Book Six: Post-Employment | Labor Code of the Philippines

Last reviewed: August 17, 2026

Book Six of the Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442) governs post-employment: the rules for lawfully ending an employment relationship, and what happens to a worker’s tenure after it ends. It has two Titles — Title I, Termination of Employment (Articles 293 to 301), and Title II, Retirement from the Service (Article 302). Book Six is one of seven Books; see the full Labor Code library for the other six and their article ranges.

For a practical, decision-focused walkthrough of these provisions — just cause versus authorized cause, the twin-notice procedure, and the separation pay and retirement pay formulas — see our companion guide, Labor Code Book 6 Explained.

This page follows DOLE’s official 2015–2016 renumbering. Each article is shown with its current number and, in brackets, its original 1974 number — the one still used in older Supreme Court decisions and many contracts. So “Article 297 [282]” means the ground for just-cause termination is Article 297 today and was Article 282 before renumbering.

A note on the text below: Every article is reproduced verbatim from DOLE’s official 2022 renumbered edition of the Labor Code, Book Six (pages 116–119). Footnote numbers match DOLE’s own numbering in that edition.

Article 293 [278] — Coverage
Article 294 [279] — Security of Tenure
Article 295 [280] — Regular and Casual Employment
Article 296 [281] — Probationary Employment
Article 297 [282] — Termination by Employer
Article 298 [283] — Closure of Establishment and Reduction of Personnel
Article 299 [284] — Disease as Ground for Termination
Article 300 [285] — Termination by Employee
Article 301 [286] — When Employment Not Deemed Terminated
Article 302 [287] — Retirement
Footnotes: Amendment History
Sources

Title I — Termination of Employment

Article 293 [278] — Coverage

The provisions of this Title shall apply to all establishments or undertakings, whether for profit or not.^[251]

Article 294 [279] — Security of Tenure

In cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement.^[252]

Article 295 [280] — Regular and Casual Employment

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.

Article 296 [281] — Probationary Employment

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. The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.

Article 297 [282] — Termination by Employer

An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:

Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;

Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;

Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;

Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives; and

Other causes analogous to the foregoing.^[253]

Article 298 [283] — Closure of Establishment and Reduction of Personnel

The employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of labor-saving devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or undertaking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one (1) whole year.

Article 299 [284] — Disease as Ground for Termination

An employer may terminate the services of an employee who has been found to be suffering from any disease and whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of his co-employees: Provided, That he is paid separation pay equivalent to at least one (1) month salary or to one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, whichever is greater, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year.

No dedicated laborcode.ph guide currently covers this ground — flagged as a content gap for a future article.

Article 300 [285] — Termination by Employee

(a) An employee may terminate without just cause the employee-employer relationship by serving a written notice on the employer at least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages.

(b) An employee may put an end to the relationship without serving any notice on the employer for any of the following just causes:

Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;

Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;

Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and

Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.

Article 301 [286] — When Employment Not Deemed Terminated

The bona fide suspension of the operation of a business or undertaking for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or the fulfillment by the employee of a military or civic duty shall not terminate employment. In all such cases, the employer shall reinstate the employee to his former position without loss of seniority rights if he indicates his desire to resume his work not later than one (1) month from the resumption of operations of his employer or from his relief from the military or civic duty.^[254]

Title II — Retirement from the Service

Article 302 [287] — Retirement

Any employee may be retired upon reaching the retirement age established in the collective bargaining agreement or other applicable employment contract.^[255]

In case of retirement, the employee shall be entitled to receive such retirement benefits as he may have earned under existing laws and any collective bargaining agreement and other agreements: Provided, however, That an employee’s retirement benefits under any collective bargaining and other agreements shall not be less than those provided therein.

In the absence of a retirement plan or agreement providing for retirement benefits of employees in the establishment, an employee upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years or more, but not beyond sixty-five (65) years which is hereby declared the compulsory retirement age, who has served at least five (5) years in the said establishment, may retire and shall be entitled to retirement pay equivalent to at least one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one whole year.

Unless the parties provide for broader inclusions, the term one-half (1/2) month salary shall mean fifteen (15) days plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the 13th month pay and the cash equivalent of not more than five (5) days of service incentive leaves.

An underground mining employee upon reaching the age of fifty (50) years or more, but not beyond sixty (60) years which is hereby declared the compulsory retirement age for underground mine workers, who has served at least five (5) years as underground mine worker, may retire and shall be entitled to all the retirement benefits provided for in this Article.

Retail, service and agricultural establishments or operations employing not more than ten (10) employees or workers are exempted from the coverage of this provision.

Violation of this provision is hereby declared unlawful and subject to the penal provisions under Article 288 of this Code.

Nothing in this Article shall deprive any employee of benefits to which he may be entitled under existing laws or company policies or practices.

Footnotes: Amendment History

Footnote numbers match DOLE’s official 2022 renumbered edition of the Labor Code.

Please see D.O. No. 147 (2015), Amending the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Book VI of the Labor Code, As Amended.
As amended by Sec. 34 of R.A. No. 6715 (1989).
Refer to D.O. No. 147-15 (2015), Amending the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Book VI of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
See also DOLE D.O. No. 215 (2020).
As amended by R.A. No. 7641 (1992), which provided “for retirement pay to qualified private sector employees in the absence of any retirement plan in the establishment” and further amended by R.A. No. 8558 (1998), which reduced the retirement age of underground mine workers from sixty (60) to fifty (50). R.A. No. 10757 (2015), on the other hand, reduced the retirement age of surface mine workers from sixty (60) to fifty (50) years. Additionally, R.A. No. 10789 (2016) reduced the retirement age of racehorse jockeys to fifty-five (55) years. See also DOLE D.O. No. 167 (2016), DOLE D.O. No. 169 (2017), and the DOLE Handbook on Workers Statutory Monetary Benefits, 2016 Edition.

Sources

Department of Labor and Employment, The Labor Code of the Philippines, Renumbered — DOLE Edition 2022, Book Six, pp. 116–119 (primary source for the verbatim text and footnotes on this page).
Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended (Labor Code of the Philippines) — lawphil.net
Republic Act No. 6715 (1989) — lawphil.net
Republic Act No. 7641 (1992) — lawphil.net
Republic Act No. 8558 (1998) — lawphil.net
Republic Act No. 10757 (approved 8 April 2016) — lawphil.net (the DOLE footnote reproduced above cites this Act as 2015; the Official Gazette records its approval on 8 April 2016)
Republic Act No. 10789 (2016), adding Article 302-A (compulsory retirement of PHILRACOM-licensed racehorse jockeys at 55) — lawphil.net

Labor Code of the Philippines: Book Six — Post-Employment (Articles 293–302)

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