Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT 
ENSURING THE WELFARE AND PROTECTION OF BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING 
(BPO) WORKERS IN THE PHILIPPINES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, frequently describes as one of the two pillars 
of the Philippine economy, contributes over 11% of the country’s gross domestic product. It is 
considered to be one of the largest sectors in the country, employing over 1.2 million people. The 
BPO industry generally caters to multinational companies operating in different time zones, thus 
exposing workers in the industry to different health hazards brought about by the shift work.   
Considering the huge number of people employed in this sector, there is a need to introduce 
legislation to protect this workforce and enhance their working conditions. This measure seeks to 
protect and promote the welfare of workers in the BPO industry through the institutionalization 
of additional benefits, general employment standards, and occupational health and safety 
standards in the industry. Among these is the mandated regularization of BPO workers upon the 
completion of their six-month employment as trainees or six-month probationary training period, 
protection from discrimination, the establishment of health programs, and the provision of full 
health insurance to employees. 
On behalf of the people of Parañaque City’s Second District, and for the common good of the 
Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought. 
REP. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City 
August 22, 2022
10:22 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT 
ENSURING THE WELFARE AND PROTECTION OF BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING 
(BPO) WORKERS IN THE PHILIPPINES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:  
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection 
Act”. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect 
the rights, and promote the welfare of workers in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) 
industry and to take appropriate steps to recognize such rights and welfare while taking into 
account the special characteristics of the industry. The State shall strive to improve and promote 
their social and economic status, living and working conditions, terms of employment, 
professional growth, and career development. 
SECTION 3. Coverage. – This Act shall cover all employees m the Business Processing 
Outsourcing industry.  
SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be 
understood as follows: 
a) “Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)”  is defined as the delegation of service-type
business processes to a third-party service provider. It is generally divided into the
following sectors: call centers, back office services, data transcription, animation, software
development., engineering development, and game development. Most BPO companies
engage in shift work to complete their 24- hour work cycle.
b) “Call Center” also known as contact center, refers to a central customer service operation
where agents—whatever their designation—handle business-related telephone calls, and
other IT-related non-voice activities, on behalf of a client.
c) “Employer” includes any person or enterprise acting directly or indirectly in the interest of
an employer, about an employee, and shall include government-owned or controlled
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corporations and institutions, as well as non-profit private institutions or organizations. 
Indirect employees or contractors shall also be considered "employers" in this Act. 
d) “Employee” shall mean any person hired, permitted, or suffered to work by an employer 
e) “Health” shall connote a sound state of the body and mind of the worker, which enables 
him to perform his job normally, in a state of well-being. 
f) “Safe or safety” shall refer to the physical or environmental conditions of work or 
employment, which substantially comply with the prescribed Standards, as defined below. 
g) “Work Accident” shall mean an unplanned or unexpected occurrence that may or may not 
result in personal injury, property damage, work stoppage or interference, or any 
combination thereof: which arises out of and in the course of employment. 
h) “Work Injury” shall mean any injury or occupational illness suffered by a person, which 
arises out of or in the course of employment 
i) “Occupational Illness” shall mean any illness caused by environmental factors, the 
exposure, to which is characterized or peculiar to a particular process, trade or occupation, 
and to which an employee or worker is not ordinarily subjected to, or exposed to, outside 
of or away from such employment. 
j) “Workplace” means the office, premises, or work site, where the workers are habitually 
employed and shall include the office or place where the workers, who have no fixed or 
definite work site, regularly report for assignment in the course of their employment. 
k) “Approved’ shall mean acceptable to the Secretary of Labor and Employment, as indicated 
in writing, after a proper examination showing compliance with prescribed Standards. 
l) “Code” shall mean Presidential Decree 442, the Labor Code, as amended. 
m) “Agencies” shall mean government agencies mandated to monitor, administer, promote, 
and ensure health and safety regulations and standards. These agencies are the 
Department of Labor and Employment, Bureau of Working Conditions, Employees 
Compensation Commission, and Occupational Safety and Health Center. 
n) “Department” shall mean the Department of Labor and Employment. 
o) “Secretary” shall mean the Secretary of Labor and Employment. 
p) “Bureau” shall mean the Bureau of Working Conditions. 
q) “Director” shall mean the Director of the Bureau of Working Conditions. 
r) “Standards” shall mean the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and regulations, as 
described in Section 18. 
s) “Enforcement Officer” shall mean the industrial safety engineer, the labor regulation 
officer, or any duly authorized representatives of the Secretary charged to enforce the 
Standards. 
t) “Authorized Representative” shall mean and include any employees or officials of other 
government agencies empowered by the Secretary of Labor and Employment to enforce 
the provisions of the Standards. 
u) “Workplace Occupational Health and Safety Representative” (WOHSR) is defined in 
Section 21 of this Act. 
v) “Registered Party” shall mean any duly registered non-stock non-profit organization 
advocating occupational health and safety (OHS). 
w) “Shift Work” shall mean the employment practice designed to make use of the 24 hours 
of the day. Employees are given schedules that correspond to a 24-hour work cycle. The 


