Is Waiting Time, On-Call Time or Training Paid?

Article 84 gives the basic rule:

"Suffered or permitted to work" means work the employer allows to happen, even if it did not order it. The number of hours matters because the normal hours of work may not exceed eight a day under Article 83, and work beyond eight hours is overtime under Article 87. For an overview, see wages, hours and pay under the Labor Code.

No. The implementing rules state the principle in Section 4(a): "All hours are hours worked which the employee is required to give his employer, regardless of whether or not such hours are spent in productive labor or involve physical or mental exertion."

So a guard who stands at a post with nothing happening is still working. What counts is that the employer requires the time.

Section 5(a) of the rules answers it: "Waiting time spent by an employee shall be considered as working time if waiting is an integral part of his work or the employee is required or engaged by the employer to wait."

Two tests, either one is enough:

• Waiting is part of the job. For example, a driver who must wait for passengers or cargo.
• The employer requires the waiting. For example, a worker told to stay and wait for a delivery to arrive.

Section 4(d) adds a related rule for interruptions beyond the employee's control, such as a machine breakdown. The idle time is working time if the employee must stay because work may resume soon, or if the break is too short to be used effectively in the employee's own interest.

It depends on how much freedom the employee has. Section 5(b) says:

• An employee who is required to remain on call in the employer's premises, "or so close thereto that he cannot use the time effectively and gainfully for his own purpose," is working while on call.
• An employee "who is not required to leave word at his home or with company officials where he may be reached is not working while on call."

So staying in the staff room in case a patient arrives is work. Being free at home, with no duty to stay anywhere, is not.

Yes. Article 84 itself says rest periods of short duration during working hours are counted as hours worked. Section 7 of the rules adds that "Rest periods or coffee breaks running from five (5) to twenty (20) minutes shall be considered as compensable working time." The regular meal break of at least one hour is a different matter: see are meal breaks paid? and Article 85.

The rules also explain, in Section 4(b), that a rest period does not count as work if the employee stops working, may rest completely and may leave the work place, even if he or she stays within the premises.

It can be, even without an order. Section 4(c) of the rules says that if the work was necessary, or it benefited the employer, or the employee could not leave at the end of the normal hours because there was no replacement, the time is hours worked "if the work was with the knowledge of his employer or immediate supervisor."

Section 6 of the rules says attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities is not working time only if all three conditions are met:

1. Attendance is outside the employee's regular working hours.
2. Attendance is in fact voluntary.
3. The employee does not perform any productive work during the attendance.

If even one condition is missing, for example the training is required by the employer, the time counts as hours worked.

Article 82 excludes some groups from the rules on hours of work, such as government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, family members dependent on the employer, and workers paid by results as defined in the regulations. See are managers and field workers paid overtime? Kasambahay have their own law; see kasambahay rights.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Nora is a nurse aide who must stay in the clinic's staff room during her night shift in case a patient arrives, and she cannot leave. Under Section 5(b), she is working while on call, even when no patient comes.

Dodong is a delivery helper. At each stop, he must wait while the store checks the goods before unloading. Waiting is an integral part of his work, so under Section 5(a) it is working time.

Liza works in an office from 8 to 5. Her employer requires all staff to attend a Saturday seminar on the new sales system. The seminar is outside her hours, but it is not voluntary, so under Section 6 the time counts as hours worked. Whether it is paid as overtime or rest day work depends on her schedule; the overtime pay calculator shows how the rates work.

Rommel is told he may go home at 5, but he stays until 7 to finish a report because his supervisor needs it the next morning, and the supervisor knows he is staying. Under Section 4(c), those two hours count as hours worked.

Claims for unpaid hours depend on records: time cards, schedules, messages from supervisors and rules on standby duty. Talk to a lawyer, your union or the Public Attorney's Office if a large amount of unpaid time is involved or if many workers are affected. Money claims must be filed within three years; see labor money claims: how long do you have? If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.