NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
of tilt S'! rrlav’
•22 llL-7 P4 -12
SENATE 
s. no.168
RECEIVED B'i.
Introduced by SENATOR FRANCIS "TOL" N. TOLENTINO
AN ACT
PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF EMPLOYEES BY DEFINING REST HOURS, 
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR ANY VIOLATION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Sections 15 and 18, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provide that it is the 
policy of the State to protect and promote the right to health of the people, and to 
protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
In recent years, alternative work arrangements have increasingly been 
adopted by employers for a variety of reasons, such as for energy efficiency or to 
enhance "work-life balance" for employees. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has 
greatly affected and reshaped the business and employment landscape. Due to the 
lockdown and quarantine protocols imposed by the government, employers are 
necessarily compelled to implement alternative work arrangements in order to adapt 
to the demands of the new normal.
In reaction to these developments, the Department of Labor and Employment 
(DOLE) issued Labor Advisory No. 09 and Labor Advisory No. 17, series of 2020, in 
order to assist and guide employers and employees in the implementation of various 
flexible work arrangements, work-from-home arrangements, or telecommuting work


arrangements, pursuant to Department Order 202-2019 or the Implementing Rules 
and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11165 or the "Telecommuting Act".
While we recognize the benefits of work-from-home and telecommuting 
arrangements, they have thinned the line between work and personal space and 
time. Sometimes, technology and work-from-home arrangements distort the idea of 
work and home from the point of view of the employees. For instance, instead of de­
stressing at home from the pressures of work, work is now brought to the 
employees' homes or wherever they go. Similarly, due to advances in technology, 
employees are now virtually always at the beck and call of their employers. The 
power of control of employers now overreaches beyond working hours through the 
use of phone and email. This blurring between working time and private time has 
become more pronounced during the pandemic because of the increase in the 
number of employees on a work-from-home or telecommuting arrangements.
A research by Eurofound shows that people who work regularly from home 
are more than twice as likely to surpass the maximum of 48 working hours per 
week, compared to those working on their employer's premises. Almost 30% of 
those working from home report working in their free time every day or several 
times a week, compared to less than 5% of office workers.
In 2017, France passed a law to give workers the right to disconnect from 
email, smartphones, and other work-related electronic devices after the working day 
ends. French labor unions pushed for a disconnect rule, saying digital technologies 
have created an explosion of undeclared labor that is forcing employees to work 
outside the typical work week. Unions in Germany and Ireland also won rights for 
workers to disconnect.
In January 2021, majority of lawmakers in the European Parliament voted in 
favor of putting forward a "right to disconnect" law to implement across the 
European Union. The Parliament sought to grant workers the right to digitally 
disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions. The right to disconnect


refers to rules that say an employee should not be expected to field work calls and 
emails, or communications with their bosses, outside of working hours.
Recently, Portugal passed a law that bans employers from contacting workers 
outside of their regular hours by phone, message, or email following an increase in 
people working from home amidst the pandemic.
This bill defines the rest hours of employees, and prohibits employers from 
exacting work or contacting employees, without the lattefs consent, during rest 
hours. An employer that violates the prohibitions set in this bill will be penalized with 
a monetary sanction and a fine, or with Imprisonment if attended with coercion or 
resulted in discrimination.
The passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
TOL" N. TOLENTINO


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
SENATE 
s. no.168
of Ilir ffarp
*22 JUL-7 P4:12
RHCEiVLD BY:
Introduced by SENATOR FRANCIS "TOL" N. TOLENTINO
1 
AN ACT
2 
PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF EMPLOYEES BY DEFINING REST HOURS,
3 
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR ANY VIOLATION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER
4 
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
5 
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Workers' Rest
6 
Law."
7 
Section 2. Declaration of Policy, - It is the policy of the State to protect
8 
and promote the health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.
9 
The State shall protect the rights of workers to privacy and personal time, and
10 
promote their welfare.
11 
Section 3. Coverage, - The provisions of this Act shall apply to employees
12 
in all establishments and undertakings whether for profit or not, but not to field
13 
personnel, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another, and workers
14 
who are paid by results.
15 
"Field personnel" shall refer to non-agricultural employees who regularly
16 
perform their duties away from the principal place of business or branch office of the
17 
employer and whose actual hours of work in the field cannot be determined with


reasonable certainty. The term shall not include employees who are on a work-from- 
home arrangement and telecommuting employees as defined by Republic Act No. 
11165, or the "Telecommuting Act".
Section 4. Hours of Work, - The normal hours of work of an employee 
shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day, unless Presidential Decree No. 442, as 
amended, or the "Labor Code of the Philippines," provides otherwise.
7 
The hours of work of employees on a compressed work arrangement shall not
8 
exceed twelve (12) hours a day.
9 
Section 5. Rest Hours. - Any period other than the hours of work shall be
10 
considered as rest hours of an employee.
11 
An employee may not be compelled to render overtime work, unless
12 
otherwise allowed by Section 89 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, or unless the
13 
employee freely gives their written consent to render overtime work.
14 
Any waiver of the right to rest hours or any advance consent to perform
15 
overtime work as a condition in the hiring or employment, re-employment, or
16 
continued employment shall be void, and the employee shall be entitled to the
17 
payment of penalty provided in Paragraph 1, Section 6 of this Act for the hours
18 
worked.
19 
Section 6. Prohibitions during Rest Hours. - During rest hours, and
20 
unless the employee gives their consent as required by this Act, the employer,
21 
manager, supervisor, or any of their agents, is prohibited from:
22 
a. Requiring the employee to work;
23 
b. Requiring the employee to be on duty, to travel, or be at a prescribed
24 
place for work or work-related activities, such as attending seminars,
25 
meetings, team-building, and other similar activities; or
26 
c. Contacting the employee for work and work-related purposes through
27 
phone, e-mail, message, and other means of communication, unless it


1 
is for the purpose of notifying the employee of the necessity of
2 
rendering emergency or urgent work as provided under Article 89 and
3 
Article 92 of the Labor Code of the Philippines. Employees may not be
4 
penalized by the employer for not opening or answering
5 
communications received during rest hours.
6 
Section 7. Penalties, - Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall
7 
pay the employee One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) per hour of work rendered In
8 
violation of this Act, or a fraction thereof. For purposes of this paragraph, substantial
9 
evidence is sufficient to prove the violation and number of hours worked.
10 
If any of the acts enumerated in Section 6 of this Act is attended with
11 
violence, threats, or intimidation, the offender shall be punished for Grave Coercion
12 
under Article 286 of Act No. 3815, or the "Revised Penal Code," with the penalty
13 
next higher in degree imposed.
14 
If as a result of asserting their rights under this Act, the employee is limited,
15 
segregated, or classified In any way that would discriminate, deprive, or diminish
16 
their employment opportunities, or otherwise adversely affect said employee, the
17 
offender shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor
18 
more than six (6) months, and a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos
19 
(PlOO,000.00).
20 
If the offense Is committed by a corporation, trust, firm, partnership,
21 
association, or any other entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer
22 
or officers of such corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association, or entity.
23 
Section 8. Separability Clause, - If any provision or part hereof is held
24 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise
25 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting.
26 
Section 9. Repealing Clause, - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
27 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, and rule and regulation
28 
contrary to or inconsistent with this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended
29 
accordingly.
4
/


1 
Section 10. Effectivity Clause, - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
2 
from its publication In the Official Gazette ov in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,