Article 89 of the Labor Code: Emergency overtime work
Status: In force
What does Article 89 say?
Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases:
(a) When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive;
(b) When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;
(c) When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature;
(d) When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and
(e) Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer.
Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
Read the Labor Code on the DOLE website (it uses the article numbers before 2015)
What does it mean in plain language?
Article 89 of the Labor Code lists the cases when an employer may require an employee to work overtime: war or a declared emergency, disasters and calamities, urgent work on machines, perishable goods, and work that must be finished to avoid serious harm to the business. Overtime in these cases is still paid with the overtime premium.
The article keeps the same number and the same words it had in the 1974 Labor Code, as the DOLE renumbered edition shows.
How does it work in real life?
Rowena: a typhoon at the warehouse
A typhoon is coming and the warehouse may flood. Rowena's employer asks her to stay three more hours to move stock to the upper floor. This falls under paragraph (b): the work is needed to prevent loss of property due to an impending calamity. She may be required to stay, and the three hours are paid as overtime.
Ditas: fish that cannot wait
Ditas works at a fish processing plant. A large catch arrives at 4 pm and must be processed the same day. Paragraph (d) allows her employer to require overtime to prevent loss of perishable goods. The extra hours are paid with the overtime premium.
Paolo: a regular busy month
Paolo's employer has more orders than usual and wants everyone to stay two extra hours every day for a month. A busy season is not one of the listed cases. Under the implementing rules, he may not be made to work beyond eight hours a day against his will. If he agrees, the hours are paid as overtime.
What does this mean in practice?
- Article 89 is in Book Three, Title I, so it does not cover the groups excluded by Article 82, such as managerial employees and field personnel.
- Work on a rest day follows a similar list in Article 92. See also Can you be made to work on your rest day?
- More on this topic: Can your employer require overtime? and the overtime pay calculator.
- The implementing rules quoted here are the 1989 text on the Supreme Court E-Library. Whether later DOLE rules changed them is not covered here.
- Whether refusing overtime can lead to discipline depends on the facts and on the listed cases. See Free legal help in the Philippines.
What does Article 89 say?
The article opens with the rule:
Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases:
Then it lists five cases:
(a) When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive;
(b) When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;
(c) When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature;
(d) When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and
(e) Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer.
And it ends with the pay rule:
Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
A footnote of the DOLE renumbered edition says "National Assembly" in paragraph (a) refers to Congress.
What about cases not on the list?
The implementing rules of the Labor Code (1989 text on the Supreme Court E-Library), Book III, Rule I, Section 10, repeat the five cases and add one more: overtime needed to take advantage of favorable weather or environmental conditions, where the performance or quality of the work depends on them. The same section then says that in cases not falling within the list, no employee may be made to work beyond eight hours a day against his will.
So outside the listed cases, overtime depends on the employee's agreement. Inside them, the employer may require it.
How is required overtime paid?
The same as any overtime. Under Article 87, each hour beyond eight on an ordinary day is paid at the regular wage plus at least 25%. On a rest day or holiday, it is the rate for that day plus at least 30% of it. Hours missed on another day cannot be used to cancel the overtime: see Article 88.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer force me to work overtime?
Only in the cases listed in Article 89 and the implementing rules, such as declared emergencies, disasters, urgent work on machines, perishable goods, and work started before the eighth hour that must be finished. The implementing rules say that in other cases no employee may be made to work beyond eight hours a day against his will.
Is required overtime paid?
Yes. The last paragraph of Article 89 says any employee required to render overtime work under the article shall be paid the additional compensation required in the chapter.
What does National Assembly mean in Article 89?
Article 89(a) still speaks of an emergency declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive. A footnote of the DOLE renumbered edition says National Assembly refers to Congress.
Do the implementing rules add other cases?
Yes. The 1989 implementing rules add overtime needed to take advantage of favorable weather or environmental conditions when the performance or quality of the work depends on them.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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