Your starting point
How to Use LaborCode
A workplace question can lead to several kinds of answers. Here’s how to choose the right section, understand what it offers, and turn what you find into a practical next step.
Understand the term → Read the guide → Use a tool → Check the source → Plan your next step.
Independent, non-government legal information. This page explains how to navigate LaborCode.ph; it does not assess an individual case.
Start with your question
Search for a topic, a legal term or a case name. Try “final pay,” “notice to explain” or “overtime.”
Expect links to matching pages. Search does not assess your case. If the results are too broad, use a shorter phrase or browse by topic.
Know which section to use
The sections work together. Start with the kind of help you need, then follow the related links for more detail.
Understand the issue
Guides
Full explanations of workplace questions, from pay and working hours to resignation, dismissal and filing procedures.
Use it when: You need the rule, its exceptions and a practical way forward.
Expect: Direct answers, legal bases, examples, records to check and links to related resources. Start with the answer, then read coverage, evidence and next steps.
Keep in mind: A guide is general information. Your dates, worker category, contract and records can change which rule applies.
Understand the language
Glossary
Plain-language explanations of labor-law terms, with legal context and connections to deeper guides.
Use it when: A notice, payslip, contract or article uses a term you don’t understand.
Expect: An A–Z and topic-based directory. Entries connect meaning, authority, examples and related concepts; Filipino explanations are also available within entries.
Keep in mind: A definition helps you recognize an issue. It does not establish that a legal test is satisfied in your situation.
Decide and prepare
Tools
Decision tools, checklists and document builders help you organize a workplace problem.
Use it when: You want a likely filing route, a records checklist or a starting outline for a response.
Expect: The directory describes each tool’s inputs and intended output, such as a suggested route, checklist or editable draft. Read the instructions and review the result before using it.
Keep in mind: A suggested route is not a jurisdiction ruling. A generated document needs your review and does not file, send or serve itself.
Work through the figures
Calculators
Pay and date calculators help you explore an estimate using the information you enter.
Use it when: You want to check pay components, compare payroll figures or plan a relevant date.
Expect: Inputs, calculation explanations and limits on the individual calculator page. Have the correct pay period, actual earnings, records and applicable rate ready.
Keep in mind: An estimate does not establish an entitlement, a lawful deduction, an enforceable deadline or an award. Coverage, assumptions and current rates still need checking.
See how courts apply the law
Jurisprudence
Case explainers connect Philippine Supreme Court labor decisions with the questions they address.
Use it when: You want to understand a doctrine, compare legally relevant facts or follow a case cited in a guide.
Expect: Case facts, issues, rulings and explanations, with cited sources. Read the full decision linked from the explainer when the point matters to your research.
Keep in mind: Similar facts do not promise the same outcome. Check the decision’s scope, later authorities and the evidence in your own situation.
Check the text behind the guide
Labor Law Library
The Labor Code collection and official-source directory help you move from an explanation to the authority behind it.
Use it when: You need an article’s wording, its place in the Code or the issuing agency’s source.
Expect: A route through the Labor Code’s seven books, linked explanations and original-source references. Compare current and former article numbers where shown.
Keep in mind: Read amendments, related rules and effective dates together. Laws, court decisions and agency publications come from their issuing bodies; LaborCode.ph is an independent publisher.
More ways to find the right answer
Beyond the core sections, these existing entry points help you narrow the subject, add context or choose a more comfortable way to read.
Choose a starting point
Topic and situation hubs
Groups of related guides, definitions and practical resources organized around a workplace issue.
Use it when: You know the problem but don’t yet know its legal name.
Expect: Routes for wages, hours, resignation, dismissal, procedures and other topic areas, including social security, remote-work privacy and labor relations.
Keep in mind: A hub is a map to the relevant material. Open the specific guide for coverage and detail.
Add your work context
By job, role and OFW
Starting pages for different workplaces and readers, plus a dedicated overseas-employment hub.
Use it when: Your job, industry or overseas contract may affect the rules and process.
Expect: Relevant resources for groups such as BPO, construction, kasambahay, gig workers, HR and employers, with separate OFW claims and agency guidance.
Keep in mind: A job label alone does not settle employment status or benefit coverage. Special rules may apply.
Keep a reference
Downloads and templates
A directory of reference PDFs and links to templates and on-site tools.
Use it when: You want a source document to read, a reference to keep or a starting document format.
