Philippine labor prescription tool

Labor Claim Filing-Deadline Calculator

Q: How long do I have to file an illegal-dismissal claim?

Illegal dismissal is generally subject to a four-year period under Article 1146 of the Civil Code.

Q: Does filing SEnA stop prescription?

A Request for Assistance can affect prescription. Preserve the RFA, acknowledgment and referral or termination records and obtain a document-specific computation.

Estimate the ordinary filing deadline for common labor claims and identify facts that may change when the period begins, stops or expires.

Direct answer: Common periods include three years for employment money claims, four years for illegal dismissal and one year for unfair labor practice. The difficult part is often not the arithmetic—it is identifying the correct claim, accrual date, continuing violations and any legally effective interruption. Treat the result as a conservative screening date.

Estimate the ordinary filing deadline

Use the earliest reasonably arguable accrual date when you are uncertain.

Main claim

Date the claim may have accrued

What date did you enter?

Was the problem repeated?

Possible interruption?

Common Philippine labor filing periods

Claim	Ordinary period	Typical accrual question	Major caution
Employment money claim	Three years	When did each wage, benefit or amount become due?	Separate payroll amounts may have separate accrual dates
Illegal or constructive dismissal	Four years	When was dismissal effected or resignation allegedly forced?	Constructive dismissal accrual can be fact-sensitive
Unfair labor practice	One year	When did the alleged ULP occur?	Do not relabel an ordinary grievance as ULP merely to select a period
Covered OFW employment money claim	Generally three years	When did the contractual or monetary claim accrue?	Recruitment offenses, welfare matters and host-country claims follow different rules

Why the calculated date may change

Prescription can turn on the exact cause of action, the date the right was violated, when payment became due, whether each underpayment accrued separately, and whether a formal filing, written demand or written acknowledgment legally interrupted the running of the period. A SEnA filing may also affect prescription, but the request, referral and termination documents should be reviewed before calculating a revised deadline.

Do not wait for the displayed date. Intake rejection, wrong forum, incomplete filing, venue problems or an incorrect accrual assumption can leave a claim time-barred. File and verify acceptance as early as reasonably possible.

Related filing and evidence guides

How to File SEnA → Where Should I File? → NLRC Jurisdiction → Illegal Dismissal → Final Pay Claims → Evidence Checklist →

Official legal basis and deadline warning

Direct answer: Ordinary periods commonly used by the tool are three years for employment money claims, four years for illegal-dismissal claims treated as injury to rights, and one year for unfair labor practice. Accrual, interruption, acknowledgment, SEnA proceedings and the precise cause of action can change the result.

Labor Code of the Philippines — prescription of money claims and unfair labor practice rules
Civil Code — Articles 1146 and 1155 on injury to rights and interruption
Full labor-claim prescription guide — accrual, interruption and examples

Do not wait for the calculator’s last day. File early and obtain advice when the claim type, accrual date or interruption event is disputed.

Frequently asked questions about labor claim deadlines

How long do I have to file an unpaid-wage claim?

Employment money claims generally must be commenced within three years from accrual. Each unpaid payroll amount may have its own due date and deadline.

How long do I have to file an illegal-dismissal claim?

Illegal dismissal is generally treated as an injury to rights subject to a four-year period under Article 1146 of the Civil Code.

What is the deadline for an unfair labor practice case?

The Labor Code generally provides a one-year period from accrual for unfair labor practice offenses.

Does filing SEnA stop prescription?

A Request for Assistance can affect the running of prescription. Preserve the filed RFA, acknowledgment, conference records and referral or termination document. Do not estimate the revised deadline without reviewing the governing rules and dates.

Does an email demanding payment interrupt the period?

A written extrajudicial demand may interrupt prescription under Article 1155 of the Civil Code, but its content, delivery, claim and legal effect must be verified.

What if the employer acknowledged the debt?

A written acknowledgment may interrupt prescription. Preserve the complete signed document, email or message thread and obtain advice on the resulting computation.

When does a final-pay claim begin?

The accrual date can depend on when the component became legally demandable. Final pay can include several components with different underlying due dates, so do not assume one date controls everything.

Do recurring underpayments have one deadline?

Not necessarily. Each wage deficiency may accrue when that payment became due. Older installments can prescribe even when newer installments remain actionable.

Can I file after the displayed date?

There may be a disputed accrual date or a valid interruption, but you should not assume an exception applies. Obtain immediate case-specific advice and preserve every filing and demand record.

Does filing in the wrong office protect the deadline?

Do not rely on that assumption. Use the proper intake channel, obtain a stamped or electronic acknowledgment and promptly correct any referral or jurisdiction issue.

Do SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and workers’ compensation use these same periods?

Not necessarily. Benefit agencies and compensation programs have specialized claims, notice and appeal rules. This calculator does not compute those deadlines.

Does the OFW option cover illegal recruitment?

No. Illegal recruitment has separate criminal prescriptive periods and procedures. The OFW option here concerns covered employment-related monetary claims.

Official legal sources

See the Labor Code provisions on offenses and money claims in Presidential Decree No. 442; Article 1146 and Article 1155 of the Civil Code; Republic Act No. 10396 and DOLE Department Order No. 107-10 for SEnA; and Republic Act No. 8042 for migrant-worker claims and separate illegal-recruitment rules.

Last materially reviewed: September 15, 2026. This calculator shows an ordinary, unadjusted screening deadline. It does not determine accrual, tolling, interruption, jurisdiction or whether a claim has prescribed.