Labor Code Articles 130–161: Women, Minors, Night Workers

Title III of Book Three covers the groups the Labor Code singles out for special treatment — women, minors, domestic workers, homeworkers and night workers. It runs from Article 130 to Article 161.

It is also the most heavily amended stretch of the entire Code. One whole chapter has been expressly repealed, one provision has been superseded, and the article numbers themselves shifted because of a repeal. Every article below carries its current status. Part of the Book Three library; see also all seven Books.

Read this before citing anything on this page. The text below is reproduced from the Department of Labor and Employment’s official 2022 renumbered edition (Book Three, Title III, pages 44–54), which still prints provisions that later laws have repealed or overtaken. DOLE prints them; they are not the governing law. Where that is the case, a status block appears above the text and names the law that governs today. Do not lift a rule, a rate or a period from this page without reading the status block that sits with it.

Why the Numbers Shift by Two Here

Republic Act No. 10151 (2011), the Night Workers Act, repealed the former Articles 130 and 131 — which had prohibited night work by women — and inserted a new chapter on night workers at the end of this Title.

That repeal pushed everything after it up by two. The provision on facilities for women, formerly Article 132, is now Article 130. Maternity leave, formerly Article 133, is now Article 131. Throughout this page the current number leads and the original 1974 number follows in brackets, so “Article 131 [133]” means the same provision under both systems.

Chapter V on night workers carries no bracketed numbers: those articles did not exist before 2011.

Repealed: former Articles 130 and 131 — Nightwork Prohibition and Exceptions. These barred women from night work in industrial, commercial and agricultural undertakings, subject to listed exceptions. Repealed in full by Republic Act No. 10151 (2011). The rules that apply to night work today are in Chapter V of this Title and apply to all night workers regardless of sex, with specific protections for women at Article 158.

Chapter I — Employment of Women

Article 130 [132] — Facilities for Women

The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall establish standards that will ensure the safety and health of women employees. In appropriate cases, he shall, by regulations, require any employer to:

(a) Provide seats proper for women and permit them to use such seats when they are free from work and during working hours, provided they can perform their duties in this position without detriment to efficiency;

(b) To establish separate toilet rooms and lavatories for men and women and provide at least a dressing room for women;

(c) To establish a nursery in a workplace for the benefit of the women employees therein; and

(d) To determine appropriate minimum age and other standards for retirement or termination in special occupations such as those of flight attendants and the like.

Article 131 [133] — Maternity Leave Benefits

⚠ Superseded — do not apply the text below. Republic Act No. 11210 (2019), the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law, replaced this provision. Maternity leave is now 105 days with full pay, with an option to extend by 30 days without pay, and an additional 15 days for solo mothers. The Article’s two-weeks-before and four-weeks-after scheme, and its cap at the first four deliveries, are no longer the law. See the implementing rules of R.A. No. 11210 and DOLE Department Advisory No. 1 (2019).

The superseded text is reproduced below only as a record of what the Code itself still prints:

(a) Every employer shall grant to any pregnant woman employee who has rendered an aggregate service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months, maternity leave of at least two (2) weeks prior to the expected date of delivery and another four (4) weeks after normal delivery or abortion with full pay based on her regular or average weekly wages. The employer may require from any woman employee applying for maternity leave the production of a medical certificate stating that delivery will probably take place within two weeks.

(b) The maternity leave shall be extended without pay on account of illness medically certified to arise out of the pregnancy, delivery, abortion or miscarriage, which renders the woman unfit for work, unless she has earned unused leave credits from which such extended leave may be charged.

(c) The maternity leave provided in this Article shall be paid by the employer only for the first four (4) deliveries by a woman employee after the effectivity of this Code.

Article 132 [134] — Family Planning Services; Incentives for Family Planning

(a) Establishments which are required by law to maintain a clinic or infirmary shall provide free family planning services to their employees which shall include, but not be limited to, the application or use of contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices.

