Kasambahay Left Without Notice: Employer Rights and Rules (PH)

When a kasambahay leaves the house without notice, the employer’s rights come from the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361), not from the Labor Code rules on AWOL that HR departments use for office staff. You may forfeit up to 15 days of her unpaid salary and recover deployment costs in limited cases, but only if she left without a justifiable reason, and you must still release everything else she earned.^[1]

Household employers usually go wrong by keeping the whole last salary as “penalty” or by documenting nothing. Either can turn a departure into a DOLE complaint for withheld wages, an unlawful act fined ₱10,000 to ₱40,000.^[1]

Direct Answer

If a kasambahay leaves without any justifiable reason, the employer may forfeit her unpaid salary up to the equivalent of 15 days’ work and, if she leaves within six months of hiring, recover deployment expenses such as her fare from the province (RA 10361, Sections 28 and 32). Any earned pay beyond that 15-day cap must still be released. If she left because of abuse, inhuman treatment, a crime against her, or a contract violation by the household, her departure is justified and nothing may be forfeited.^[1]

Key Takeaways

• RA 10361 governs. The Labor Code chapter on househelpers was expressly repealed in 2013, so office-style AWOL policies do not control.^[1][5]
• The forfeiture cap is unpaid salary equal to 15 days’ work. Keeping the whole month’s pay is withholding of wages, which Section 28 prohibits.^[1]
• Deployment expenses (transport from her place of origin) are recoverable only if she leaves within six months of starting work. Her personal loans and cash advances are not deployment expenses.^[1]
• Leaving is justified if the household abused her, treated her inhumanly, committed a crime against her or violated the contract. In those cases there is no forfeiture.^[1]
• Absence alone is not abandonment. The Supreme Court requires proof of a clear intent to end the job, and the employer carries that burden.^[5][6]
• Family drivers are not covered by RA 10361. Their rights fall under the Civil Code, which has a parallel 15-day rule.^[5]
• A “kasambahay” who mostly works in your store or carinderia may legally be a regular employee, which brings in the Labor Code and the twin-notice rule.^[2][7]

Legal Basis

Authority	Classification	Rule Supported	Effect
RA 10361, Sec. 28	Statute	Withholding a kasambahay’s wages is unlawful; if she leaves without justifiable reason, unpaid salary for up to 15 days is forfeited	Sets the hard ceiling on what you may keep
RA 10361, Sec. 32	Statute	15-day forfeiture; recovery of deployment expenses if service ends within six months; five-day notice for open-ended arrangements; mutual written pre-termination	Defines the employer’s remedies when she leaves
RA 10361, Secs. 33 and 34	Statute	Grounds that justify termination by the kasambahay and by the employer	Decides whether her departure was “without justifiable reason”
RA 10361, Secs. 25, 14 and 35	Statute	No deductions without her written consent unless mandated by law; no deposits for loss or damage; certificate of employment within five days of request	Limits set-offs and keeps the COE duty alive after she leaves
RA 10361, Secs. 37 and 40	Statute	Labor disputes go to the DOLE Regional Office for conciliation-mediation before decision; fines of ₱10,000 to ₱40,000 for unlawful acts	Tells you where a wage complaint will land and what is at stake
RA 10396 (Labor Code Art. 228, mandatory conciliation)	Statute	All labor and employment issues go through mandatory conciliation-mediation first	Expect a SEnA conference before any decision
Atienza v. Saluta, G.R. No. 233413 (2019)	Supreme Court decision	Abandonment needs clear intent; mere absence is not enough; family drivers fall under the Civil Code, not RA 10361	The employer must prove she meant to quit

Was Her Departure Justified?

Everything turns on one question: did she leave “without justifiable reason”? Section 33 lists the reasons that let a kasambahay walk out before her term ends: verbal or emotional abuse by anyone in the household, inhuman treatment including physical abuse, a crime committed against her, a violation of her contract or of RA 10361 standards, a disease that endangers the household, and analogous causes.^[1]

That last group matters more than employers expect. Late or missing wages, no weekly rest day, no payslip, meals withheld as punishment, or a phone confiscated so she cannot call home can each count as a violation of the standards set by the law.^[1] If any of these happened in your house, assume she will raise it, and do not touch her pay.

Fixed term versus open-ended arrangement

Check her written contract. If it states a period of employment, neither side may end it early except on Section 33 or 34 grounds. If no period was set, either side may end the relationship by giving notice five days before the intended last day.^[1] A kasambahay on an open-ended arrangement who announced she was leaving and stayed five more days has ended the job lawfully. Treating that as a walkout and forfeiting her pay can lead to a DOLE finding against you.

