Midterm Exam

1. The Philippine legal system is a mixture of civil law and common law. The main sources
of Philippine law are the constitution, statutes, treaties and agreements, and court decisions.
While Constitution is the supreme law, the Labor Law (“the Law”) is the law regulating
employment relations. This code also applies to foreigners working in the Philippines. The
employment situation in the Philippines generally tends to be more worker-friendly than
management, and the laws tend to be worker-friendly.
Labor laws, also known as labor laws, provide clear guidelines for employer obligations,
employee rights, and the role of trade unions. It sets out what employers must do to ensure a fair
workplace, pay fair wages, provide safe working conditions and respect the rights of workers.
The law also helps workers understand their rights and unions protect those rights.
Labor law plays an important role in balancing the relationship between employers and
employees. These aim to protect the rights and interests of both parties and ensure a fair and safe
working environment. It provides benefits for both the employee and employer which will help
them to work together as they achieve their common goal. Through the Labor Law, employees
are ensured to receive the minimum standards benefits that they ought to receive, it also provides
them job security and safety from hazardous situations. It also ensures that employees are given
fair treatment without discrimination in terms of gender, religion, race and other characteristics
and it provides social benefits that will enhance the overall well-being not only for the
employees but also their families.
On the other hand, the Labor Law gives the employers guidelines that will help them understand
their responsibilities towards their employees. It also provides the mechanisms for resolving
disputes, such as mediation and arbitration which can help employers address conflicts without
resorting to expensive and time-consuming legal battles. And lastly, companies that adhere to
labor laws and provide good working conditions build positive reputations and this can attract
top talent and enhance the company’s standing in the market.

2. Article 4. Construction in Favor of Labor. — All doubts in the implementation and

interpretation of the provisions of this Code, including its implementing rules and regulations,
shall be resolved in favor of labor.
The Labor Code of the Philippines stands as the law administering business hones and labor
relations within the Philippines. It was ordered on Labor day of 1974 by President Ferdinand
Marcos, within the work out of his at that point extant administrative powers. It endorses the
rules for contracting and end of private representatives; the conditions of work counting most
extreme work hours and extra time; worker benefits such as occasion pay, thirteenth month pay
and retirement pay; and the rules within the organization and enrollment in labor unions as well
as in collective bartering.
3. A contract is a spiritual encounter between two people in which one party promises to
give something or provide a service to the other. A contract is “a legal form in which one or
more persons promise to give, do, or perform an obligation not to do something for the benefit of
one or more persons or to each other. Also defined as an expressed legal agreement.” It can also
be written or oral and can be enforced in court or by specific performance.
A contract consists of her four essential elements: offer, acceptance, consideration, and intention
to establish a legal relationship. An offer is a statement of intent to conclude a contract under
certain conditions. Acceptance is unconditional agreement to all terms and conditions of the
offer. Consideration is something of value that one party gives to another party in exchange for
entering into a contract. The intention to establish a legal relationship means that the parties must
have wanted the contract to be legally binding.
Offer is a proposal to conclude a contract. The offer must be clear and unambiguous and must be
made for the purpose of creating a legally binding contract. Next is acceptance which means
agreeing to the terms of an offer. The acceptance must be unambiguous and the intent must be to
create a legally binding contract. Another one is consideration; this is something of value
exchanged between the parties to a contract. To be bound by a contract, each party must receive
something of value. This means you must be of legal age, mentally fit and not suffering from a
disability that would prevent you from understanding the terms of the contract. And lastly,
legality which means that parties to a contract must have legal capacity to enter into a contract.
Understanding the five important elements of a contract will help us ensure that contracts are
legally binding and enforceable.

