DOLE orders employers to pay cost of COVID-19 health measures in workplaces

MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered employers to shoulder the cost of COVID-19 prevention and control measures in their respective workplaces, including testing and personal protective equipment sets (PPE), among others.

Bello issued Labor Advisory No. 18 on May 16 which states that “(n)o cost-related or incidental to COVID-19 prevention and control measures shall be charged directly or indirectly to the workers.”

“The employer shall shoulder the cost of COVID-19 prevention and control measures such as but not limited to the following: testing, disinfection facilities, hand sanitizers, personal protective equipment (PPEs i.e. face mask), signages, proper orientation and training of workers including IEC materials on COVID-19 prevention and control,” the advisory read.

“In the case of contracts for construction projects and for security, janitorial and other services, the cost of COVID-19 prevention and control measures shall be borne by the principals or clients of the construction/service contractor,” it added.

DOLE said its regional offices will provide “appropriate assistance to all employers and contractors or subcontractors to facilitate compliance” to guidelines on COVID-19 workplace prevention and control earlier issued by the government.

In a separate advisory, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) “highly encourages” work-from-home and telecommuting for employees in businesses and industries already allowed to resume operations in areas under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) or the general community quarantine (GCQ).

According to the Labor Advisory No. 17, employers may resort to the following alternative work arrangements:

1. Transfer of employee to another branch or outlet of the same employer;

2. Assignment of employee to another function or position, in the same or another branch or outlet of the same employer;

3. Reduction of normal workdays or workhours;

4. Job rotations;

5. Partial closure of an establishment while some department or unit is continued; and

6. Other schemes necessary or peculiar for the survival of a specific business or establishment.

The said guidelines likewise advised employers to employ various wage and benefits schemes necessary for the continuance of business and employment in coordination with their workers and in conjunction with agreed company policies and their respective collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) provided that the said adjustments in wage and benefits should not exceed six months or the period mandated in their CBAs.

“We know that businesses have suffered so much, but for the sake of our economy we encourage them to dig deeper into their vast reserve of charity and benevolence so that their workers and the communities can continue to further weather this crisis that we are all facing and fighting together,” Bello said in a statement.

In cases when termination of employment becomes unavoidable, the advisory said emoluments for workers removed for cause should follow the provisions of existing laws.

The guidelines also required employers to submit reports to the DOLE field offices on the adaption of any, or all, of the provisions of the advisory.

Businesses that were allowed to open under the GCQ will also be allowed to operate in areas placed under the MECQ but only at a limited capacity.

Metro Manila, Laguna and several other Luzon provinces are have been placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) while Cebu City and Mandaue City were placed under an ECQ.

To date, Philippine health officials have so far confirmed 12,513 COVID-19 cases in the country.

Of the number, 2,635 have so far recovered while 824 have died from the disease.