TITLE I Termination of Employment
ARTICLE 293. [278] Coverage. — The provisions of this Title shall apply to all establishments or
undertakings, whether for profit or not.
ARTICLE 294. [279] Security of Tenure. — In cases of regular employment, the employer shall not
terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when authorized by this Title. An
employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of
seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other
benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from
him up to the time of his actual reinstatement.
ARTICLE 295. [280] Regular and Casual Employment. — The provisions of written agreement to the
contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be
deemed to be regular where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually
necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, except 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 or where the work or service to be
performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season.
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding
paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such
service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in
which he is employed and his employment shall continue while such activity exists.
ARTICLE 296. [281] Probationary Employment. — Probationary employment shall not exceed six
(6) months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship
agreement stipulating a longer period. 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 by the employer to the employee at the time of
his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered
a regular employee.
ARTICLE 297. [282] Termination by Employer. — An employer may terminate an employment for
any of the following causes:
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer
or representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly
authorized representative;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any
immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
ARTICLE 298. [283] Closure of Establishment and Reduction of Personnel. — The employer may
also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices,
redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the
establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of
this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at
least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of
labor-saving devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay
equivalent to at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year of service,
whichever is higher. In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of
operations of establishment or undertaking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the
separation pay shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every
year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one (1)
whole year.
ARTICLE 299. [284] Disease as Ground for Termination. — An employer may terminate the
services of an employee who has been found to be suffering from any disease and whose continued
employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of his co-
employees: Provided, That he is paid separation pay equivalent to at least one (1) month salary or to
one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, whichever is greater, a fraction of at least six
(6) months being considered as one (1) whole year.
ARTICLE 300. [285] Termination by Employee. — (a) An employee may terminate without just cause
the employee-employer relationship by serving a written notice on the employer at least one (1) month
in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for
damages.
(b) An employee may put an end to the relationship without serving any notice on the employer for
any of the following just causes:
1. Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;
2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;
3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the
employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and
4. Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.
ARTICLE 301. [286] When Employment not Deemed Terminated. — The bonafide suspension of the
operation of a business or undertaking for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or the fulfillment by
the employee of a military or civic duty shall not terminate employment. In all such cases, the
employer shall reinstate the employee to his former position without loss of seniority rights if he
indicates his desire to resume his work not later than one (1) month from the resumption of operations
of his employer or from his relief from the military or civic duty.
TITLE II Retirement from the Service
ARTICLE 302. [287] Retirement. — Any employee may be retired upon reaching the retirement age
established in the collective bargaining agreement or other applicable employment contract.
In case of retirement, the employee shall be entitled to receive such retirement benefits as he may have
earned under existing laws and any collective bargaining agreement and other agreements: Provided,
however, That an employee's retirement benefits under any collective bargaining and other agreements
shall not be less than those provided herein.
In the absence of a retirement plan or agreement providing for retirement benefits of employees in the
establishment, an employee upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years or more, but not beyond sixty-
five (65) years which is hereby declared the compulsory retirement age, who has served at least five
(5) years in the said establishment, may retire and shall be entitled to retirement pay equivalent to at
least one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being
considered as one (1) whole year.
Unless the parties provide for broader inclusions, the term 'one-half (1/2) month salary' shall mean
fifteen (15) days plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the 13th month pay and the cash equivalent of not more
than five (5) days of service incentive leaves.
An underground or surface mining employee upon reaching the age of fifty (50) years or more, but
not beyond sixty (60) years which is hereby declared the compulsory retirement age for both
underground and surface mine workers, who has served at least five (5) years as underground or
surface mine worker may retire and shall be entitled to all the retirement benefits provided for in this
Article.
For purposes of this Act, surface mine workers shall only include mill plant workers, electrical,
mechanical and tailings pond personnel.
Retail, service and agricultural establishments or operations employing not more than ten (10)
employees or workers are exempted from the coverage of this provision.
Violation of this provision is hereby declared unlawful and subject to the penal provisions provided
under Article 302 of this Code.
Nothing in this Article shall deprive any employee of benefits to which he may be entitled under
Section 12-B of Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, otherwise known as the Social Security Act of
1997 and other existing laws or company policies or practices.
ARTICLE 302-A. Retirement Age of Racehorse Jockeys. — A professional racehorse jockey who is
duly licensed by the Philippine Racing Commission (PHILRACOM) shall be compulsorily retired
upon reaching the age of fifty-five (55) years and shall be entitled to all retirement benefits provided
for under Article 302 of this Code: Provided, That he shall pay additional premiums to the Social
Security System (SSS) as may be prescribed in the implementing rules and regulations of this Act.
Nothing in this Article shall deprive any racehorse jockey of the benefits he is entitled to under existing
laws, company policies or practices. (as created by Republic Act No. 10789, [May 3, 2016])
TITLE I Penal Provisions and Liabilities
ARTICLE 303. [288] Penalties. — Except as otherwise provided in this Code, or unless the acts
complained of hinge on a question of interpretation or implementation of ambiguous provisions of an
existing collective bargaining agreement, any violation of the provisions of this Code declared to be
unlawful or penal in nature shall be punished with a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos
(P1,000.00) nor more than Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than three
months nor more than three years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
In addition to such penalty, any alien found guilty shall be summarily deported upon completion of
service of sentence.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any criminal offense punished in this Code shall
be under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Municipal or City Courts and the Courts of First Instance.
ARTICLE 304. [289] Who are Liable When Committed by Other Than Natural Person. — If the
offense is committed by a corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or any other entity, the
penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers of such corporation, trust, firm, partnership,
association or entity.
TITLE II Prescription of Offenses and Claims
ARTICLE 305. [290] Offenses. — Offenses penalized under this Code and the rules and regulations
issued pursuant thereto shall prescribe in three (3) years.
All unfair labor practice arising from Book V shall be filed with the appropriate agency within one (1)
year from accrual of such unfair labor practice; otherwise, they shall be forever barred.
ARTICLE 306. [291] Money Claims. — All money claims arising from employer-employee relations
accruing during the effectivity of this Code shall be filed within three (3) years from the time the cause
of action accrued; otherwise they shall be forever barred.
All money claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this Code shall be filed with the appropriate
entities established under this Code within one (1) year from the date of effectivity, and shall be
processed or determined in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations of the Code;
otherwise, they shall be forever barred.
Workmen's compensation claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this Code and during the period
from November 1, 1974 up to December 31, 1974, shall be filed with the appropriate regional offices
of the Department of Labor not later than March 31, 1975; otherwise, they shall forever be barred. The
claims shall be processed and adjudicated in accordance with the law and rules at the time their causes
of action accrued.
ARTICLE 307. [292] Institution of Money Claims. — Money claims specified in the immediately
preceding Article shall be filed before the appropriate entity independently of the criminal action that
may be instituted in the proper courts.
Pending the final determination of the merits of money claims filed with the appropriate entity, no
civil action arising from the same cause of action shall be filed with any court. This provision shall
not apply to employees' compensation cases which shall be processed and determined strictly in
accordance with the pertinent provisions of this Code.