Absence is not the same as quitting

She went home for the fiesta and did not come back on the agreed date. That alone does not prove she quit. The Supreme Court requires two things for abandonment: absence without valid reason, and a clear intention to sever the relationship shown by overt acts. Intent is the more important element, and the employer must prove it.^[5][6] Filing a complaint against you is treated as strong evidence that she did not mean to abandon the job.^[5] See abandonment and AWOL versus job abandonment.

What You May Keep and What You Must Release

The forfeiture is a ceiling, not a license. It applies only to unpaid salary and only up to the equivalent of 15 days’ work.^[1] The law does not extend it to her proportionate 13th month pay, which Section 25 grants as provided by law. It does not cover her clothes, IDs, phone or savings either.

Worked peso example

Liza is paid ₱8,000 a month, every 30th. She leaves on the night of the 19th after working 19 days of the month, without explanation. She was hired from Samar four months ago, and you paid her ₱1,800 bus fare.

Item	Computation	Amount
Daily equivalent	₱8,000 ÷ 30	₱266.67
Unpaid salary earned (19 days)	₱266.67 × 19	₱5,066.67
Maximum forfeitable (15 days)	₱266.67 × 15	₱4,000.00
Salary you must still release	₱5,066.67 − ₱4,000.00	₱1,066.67
Deployment expense (left within six months)	Bus fare from Samar	₱1,800 recoverable

Use the same daily-rate method you have always used for her payslip, and write the computation down. Recovering the ₱1,800 is a right to be reimbursed. Do not quietly net it against her remaining pay unless her written consent or a signed contract clause on deployment expenses covers it, because Section 25 bars deductions without written consent.^[1] A cash advance or “utang” she took is not a deployment expense and is not recoverable under Section 32.^[1] Our page on wage deductions explains the general rule.

Minimum wage check

Before you compute anything, confirm her rate met the regional kasambahay minimum. An underpaid kasambahay has a stronger claim than your forfeiture. In Central Visayas, for example, the new kasambahay minimum wage of ₱7,500 takes effect October 14, 2026.

Household Evidence That Holds Up

A household has no HR system or biometric logs. Build your file the same day from what a home actually has.

Evidence	What it proves	How to secure it
Signed employment contract	Fixed term or open-ended; agreed deployment expenses; agreed deductions	Photocopy it; Section 11 requires a written contract before work begins
Payslips for the last three months	Wages were paid on time and in full	Section 26 requires you to keep copies for three years
Chat and text messages	Her last contact, any reason she gave, your instructions to return	Screenshot with visible dates; keep the phone
CCTV or doorbell camera clip	Date and time she left and what she carried	Export the file the same day before it is overwritten
Inventory of belongings left behind	You did not keep her property	List items with a barangay official or neighbor as witness; store them safely
Return-to-work letter and proof of sending	You gave her a chance to return or explain	Send to her permanent address by registered mail or courier, and by SMS or Messenger
Barangay blotter entry	Contemporaneous record of the departure	Optional, but useful if she later claims she was sent away

If valuables are missing, keep that issue separate. Theft is a crime filed in the regular courts, not a reason to keep her wages.^[1]

Is She Really a Kasambahay?

RA 10361 covers general househelp, yaya, cooks, gardeners, laundry persons and others who do domestic work in a household on an occupational basis.^[1] Two situations break that assumption.

Family drivers

The implementing rules exclude family drivers. In Atienza v. Saluta, the Supreme Court held that a personal driver’s termination rights fall under the Civil Code’s household-service articles, which carry their own 15-day forfeiture and indemnity rule.^[5] The practical result is similar, but cite the right law in your letters.

