Team reviewing a Safe Spaces workplace policy template

Safe Spaces Workplace Policy Template: RA 11313 Compliance

This template gives Philippine employers a structured starting point for the workplace policy required by Section 17(d) of RA 11313. Under Section 17(d), the employer must provide and disseminate, in consultation with all persons in the workplace, a code of conduct or workplace policy that expressly reiterates the prohibition on gender-based sexual harassment, describes the procedures of the internal mechanism under Section 17(c), and sets administrative penalties. It must be adapted through consultation with persons in the workplace, aligned with the employer’s disciplinary rules and collective bargaining agreement where applicable, and implemented by a properly constituted independent mechanism or CODI.

Before using this template

  • Insert the legal employer name and reporting channels.
  • Complete employee consultation and retain proof.
  • Confirm the CODI meets statutory representation, gender and impartiality requirements.
  • Align sanctions with due process and existing lawful disciplinary rules.
  • Provide the policy in formats accessible to onsite, remote, agency and seconded workers.

Model policy

1. Policy statement

[EMPLOYER NAME] prohibits gender-based sexual harassment in the workplace and will prevent, deter, investigate and address reported conduct consistently with Republic Act No. 11313, Republic Act No. 7877, their applicable rules, due process and other governing laws.

2. Scope

This policy applies to employees, managers, supervisors, officers, agency and seconded workers, applicants, trainees, contractors and other persons interacting in the work environment. It covers onsite, remote, offsite and technology-assisted conduct connected with work or affecting employment conditions, performance, opportunities, dignity or the work environment.

3. Prohibited conduct

Prohibited conduct includes unwelcome sexual advances; requests or demands for sexual favors; verbal, physical or technology-assisted acts of a sexual nature; unwelcome, unreasonable and offensive sexual or sex-based conduct affecting dignity; and unwelcome and pervasive conduct creating an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment. Peer-to-peer and subordinate-to-superior conduct are covered.

4. Reporting channels

A report may be submitted in writing to [CODI EMAIL/OFFICE], [ALTERNATIVE OFFICER] or [SECURE REPORTING CHANNEL]. A person receiving a report must acknowledge it promptly, preserve confidentiality to the greatest extent possible and route it securely to the independent mechanism.

5. Immediate protection

The employer will assess urgent safety, contact, schedule, reporting-line and evidence-preservation needs. Interim measures are precautionary, not findings of guilt, and should not unnecessarily disadvantage the complainant.

6. CODI composition

The CODI will adequately represent management, supervisory employees, rank-and-file employees and the union, if any. It will be headed by a woman; at least half its members will be women; and members must be impartial and not connected or related to the alleged perpetrator (RA 11313, Section 17(c)(1)–(3)).

7. Investigation and decision

The CODI will give the respondent notice and a meaningful opportunity to answer, gather relevant evidence, protect both parties’ rights, and investigate and decide the complaint within ten days or less from receipt, as required by Section 17(c)(4).

8. Confidentiality

Information will be shared only with persons who need it to receive, investigate, decide, implement or lawfully review the matter. Confidentiality will be protected to the greatest extent possible, without promising absolute secrecy that would defeat due process or legal obligations.

9. Protection from retaliation

Retaliation against a complainant, respondent, witness or person assisting the process is prohibited. Reportable retaliation includes threats or materially adverse changes linked to participation in the process. Good-faith reporting is protected; deliberate fabrication may be addressed through due process.

10. Findings and sanctions

Findings will be reasoned and based on the evidence under the applicable administrative standard. Sanctions will follow the published code, severity and due process. Internal action does not prevent lawful criminal, civil, administrative or labor remedies.

11. Training and dissemination

The employer will post in a conspicuous place or disseminate a copy of RA 11313 to all persons in the workplace (Section 17(a)), provide preventive measures such as anti-sexual harassment seminars (Section 17(b)), orient workers on reporting channels, train CODI members and document implementation.

12. Records and review

Case records will be access-restricted and retained under a lawful schedule. The policy, CODI composition and reporting channels will be reviewed periodically and when law, organizational structure or identified risks change.

Implementation checklist

  1. Consult workplace stakeholders.
  2. Approve the policy and sanctions through the proper authority.
  3. Appoint and train a compliant CODI.
  4. Publish reporting channels and alternatives for conflicts.
  5. Post or disseminate the Act.
  6. Run preventive education.
  7. Test intake, confidentiality and the ten-day tracker.
  8. Audit retaliation safeguards and records.

What to do next

If you are the employer

  1. First action: check whether you already have a posted copy of RA 11313, a written policy and a CODI that meets Section 17(c). Missing any of these is non-implementation of Section 17 duties, which Section 19 punishes, upon conviction, with a fine of ₱5,000 to ₱10,000; not acting on a reported case carries ₱10,000 to ₱15,000 (RA 11313, Section 19).
  2. Adapt the model policy above, consult employees (and the union, if any), and keep the consultation record, attendance and comments as proof.
  3. Constitute the CODI, approve the policy and sanctions, then post the Act and the policy and run a seminar.
  4. Keep a compliance file (policy, consultation proof, CODI appointment, training attendance, posting photos, case tracker). DOLE conducts yearly inspections of private-sector compliance under Section 20; see employer duties under the Safe Spaces Act.

If you are an employee

  1. First action: ask HR in writing for a copy of the policy and the names or contact point of the CODI; keep the request and any reply.
  2. To report harassment, submit a written report to the CODI and keep proof of receipt; the CODI must decide within ten days or less (Section 17(c)(4)). See the workplace sexual harassment evidence checklist for what to preserve.
  3. If the employer has no policy or CODI, or ignores your report, bring your written report, proof of receipt and follow-ups to the DOLE regional or field office covering the workplace. A criminal complaint may be filed with the city or provincial prosecutor; offenses under Section 16 prescribe in five years (Section 36).
  4. If you are dismissed, demoted or pushed to resign after reporting, file a Request for Assistance under SEnA at DOLE; unresolved dismissal cases go to the NLRC. See how to file a case against an employer.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employer copy this word for word?

It should be adapted. Section 17(d) requires consultation, and the policy must work with the employer’s actual structure, reporting channels and disciplinary rules.

Should the policy promise complete confidentiality?

No. The statute uses “to the greatest extent possible.” A fair investigation may require limited disclosure of allegations and evidence.

Is the policy enough without a functioning CODI?

No. Posting a policy does not replace the independent mechanism, prevention, training, timely action and anti-retaliation duties.

Related LaborCode.ph guides

Primary legal sources

Sources rechecked as of: September 28, 2026

For the short answer and related reporting routes, return to the LaborCode FAQ on workplace sexual harassment.

This guide provides general legal information, not legal advice. The correct route depends on the facts, the employment consequence, and the relief sought.

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