(b) In coordination with other agencies of the government engaged in the promotion of family planning, the Department of Labor and Employment shall develop and prescribe incentive bonus schemes to encourage family planning among female workers in any establishment or enterprise.

Article 133 [135] — Discrimination Prohibited

It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on account of her sex.

The following are acts of discrimination:

(a) Payment of a lesser compensation, including wage, salary or other form of remuneration and fringe benefits, to a female employee as against a male employee, for work of equal value; and

(b) Favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes.

Criminal liability for the willful commission of any unlawful act as provided in this article or any violation of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to Section 2 hereof shall be penalized as provided in Articles 288 and 289 of this Code: Provided, That the institution of any criminal action under this provision shall not bar the aggrieved employee from filing an entirely separate and distinct action for money claims, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs. The actions hereby authorized shall proceed independently of each other.

Status note: this is the text as amended by Section 1 of Republic Act No. 6725 (1989). The cross-references to “Articles 288 and 289” now read as Articles 303 and 304 under the renumbering. Workplace sexual harassment is separately defined and penalised by Republic Act No. 7877, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995.

Article 134 [136] — Stipulation Against Marriage

It shall be unlawful for an employer to require as a condition of employment or continuation of employment that a woman employee shall not get married, or to stipulate expressly or tacitly that upon getting married, a woman employee shall be deemed resigned or separated, or to actually dismiss, discharge, discriminate or otherwise prejudice a woman employee merely by reason of her marriage.

Article 135 [137] — Prohibited Acts

It shall be unlawful for any employer:

(1) To deny any woman employee the benefits provided for in this Chapter or to discharge any woman employed by him for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying any of the benefits provided under this Code;

(2) To discharge such woman on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her pregnancy;

(3) To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant.

Article 136 [138] — Classification of Certain Women Workers

Any woman who is permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any night club, cocktail lounge, massage clinic, bar or similar establishments under the effective control or supervision of the employer for a substantial period of time as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, shall be considered as an employee of such establishment for purposes of labor and social legislation.

Chapter II — Employment of Minors

Article 137 [139] — Minimum Employable Age

(a) No child below fifteen (15) years of age shall be employed, except when he works directly under the sole responsibility of his parents or guardian, and his employment does not in any way interfere with his schooling.

(b) Any person between fifteen (15) and eighteen (18) years of age may be employed for such number of hours and such periods of the day as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate regulations.

(c) The foregoing provisions shall in no case allow the employment of a person below eighteen (18) years of age in an undertaking which is hazardous or deleterious in nature as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

Status note — read with the child-protection statutes. The operative rules are in Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act No. 7658 (1994) and Republic Act No. 9231 (2003). Under those amendments a child below 15 may be employed only where the child works directly under the sole responsibility of a parent or legal guardian with only family members employed, or where participation in public entertainment or information is essential — and in either case the employer must first secure a work permit from DOLE. R.A. No. 7658 also added rules on the hours of work of a working child, ownership and administration of the working child’s income, a trust fund for part of that income, and the prohibition against the worst forms of child labour. For these purposes “child” means any person under 18. See DOLE Department Circular No. 2 (2017) as amended by D.C. No. 2 (2018), and D.O. Nos. 149 (2016) and 149-A (2017) on hazardous work.

Glossary: Apprentice → · Internship →

Article 138 [140] — Prohibition Against Child Discrimination

No employer shall discriminate against any person in respect to terms and conditions of employment on account of his age.

Status note: age discrimination is now separately and more fully governed by Republic Act No. 10911 (2016), the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, with DOLE Department Order No. 170 (2017) as its implementing rules. See also Republic Act No. 10917 (2016) on the Special Program for Employment of Students.

Chapter III — Employment of Househelpers (Articles 139–150)

⚠ This entire chapter has been expressly repealed. Republic Act No. 10361 (2013), the Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay, provides: “All articles or provisions of Chapter III (Employment of Househelpers) of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended and renumbered by Republic Act No. 10151, are hereby expressly repealed.”