term shift work includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which 
employees change or rotate shifts. 
 
PART ONE: GENERAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS 
 
SECTION 5. Standard of Treatment. – The employer and the supervisors must, at all times, 
treat the BPO worker in a just and humane manner and ensure and provide that the rights and 
benefits of BPO workers be accorded as mandated by the Code. Abusive language, physical 
violence, or any act which debases the dignity of a person shall not be used against the employee. 
  
SECTION 6. Access to Relevant Information. – The State shall ensure the BPO companies 
allow their workers and employees access to relevant information to make them understand their 
rights, benefits, obligations, conditions, and realities attending to their profession. BPO companies 
shall not restrain their employees from organizing or attending activities, such as, but are not 
limited to, workshops and symposia, that seek to equip BPO workers with relevant information 
about their rights, welfare, and conditions.  
 
SECTION 7. Protection from Understaffing or Overloading. – There shall be no 
understaffing or overloading of BPO workers. The ratio of BPO worker to client quota or 
quantitative targets shall be such as to reasonably effect a sustained quality of service at all times 
without overworking the worker and over-extending his/her services beyond what is stipulated in 
the employment contract, or what is allowed as the worker's regular hours of work The employer 
may request the employee to perform tasks beyond the duties stipulated in the employment 
contract; Provided, That the employee consents and that such tasks are duly compensated by 
the employer with an additional payment of not less than 25% of the regular rate per hour. 
  
SECTION 8. Regularization. – All BPO workers shall be considered regular employees upon 
the completion of their sixth month of employment as trainee or apprentice, or upon the 
completion of a maximum probationary training period of six months.  
 
SECTION 9. Right to Self-Association. – It shall be unlawful for any person or company to 
restrict the right of BPO workers to join, organize, or assist organizations, to collective bargaining, 
and to participate in the deliberation of issues and in the formulation of policies that affect them, 
by the Code. 
 
SECTION 10. Freedom from Excessive Company Bond. – It shall be unlawful for any person 
or company to compel a BPO worker to commit to a company bond, imposing an unreasonable 
fee to be paid by the employee upon leaving the company before a specified length of time. 
 
SECTION 11. Protection from Discrimination. – BPO workers shall be protected from 
discrimination because of sex, sexual orientation, age, political or religious belief, civil status, 
pregnancy, physical characteristics or disability, or ethnicity.  
 
SECTION 12. Hours of Work. – The hours of work for BPO workers shall be governed by the 
provisions of the Code, as supplemented by other applicable laws as well as this Act. 
 
SECTION 13. Work on Holidays. – BPO workers may be required to work on days designated 
as non-working holidays in the Philippines given the nature of their profession; Provided, the 


employer shall duly compensate the employee's work on such days by existing laws about holiday 
pay.  
 
SECTION 14. Leave Benefits. – BPO workers shall be entitled to all leave benefits and 
privileges, such as but not limited to maternity, paternity, vacation, and sick leaves, as provided 
for under existing Jaws: Provided, that upon separation of the employee from service, they shall 
be entitled to all accumulated leave credits with pay. No employee may be terminated based 
solely on unapproved leaves without affording the employee due process in an administrative 
proceeding.  
 
SECTION 15. Transportation Benefits. – In the absence of or in the lack of safe and adequate 
public transportation services in BPO workers' places of work, they shall, at least between 9:00 
p.m. and 6:00 a.m., be entitled to safe transportation service, which may include, but are not 
limited to shuttle services, to and from the place of work to designated drop-off points, to be 
provided by the company to facilitate the safe commute of employees at vulnerable times.  
 
SECTION 16. Security of Tenure. – No employee may be terminated except for just cause as 
may be provided by the Code and other existing laws and after due process in an administrative 
proceeding as provided for under the law. 
 
