Rights and Privileges of Domestic

Workers
 Right to Humane Treatment
• The employer or any member of the household shall
subject a domestic worker to any kind of abuse,
physical violence, harassment or any act tending to
degrade the dignity of a domestic worker.
• Any abused or exploited domestic worker shall be
immediately rescued by a municipal or city welfare
officer or a social welfare officer from the
Department of Social Welfare and Development in
coordination with the concerned barangay officials.
 Right to Privacy
• The employer shall respect the privacy of
domestic workers at all times.
• The right to privacy extends to all forms of
communication and personal effects.
Access to Outside Communication
• The employer shall grant the domestic workers
access to outside communication during the
free time.
• In case of emergency, access to communication
shall be granted even during work time. Should
the domestic worker make use of the employer’s
telephone or other communication facilities, the
costs shall be borne by the domestic worker,
unless such charges are waived by the employer.
 Right to Education and Training
• The employer shall afford the domestic worker
the opportunity to finish basic education and
may allow access to alternative learning
systems and, as far as practicable, higher
education or technical and vocational training.
• The employer shall adjust the work schedule of
the domestic worker to allow such access to
education or training without hampering the
services required be the employer.
Obligations of Domestic Workers
 Domestic workers are obliged to:
1. Render satisfactory service at all times
2. Observe the terms and conditions of the
employment contract
3. Refrain from publicly disclosing any
communication or information pertaining to
the employer or member of the household
during and after employment
 Araw ng mga Kasambahay
• The date upon which the President shall
approve this "Domestic Workers Act" shall be
designated as the "Araw ng mga
Kasambahay".(Sec. 38, RA 10361)
• This is celebrated on the 18th day of January
every year.
Prohibited Activities
 Prohibition on Debt Bondage
• The employer cannot oblige the domestic
worker to render service as security for or in
payment for a debt, where the length and
nature of service is not clearly defined or
when the value of the service not reasonably
applied in the payment of the debt.
Prohibition on Interference in the Disposal of
Wages
• The employer cannot interfere with the
freedom of any domestic worker to dispose of
the latter’s wages.
• The domestic worker cannot be obliged to
purchase merchandise, commodities or other
properties from the employer or from any
other person, or otherwise make use of any
story or services of such employer or any other
person.
Prohibition Against Withholding of Wages

• The employer cannot, directly or indirectly,

withhold the wages of the domestic worker.
• The employer cannot induce the domestic
worker to give up any part of the wages by
force, stealth, intimidation, threat or by any
other means whatsoever.
Just causes for termination of employment by
the domestic worker
 The domestic worker may validly terminate the
employment relationship at any time for any of the
following causes:
1. Verbal or emotional abuse by the employer or any member of the
household
2. Inhuman treatment including physical abuse by the employer or
any member of the household
3. Commission of a crime against the domestic worker by the
employer or any member of the household
4. Violation by the employer of the terms and conditions of the
employment contract and other standards set forth under the law
5. If he is suffering from a disease prejudicial to the health of the
domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the household
6. Other causes analogous to the foregoing
Just causes for termination of employment
by the employer
 The employer can terminate the services of the
domestic worker for any of the following just causes:
1. Misconduct or willful disobedience to a lawful order in connection with
work
2. Gross or habitual neglect or inefficiency
3. Fraud or willful breach of the trust
4. Commission of a crime or offense by the domestic worker against the
person of the employer or any immediate member of the employer’s
family
5. Violation by the domestic worker of the terms and conditions of the
employment contract
6. If the domestic worker is suffering from a disease prejudicial to his
health, the health of the employer, or other members of the household
7. Other causes analogous to the foregoing
 Certificate of Employment
• Upon the severance of the employment
relationship, the employer shall issue the
domestic worker within five days from request
a certificate of employment indicating the
nature, duration of the service, and work
performance.
Criminal Acts
 The Domestic Workers Act declares the
following as criminal offenses:
1. Employing a worker who is below 15 years old
2. Charging by the original employer any amount from the
household where the service of his domestic worker was
temporarily performed
3. Requiring the domestic worker to make deposits to answer
for losses or damage to tools, material, furniture and
equipment in the household
4. Placing the domestic worker under debt bondage
5. Interfering with the freedom of the domestic worker to
dispose of his wages
6. Withholding the wages of the domestic worker
 Criminal Sanction
• The offenses mentioned shall be punishable
with a fine of not less than ₱10,000 but not
more than ₱40,000.