Regular Employee: Meaning
Quick answer
A regular employee is one hired to do work that is usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer. Under Article 295 [280] of the Labor Code, the nature of the work decides, not the label in the contract. The main exceptions are project and seasonal employment. A regular employee may be dismissed only for a just or authorized cause.
Also called: Regular employment, Permanent employee
What does the Labor Code say about regular employment?
The rule is in Article 295, which was Article 280 before the 2015 renumbering. Its first paragraph begins:
The provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer
So a contract that calls a worker "contractual", "temporary" or "casual" does not settle the question. What counts is the work actually done.
What are the exceptions?
The same paragraph excludes two kinds of employment:
- Project employment: the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking whose completion or termination was determined at the time of engagement.
- Seasonal employment: the work is seasonal and the employment is for the duration of the season.
In Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia v. Palle (2020), the Supreme Court said the main test for project employees is whether they were assigned to a specific project or undertaking whose duration and scope were specified when they were engaged. Without proof of that, the workers were presumed regular. The Court also treated the employer's failure to report project completions to DOLE as an indication that the workers were not project employees. In Quebral v. Angbus Construction (2016), the Court reinstated a ruling that construction workers were regular employees. See Project employees: what are your rights?
Can a casual employee become regular?
Yes. The second paragraph of Article 295 says that a casual employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether continuous or broken, "shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his employment shall continue while such activity exists."
What about probationary employees?
[Article 296 [281]](/law/labor-code/article-296) says probationary employment may not exceed six months from the date the employee started working, unless an apprenticeship agreement provides a longer period. An employee who is allowed to work after the probationary period is considered a regular employee. During probation, the employee must be told the reasonable standards for becoming regular at the time of engagement: see Can a probationary employee be terminated?
Why does regular status matter?
A regular employee has security of tenure: under [Article 294 [279]](/law/labor-code/article-294), the employer may terminate the employment only for a just cause or when the Labor Code authorizes it. Workers supplied by a manpower agency may also be treated as regular employees of the company in a case of labor-only contracting.
Example
Made-up illustration: Tonyo is hired as a baker by a bakery in Quezon City under contracts of five months each, renewed again and again for three years. Baking bread is the bakery's main business, so the work is usually necessary or desirable in its usual trade. A labor tribunal may find that Tonyo is a regular employee, whatever his contracts say.
For more, see When does an employee become regular?
Which provisions use this term?
Which Supreme Court rulings are relevant?
Frequently asked questions
What is a regular employee in simple words?
An employee hired to do work that is usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer. Under Article 295 [280], this is decided by the nature of the work, not by what the contract calls the job.
Does the contract decide if I am regular?
No. Article 295 [280] applies notwithstanding any written agreement to the contrary and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties.
When does a casual employee become regular?
Under Article 295 [280], a casual employee who has rendered at least one year of service, continuous or broken, becomes a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he or she is employed.
When does a probationary employee become regular?
Under Article 296 [281], probation may not exceed six months from the start of work, except under an apprenticeship agreement with a longer period. An employee allowed to work after the probationary period is a regular employee.
Are project employees regular employees?
Not if they were hired for a specific project whose duration and scope were made known when they were engaged. In Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia v. Palle (2020), workers without proof of that were presumed regular.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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