PART TWO: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY 
STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS 
 
SECTION 17. Employers' Obligation. – Article 106 of the Code expressly prohibits "labor only" 
contracting. Employers engaging independent contractors to perform work on their behalf have 
a duty to minimize the health and safety risks of the contractor's employees. This is because they 
are deemed to be employees of the Code, as well as this Act and because employers have a duty 
to protect third parties at or near their workplace. A failure to maintain a safe workplace for the 
contractor's employees may constitute a contravention of the employer's general duly under the 
Law.  
 
SECTION 18. Occupational Health and Safety Standards and Regulations for BPO 
Workers. – Under its mandate, the Department of Labor and Employment is tasked to establish 
Occupational Health and Safety Standards (Standards) for BPO work. The Standards shall adhere 
to the prevailing standards of health and safety for BPO work and other similar employment. The 
minimum provisions in the Standards must meet the International Labor Organizations’ 
recommendations. The Standards should be reviewed annually by the agencies, WOHSR, and 
registered interested parties, and must include provisions related to the Enforcement Officers and 
Authorized Representatives, as well as the WOHSR as defined below. 
 
SECTION 19. The Nature of BPO Night-Shift Work. – Establishments engaged in shift work 
to complete their 24-hour work cycle expose their employees to health and security risks, as well 
as unnatural stresses, and as such night- shift work is considered to be hazardous under this Act. 
  
SECTION 20. Compliance with the Standards. – The Standards shall be strictly enforced in 
all establishments operating in the country. Compliance with the provisions of the Standards shall 
be mandatory and subject to inspections by Enforcement Officers and/or Authorized 
Representatives, as shall be outlined in the Standards. 


 
SECTION 21. Workplace Occupational Health and Safety Officer. – From among the 
employees, a Workplace Occupational Health and Safely Officer (WOHSO) shall be elected for 
consultation and in-house monitoring of the Standards. The WOHSO shall review the measures 
taken to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the employees; investigate and attempt to 
resolve any matters that may be a risk to health and safety at the place of work. The employees 
may elect more than one WOHSO representative upon approval by the Department. The powers, 
functions, and manner of the election of the W0HS0 shall be included in the Standards, subject 
to the following guidelines: (a) that all employees are entitled to vote in an election of the 
WOHSO; (b) that the powers of a WOHSO shall include, but not be limited to, the powers to 
inspect any part of the workplace, and to require the establishment of a health and safety 
committee.  
 
SECTION 22. Workplace Policy on Occupational Health and Safety. – Each establishment 
shall formulate its occupational health and safety policy, which adheres at minimum to the 
Standards as defined in Section 18 of this Act. Any additional safety measures deemed appropriate 
to the nature of the localized work environment may also be included, pending approval by the 
Bureau. The policy must be reviewed annually by the employers, the WOHSO, and an 
Enforcement Officer or Authorized Representative.  
 
All employees shall be informed of the OHS policy. Informational materials such as posters, 
brochures, and similar devices shall be distributed to dead employees free of charge.  
 
SECTION 23. Health Program. – The company physician shall, in addition to his duties stated 
in the Labor Code, develop and implement a comprehensive occupational health program for the 
benefit of all employees. 
 
SECTION 24. Health Insurance. – All employees are entitled to free full medical examination 
upon commencement of employment, and annually during the tenure of employment. The 
establishment shall provide full health insurance to the employees, the coverage of which shall 
be agreed upon by the company and its employees. 
 
SECTION 25. Work-Related Injuries, Sickness, and Death Compensation. – All 
employees and their dependents shall also be compensated for injuries, medical complications, 
illness, disability, and death arising from, and related to, their work, by existing laws, labor 
policies, guidelines, or circulars as the case may be. The Employees Compensation Commission 
shall promptly process any claims for/by injured, disabled, deceased employees or their 
dependents.  
 
SECTION 26. Prohibition Against Elimination or Diminution of Benefits. – Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to eliminate or diminish in any way existing benefits being enjoyed by BPO 
employees at the time of the effectivity of this Act, or benefits beyond the minimum standards 
set forth by this Act.  
 
SECTION 27. Penal Provision. – Any person or company who violates the provisions of this 
Act shall be punished with a line of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P 100,000) 
and/or imprisonment of not less than two (2) months but not more than one (1), or both, at the 
discretion of the Court.  


 
SECTION 28. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, 
the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions hereof.  
 
SECTION 29. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, presidential 
proclamations, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act 
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
  
SECTION 30. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its 
publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,