Short answer. Generally no. The law says the employer shall provide a flexible working schedule for solo parents, so it is a duty, not a favour. The only ways out are that the arrangement must not harm productivity, and the employer may ask the DOLE for an exemption on meritorious grounds.
What the law says
The employer shall provide for a flexible working schedule for solo parents
RA 8972, Section 6 — Flexible Working Schedule Required. Read the full provision →
A flexible schedule is a statutory duty
Section 6 of the Solo Parents' Welfare Act uses the word shall: the employer shall provide for a flexible working schedule for solo parents. That is the language of obligation, not permission, so an employer cannot simply brush the request aside as a personal favour it is free to grant or refuse. A flexible working schedule means adjusting the arrangement of your working hours — for instance, shifting your start and end times — so that you can meet your parenting duties. It does not, by itself, mean fewer total hours or reduced output; it is about rearranging when you work, so that raising a child alone becomes manageable alongside your job.
The two built-in limits
The duty is not absolute; the section itself names its boundaries. First, the flexible arrangement shall not affect individual and company productivity. If a particular schedule would genuinely disrupt operations or your own output, that is a legitimate reason to shape or resist it. Second, any employer may request exemption from the above requirements from the DOLE on certain meritorious grounds. So an employer who truly cannot accommodate flexibility must take that up with the Department of Labor and Employment and justify it — not decide unilaterally that the rule does not apply. Refusing without either a real productivity problem or an approved exemption is refusing without the grounds the law demands.
What the right does not guarantee
Being a solo parent does not entitle you to any schedule you choose, nor to lighter duties or the same pay for less work. The benefit is a reasonable rearrangement of hours, balanced against the needs of the business. You remain bound by your core responsibilities, and an employer is entitled to insist that the operation still runs. The productivity proviso is the practical test: a schedule that keeps your output intact is hard to refuse, while one that would clearly cripple the work is a fair subject for discussion, adjustment, or a DOLE exemption request.
The current, expanded law
The original Solo Parents' Welfare Act, Republic Act No. 8972, has since been strengthened by Republic Act No. 11861, the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2022. The expansion broadened who counts as a solo parent and enlarged the package of benefits, while the protection of a flexible working schedule for qualified solo parents carried through. To use the benefit you generally need to show your status as a solo parent, typically through the identification the local government issues. If your employer flatly refuses despite this, and there is no productivity problem or approved exemption, the refusal runs against what the law requires and can be raised with the labour authorities.