SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
}
F irst R eg u lar S ession 
}
S E N A T E  
S.B. No. . 1 2 0 3
'^6 
OCT 12 
P 3 : 4 8
K!
' l Y:
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
AN ACT
CREATING A FRIENDLY WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
According to the statistical resources collected by the Philippine 
Commission on Women in October 2013, female employment is lower than 
men; as female employment was estim ated at 14.8 million com pared to 22.9 
million males. Furtherm ore, in a study conducted by the World Bank, 
working women in the Philippines earn ju st 76 percent of w hat Filipino m en 
do.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 
declares th at when more women work, economies grow. An increase in 
female labor force participation—or a reduction in the gap between women’s 
and m en’s labor force participation—results in faster economic growth.
Although women have enjoyed greater equality in Philippine society 
than in other parts of Southeast Asia1, there is still significant room for 
improvement as far as gender equality in the country is concerned 
particularly on economic opportunity.
It has been observed th at in our country m en relegated household 
chores to women even until today -  blaming it on the Spanish influence over
1 http://countrystudies.us/philippines/44.htm


the country th at women are expected to become caring and nurturing 
m others for their own children and take care of m ost household chores. This 
situation leads to either women staying at home to be a wife and m other, or 
be employed and rem ains to be a wife and m other.
Considering th at the State declares the im portance of women in 
nation-building, this proposed m easure seeks to encourage unwaged women 
to be gainfully employed and working wom en’s rights advancem ent.
The aforem entioned purposes shall come into effect through the 
following salient provisions of this bill, am ong others:
1) Longer m aternity leave
2) Rights of Pregnant Women
3) Rights of Women Working in M anufacturing Firms
4) M easures to Avoid Sexual H arassm ent in the Workplace
5) Flexible Work Policies for Working Mother and Female G uardian
Penalties for violations of the provisions contained in this m easure are 
likewise provided to ensure its effective implementation.
It’s high time to remove the im balance between m en and women 
specifically in workplaces, th u s the passage of this bill is earnestly 
recommended.
CENTErC. SOTTO


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
}
F irst R eg u lar S ession 
}
S E N A TE _ 
S.B. No. 
O
S c u a f r
•16 
OCT 12 
P 3 : 4 8
HI.'
t^Y:
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
AN ACT
CREATING A FRIENDLY WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assem bled:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
SECTION 1: S h o rt Title. -  This act shall be known as the “Friendly 
Working Environment fo r Women Act of 2016. ”
SECTION 2. D eclaratio n  o f Policy. -  The State recognizes the role of 
women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundam ental equality before 
the law of women and men.
SECTION 3. Coverage. -  This Act shall cover women employees in all 
private enterprises, bu t not to m anagerial employees, field personnel, 
m em bers of the family of the employer who are dependent on him  for 
support, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another, and 
workers who are paid by results.
SECTION 4. M atern ity  Leave B enefit. -  The covered employee who 
has paid at least three m onthly m aternity contributions in the twelve-month 
period preceding the sem ester of her childbirth, abortion or m iscarriage and 
who is currently employed shall be paid a daily m aternity benefit equivalent 
to one hundred percent (100%) of her present basic salary, allowances and 
other benefits or the cash equivalent of such benefits for ninety (90) days, 
and fifty percent (50%) of her present basic salary, allowances and other 
benefits or the cash equivalent of such benefits for the next succeeding
1


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
ninety (90) days, w hether norm al delivery or through caesarean operation, 
subject to the following conditions:
(a) That the employee shall have notified her employer of her 
pregnancy and the probable date of her childbirth which notice shall 
be transm itted to the SSS in accordance with the 
rules and 
regulations it may provide;
(b) That the paym ent shall be advanced by the employer in two 
equal installm ents within thirty (30) days from the filing of the m aternity 
leave application;
(c) That paym ent of daily m aternity benefits shall be a bar to the 
recovery of sickness benefits provided by this Act for the sam e compensable 
period of sixty (60) days for the sam e childbirth, abortion, or miscarriage;
(d) That the m aternity benefits provided under this Section shall 
be paid only for the first four deliveries;
(e) That the SSS shall immediately reim burse the employer of 
one hundred percent (100%) of the am ount of m aternity benefits advanced 
to the employee by the employer upon receipt of satisfactory proof of such 
paym ent and legality thereof; and
(f) That if an employee should give birth or suffer abortion or 
m iscarriage w ithout the required contributions 
having been rem itted for 
her by her employer to the SSS, or w ithout the latter having been previously 
notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the employer shall pay 
to the SSS dam ages equivalent to the benefits which said 
employee would 
otherwise have been entitled to, and the SSS shall in turn pay such am ount 
to the employee concerned.
SECTION 5. R ig h ts o f P re g n a n t Em ployee. -  The covered employer 
shall guarantee the following rights of a pregnant employee:
a) No pregnant woman shall be required by her employer to perform any 
arduous job, or which involves long hours of standing, or which is in 
any way is likely to interfere with her pregnancy or the norm al 
development of the fetus, or is likely to cause her m iscarriage or 
otherwise to adversely affect her health;


