Understand management prerogative, its legal basis, limits, good-faith requirements, employee protections, and treatment in labor jurisprudence.
Philippine labor law requires disciplinary action to rest on a valid, communicated company rule, follow the twin-notice due process rule, and impose a penalty proportionate to the offense. This guide covers the legal test, the proportionality doctrine from Supreme Court cases like Sagales and Malcaba, and what employees and employers should do when discipline is on the table.
No Philippine law bans a private-sector employee from holding a second job, but an employer can adopt a reasonable, clearly communicated policy restricting outside work that creates a real conflict of interest. This guide covers what makes a moonlighting policy valid, how government-employee rules differ, and what two Supreme Court cases say about enforcing it.
Employee non-disclosure agreements are enforceable in the Philippines under the Civil Code’s freedom to contract, but only within limits set by the Labor Code, the Revised Penal Code and Supreme Court jurisprudence on reasonableness and trade secrets. This guide explains what makes an NDA valid, what legally counts as a trade secret, and what happens when an employee or employer crosses the line.
Can an employer change your work schedule without your consent in the Philippines? Learn when schedule changes fall within management prerogative, when they may become unlawful, and what employees can do.
Christmas bonuses, mid-year bonuses, and performance incentives are generally discretionary in the Philippines — only 13th month pay is legally mandatory. Learn the Supreme Court test for when a bonus ripens into a demandable right under the non-diminution rule, with cases and G.R. numbers.
Philippine law requires a 60-minute meal break that is generally unpaid, but only if the employee is completely free from duty. Learn the legal test, the narrow 20-minute shortening exception, and the Supreme Court cases on interrupted or on-call breaks.
An employer generally does not need an employee’s consent to transfer or reassign them — but the move must pass a two-part legal test: no demotion or diminution of pay and benefits, and no unreasonableness, prejudice, or bad faith. This guide covers the Supreme Court test, key cases from 1989 to 2021, and what employees and employers should do when a transfer is disputed.
Floating status lets a security agency keep an employee on the books without pay while waiting for a new client assignment — but only for a maximum of six months. This guide covers the Article 301 legal basis, the Supreme Court’s six-month rule and burden of proof, red flags for abuse, and what happens once floating status ripens into constructive dismissal.
Yes. A Philippine employer may generally require, restrict, or ban the use of ChatGPT and similar generative AI tools at work, and may discipline an employee who violates that policy, because setting workplace tools and rules is part of management prerogative. This power is not absolute: the policy must be lawful, reasonable, made known to…
Learn when willful disobedience can justify dismissal under Article 297, what employers must prove, what evidence matters, and how due process works.