Helpers who work in the family business

If she cooks for your carinderia, minds your sari-sari store or cleans your office, she may be a regular employee. In Remington Industrial Sales Corp. v. Castaneda, a cook who served a trading company’s staff was held to be a regular employee, not a househelper, because domestic service ministers exclusively to the personal comfort of the employer’s family.^[7] RA 10361 itself requires the minimum wage for nonhousehold work.^[1] For a business employee, the Labor Code applies: abandonment is charged as gross and habitual neglect under Article 297 [282], with the twin-notice procedure of Article 292(b) [277(b)].^[2][3] The four-fold test decides who her employer really is.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Day 1: check her safety first. Message her and her emergency contact; she may be sick or in an accident. If she is a working child aged 15 to 17, contact her parent or guardian at once.
2. Day 1: secure the house and the record. Export CCTV, screenshot messages, and inventory her belongings with a witness. Change the gate code if she had one.
3. Day 2 to 3: send a written return-to-work notice. State the date she was last in the house, ask her to return or explain in writing within five days, and say her earned pay and belongings are ready for release. Send it to her permanent address and by SMS or Messenger, and keep proof of sending. RA 10361 does not prescribe the Notice to Explain procedure used for business employees, but a documented chance to explain is your best answer to an abandonment dispute.^[5]
4. Day 3 onward: review any reply. If she cites abuse, unpaid wages or a contract violation, take it seriously, stop any forfeiture, and consider settling through conciliation.
5. After the five-day window: decide and write it down. If there is no reply or no valid reason, send a short written notice that you consider the employment ended because she left without justifiable reason, effective on her last day in the house. The twin-notice rule guide shows the format.
6. Compute final pay. Apply the 15-day cap, add her pro-rated 13th month pay, and list any deployment expense you will claim. Keep the money ready for release.
7. Close the paperwork. Remit SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions for the months she worked under Section 30, and issue a certificate of employment within five days of her request.^[1]
8. If she files a complaint, attend the conference at the DOLE office with your contract, payslips and evidence file. Section 37 requires the Regional Office to exhaust conciliation and mediation before deciding.^[1][4]

Common Employer Mistakes

• Keeping the whole month’s pay. The cap is 15 days of unpaid salary. Anything above that is withholding under Section 28.^[1]
• Calling the agency’s replacement fee a “deployment expense”. Section 32 lets you recover deployment costs from her, but Section 13 bars charging her any share of recruitment or finder’s fees.^[1]
• Holding her clothes, ATM card or ID “until she pays”. Her personal effects are protected by the privacy guarantee in Section 7, and keeping them weakens your position.^[1]
• Deducting a cash advance without written consent. Section 25 allows only deductions mandated by law or authorized in writing.^[1]
• Forfeiting pay when she gave five days’ notice. On an open-ended arrangement, that notice ends the job lawfully.^[1]
• Refusing a certificate of employment. Section 35 has no exception for kasambahay who left without notice.^[1]

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I keep my kasambahay’s salary if she left without notice?

Only part of it. If she left without justifiable reason, Sections 28 and 32 of RA 10361 allow you to forfeit unpaid salary up to the equivalent of 15 days’ work. Any earned salary above that cap, plus her proportionate 13th month pay, must still be released. If she left because of abuse or a contract violation by the household, nothing may be forfeited.

Can I recover the fare I paid to bring her from the province?

Yes, if she leaves within six months of starting work. Section 32 lets the employer recover deployment expenses, defined as transport costs from her place of origin to your home. Loans and cash advances do not count. Deduct the amount from her remaining pay only if she agreed in writing or the signed contract provides for it.

Is a kasambahay who did not return after her vacation guilty of abandonment?

Not automatically. The Supreme Court treats abandonment as a matter of intent. You must show both an unjustified absence and overt acts proving she meant to end the job, such as telling you she found other work. A failure to return on time, on its own, is not enough, and a complaint she files later cuts against abandonment.

Do I need to send a Notice to Explain to a kasambahay?

RA 10361 does not prescribe the twin-notice procedure used for business employees. Sending a written return-to-work notice that asks her to explain within five days is still the safer course. It gives her a chance to raise any justifiable reason and gives you documentary proof that you did not dismiss her if she later files a complaint.

Where will she file if she claims I withheld her wages?

Under Section 37 of RA 10361, labor disputes go to the DOLE Regional Office with jurisdiction over your home. The office must exhaust conciliation and mediation before it decides. Crimes, such as theft or physical injuries, are filed separately in the regular courts by whichever party is aggrieved.

Does the 15-day rule apply to my family driver?

Not through RA 10361. The implementing rules exclude family drivers, and the Supreme Court in Atienza v. Saluta applied the Civil Code’s household-service articles instead. Article 1697 of the Civil Code has a parallel rule: a driver who leaves without justifiable reason forfeits unpaid salary up to 15 days.

What to Do Next

1. Today: try to reach her and her emergency contact, export CCTV, screenshot chats and inventory her belongings with a witness.
2. Within three days: send the written return-to-work notice to her permanent address and phone, with a five-day reply window.
3. Before computing anything: pull her contract and payslips, confirm she was paid at least the regional minimum, and list every unpaid wage item. The kasambahay rights and benefits guide lists everything she is entitled to.
4. If she disputes it: prepare for conciliation; see the SEnA filing process.