Expect: Files identified by source and edition, plus explanatory pages. Some entries open an online tool instead of a downloadable file.
Keep in mind: Check dates, updates and any reuse conditions. Credit the original issuing body, and adapt templates to the facts before using them.
Study with context
Bar Review
Labor-law study resources arranged around topics, doctrines and released examination materials.
Use it when: You’re revising a subject, tracing a doctrine or practicing with past questions.
Expect: Links to detailed guides, question classifications, official questionnaires and the review page’s methods and sources.
Keep in mind: Check the applicable examination syllabus and cutoff. Past-question patterns are study context, not a prediction of future questions or an official answer key.
Check what changed
News and updates
Dated coverage of developments such as wage orders, agency issuances, holidays and court decisions.
Use it when: You want to know whether a new development affects a rule you have been using.
Expect: Updates connected to their sources and relevant longer guides. Check who is covered and the effective date.
Keep in mind: The publication date may differ from the date a rule takes effect. A headline alone is not enough to apply the change.
Read more comfortably
Filipino and Bisaya entry points
Language-based starting pages make common workplace questions easier to navigate.
Use it when: You prefer an explanation in Filipino or a Bisaya-language introduction.
Expect: Language-specific guides where available, Filipino explanations in glossary entries, and Filipino and Bisaya navigation hubs.
Keep in mind: Language coverage varies, and some links from a language hub may open in English or Filipino. Check the language and scope of the full page you open.
Explore in one place
LaborCode Navigator
A compact entry point combining topic navigation, search, planning calculators and an evidence checklist.
Use it when: You want several starting aids together, especially on a phone.
Expect: Links to relevant guides and sources, limited planning tools and instructions for adding the web app to your home screen.
Keep in mind: Check the app’s stated limits and what is available on your device. Reopen current source pages when online; an older saved view may miss an update.
Get your bearings quickly
FAQs and question index
Short answers grouped by common workplace questions.
Use it when: You want a quick starting answer or want to scan the questions covered.
Expect: Concise explanations with links to the fuller guide, relevant terms and legal sources.
Keep in mind: Follow the full guide before acting. A short answer cannot cover every exception or factual dispute.
See how the pieces work together
These are suggested reading paths. Skip steps that do not fit your issue, and use each resource’s own instructions and limits.
“I’m checking my final pay.”
- Understand the term. Read Final Pay and identify which components you are trying to check.
- Read the guide. Open Final Pay Rules for Resigned Employees for the records, questions and process to consider.
- Work through an estimate. Use the final-pay calculator guide with your actual payroll and leave records. Compare the breakdown with the employer’s statement.
- Check a related case if it fits. If accumulated service incentive leave is part of the issue, read Auto Bus v. Bautista and its linked decision. Compare the issue and facts instead of assuming the ruling covers every final-pay claim.
- Prepare the next step. Organize a records checklist, note the items that need clarification and, if necessary, review the filing-route tool. Confirm any urgent deadline with the appropriate office or qualified adviser.
“I received a Notice to Explain.”
- Understand the term. Start with the NTE glossary entry so you know what kind of document you received.
- Read the guide. Use the NTE guide to identify the allegation, response period and records to preserve.
- Prepare an outline. Open the employee response builder. Check every date and statement against your records; remove anything inaccurate before using the draft.
- Read the case context. Where dismissal procedure or unpaid leave is relevant, Villanueva v. Ganco Resort is one related explainer to review with its cited decision. It does not determine your response or outcome.
- Act on the verified facts. Review the actual notice and delivery instructions, preserve proof of submission and seek qualified advice promptly if the allegations, timing or consequences are disputed. A builder does not submit a response for you.
Before you rely on a result
- Match the situation. Check worker coverage, dates, location, contract and company or collective-agreement terms.
- Keep the inputs and evidence. Retain the payslips, notices, time records and other records you lawfully hold. Note the assumptions behind any estimate.
- Open the authority. Follow the source links, check the issuing body and distinguish a law or decision from an editorial explanation. The official-source directory can help.
- Review before acting. A checklist or draft may need changes. A tool does not file a claim, send a letter, establish legal compliance or guarantee a result.
- Get help when needed. A live dispute, urgent deadline or proposed waiver deserves timely guidance from the appropriate agency or a qualified Philippine lawyer.
Read the source and citation policy, corrections policy and legal disclaimer.