Labor Law and Social Legislation › Labor Standards › Conditions of Employment › Hours of Work

a. Normal Hours of Work

Normal Hours of Work

General Rule: The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day. (Labor Code, Art. 83)

Part-time work, or a day’s work of less than 8 hours, is not prohibited (Legend Hotel v. Realuyo, G.R. No. 153511, 2012)

Purpose of the Law

To protect the health of the workers.

The law is designed to minimize unemployment by forcing employers, in case where more than eight hour operation is necessary, to utilize different shifts of laborers or employees working only for eight hours each. (Manila Terminal Company v. CIR, G.R. No. L4148, 1952).

Exception to 8-Hour Law: Work Hours of Health Personnel

Health Personnel in:

Cities and municipalities with a population of at least one million (1,000,000) or
Hospitals and clinics with a bed capacity of at least one hundred (100) shall hold regular office hours for eight (8) hours a day, for five (5) days a week, exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of the service require that such personnel work for six (6) days or forty-eight (48) hours (Labor Code, Art. 83)

WORK DAY	CALENDAR DAY
24-hour period commencing from the time an employee regularly starts to work regardless of whether the work is broken or continuous.	24-hour period commencing at 12 midnight and ending at 11:59 p.m.

Undertime NOT offset by OT

Offsetting of undertime hours against the OT hours whether on the same or any other day is prohibited by law. (Labor Code, Art. 88)