Nothing in Articles 139 to 150 is the governing law. DOLE continues to print the text in its edition of the Code, which is why it is described here, but a domestic worker’s rights today come from Batas Kasambahay and its implementing rules, and from the regional Kasambahay wage orders.

The wage figures in the repealed Articles 141 and 142 — ₱800, ₱650 and ₱550 a month — are dead law and were already obsolete before the repeal. Republic Act No. 10361 set a new floor of ₱2,500 in the National Capital Region, ₱2,000 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities, and ₱1,500 elsewhere, and even those have since been raised by regional Kasambahay wage orders. Never quote a domestic worker’s minimum wage from the Labor Code.

Kasambahay rights in the Philippines: salary, rest days and benefits → · Glossary: Kasambahay →

For the record, the repealed chapter contained the following provisions. Each is followed by the Batas Kasambahay section that replaced it.

Repealed article	Subject	Replaced by
139 [141]	Coverage — persons rendering services in households for compensation, including family drivers	R.A. No. 10361 definitions of “domestic work” and “domestic worker” / kasambahay
140 [142]	Contract of domestic service, maximum two years, renewable	Sec. 11 — written employment contract in a language both parties understand, with eleven required terms
141 [143]	Minimum wage (₱800 / ₱650 / ₱550 a month)	Sec. 24, as since raised by regional Kasambahay wage orders
142 [144]	Minimum cash wage, in addition to lodging, food and medical attendance	Sec. 24 read with Sec. 6
143 [145]	Assignment to non-household work	Sec. 22 — applicable minimum wage must be paid
144 [146]	Opportunity for education if under 18	Sec. 9 — right to education and training
145 [147]	Just and humane treatment; no physical violence	Sec. 5 — standard of treatment
146 [148]	Board, lodging and medical attendance free of charge	Sec. 6 — at least three adequate meals a day and humane sleeping arrangements
147 [149]	Indemnity for unjust termination — 15 days’ compensation	Sec. 32, with Secs. 33 and 34 on grounds
148 [150]	Five days’ notice to end an indefinite engagement	Sec. 32
149 [151]	Employment certification on severance	Sec. 35 — certificate of employment within five days of request
150 [152]	Employment record kept by the employer	R.A. No. 10361 recordkeeping requirements

Two further points that the repealed text does not tell you: under Section 30 of Batas Kasambahay a domestic worker who has rendered at least one month of service must be covered by SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG; and the Civil Code provisions on household service, Articles 1689 to 1699, remain available for reconciliation where relevant.

Chapter IV — Employment of Homeworkers

Article 151 [153] — Regulation of Industrial Homeworkers

The employment of industrial homeworkers and field personnel shall be regulated by the government through the appropriate regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment to ensure the general welfare and protection of homeworkers and field personnel and the industries employing them.

Article 152 [154] — Regulations of Secretary of Labor

The regulations or orders to be issued pursuant to this Chapter shall be designed to assure the minimum terms and conditions of employment applicable to the industrial homeworkers or field personnel involved.

Article 153 [155] — Distribution of Homework

For purposes of this Chapter, the “employer” of homeworkers includes any person, natural or artificial who, for his account or benefit, or on behalf of any person residing outside the country, directly or indirectly, or through an employee, agent contractor, sub-contractor or any other person:

(1) Delivers, or causes to be delivered, any goods, articles or materials to be processed or fabricated in or about a home and thereafter to be returned or to be disposed of or distributed in accordance with his directions; or

(2) Sells any goods, articles or materials to be processed or fabricated in or about a home and then rebuys them after such processing or fabrication, either by himself or through some other person.

Status note: the governing regulations are in Rule XIV of the Rules Implementing Book III, issued as Department Order No. 05 (1992) under what are now Articles 5, 151 and 152.