4. The principle of relativity of the contract’s effects means that a contract can generate
rights and obligations only in favor of, or regarding the obligation of the contracting parties, as
well as of persons who became parties after closing the contract or assimilated to the parties. On
the other hand, the contract and the legal situations it gives rise to are social realities that must be
respected by third parties, as the contract is not an isolated element, but it is integrated into the
legal order, bringing about changes to social life. Thus, a contract is opposable to everyone,
including third parties, who have the general obligation to abide by the legal situation generated
by the contract, even if for them, this reality is presented as a legal fact.
Obligation refers to a condition in which an individual is legally bound to perform something.
Hence, Obligation occurs when an individual has the inherent responsibility to accomplish
something or when a promise is given, an oath to act is taken, a law has to be upheld or is
violated, or vows are exchanged. In this light, Obligation arises from custom or the sense of duty.
An obligation is outlined as the required course of action by an individual, which can either be
moral or legal.
Obligatory force of contracts is perfected by mere consent, and from that moment the parties
are bound not only to the fulfilment of has been expressly stipulated but also to all the
consequences which, according to the nature, may be keeping in good faith, usage and law. A
contract, according to article 1159 and 1305, bind two persons to perform an obligation that are
incumbent upon them based on their agreement having in them the force of law and should be
complied in good faith. The two persons are the active and passive subject while their agreement
and what they have agreed upon are the prestation and efficient cause.
The principle of mutuality is a cornerstone in the law of contracts. It signifies that an
agreement must be beneficial, understood and agreed upon by both parties involved. Unilateral
changes to contract, especially employment contracts, often violate this principle, leading to
legal challenges. In the Philippines, the Labor Code protects employees from unauthorized
alterations in employment contracts. Employers generally cannot make substantial changes to
essential terms like salary, job position or working hours without employee’s consent. If an
employer wishes to make such changes, the usual process involves obtaining the employee’s
written agreement to the modifications. The law aims to protect both parties in an employment
relationship from unfair and unilateral contract changes. By understanding the rules and
boundaries se forth by law, both employers and employees can navigate contract adjustments
in a manner that respects mutual interests.
Autonomy of contract that is the contracting parties may establish such stipulations, clauses,
terms and conditions as they may deem convenient, provided that they are not contrary to the
law, morals, good customs, public order and public policy. Contracting parties are the kings
and queens of their own kingdom which is the contract. They are allowed to stipulate anything
as long as not contrary to certain limitations.

5.
SAMPLE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

This agreement, made on the …… day of the …………….month of the year………………

Between:
… (hereinafter referred to as "the Employer")
and
… (hereinafter referred to as "the Employee")
WHEREAS the Employee and the Employer wish to enter into an employment agreement
governing the terms and conditions of employment;
THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH that in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants
and agreements hereinafter contained is hereby acknowledged and agreed by and between the
parties hereto as follows:
Term of Employment
The employment of the Employee shall commence from the date hereof and continue for an
indefinite term until terminated in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.
Probation
The parties hereto agree that the initial six (6) month period of this agreement is "Probationary"
in the following respects:
the Employer shall have an opportunity to assess the performance, attitude, skills and
other employment-related attributes and characteristics of the Employee;
The Employee shall have an opportunity to learn about both the Employer and the position of
employment;
Either party may terminate the employment relationship at any time during the initial six month
period with advance notice of seven days with justifiable reason, in which case there will be no
continuing obligations of the parties to each other, financial or otherwise.
- Compensation and Benefits
In consideration of the services to be provided by him hereunder, the Employee, during the term
of his employment, shall be paid a basic salary of Nu. a month/ week, less applicable
statutory deductions. In addition, the Employee is entitled to receive benefits in accordance with
the Employer's standard benefit package, as amended from time to time.
- Duties and Responsibilities
The Employee shall be employed in the capacity of , the current duties and
responsibilities of which are set out in Annexure "A" annexed hereto and forming part of this
agreement. These duties and responsibilities may be amended from time to time in the sole
discretion of the Employer, subject to formal notification of same being provided to the
Employee.
- Termination of Employment
Subsequent to completion of the probationary term of employment referred to in paragraph 2
herein, the Employer may terminate the employment of the Employee at any time:
for just cause at common law, in which case the Employee is not entitled to any advance notice
of termination or compensation in lieu of notice;
The Employee and employer may terminate their employment at any time by providing at
least seven days’ notice for probationer and 1-month advance notice for their intention to
terminate the contract of employment or payment in lieu thereof.
The entitlements and termination of services will be governed by the Labor and Employment
Act, 2007 and its regulations and laws of the land.
- Confidentiality
The Employee acknowledges that, in the course of performing and fulfilling his duties
hereunder, he may have access to and be entrusted with confidential information concerning the
present and contemplated financial status and activities of the Employer, the disclosure of any of
which confidential information to competitors of the Employer would be highly detrimental to
the interests of the Employer. The Employee further acknowledges and agrees that the right to
maintain the confidentiality of such information constitutes a proprietary right which the
Employer is entitled to protect. Accordingly, the Employee covenants and agrees with the
Employer that he will not, during the continuance of this agreement, disclose any of such
confidential information to any person, firm or corporation, nor shall he use same, except as
required in the normal course of his engagement hereunder, and thereafter he shall not disclose
or make use of the same.
- Assignment (Transfer of Contract of Employment)
This agreement shall be assigned by the Employer to any successor employer and be binding
upon the successor employer with the consent of the employee. The Employer shall ensure that
the successor employer shall continue the provisions of this agreement as if it were the original
party of the first part. This agreement may not be assigned by the Employee.
- Severability
Each paragraph of this agreement shall be and remain separate from and independent of and
severable from all and any other paragraphs herein except where otherwise indicated by the
context of the agreement. The decision or declaration that one or more of the paragraphs are null
and void shall have no effect on the remaining paragraphs of this agreement.
Working Conditions

