Who is a kasambahay? What should the employer consider before hiring one? What are the rights and privileges of a kasambahay?
Domestic workers or “kasambahays” play an important role in every household. Their services and dedication have been providing invaluable comfort and ease especially to working parents and their children. Many Filipino households in fact treat a kasambahay as a member of the family.
Outside the moral and emotional aspect of treating our kasambahays, we discuss in this article the legal side of hiring and managing them. It is time to look back at some of the questions about them that are often neglected. How should we deal with them? What are their rights and privileges?
It is important to note that a kasambahay is still a worker. She deserves equal, if not more favorable, treatment as other employees in the eyes of the law.
Special law for kasambahays
In 2018, Congress passed Republic Act No. 10361, fittingly called the “Domestic Workers Act” or “Batas Kasambahay.”
This special law hopes to address the particular needs and concerns of kasambahays as an important sector of workers. It is also a recognition that despite their commitment and dedication to their employers, many kasambahays experience abuse and sometimes violence from the people they serve.
The State recognizes the need to protect the rights of domestic workers against abuse, harassment, violence, economic exploitation and performance of work that is hazardous to their physical and mental health.
Who is a kasambahay?
The law defines a kasambahay or domestic worker as:
[A]ny person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship such as, but not limited to, the following: general househelp, nursemaid or “yaya”, cook, gardener, or laundry person, but shall exclude any person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis. (Section 4(d)).
However, under the law’s implementing rules, service providers, family drivers, and children under foster family arrangements are not covered as kasambahay or a domestic worker.
Domestic work, in turn, refers to work performed in or for a household or households.
An employer cannot employ as a kasambahay a person below fifteen (15) years of age.
What must an employer consider in hiring one?
Every employer has numerous traits that he is looking for in a kasambahay.
At minimum, before hiring a kasambahay, an employer may require an applicant to submit the following standard documents:
- (a) Medical certificate or a health certificate issued by a local government health officer;
- (b) Barangay and police clearance;
- (c) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance; and
- (d) Duly authenticated birth certificate or if not available, any other document showing the age of the domestic worker such as voter’s identification card, baptismal record, or passport.
The cost of obtaining these documents shall be borne by the prospective employer.
The law also requires that the employer and kasambahay execute a written employment contract. This document must be in a language or dialect understood by both parties.
The employment contract should contain the following:
- (a) Duties and responsibilities of the domestic worker;
- (b) Period of employment;
- (c) Compensation;
- (d) Authorized deductions;
- (e) Hours of work and proportionate additional payment;
- (f) Rest days and allowable leaves;
- (g) Board, lodging, and medical attention;
- (h) Agreements on deployment expenses, if any;
- (i) Loan agreement;
- (j) Termination of employment; and
- (k) Any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties.
What are the rights and privileges of a kasambahay?
Rest period
In a day, a kasambahay must have a total rest period of eight (8) hours. In a week she has at least twenty-four (24) consecutive hours of rest. The employer and the kasambahay shall agree on the schedule of the rest day.
Minimum wage
The Regional Tripartite and Productivity Wage Boards (RTPWBs) sets the minimum wage for a kasambahay. The special law initially set the minimum wage at Two thousand five hundred pesos (P2,500.00) a month for those employed in the National Capital Region (NCR); Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) a month for those employed in chartered cities and first-class municipalities; and One thousand five hundred pesos (P1,500.00) a month for those employed in other municipalities. RTPWBs have since made the adjustments from these initial amounts.
The employer must pay the wages in cash at least once a month.
Other labor standards
A kasambahay is also entitled to a 13th-month pay as provided by law. After one (1) year of service rendered, she becomes entitled to an annual service incentive leave of five (5) days with pay. Unused leaves cannot be carried over to succeeding years. These are also non-convertible to cash.
Social benefits
A kasambahay with at least one (1) month of service shall be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG.
The employer shall shoulder the contribution and premium payments. However, the kasambahay shall pay a proportionate share if she receives a monthly wage of at least Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00).
Treatment at home
A kasambahay shall be free from any abuse, physical violence, or harassment from her employer or any member of the household. The employer must also provide the necessities such as food and a decent living arrangement.
Section. 6. Board, Lodging and Medical Attendance. – The employer shall provide for the basic necessities of the domestic worker to include at least three (3) adequate meals a day and humane sleeping arrangements that ensure safety.
The employer shall provide appropriate rest and assistance to the domestic worker in case of illnesses and injuries sustained during service without loss of benefits.
At no instance shall the employer withdraw or hold in abeyance the provision of these basic necessities as punishment or disciplinary action to the domestic worker.
Just like any person, a kasambahay also has the right to privacy. The law guarantees this right which must be respected even in the household of the employer.
Section. 7. Guarantee of Privacy. – Respect for the privacy of the domestic worker shall be guaranteed at all times and shall extend to all forms of communication and personal effects. This guarantee equally recognizes that the domestic worker is obliged to render satisfactory service at all times.
The employer can also provide the kasambahay basic education and allow access to higher education.
Section. 9. Right to Education and Training. – The employer shall afford the domestic worker the opportunity to finish basic education and may allow access to alternative learning systems and, as far as practicable, higher education or technical and vocational training. The employer shall adjust the work schedule of the domestic worker to allow such access to education or training without hampering the services required by the employer.
Termination of employment
The general rule is the parties to the employment contract cannot terminate the employment before the expiration of the term stated.
There are, however, exceptions. Either party may terminate the employment for causes specified in the law.
Kasambahay initiates termination
SEC. 33. Termination Initiated by the Domestic Worker. – The domestic worker may terminate the employment relationship at any time before the expiration of the contract for any of the following causes:
(a) Verbal or emotional abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the household;
(b) Inhuman treatment including physical abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the household;
(c) Commission of a crime or offense against the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the household;
(d) Violation by the employer of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and other standards set forth under this law;
(e) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the household; and
(f) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Employer initiates termination
SEC. 34. Termination Initiated by the Employer. – An employer may terminate the services of the domestic worker at any time before the expiration of the contract, for any of the following causes:
(a) Misconduct or willful disobedience by the domestic worker of the lawful order of the employer in connection with the former’s work;
(b) Gross or habitual neglect or inefficiency by the domestic worker in the performance of duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach of the trust reposed by the employer on the domestic worker;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the domestic worker against the person of the employer or any immediate member of the employer’s family;
(e) Violation by the domestic worker of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and other standards set forth under this law;
(f) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the household; and
(g) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Certificate of employment
Upon severance of employment relationship, the law requires the employer to issue a certificate of employment within five (5) days from request indicating the nature, duration of the service, and work performance.