First action for household employers: use the free Notice to Explain generator to prepare a leaving-without-notice return-to-work notice for a kasambahay, with her last day in the house, the RA 10361 ground and the five-day reply deadline filled in, then download it as a PDF.

If you are the kasambahay

1. If you left because of abuse, a crime against you, or unpaid wages, your departure is justified under Section 33, and nothing may be forfeited from your pay.^[1] Where there was violence, put your safety first and report it to the barangay, the police or the PNP Women and Children Protection Desk; crimes go to the regular courts under Section 37.^[1]
2. Write down what you are owed: the days you worked since your last payday, your proportionate 13th month pay, and any amount kept from you. Keep your contract, payslips and messages with the employer.^[1]
3. Ask in writing for your final pay, your belongings and a certificate of employment, which the employer must issue within five days of your request.^[1]
4. If the employer refuses, go to the DOLE Regional or Field Office that covers the employer’s home. The office must try conciliation and mediation first before it decides.^[1][4] See the SEnA filing process.

No fixed filing deadline for a kasambahay wage claim was verified in RA 10361 itself; file promptly while your records and messages are complete.

Related Guides for Kasambahay Employers

• Kasambahay Rights in the Philippines: Salary, Rest Days and Benefits
• Kasambahay Rights and Benefits: Wages, Rest Days, Leave, 13th Month and Termination
• Kasambahay Meaning in Philippine Labor Law
• AWOL vs Job Abandonment in the Philippines: What’s the Difference?
• BPO Agent No Call, No Show (AWOL): Employer Rules in the Philippines
• Security Guard Sleeping on Duty: Termination Rules (PH)
• How to Terminate a BPO Agent for Chronic Tardiness in the Philippines
• BPO Agent Data Privacy Breach: Termination Rules for Employers (PH)
• BPO Campaign Pull-Out: Redundancy vs Floating Status Rules (PH)
• Can a BPO Agent Sue for Constructive Dismissal Over a Transfer? (PH)
• BPO Night Differential Computation: Rates and Examples (PH)
• Construction Worker Refused to Wear PPE: Dismissal Rules (PH)
• Construction Worker Drunk on Site: Termination Rules (PH)
• Construction Worker Overtime Pay Computation: Rates and Examples (PH)
• Terminate Project Employee Before Project Completion: PH Rules
• Can a Kasambahay File a Complaint for Illegal Dismissal? (PH Guide)
• Kasambahay 13th Month Pay Computation: Rules and Examples (PH)

Sources and Legal Citations

Labor Code and Implementing Rules

[1] Republic Act No. 10361, Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay (approved January 18, 2013), Sections 4, 7, 11, 13, 14, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32 to 35, 37, 40 and 44, Lawphil. Supports: coverage, forfeiture cap, deployment expenses, five-day notice, grounds for termination, deductions, COE, dispute mechanism, penalties, repeal of the Labor Code househelper chapter.

[2] Presidential Decree No. 442, Labor Code of the Philippines, Articles 282 and 277(b) (renumbered Articles 297 and 292(b)), Lawphil. Supports: just causes and due process for helpers who are actually business employees.

[3] DOLE Department Order No. 147-15, Amending the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Book VI of the Labor Code, Supreme Court E-Library. Supports: twin-notice procedure for business employees.

Conciliation

[4] Republic Act No. 10396, Strengthening Conciliation-Mediation as a Voluntary Mode of Dispute Settlement for All Labor Cases, Lawphil. Supports: mandatory conciliation-mediation of labor and employment issues.

Supreme Court Decisions

[5] Celia R. Atienza v. Noel Sacramento Saluta, G.R. No. 233413, June 17, 2019, Lawphil. Supports: abandonment requires clear intent and is the employer’s burden; filing a complaint negates abandonment; RA 10361 repealed the Labor Code househelper chapter; family drivers are excluded from RA 10361 and governed by Civil Code Articles 1689, 1697 and 1699.

[6] Protective Maximum Security Agency, Inc. v. Celso E. Fuentes, G.R. No. 169303, February 11, 2015, Lawphil. Supports: the two elements of abandonment, with intent to sever as the determinative factor.

[7] Remington Industrial Sales Corporation v. Erlinda Castaneda, G.R. Nos. 169295-96, November 20, 2006, Lawphil. Supports: a cook serving a company’s staff is a regular employee, not a househelper; domestic service ministers exclusively to the employer’s family.

Sources rechecked as of: October 13, 2026