Sr. Rights Provisions Remarks

1 Working Hours 8 hours a day Minimum of 1.5 times at the rate of daily wage (10
and rest excluding meal breaks PM to 8 AM in the following morning). One day rest
periods period after six days of work.
2 Public holidays Minimum ( ) days Excluding other leave entitlements (Casual, annual,
medical etc.). Both the parties may agree to substitute
public holiday with another public holiday
3 Leave Casual ( ) Annual The leave provided must at the minimum be provided
Leave ( ) Sick Leave ( as prescribed by the Regulations on leave
)
Maternity leave ( )
Paternity Leave ( )
4 Provident Fund Contribution of minimum of (%) but must be above
the minimum ceiling and eligibility shall be governed
by the regulations on Provident Fund
5 Gratuity Eligible after completion of () years of continuous
employment. Shall be calculated on the last basic
salary multiplied by number of years of service.

6. OHS All Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for the occupation
shall be
equipment
 provided free of cost by the employers and shall be governed by the
regulations in force.

Notice
Any notice required to be given hereunder shall be deemed to have been properly given if
delivered personally or sent by pre-paid registered mail as follows:
to the Employee: [address]
to the Employer: [address]
and if sent by registered mail shall be deemed to have been received on the 5 working days of
uninterrupted postal service following the date of mailing. Either party may change its address
for notice at any time, by giving notice to the other party pursuant to the provisions of this
agreement.

Interpretation of Agreement
The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this agreement shall be governed by
the Labor and Employment Act, 2007 and its Regulations. This agreement shall be interpreted
with all necessary changes in gender and in number as the context may require and shall ensure
to the benefit of and be binding upon the respective successors and assigns of the parties hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused this agreement to be executed as of
…..day…… month year and shall each retain a copy of the agreement in original.

(Affix legal stamp (Affix legal stamp)

Signed by the employer Signed by the employee

6. Yes, it is as valid as a written contract. All agreements, whether written or not, are
considered contracts. By mutual agreement, both parties are responsible for fulfilling the terms
of the contract. An example of this would be if someone borrowed money from you and then
promised to lend cash to a friend with the assumption that they would pay it back at the end of
the month. The only problem with verbal agreements is that their existence and the details of the
agreement are difficult to determine. These contracts can be easily challenged without witnesses
or evidence. However, be aware that you may actually be a witness.

7. The significance of determining if an employer-employee relationship exists cannot be

emphasized. From legal requirements and financial ramifications to liability, contractual clarity,
and ethical considerations, this assessment serves as the framework for the development and
regulation of employment relationships. Clarifying rights, obligations, and expectations promotes
workplace fairness, equity, and responsibility, eventually benefiting employers and employees, as
well as the long-term prosperity of organizations and societies.

8. Employees' repulsive behaviour within the working environment has been a common
source of inconvenience not as it were for the managers, but too for other workers. There are
circumstances when an employee's negative state of mind influences not as it were his or her
proficient relationship with co-workers, but moreover, his/her efficiency or work quality. It is
indeed more regrettable when such behavior disturbs the commerce operation of his/her boss or
causes co-workers to endure sincerely and rationally and leave from work. State of mind issue
may be illustrated through an employee's failure to work concordantly with, and self-importance
or disregard toward his/her co-workers.
Beneath winning law, the Preeminent Court has held that an employee's attitude issue could be a
ground to truly expel a worker from benefit. In my 9 December 2019 Article entitled “You're
Fired,” I examined the fair causes for end of business beneath Article 297 of the Labor Code.
These are genuine wrongdoing, willful insubordination, net and routine disregard of obligations,
extortion or willful breach of believe, misfortune of certainty, commission of a wrongdoing or
offense, and other causes closely resembling to the previous.

