When Does an Employee Become Regular?
Quick answer
In the Philippines, you are a regular employee if you do work that is usually necessary or desirable in your employer's usual business, whatever your contract calls you. A probationary employee becomes regular when allowed to keep working after the probation period, which may not go beyond six months. A casual employee becomes regular after one year of service, continuous or broken. No letter or ceremony is needed: it happens by law.
What does the Labor Code say about regular employment?
The main rule is Article 295 [280] of the Labor Code ([280] is its number before the 2015 renumbering):
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.
In plain words: what counts is the work you actually do, not the label in the contract. If the work is part of the usual business of the employer, the employment is regular. The two exceptions are:
- project employment, fixed for a specific project whose end was set when you were hired; and
- seasonal employment, for work that is seasonal and lasts for the season.
See Project employees: rights and when they become regular.
The term is also explained in regular employee.
When does a probationary employee become regular?
Article 296 [281] ([281] is its number before the 2015 renumbering) sets the limit of probation:
Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.
And it ends with this rule:
An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.
In C.P. Reyes Hospital v. Barbosa (2024), the Supreme Court said the change from probationary to regular status "happens ipso facto, or by force and operation of law". The employer does not have to issue a regularization paper for it to happen.
What if no standards were given at the start?
During probation, the employer may end the employment for a just cause or if the employee fails to meet reasonable standards made known at the time of engagement (Article 296). In Abbott Laboratories v. Alcaraz (2013), the Court quoted the implementing rule: where no standards are made known to the employee at the time of engagement, "he shall be deemed a regular employee." The Court said the employer only has to make reasonable efforts to tell the employee what is expected. It also said no detailed standards are needed when the job is self-descriptive, such as maids, cooks, drivers or messengers.
For how probation can end, see Can a probationary employee be terminated? and Probationary vs regular employee.
When does a casual employee become regular?
Casual employment is any job that is not covered by the first paragraph of Article 295. The second paragraph then says:
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 one year of service, even with gaps, makes a casual employee regular for that activity.
Why does being regular matter?
A regular employee has security of tenure. Under [Article 294 [279]](/law/labor-code/article-294), the employer may end regular employment only for a just cause or an authorized cause. An employee who is unjustly dismissed is entitled to reinstatement and full backwages. See Illegally dismissed: what can you get?
For an overview of employment status, see probationary, regular and project employees.
How does this work in real life?
These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.
Rhea starts as a probationary staff nurse in a hospital on June 1. Her employer neither ends her probation nor tells her anything, and she keeps working after six months. Under Article 296 she is now regular.
Paolo works as a cashier in a supermarket. His contract calls him a "contractual" employee and is renewed every five months. Cashiering is usually necessary in the business of a supermarket, so under Article 295 the label in his contract does not decide his status.
Ella is hired as a casual helper to repaint a school's fences, then rehired for other odd jobs for more than a year. Under the second paragraph of Article 295, after one year of service she is regular for that activity.
When do you need a lawyer?
Talk to a lawyer if your employer keeps renewing short contracts for work that is part of its usual business, if you were dismissed right before or after six months, or if you are an employer drafting probation standards. Whether a job is regular depends on the facts of the work. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.
Which provisions does this answer rest on?
Which Supreme Court rulings are relevant?
Frequently asked questions
After how many months does an employee become regular in the Philippines?
Probation may not go beyond six months from the day the employee started working, unless an apprenticeship agreement sets a longer period. Under Article 296 [281] of the Labor Code, an employee allowed to work after the probationary period is considered regular.
Can a contract say I am not regular even if I do the main work of the business?
Article 295 [280] says employment is regular when the employee does work usually necessary or desirable in the usual business of the employer, whatever the written or oral agreement says. The exceptions are project and seasonal employment.
Does a casual employee become regular?
Yes. Under Article 295, a casual employee who has rendered at least one year of service, continuous or broken, is considered regular for the activity in which he or she is employed.
Do I need a regularization letter to become regular?
No. In C.P. Reyes Hospital v. Barbosa (2024), the Supreme Court said the change from probationary to regular happens by force and operation of law.
What if my employer never told me the standards for regularization?
Under the implementing rule quoted in Abbott Laboratories v. Alcaraz (2013), if no standards are made known to the employee at the time of engagement, the employee is deemed regular. The Court noted an exception for jobs that are self-descriptive, such as maids, cooks, drivers or messengers.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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