3. Night Workers (RA 10151; DO 119, s. 2012)

Night Shift Differential

Night Worker:

Any employed person whose work requires performance of a substantial number of hours of night work which exceed a specified limit. This limit shall be fixed by the Secretary of Labor after consulting the workers’ representatives/labor organizations and employers. (Labor Code, Art. 154, as amended by R.A. No. 10151)

Coverage:

This benefit applies to ALL employees EXCEPT: (Go-FR-PMS)

• Those of the government and any of its political subdivisions, including government-owned and/or controlled corporations;
• Those of retail and service establishments regularly employing not more than five (5) workers;
• Domestic helpers and persons in the personal service of another;
• Managerial employees as defined in Book Three of this Code;
• Field personnel and other employees whose time and performance is unsupervised by the employer including those who are engaged on task or contract basis, purely commission basis, or those who are paid a fixed amount for performing work irrespective of the time consumed in the performance thereof. (IRR Labor Code, Book III, Rule II, Sec. 1)

NSD = (10% x regular wage/hr.) x no. of hrs. of work between 10 pm – 6 am

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NOTE: If work done between 10 pm and 6 am is OT work, the NSD should be based on the OT rate.

NOTE: Additional compensation for nighttime work is founded on public policy. (Mercury Drug v. Dayao, G.R. No. L-30452) NSD is not waivable except for higher and bigger benefits.

R.A. No. 10151

An Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers, Thereby Repealing Articles 130 and 131 of Presidential Decree Number Four Hundred FortyTwo, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, 2011

This new Republic Act provides that women can now work on night time.

Coverage

All persons who shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work at night are covered, except those employed in agriculture, stock raising, fishing, maritime transport and inland navigation. Night work means work performed during a period of not less than seven (7) consecutive hours, including the interval from midnight to five o’clock in the morning, to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, after consulting the workers’ representative/labor organizations and employers.

Night Worker means any employed person whose work requires performance of a substantial number of hours of night work which exceeds a specified limit. This limit shall be fixed by the Secretary of Labor after consulting the workers’ representative/labor organizations and employers.”

Health Assessment

At their request, workers shall have the right to undergo a health assessment without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems associated with their work:

• Before taking up an assignment as a night worker;
• At regular intervals during such an assignment; and
• If they experience health problems during such an assignment which are not caused by factors other than the performance of night work.

With the exception of a finding of unfitness for night work, the findings of such assessments shall not be transmitted to others without the workers’ consent and shall not be used to their detriment.

Mandatory Facilities

Suitable first-aid facilities shall be made available for workers performing night work, including arrangements where such workers, where necessary, can be taken immediately to a place for appropriate treatment. The employers are likewise required to provide safe and healthful working conditions and adequate or reasonable facilities such as sleeping or resting quarters in the establishment and transportation from the work premises to the nearest point of their residence subject to exceptions and guidelines to be provided by the DOLE.

Transfer

Night workers who are certified as unfit for night work, due to health reasons, shall be transferred, whenever practicable, to a similar job for which they are fit to work. If such transfer to a similar job is not practicable, these workers shall be granted the same benefits as other workers who are unable to work, or to secure employment during such period. A night worker certified as temporarily unfit for night work shall be given the same protection against dismissal or notice of dismissal as other workers who are prevented from working for reasons of health.

Social Services

Appropriate social services shall be provided for night workers and, where necessary, for workers performing night work.

Night Work Schedules

Before introducing work schedules requiring the services of night workers, the employer shall consult the workers’ representatives/labor organizations concerned on the details of such schedules and the forms of organization of night work that are best adapted to the establishment and its personnel, as well as on the occupational health measures and social services which are required. In establishments employing night workers, consultation shall take place regularly.