Employers cannot charge costs of COVID-19 tests, PPEs to workers — DOLE, DTI

MANILA, Philippines — Employees who are allowed to physically return to work shall not spend for having themselves tested for or protected from the novel coronavirus.

This was the contention of both the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in response to queries if employers can charge to its workers the cost of COVID-19 tests as well as the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) that would be used for the tests.

“We issued a Labor Advisory on that. Those (COVID-19 tests and PPEs) will be shouldered by the company,” Labor Undersecretary Ana Dione said in an online press briefing hosted by the Department of Health (DOH).

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castello, meanwhile, warned that charging the costs of PPEs and COVID-19 tests to employees is a violation of the law and constitutes penalties.

“It will be a violation ng Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, that’s [Republic Act] 4869. May penalty ‘yun na kasama aside from the Labor laws that will be violated also,” Castello said in the same press briefing.

Several sectors were allowed to partially operate starting May 16 in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) including Metro Manila, in a bid to restart the country’s economy heavily battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its return-to-work guidelines for employees who will be allowed to report to work amid the eased quarantine restrictions, the DOH said it is not required for all employees to undergo a coronavirus test prior to returning to work.

While it is not mandatory to conduct coronavirus tests, the government welcomed initiatives by the private sector to test their workers.

EDV