12 hour regular shift

Hi, Atty.

I am planning to recruit Work At Home call center agents and since this is a start up business for me, I would like to have my employees work a 12 hour shift 5x a week (Mon-Fri) with 2 days off (Sat and Sun). I have read in the Labor Code that a normal working hour is only limited up to 8. In my case, do I have the prerogative to require this from my hired agents, of course with their consent as will be proven by their agreement to the conditions of work stipulated in the contract?

My second question is...these employees will be project-based. They will be signing a contract for a project with a duration of 1 year..and some 2 years. Since this is the nature of their employment, am I compelled to grant them Service Incentive Leaves (SIL)? As far as I have read, SILs should be granted to employees with at least a year of service whether continuous or broken...but what I am not sure of is if it should be applied to all regardless of employment status..

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank yuo.

after 8 hours, you have to pay overtime rates.

yes, SIL applies. so does SSS, BIR, PHilheath and Pag-Ibig.

Hi Atty,

I have some additional inquiries:

1. If in case the project employment contract ended before its expiry date due to business reasons e.g. client's withdrawal of its business due to financial losses, etc.

A. Are we compelled to pay separation pay?
B. Are we compelled to pay the remainder of the project employment which will be left unworked due to the earlier than expected due to our client's withdrawal/financial losses.

2. What does co-terminus mean in the light of project employment?


Thank you.

in the first place, you should be able to identify a real and specific project. if it ends, then no need to pay separation and remainder of employment. make sure you mention it in the contract.

co-terminus means their employment ends when the project ends