Employment Contract

This Employment Agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee in the Philippines. It can be used for different types of employment such as probationary employment, regular employment, project employment, seasonal employment, fixed-term employment, or casual employment.

This Agreement sets out all the terms in the agreement such as the job duties, salary and benefits, work hours, confidentiality, and other key terms specific to each type of employment. The types of employment are distinguished as follows:

• Regular Employment. Regular employees are those employed as permanent employees and can only be dismissed for just and authorized causes such as poor performance, misconduct, or redundancy.
• Probationary Employment. In probationary employment, an employee is hired on a probationary basis to allow the employer to evaluate the qualifications or capacity of the employee. The probationary employee must be given the standards upon which he shall be evaluated and said standards must be explained to him. The probationary employment cannot exceed 6 months. If the probationary employee passes his evaluation, he becomes a regular employee.
• Project Employment. A project employee is hired for a specific undertaking or project. His employment ends upon the completion of the project. The date of completion of the project must be determined at the time of engagement of the employee.
• Seasonal Employment. A seasonal employee is hired for a specific period or season of the year.
• Fixed Term Employment. Employment with a fixed period means that the employment is for a fixed period of time that has been voluntarily agreed upon by the parties and is not designed to circumvent labor laws.
• Casual Employment. A casual employee is one doing work that is not usually necessary or desirable to the employer and is not a project, seasonal, or fixed-period employee.

This Employment Agreement is not suitable for Filipino employees who will be employed as overseas Filipino workers. Instead, the POEA Standard Employment Contract for Various Skills should be used. Further, if the employee will be engaged as a domestic worker, then a Domestic Work Contract should be used.

Rules on work hours and minimum wage

The standard work hours are 8 hours per day, with a maximum of 48 hours per week. Any work performed beyond these hours is considered overtime and must be compensated at a rate not less than 125% of the regular hourly rate unless otherwise permitted by the nature of employment.

The minimum wage varies depending on the region, with different wage orders issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) to adjust the minimum wage rates according to the region's economic conditions. Employers are required to pay their employees at least the minimum wage rate applicable to their region. Note that the prevailing minimum wage in Metro Manila is PHP 610 per day.

How to use this Document

The following information should be provided if applicable to complete the document:

• Information concerning the identity of the employer and the employee,
• The duties and responsibilities of the employee if these will be specified,
• The policies or rules and regulations of employment,
• The location where the employment will be performed,
• The compensation for the employment,
• The benefits that will be provided by the employer,
• An option to provide for a prohibition on the employee to perform acts that compete with the employer,
• An option to provide for a prohibition on the employee to divulge information about the employer, and
• The term or duration of the agreement.

If the document will be acknowledged, the parties should present themselves before a notary public with at least 3 original copies of the document and their attachments. The parties should also bring a competent form of identification, such as a passport or driver's license. The notary public will keep one original copy of the document. Both parties should each keep an original copy of the document for their records.

If the document will not be notarized, 2 original copies may be printed and signed by the parties and one original copy should be kept by each of them.

Applicable Laws

The Labor Code of the Philippines is the law that governs employment in the Philippines. The Department of Labor and Employment also issues Department Orders to implement the laws found in the Labor Code and sets the daily minimum wage rates.

The general rules on contracts and obligations found in the Civil Code of the Philippines also apply.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.