Article 295 [280] of the Labor Code: Regular and casual employment
The number in brackets, [280], is the article's number before the 2015 renumbering of the Labor Code.
Status: In force
What does Article 295 [280] say?
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, except where the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season.
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is 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.
Read the Labor Code on the DOLE website (it uses the article numbers before 2015)
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 295 (Article 280 before the 2015 renumbering) decides who is a regular employee. If you were hired to do work that is usually necessary or desirable in your employer's business, you are a regular employee, whatever your contract calls you. The exceptions are true project work and seasonal work. A casual worker who has served at least one year also becomes regular for that activity.
The first paragraph reads:
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, except where the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season.
How does it work in real life?
Dino: rehired project after project
Dino, a construction helper, was hired again and again for twelve years. At no hiring was he told the scope and duration of the project. Under the ruling in Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia, without proof that he was informed at the start, he is presumed a regular employee.
Mylene: "contractual" cashier
Mylene signs five-month "contractual" contracts with a supermarket, renewed many times. Working as a cashier is usually necessary in a supermarket's business. Under the first paragraph of Article 295, the label in her contract does not decide her status.
Arnel: a real season
Arnel works in a sugar mill only during the milling season, and he is hired for that season. This can fit the seasonal exception in the first paragraph, as long as the work is seasonal in nature and the employment lasts for the season.
What does this mean in practice?
- The employer carries the burden of proving project employment (Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia v. Palle, 2020). A worker's own records, such as contracts, payslips and IDs, can help show the real nature of the job.
- Regular status does not depend on signing a new contract or receiving a regularization letter.
- When a contractor supplies workers, the question of who the real employer is falls under the rules on contracting: see labor-only contracting and endo.
- For the rules on trial periods, see can a probationary employee be terminated and probationary vs regular employee.
What makes an employee regular?
The nature of the work, not the label. Article 295 applies "the provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties". A contract that says "contractual", "temporary" or "trainee" does not change the result if the work is usually necessary or desirable in the employer's usual business or trade.
Regular status matters because a regular employee can be dismissed only for a just or authorized cause ([Article 294 [279]](/law/labor-code/article-294)).
What are the exceptions: project and seasonal work?
The first paragraph names two:
- Project employment: the job was fixed for a specific project or undertaking, and its completion or termination was determined when the employee was hired.
- Seasonal employment: the work is seasonal in nature and the employment lasts for the season.
The Supreme Court is strict about project employment. In Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia v. Palle (2020), it said:
- the principal test is whether the employees "were assigned to carry out a 'specific project or undertaking,' the duration and scope of which were specified at the time the employees were engaged for that project";
- the employer has the burden to prove that an employee is a project employee;
- failing to report to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) each time a project ends is "an indication that the workers were not project employees but regular ones"; and
- "without such proof, it is presumed that respondents are regular employees."
The Court found the construction workers in that case to be regular employees who were illegally dismissed. In Quebral v. Angbus Construction (2016), the Court also applied Article 295 to construction workers and reinstated the decision of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) declaring them regular employees.
When does a casual employee become regular?
The second paragraph covers casual employees, meaning those not covered by the first paragraph:
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is 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.
So a casual worker who reaches one year of service, even with breaks, becomes regular for that activity.
How is a probationary employee different?
A probationary employee is on trial for a job that is meant to become regular. Article 296 [281] sets the rules: probation generally may not exceed six months, and an employee allowed to work after the probationary period is considered regular (Article 296). In C.P. Reyes Hospital v. Barbosa (2024), the Supreme Court said the change from probationary to regular "happens ipso facto, or by force and operation of law".
Frequently asked questions
Who is a regular employee under Article 295 [280]?
An employee engaged to perform activities that are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer. The status comes from the law and the nature of the work, whatever the written or oral agreement of the parties says.
Can a contract that says 'contractual' stop me from becoming regular?
Not by itself. Article 295 applies 'the provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties'. What counts is the work you do and whether a real project or season was fixed when you were hired.
What is a project employee?
An employee hired for a specific project or undertaking whose completion or termination was determined at the time of hiring. In Engineering & Construction Corporation of Asia v. Palle (2020), the Supreme Court said the employer must prove that the duration and scope of the project were specified when the employee was engaged.
When does a casual employee become regular?
After at least one year of service, continuous or broken. Article 295 says that employee is then a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he or she is employed, and the employment continues while that activity exists.
Do years of service make a construction worker regular?
Not by themselves. The Supreme Court has said length of service may not necessarily be applicable in construction, because firms cannot guarantee work after a project ends. The key is whether the worker was told the project's duration and scope at the start.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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