Building on the European experience – from France and Portugal that recently issued a law on the right to disconnect, and from the European Parliament's favourable vote for a directive on a "right to disconnect" - the Bill defines the rest hours of employees and prohibits employers from exacting work or contacting employees, without the latter's consent, during rest hours.

According to the Bill, the normal hours of work of an employee shall not exceed eight hours a day, unless Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, or the "Labor Code of the Philippines," provides otherwise. The hours of work of employees on a Compressed Workweek arrangement shall not exceed twelve (12) hours a day.

Any period other than the hours of work shall be considered as rest hours of an employee.

During rest hours, and unless the employees give their consent, the employer, manager, supervisor, or any of their agents, is prohibited from:

• Requiring the employee to work;
• Requiring the employee to be on duty, to travel, or be at a prescribed place for work or work-related activities, such as attending seminars, meetings, team-building, and other similar activities;
• Contacting the employee for work and work-related purposes through phone, e-mail, message, and other means of communication, unless it is for the purpose of notifying the employee of the necessity of rendering emergency or urgent work as provided under Article 89 and 27 Article 92 of the Labour Code of the Philippines.

Employees may not be penalized by the employer for not opening or answering communications received during rest hours.

The Bill also provides that an employee may not be compelled to render overtime work, unless otherwise allowed by Section 89 of the Labour Code of the Philippines, or unless the employee freely gives their written consent to render overtime work.

An employer that violates the prohibitions set in this bill will be penalised with a monetary sanction and a fine, or with imprisonment if attended with coercion or resulted in discrimination.

Businesses and technicians underlined that existing laws already limit the authority of employers to the workplace and employees cannot be forced to work during rest hours or to work overtime unless they consent to do so.

Moreover, it is difficult to apply this regulation for some roles and types of business, where the work required is intermittent or does not require any set schedule.

Companies and industries also have different working-hour demands, making it impractical to impose the same rules for all of them without a strong impact on business.

In the Bill’s explanatory notes, Senator Tolentino, recognising the benefits of work-from-home and telecommuting arrangements adopted during the pandemic, stressed that the line between work and personal life, in the light of technological advances and working from home, is increasingly blurred.

However, it is not sure whether the proposed solution meets the actual needs of balancing the different interests. A dialogue between the social partners could be necessary to review and implement the legislation in an effective way.

In a position paper sent to the Senate, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PHILEXPORT) stressed that "the existing industrial relations climate has been stable essentially because of the open communication between employers and workers who now see themselves as partners". They underline the need to discuss between themselves conditions of employment, including those contemplated in the proposed measure, which could just create unwarranted conflicts and strained relations between workers and employers. According to their position, the bill, if passed into law, “would be counterproductive and would remove the autonomy of employer and employee to agree on work arrangements that would ensure outcome-based performance without sacrificing the comfort and well-being of the employee.”