Philippine Labor Law Glossary
Definition: An Internship is a training arrangement in which a student undertakes practical work as an academic requirement. A genuine intern is not an employee — but that status is conditional, and an arrangement that functions as production work or as a hiring trial can be treated as employment.
Sa Filipino · Filipino Explanation
Ano ang Internship?
Ang internship o praktikum ay pagsasanay sa loob ng kompanya bilang bahagi ng pag-aaral. Ang tunay na intern ay hindi empleyado — kaya walang minimum wage, walang security of tenure.
Pero hindi ito basta-basta label na pwedeng ilagay ng kompanya. Nagiging empleyado ka kung: (1) tunay na trabaho para sa kompanya ang ginagawa mo, hindi pagsasanay; (2) ginagamit ang “training period” bilang pagsubok bago ka kunin; o (3) pinagpatuloy ka nilang pagtrabahuhin pagkatapos ng internship. Sa Holiday Inn at Oyster Plaza, ang OJT ay ibinilang na bahagi ng probationary period — at nang manatili ang empleyado, naging regular na siya. Bagong batas din ang RA 12063: ang mga academically-required internship ay maaari nang dumaan sa TESDA-registered EBET Programs.
Interns Are Not Employees — Conditionally
The starting position is that a student undertaking an internship as an academic requirement is not in an employment relationship with the host establishment. That is why an intern has no claim to the minimum wage or to security of tenure.
But the status is a characterisation, not a label the host company can apply to itself. It holds where the arrangement is genuinely an academic requirement, documented by an agreement between the institution and the establishment, and directed at training rather than at production.
One rule is frequently over-extended and should be read carefully. Section 14, Rule X, Book III of the Omnibus Rules provides that there is no employer-employee relationship “between students on one hand, and schools, colleges or universities on the other, where there is written agreement between them under which the former agree to work for the latter in exchange for the privilege to study free of charge.” That provision covers working scholars serving their own school. It does not by its terms govern a student deployed to a third-party host company.
Which Agency’s Rules Apply
Internship in the Philippines is not governed by one instrument. It divides by education sector:
- Higher education institutions — CHED Memorandum Order No. 104, series of 2017, the Revised Guidelines for the Student Internship Program in the Philippines, which superseded CHED Memorandum Order No. 23, series of 2009.
- Basic education and senior high school, including the TVL track — DepEd Order No. 30, series of 2017, the Guidelines for Work Immersion, supplemented by DepEd Order No. 39, series of 2018, and building on DepEd Order No. 40, series of 2015. Work immersion is commonly delivered as a minimum of 80 hours, with schools able to design programmes up to 320 hours.
- Technical-vocational training — TESDA, under Republic Act No. 7796 and now Republic Act No. 12063.
Republic Act No. 12063 adds an overlay. Section 5(a) provides that “a student enrolled in an educational institution, who is required to undertake an internship or immersion as part of an academic requirement, may participate in registered EBET Programs,” and directs TESDA together with CHED or DepEd to issue the necessary rules. Section 22 states that an EBET trainee is not an employee for the duration of the programme.
When an Internship Becomes Employment
The tests are the ordinary ones. The four-fold test asks about selection and engagement, payment of wages, the power of dismissal, and the power of control — the last being decisive, extending “not only over the work done but over the means and methods by which the employee must accomplish the work.” The two-tiered approach adds an economic-reality inquiry, asking “whether the worker is dependent on the alleged employer for his continued employment in that line of business.” A properly run training relationship produces no such dependence.
Philippine decisions identify recurring crossing points:
- The training period functions as a hiring trial. In Holiday Inn Manila v. NLRC, a three-week on-the-job training period was treated as part of probation, the Court observing that by retaining the worker afterwards the employer “in effect recognized that she had passed probation.” Counting the training toward the probationary cap, she became a regular employee, and the Court rejected the “double probation” arrangement as a circumvention.
- The worker is retained and keeps working. Oyster Plaza Hotel v. Melivo applied the same reasoning to a three-month trainee stint, which counted as probationary; on rehiring and continued work the employee became regular, and the dismissal without cause or notice was illegal.
- The work is production, not training. In Atlanta Industries v. Sebolino, workers performing tasks “usually necessary and desirable” to the employer’s business under defective training papers were held to be regular employees.