Chapter V — Employment of Night Workers

This chapter was inserted by Republic Act No. 10151 (2011), the same law that repealed the former ban on night work by women. Its implementing rules are DOLE Department Order No. 119 (2012). These articles carry no bracketed old numbers because they did not exist before 2011.

Article 154 — Coverage

This chapter shall apply to all persons, who shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work at night, except those employed in agriculture, stock raising, fishing, maritime transport and inland navigation, during a period of not less than seven (7) consecutive hours, including the interval from midnight to five o’clock in the morning, to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, after consulting the workers’ representatives/labor organizations and employers.

“Night worker” means any employed person whose work requires performance of a substantial number of hours of night work which exceeds a specified limit. This limit shall be fixed by the Secretary of Labor after consulting the workers’ representatives/labor organizations and employers.

Status note: Department Order No. 119 (2012) supplies the definition the Article leaves open — a night worker is an employed person whose work covers 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and who performs no less than seven consecutive hours of work. Note that this is the coverage test for this chapter; the night shift differential itself is a separate entitlement under Article 86.

Article 155 — Health Assessment

At their request, workers shall have the right to undergo a health assessment without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems associated with their work:

(a) Before taking up an assignment as a night worker;

(b) At regular intervals during such an assignment; and

(c) If they experience health problems during such an assignment which are not caused by factors other than the performance of night work.

With the exception of a finding of unfitness for night work, the findings of such assessments shall not be transmitted to others without the workers’ consent and shall not be used to their detriment.

Article 156 — Mandatory Facilities

Suitable first-aid facilities shall be made available for workers performing night work, including arrangements where such workers, where necessary, can be taken immediately to a place for appropriate treatment. The employers are likewise required to provide safe and healthful working conditions and adequate or reasonable facilities such as sleeping or resting quarters in the establishment and transportation from the work premises to the nearest point of their residence subject to exceptions and guidelines to be provided by the DOLE.

Status note: Section 4 of Department Order No. 119 (2012) itemises the required facilities — first-aid and emergency facilities under the OSH Standards, a lactation station where required by Republic Act No. 10028, separate toilets for men and women, an eating facility with potable water, and transportation and/or ventilated temporary sleeping or resting quarters separated by sex. The transport and quarters requirement does not apply where an equivalent or superior benefit already exists under company policy or a CBA, where the shift does not fall within midnight to 5 a.m., where the workplace has 24-hour public transport access, or where headcount is below a threshold set by the Secretary.

Article 157 — Transfer

Night workers who are certified as unfit for night work, due to health reasons, shall be transferred, whenever practicable, to a similar job for which they are fit to work.

If such transfer to a similar job is not practicable, these workers shall be granted the same benefits as other workers who are unable to work, or to secure employment during such period.

A night worker certified as temporarily unfit for night work shall be given the same protection against dismissal or notice of dismissal as other workers who are prevented from working for reasons of health.

Compare: Article 299, disease as a ground for termination →

Article 158 — Women Night Workers

Measures shall be taken to ensure that an alternative to night work is available to women workers who would otherwise be called upon to perform such work:

(a) Before and after childbirth, for a period of at least sixteen (16) weeks, which shall be divided between the time before and after childbirth;

(b) For additional periods, in respect of which a medical certificate is produced stating that said additional periods are necessary for the health of the mother or child:

(1) During pregnancy;

(2) During a specified time beyond the period, after childbirth is fixed pursuant to subparagraph (a) above, the length of which shall be determined by the DOLE after consulting the labor organizations and employers.

During the periods referred to in this article:

(i) A woman worker shall not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal, except for just or authorized causes provided for in this Code that are not connected with pregnancy, childbirth and childcare responsibilities.

(ii) A woman worker shall not lose the benefits regarding her status, seniority, and access to promotion which may attach to her regular night work position.

Pregnant women and nursing mothers may be allowed to work at night only if a competent physician, other than the company physician, shall certify their fitness to render night work, and specify, in the case of pregnant employees, the period of the pregnancy that they can safely work.

