PHILIPPINES – Companies Must Train Local Workers per Revised Employment Permit Guidelines
Beginning September 28, 2015, stringent revisions to employment permit regulations established by the Department of Labor and Employment will come into effect. The revisions will require that companies train two local workers for each foreign worker in non-managerial positions, in order to transfer skills to the local labor force. Companies in the Philippines that are recruiting and hiring foreign workers by means of Alien Employment Permits (AEPs), 9(g) Work Visas and 47(a)(2) Visas, should be prepared for these upcoming revisions.
The new understudy program will require companies to submit with their application a training program for two Filipino employees for every foreign employee and must include the names of the trainees. AEP applications will now be filed with the department’s regional office that has jurisdiction over the place of work. If a company has two or more offices, the AEP applications should be filed in the jurisdiction of the location of the corporate headquarters.
The new guidelines also include updates to the job advertising rules demanding that details of all employment permit applications be published in the newspaper and on the Department of Labor and Employment’s website. Applications will be advertised for a period of 30 days and will include the name and address of the employer, a description of the position’s job duties, benefits and monthly salary range. The department will determine if local workers are available and qualified to fill the position.
However, there are exemptions and exclusions to these revisions. Reciprocity agreements, treaties and other laws can exempt some foreign workers who would typically be required to obtain AEPs. Foreign workers who have been employed in a company’s foreign branch for at least one year and are intra-company transferees or contractual service suppliers in executive, manager or specialist roles, will not be required to obtain AEPs. Foreign board members of Philippine companies would only be required to acquire an employment permit if they partake in company management or operation activities in the Philippines.