Statutory Conversion Triggers
Republic Act No. 12063 adds three circumstances in which a trainee becomes a regular employee by force of statute: training beyond three years or beyond the prescribed period (Section 11); being trained twice consecutively by the same enterprise (Section 22); and being among the trainees exceeding twenty per cent of the enterprise’s regular employees (Section 25).
Is an Internship Paid?
Under the repealed Labor Code framework, unpaid curricular training was expressly contemplated. Under Republic Act No. 12063 the posture has shifted: Section 13(a) entitles even a General EBET trainee to an allowance “sufficient to cover transportation costs, meals” and similar expenses, so a wholly cost-free deployment is no longer the statutory default.
Legal Basis
| Authority | Classification | Rule supported | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Act No. 12063, Sections 5(a), 13 and 22 | Statute | Routes academically-required internships into registered EBET Programmes, entitles trainees to an allowance, and states that a trainee is not an employee for the programme’s duration. | Official statute text |
| Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code, Section 14, Rule X, Book III | Implementing rule | Provides that there is no employer-employee relationship between working scholars and their own school under a written agreement. | Department of Labor and Employment |
| Sonza v. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, G.R. No. 138051, June 10, 2004 | Jurisprudence | States the four-fold test and identifies control as the most important element. | Official decision |
| Francisco v. NLRC, G.R. No. 170087, August 31, 2006 | Jurisprudence | Adds the economic-reality tier, asking whether the worker is dependent on the alleged employer for continued employment. | Official decision |
| Holiday Inn Manila v. NLRC, G.R. No. 109114, September 14, 1993 | Jurisprudence | Counts an on-the-job training period toward probation and rejects a double-probation arrangement. | Official decision |
| Oyster Plaza Hotel v. Melivo, G.R. No. 217455, October 5, 2016 | Jurisprudence | Treats a trainee stint as probationary and holds the worker regular on rehiring and continued work. | Official decision |
| Atlanta Industries, Inc. v. Sebolino, G.R. No. 187320, January 26, 2011 | Jurisprudence | Holds trainees performing work necessary and desirable to the business under defective papers to be regular employees. | Official decision |
Common Misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Calling someone an intern means no employment relationship can arise.
Correct approach: The characterisation depends on the substance of the arrangement, tested by control and economic reality, not on the label.
Misunderstanding: Time served as an OJT or trainee does not count if the person is later hired.
Correct approach: Holiday Inn and Oyster Plaza counted the training period toward probation, and the workers became regular.
Common Questions
Do interns have to be paid?
A genuine intern has no wage entitlement as an employee. Under Republic Act No. 12063, however, trainees in registered programmes are entitled to an allowance covering transport and meals.
Can a company keep an intern working after the programme ends?
Continuing to work after the training period is precisely the fact pattern that produced findings of regular employment in Holiday Inn and Oyster Plaza.
Which rules govern my internship?
CHED for higher education, DepEd for senior high school work immersion, TESDA for technical-vocational training — with Republic Act No. 12063 now directing joint rules for academically-required internships.
Sources and Legal Citations
- Republic Act No. 12063, the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act, official statute text. Classification: statute.
- CHED Memorandum Order No. 104, series of 2017, Revised Guidelines for the Student Internship Program in the Philippines. Classification: administrative issuance.
- DepEd Order No. 30, series of 2017, Guidelines for Work Immersion. Classification: administrative issuance.
- Sonza v. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, G.R. No. 138051, June 10, 2004, official decision. Classification: jurisprudence.
- Francisco v. NLRC, G.R. No. 170087, August 31, 2006, official decision. Classification: jurisprudence.
- Holiday Inn Manila v. NLRC, G.R. No. 109114, September 14, 1993, official decision. Classification: jurisprudence.
- Oyster Plaza Hotel v. Melivo, G.R. No. 217455, October 5, 2016, official decision. Classification: jurisprudence.
- Atlanta Industries, Inc. v. Sebolino, G.R. No. 187320, January 26, 2011, official decision. Classification: jurisprudence.
Disclaimer
This glossary entry is for general educational and legal-information purposes and is not legal advice. The operational requirements of a particular internship are set by the governing CHED, DepEd or TESDA issuance and by the institution-establishment agreement; consult those directly.