Text of the provision
Art. 280. Regular and casual employment. The provisions of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, except where the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee or where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season. An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided, That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and his employment shall continue while such activity exists.
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
An employee is regular if the work performed is usually necessary or desirable in the employer’s usual business or trade — and no written or oral agreement to the contrary can change that. The exceptions are project employment (the end of which is fixed at the time of hiring) and seasonal work lasting only for the season. Work outside that is casual, but anyone who has rendered at least one year of service, continuous or broken, becomes regular as to that activity for as long as the activity exists.
Questions about this provision
- Can my employer keep renewing my 'casual' status indefinitely instead of making me regular?
- Does a company policy that says no employee ever becomes regular override what the law provides?
Related provisions
- Article 278 — Who This Title Covers.
- Article 281 — Probationary Employment.
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.