Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE)

September 1, 2023 Dear Ann Bananai, Thank you for your request dated Aug 23, 2023 08:28:03 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. You asked for Benefits while on Floating status for BPO. Floating status, also known as temporary lay-off, temporary off-detail, or temporary retrenchment, does not really expressly appear in the Philippine Labor Code. However, it is considered a valid management action but subject to compliance with Article 301 (previously Art. 286) of the Labor Code of the Philippines. Since the lay-off is only temporary, the employment status of the employee is not deemed terminated, but merely suspended Thus, one remains an employee of the company. With regard to your first concern, health benefits such as the provision of HMO is not a mandatory requirement of labor laws; Thus, this shall depend on the agreement between workers and employers. Anent your second concern, you may request a certificate of employment for whatever purpose as this is an obligation on the part of employers to provide such. Any issues and concerns arising from this employment arrangement or the DOLE Department Order No. 215 series of 2020, may be raised to the DOLE Regional or Field Office having jurisdiction over your workplace. Help us to continuously improve our FOI Program Implementation by completing the DOLE-FOI Request Feedback Form through this link: bit.ly/DOLE-FOIFeedbackForm Thank you. Respectfully, Mark Valeros FOI Receiving Officer