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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) AFFECTED that were affected by Covid-19 may be exempt from paying their workers’ thirteenth month’s pay.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now studying the possibility of exempting these establishments, which are now in trouble due to business interruptions caused by the pandemic
confinements.
“It will be the object of tripartite consultation. We will define what is the meaning of anguished
[establishments].
SMEs may be distressed, but multimillion dollar companies are not, ”Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said at an online press conference on Thursday.
He said they will issue a notice to determine if a business is in trouble and will qualify for the exemption.
Deferred payment
Another option that the DOLE is considering is simply allowing companies affected by Covid to defer their payment from the 13th month payment.
“For me, this is a more acceptable formula to tackle the 13-month payment issue. If they can’t [afford it] This year, maybe they can next year or next month, but not now, ”Bello said.
Employers are required to pay the thirteenth month’s payment to their base employees according to Presidential Decree No. 851.
The Employers ‘Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) said some of its members, particularly SMEs, may no longer be able to pay their employees’ thirteenth month pay.
Initial feedback
In a related development, Bello said they are still awaiting feedback from employers and labor groups on their plan to extend the six-month period within which companies can temporarily post their workers.
He said that based on initial consultations, the employers’ proposal was also supported by labor groups. “They would probably prefer to extend the period rather than be permanently displaced,” Bello said.
Without the extension, companies that implemented the scheme last March should have rehired their affected workers last month. That would have forced some of them to lay off their workers forever.
Bello suggested extending the six-month period for another three months to give companies more time to recover from the effects of Covid-19 before they are mandated to rehire their workers.
It said it will issue a notice about the possible extension on Friday or next week, depending on when it receives comments from employers and labor groups.
