Remote’s guide to employing in

the Philippines
philippines flag}

Make employment in the Philippines easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in , all in one easy-to-use platform.

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  • Capital city

    Manila

  • Currency

    Philippine peso (₱, PHP)

  • Languages

    Filipino and English

  • Population size

    106,651,394

Services available in this country:
Global Employment ServicesContractor Management

Facts & Stats

Philippines Map Illustration
  • Capital city

    Manila

  • Currency

    Philippine peso (₱, PHP)

  • Languages

    Filipino and English

  • Population size

    106,651,394

  • Ease of doing business

    Easy

  • Cost of living index

    40.65 (89 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    5% on goods, 6% on services

  • GDP - real growth rate

    6.0% (2019)

The Philippines is a southeast Asian nation composed of over 7,000 islands. It is located between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. With 108 million residents, it’s the thirteenth most populous country on Earth. As an archipelago, the Philippines is home to beautiful beaches and a wide variety of flora and fauna.

The economy has a strong agricultural presence, but other sectors are growing. The Philippines is one of the leading suppliers of nurses worldwide. A very low cost of living makes the Philippines very attractive for workers.

Grow your team in Philippines with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Philippines? Companies hiring in Philippines must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Philippines on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Philippines team. You can also pay contractors now in Philippines with Remote.

Risks of misclassification

Philippines, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Philippines may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Philippines

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage in the Philippines varies by region and ranges from PHP 282 to 537.

The work day is a maximum of eight hours. Employees working at night are paid a 10% differential.

Employees working overtime are paid a 25% differential.

Employees working on holidays are paid a 30% differential.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

All employers are also required to pay their "rank-and-file employees" a 13th month payment. All employees not considered managerial employees are considered rank-and-file employees.

The 13th month payment is required regardless of the nature of the worker's employment (with few exceptions) provided they worked for at least one month during the calendar year.

The 13th month pay shall not be less than 1/12 of the total basic salary earned by an employee in a calendar year and should be given to the employees no later than December 24.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in the Philippines fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

19 Public holidays

Jan
Sunday, January 1, 20231New Year's Day
Monday, January 2, 20232Additional Special (Non-Working)
Feb
Friday, February 24, 20233EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary (Non-Working)
Apr
Thursday, April 6, 20234Maundy Thursday
Friday, April 7, 20235Good Friday
Saturday, April 8, 20236Black Saturday (Non-Working)
Monday, April 10, 20237Araw ng Kagitingan
Friday, April 21, 20238Eid'l Fitr (Feast of Ramadhan)
May
Monday, May 1, 20239Labor Day
Jun
Monday, June 12, 202310Independence Day
Aug
Monday, August 21, 202311Ninoy Aquino Day (Non-Working)
Monday, August 28, 202312National Heroes Day
Nov
Wednesday, November 1, 202313All Saints' Day (Non-Working)
Thursday, November 2, 202314Additional Special (Non-Working)
Monday, November 27, 202315Bonifacio Day
Dec
Friday, December 8, 202316Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Non-Working)
Monday, December 25, 202317Christmas Day
Saturday, December 30, 202318Rizal Day
Sunday, December 31, 202319Last Day of the Year (Non-Working)

Competitive benefits package in the Philippines

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Philippines are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Taxes in Philippines

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Philippines.

  • Social Security: a monthly SSS (Social Security System) payment at the contribution rate of 8.5% of the employee salary is required

  • Mandatory Provident Fund: All employees covered by the SSS with earnings above PHP 20,000 per month are automatically enrolled in the MPF. Contributions are calculated at the same rate as the SSS. The employer’s contributions will range from PHP 42.50 up to PHP 425 per month

  • Home Development Mutual Fund: 2% MSC employer contribution

  • PhilHealth: 3.5% split equally between employee and employer

  • 12%

    Sales Tax (VAT)

Types of Leave

Full time employees are paid for public holidays.

Employment termination

Termination process

Employees may be terminated for justified causes or for authorized causes. According to the law, just causes include serious misconduct, willful disobedience, gross and habitual neglect of duties, fraud, willful breach of trust, commission of a crime, and other analogous causes. Employers must give employees written notice of termination. Employees must then have the opportunity to appeal the decision at a hearing. The employer will then render a final decision on termination. Authorized causes include illness, installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, and other economic reasons.

Workers who are pregnant or on maternity leave cannot be terminated.

Notice period

Employers must give one month notice for most authorized reasons.

Severance pay

Severance pay is not required for termination for a just cause. For authorized causes, severance pay of one months pay or one half month’s pay for every year of service, whichever is greater.

Probation periods

Probationary periods of up to six months are allowed in the Philippines.