Text of the provision
Art. 105. Direct payment of wages. Wages shall be paid directly to the workers to whom they are due, except: In cases of force majeure rendering such payment impossible or under other special circumstances to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate regulations, in which case, the worker may be paid through another person under written authority given by the worker for the purpose; or Where the worker has died, in which case, the employer may pay the wages of the deceased worker to the heirs of the latter without the necessity of intestate proceedings. The claimants, if they are all of age, shall execute an affidavit attesting to their relationship to the deceased and the fact that they are his heirs, to the exclusion of all other persons. If any of the heirs is a minor, the affidavit shall be executed on his behalf by his natural guardian or next-of-kin. The affidavit shall be presented to the employer who shall make payment through the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his representative. The representative of the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall act as referee in dividing the amount paid among the heirs. The payment of wages under this Article shall absolve the employer of any further liability with respect to the amount paid.
Labor Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
Wages must be paid directly to the worker, with two exceptions — where force majeure or special circumstances make direct payment impossible, in which case payment may go through another person under the worker’s written authority; and where the worker has died, in which case the employer may pay the heirs without intestate proceedings upon an affidavit of heirship (executed by a guardian or next-of-kin for any minor heir), presented to the employer, who pays through the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his representative acting as referee in dividing the amount. Payment made this way absolves the employer of further liability for the amount paid.
Questions about this provision
- Can my employer pay my wages to my supervisor instead of directly to me?
- How are a deceased employee's unpaid wages paid out to the family?
Related provisions
- Article 104 — Place Of Payment.
- Article 106 — Contractor Or Subcontractor.
A note on article numbers. The articles of the Labor Code have been administratively renumbered, so the same provision is often cited under a different number. Supreme Court decisions write both, in the form “Article 297 [282]” — the new number first, the original in brackets. The text on this page is published under its original number, which is the numbering both source texts use. When citing, check which numbering your source follows.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.