The measures referred to in this article may include transfer to day work where this is possible, the provision of social security benefits or an extension of maternity leave.

The provisions of this article shall not have the effect of reducing the protection and benefits connected with maternity leave under existing laws.

This Article is what replaced the blanket ban on women’s night work: an alternative to night work around childbirth, rather than a prohibition on night work generally. Its closing paragraph preserves maternity-leave protection under other laws — which today means the 105 days under Republic Act No. 11210.

Article 159 — Compensation

The compensation for night workers in the form of working time, pay or similar benefits shall recognize the exceptional nature of night work.

Article 160 — Social Services

Appropriate social services shall be provided for night workers and, where necessary, for workers performing night work.

Article 161 — Night Work Schedules

Before introducing work schedules requiring the services of night workers, the employer shall consult the workers’ representatives/labor organizations concerned on the details of such schedules and the forms of organization of night work that are best adapted to the establishment and its personnel, as well as on the occupational health measures and social services which are required. In establishments employing night workers, consultation shall take place regularly.

Amendment and Status Table

Provision	Status	Governing law today
Former Articles 130–131 (nightwork prohibition for women, and exceptions)	Repealed	R.A. No. 10151 (2011); night work now governed by Chapter V of this Title
Articles 130–153	Renumbered	Each is two numbers lower than its 1974 number, because of the repeal above
Article 131 [133] — maternity leave	Superseded	R.A. No. 11210 (2019) — 105 days paid, +30 unpaid option, +15 for solo mothers
Article 133 [135] — discrimination	Amended	Sec. 1, R.A. No. 6725 (1989); cross-references to Arts. 288–289 now read Arts. 303–304; see also R.A. No. 7877
Article 137 [139] — minimum employable age	Supplemented and amended	R.A. No. 7610 as amended by R.A. Nos. 7658 and 9231; DOLE work permit required for under-15 employment
Article 138 [140] — age discrimination	Superseded in substance	R.A. No. 10911 (2016), Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act; D.O. No. 170 (2017)
Chapter III, Articles 139–150 — househelpers	Expressly repealed	R.A. No. 10361 (2013), Batas Kasambahay, and the regional Kasambahay wage orders
Articles 151–153 — homeworkers	Current	Implemented by D.O. No. 05 (1992), Rule XIV of the Rules Implementing Book III
Articles 154–161 — night workers	Inserted	R.A. No. 10151 (2011); implementing rules D.O. No. 119 (2012)

Sources

Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Code of the Philippines, as Amended and Renumbered (2022 edition), Book Three, Title III, pages 44–54, including DOLE’s own repeal and supersession footnotes. Official renumbered text: PDF. Accessed 1 September 2026.
Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended — lawphil.net
Republic Act No. 10151 (2011), An Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers, repealing former Articles 130 and 131
Republic Act No. 10361 (2013), Domestic Workers Act (Batas Kasambahay) — expressly repealing Chapter III
Republic Act No. 11210 (2019), 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law, and DOLE Department Advisory No. 1 (2019)
Republic Act No. 6725 (1989), strengthening the prohibition on discrimination against women
Republic Act No. 7610 as amended by Republic Act No. 7658 (1994) and Republic Act No. 9231 (2003) — employment of children
Republic Act No. 10911 (2016), Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act; DOLE D.O. No. 170 (2017)
Republic Act No. 7877 (1995), Anti-Sexual Harassment Act; Republic Act No. 10028, lactation stations
DOLE Department Order No. 119 (2012), rules implementing R.A. No. 10151; D.O. No. 05 (1992), homeworkers; D.O. Nos. 149 (2016) and 149-A (2017), hazardous work for minors; D.C. No. 2 (2017) as amended by D.C. No. 2 (2018), work permits for children

Sources rechecked as of: September 1, 2026
Last materially reviewed: September 1, 2026

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Labor Code Book Three, Title III — Special Groups of Employees (Articles 130–161)