3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
1
2
b) When a female employee is on her m aternity leave, the employer 
cannot term inate her services;
c) Flexible working hours shall be granted to pregnant women for the 
whole duration of their pregnancy;
d) Pregnant women should be given an option to work from home 
provided th at a certification from her attending physician to th at effect 
shall be presented prior to the request and reasonable notice be given 
to their employer, unless the accommodation would impose an undue 
hardship on the employer.
SECTION 6. P re n a ta l C are Leave. -  A covered pregnant employee 
having rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least six (6) 
m onths for the last twelve (12) m onths shall be entitled to a prenatal care 
leave of at least five (5) days bu t not exceeding 11 days with full pay based 
on her gross monthly com pensation to be used during pregnancy when 
visiting her doctor for prenatal care.
In order to avail of this leave, reasonable notice m ust be given to the 
employer and certification to th at effect from the physician m ust be 
presented on the day the pregnant employee reported for work after her 
consultation with her physician.
SECTION 7. P ro p er T reatm en t o f P re g n a n t o r W omen E m ployees 
w ith  R elated  M edical C ondition. -  A covered employer is prohibited from 
treating an applicant or worker differently on the basis of pregnancy, 
childbirth or a related medical condition.
Pregnancy-related medical condition, as herein referred to, shall 
include, but not limited to, the following:
a) fertility treatm ent(s) an d /o r family planning;
b) medical or health conditions or complications th at m ight affect or 
be affected by pregnancy or childbirth (e.g. diabetes, high blood 
pressure, etc.);
c) m iscarriage or conditions arising as a direct or indirect result of 
miscarriage;
d) stillbirth or conditions arising as a direct or indirect result of 
stillbirth; and


3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
1
2
e) abortion or conditions arising as a direct or indirect result of 
abortion.
SECTION 
8. 
A ccom m odations f o r  
W omen 
E m ployees 
w ith 
P regnancy-R elated M edical C ondition. -  Covered employers are also 
required to m ake reasonable accom m odations for employees who have 
pregnancy-related medical condition. This may include tem porary transfer 
to a less strenuous or less hazardous position, if an employee so requests 
upon the advice of her attending physician, unless the accommodation 
would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
SECTION 9. E m ploym ent o f W omen. -  No employer shall refuse to 
hire a woman because she's pregnant or because she may become pregnant 
in the future, except in cases m entioned in Section 10 (c) of this Act.
SECTION 10. R ig h ts o f W omen W orking in  M an u factu rin g  Firm s. 
-  The covered employer shall guarantee the following rights of women in 
m anufacturing firms:
a) Women workers may be given the option to be assigned in a day 
shift;
b) The shift timing of a woman worker cannot be changed w ithout at 
least a 24 hour notice for their shift timing change;
c) Prohibitions for women workers to work in a hazardous occupation 
th at will endanger their lives and limbs, or would prevent them  
from conceiving
SECTION 11. M easures to Avoid S ex u al H a ra ssm e n t in th e  
W orkplace. -  All covered employers m ust provide a safe working 
environm ent for women th at would deter the commission of sexual 
harassm ent in the workplace such as, but not limited to, the following:
a) Organize workshops and aw areness program s at regular intervals 
for sensitizing employees on the issues and implications of 
workplace sexual harassm ent. Separate trainings may be m ade for 
rank 
and 
file 
employees, 
and 
supervisory 
and 
m anagerial 
employees.
The training for rank and file employees should teach employees 
w hat sexual harassm ent is, explain th at employees have a right to


1 
a workplace free of sexual harassm ent, discuss the com plaint
2 
procedure, and encourage employees to avail of the grievance
3 
m achinery of the company.
4 
The training for supervisory and m anagerial employees should
5 
educate the m anagers and supervisors 
about sexual harassm ent
6 
and their role in the prevention of such acts, and explain them  how
7 
to deal with complaints.
8 
b) Support women employees when they organize and plan activities
9 
th at would aid them  to better deal with sexual harassm ent 
in the
10 
workplace
11 
c) Monitor and revise the policy and education/inform ation program s
12 
on a regular basis to ensure th at it is still effective for the workplace
13 
SECTION 12. Flexible W ork P olicies f o r  W orking M other a n d
\
14 
Fem ale G u ard ian . -  Covered employers shall allow flexible work policies
15 
including, bu t not limited to, job sharing, telecom m uting/teleworking, and
16 
career flexibility for working m other or female guardian with child/ren or
17 
w ard /s ag e/s zero (0) to five (5); provided th at the aforementioned
18 
arrangem ents would not impose an undue hardship on the employer.
19 
Job sharing or work sharing is an employment arrangem ent where
20 
typically two people are retained on a part-tim e or reduced-tim e basis to
21 
perform a job normally fulfilled by one person working full-time. In such an
22 
arrangem ent, the com pensation is apportioned between the workers sharing
23 
the same job.
24 
Telecommuting or teleworking is working from a remote location
25 
outside of a traditional office.
26 
SECTION 13. P en alties. -  Any violation of the provisions of this Act
27 
shall be punished with a fine of not less than One H undred Thousand Pesos
28 
(P100,000.00) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00)
29 
at the discretion of the court.
30 
In addition to such penalty, any alien found guilty shall be sum m arily
31 
deported upon completion of service of sentence.
32 
SECTION 14. L iab ility  o f a  J u rid ic a l Person. — If the offense is
33 
committed by a corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or any


1 
other entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers
2 
of such corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or entity.
3 
SECTION 15. Im plem enting R ules a n d  R egulations. -  W ithin six (6)
4 
m onths from the effectivity of this Act the D epartm ent of Labor and
5 
Employment shall prom ulgate rules and regulations necessary to ensure the
6 
effective im plem entation of this Act.
7 
SECTION 16. S e p a ra b ility  C lause. - If any provision of this Act is
8 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are not
9 
affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.
10 
SECTION 17. R ep ealin g  C lause. -  Section 14-A of Republic Act No.
11 
1166, as am ended, and all other laws, presidential decrees or issuances,
12 
executive orders, letters of instruction, adm inistrative orders, rules or
13 
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act is
14 
hereby am ended or modified accordingly.
15 
SECTION 18. E ffectivity C lause. - This Act shall take fifteen (15)
16 
days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)
17 
new spaper of general circulation.
Approved,