Dear Atty. Vlad,
I am an employee in a Bank in the City of Manila. In the first week of April this year, my Branch Manager asked me to render overtime work for four days. The following week, however, I only rendered half day’s work for five days. When I received my wages on payday, I noticed that the overtime work that I rendered was not reflected. When I asked my manager why I was not paid overtime pay and overtime pay premium, she told me that my overtime work was offset with the days I only rendered half-day’s work. Please give me advice if my manager was correct.
Marie
Dear Marie,
From what you told to me, your employer did not pay you overtime pay and overtime pay premium because the Bank had offset your overtime work with your undertime work.
Pursuant to Article 88 of the Labor Code, as amended, “[u]ndertime work on any particular day shall not be offset by overtime work on any other day. Permission given to the employee to go on leave on some other day of the week shall not exempt the employer from paying the additional compensation required in this Chapter.”
The foregoing provisions of the Labor Code regarding the offsetting of undertime work overtime work is very clear. What your employer should have done was, pay you only for the half-day’s work rendered and at the same time, pay you for the overtime work plus overtime work premium of 25 percent, pursuant to Article 87 of the same code, to wit:
“Overtime work. Work may be performed beyond eight hours a day provided that the employee is paid for the overtime work, an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at least 25 percent thereof. x x x”
I hope that I was able to help you based on what you shared to me.
Atty. Vlad del Rosario