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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bit no, 8821

Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA S. TAMBUNTING

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 under this sector, there is a need to introduce
a legislation to protect this workforce and to 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 are the mandated regularization of BPO
workers upon the completion of their six-month of employment as trainees or six-month
probationary training period, protection from discrimination, establishment of health programs
and the provision of full health insurance to employees.

On behalf of the people of Parafiaque City's Second District, and for the common good of the
Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought.

S



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 882 1

Introduced by HON, JOY MYRA 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

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. Defini
understood as follows:

mn of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be

a) “Business Process Outsourcing (BPQ)” 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.

“émployer”includes any person or enterprise acting directly or indirectly in the interest of

an employer, in relation to an employee, and shall include government-owned or

controlled corporations and institutions, as well as non-profit private institutions or

a


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.

9) “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 or 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 Iiness” 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.

3) “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.

1) “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.

1n) “Department” shall mean the Department of Labor and Employment.

0) “Secretary” shall mean the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

p) “Bureau” shall mean the Bureau of Working Conditions.

4) “Director”’shall mean the Director of the Bureau of Working Conditions.

1) “Standards”shall mean the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and regulations, as
described in Section 18.

8) “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 which 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 rights and
benefits of BPO workers be accorded them 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
with regard to 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 pay 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,
in accordance with 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 by reason 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, That


the employer shall duly compensate the employee's work on such days in accordance to existing
laws with regard to 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 in order 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 for the purposes 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. - Pursuant to 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. It is imperative that, the minimum provisions in the Standards 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 the
purposes of 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 election the WOHSO 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 their own 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 die 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 be also be compensated for injuries, medical complications,
illness, disability and death arising from, and related to, their work, in accordance to 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 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,