9. Employee rights are a set of protections and benefits that employees are entitled to under
law. These rights vary from country to country, but typically include the right to a safe and healthy
workplace, the right to a minimum wage, the right to overtime pay, the right to unionize, and the
right to take legal action against an employer.
Employee rights are the rights that employees have in the workplace. These rights can vary
depending on the country or state in which the employee is working, but there are some rights that
are common across all jurisdictions. Some of the most common employee rights include the right
to a safe workplace, the right to be paid fairly, the right to join a union, and the right to take legal
action if one’s rights are violated. Other employee rights may include the right to paid vacation
days, the right to sick leave, and the right to parental leave.

- Equal Opportunities for All

The State should ensure labor, advance full work, give break even with work opportunity in any
case of sex, race, or statement of faith; and control relations between workers and bosses.

- Security of Tenure
Each worker might be guaranteed security of residency. No worker can be rejected from work
but for a fair or authorized cause, and as it were after due handle.
- Work Days and Work Hours
A worker must be paid their compensation for all hours worked. In case their work hours drop
between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., they are entitled to night move pay in expansion to their pay
for standard work hours. In the event that they work over eight hours a day, they are entitled to
extra minutes pay.

- Weekly Rest Day

A day-off of 24 continuous hours after six (6) days of work ought to be planned by the boss upon
discussion with the laborers.

- Wages and Wages Related Benefit

Wage is the sum paid to a representative in trade for to the benefit that they rendered to their
boss. Wage may be settled for a given period.

- Payment of Wages
Compensation ought to be paid specifically to the worker in cash, lawful delicate, or through a
bank. Compensation should be given not less than once each two weeks or twice inside a month
at interims not surpassing 16 days.

- Female Employees
Ladies are denied from locks in in night work unless the work is permitted by the taking after
rules: mechanical endeavors from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., commercial/non-industrial endeavors from
12 m.n. to 6 a.m., or rural takings at night given that she has had nine sequential hours of rest.
Welfare offices, such as partitioned dressing rooms and restrooms, must be introduced at the
working environment.

- Employment of Children
The least business age is 15 a long time of age. Any specialist underneath 15 a long time of age
ought to be straightforwardly beneath the sole obligation of guardians or gatekeepers given that
work does not meddled with the child's tutoring or advancement. The least age of work is 18 a
long time for perilous occupations, and 15 a long time for non-hazardous occupations.

- Right to Self-Organization and Collective Bargaining

Each laborer has the correct to self-organization, i.e., to create or to connect any true-blue
workers' union, free from impedances of their boss or the government. All specialists may
connect a union for the reason of collective bartering and is qualified for union participation on
the primary day of their business.
Collective haggling could be a prepare between two parties, specifically the boss and the union,
where the terms and conditions of work are settled and concurred upon. In collective bartering,
the two parties moreover choose upon a strategy for settling grievances. Collective bartering
comes about in a contract called a Collective Bartering Understanding

10. Employers within the Philippines can as it were end their relationship with a
representative in case a “just” or “authorized” cause, as characterized beneath the law, has been
built up, after experiencing due prepare. Thus, terminating a worker within the nation is taken
exceptionally truly and can be a complex handle, particularly since, when in question, the Labor
Code of the Philippines is interpreted in favor of representatives.
There are two sorts of work end within the Philippines:
end by manager and intentional renunciation or end by worker. Bosses can expel an worker
based on fair and authorized causes. Fair causes are based on acts inferable to an employee's
possess wrongful activities or carelessness whereas authorized causes allude to legal grounds for
end which don't emerge from blame or carelessness of the representative.
Article 282 of the Labor Code or for authorized causes beneath Article 283. Expulsion for fair
causes suggests that the representative concerned has committed or is blameworthy of genuine
unfortunate behavior, is blameworthy of a few extortions against the boss, or he has dismissed
his obligations. In this way it can be said that the worker himself started the expulsion handle. As
a run the show installment of division pay isn't required. Rejection for authorized causes on the
other hand does not infer wrongdoing or culpability of the representative. Instep the expulsion
prepare is started by the employer's work out of administration privilege, i.e. establishment of
labor sparing gadget, cessation of trade operations or undertaking conservation program.