers to provide safe and healthful work conditions and adequate sleeping and resting facilities in the workplace.

“For pregnant women and nursing mothers, they may be allowed to work during night time, but a competent physician other that a company doctor shall certify to their fitness to render night work. In the case of pregnant workers, the physician shall also specify the period that they can safely work,” Baldoz said.

The same advisory also contains guidelines on the implementation of flexible work arrangement “to assist and guide employers and employees in these matters owing to rapid technological innovations and to the continuing streamlining and transformation of work processes brought by globalization.”

Flexible work arrangements refer to alternative work modes or schedules other than the traditional work hours, work days, and work weeks.

Baldoz said the “adoption of flexible work arrangements is being considered to improve business competitiveness and productivity. It is also aimed at giving employers and employees flexibility in fixing hours of work compatible with business requirements and the employees’ need for balanced work life.”

The advisory provides for three flexible work arrangements which employers and employees may consider, namely, compressed workweek, gliding on flexi-time schedule, and flexi-holidays schedule.

In a compressed workweek arrangement, the normal work week is reduced to less than six days, but the normal work hours of 48 hours per week remain by increasing the number of work hours per day to more than eight hours but not to exceed 12 hours without overtime premium.

For a gliding or flexi-time schedule, employees are allowed to determine their work arrival and departure time but they are required to complete the core work hours.

On the other hand, in a flexi-holidays schedule, employees choose and agree to avail of holidays at some other days.

“Any or all of these flexible work arrangements shall be based on voluntary agreement between the employers and employees and the adoption of the arrangement shall in no case result in the diminution of existing benefits,” Baldoz said.

Parties to the flexible work arrangement shall be responsible in administering it and any differences arising from its implementation shall be treated as grievance under the company’s grievance machinery, she said.

“If there is no grievance machinery, the grievance shall be referred to the DoLE regional office for conciliation,” the labor chief said. –Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net