The Philippines proposes to consider commute time as working time

The time workers spend on the road while doing their jobs should be considered as work carried out, said Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.

The government is clarifying the definition of work because sometimes when a worker is already on the road, he or she should be considered working, said Laguesma, reports The Inquirer.

Work that employers perform in an alternative work environment will also be considered as work performed in their regular workplace, according to a DOLE directive.  “[The] time that an employee is required to be on duty, and [the] time that an employee is permitted or suffered to work in the alternative workplace shall be counted as hours worked,” it read.

READ: New guidelines established in the Philippines to address WFH concerns

The Philippines has been moving to break down conventional workplace arrangements. Recently, it ruled that workers in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements should be awarded the same terms and conditions mandated by labour standards in the country.

Under its Telecommuting Act, workers are now given the option to report to work from an alternative workplace.