Text of the provision
Art. 34. Prohibited practices. It shall be unlawful for any individual, entity, licensee, or holder of authority: To charge or accept, directly or indirectly, any amount greater than that specified in the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, or to make a worker pay any amount greater than that actually received by him as a loan or advance; To furnish or publish any false notice or information or document in relation to recruitment or employment; To give any false notice, testimony, information or document or commit any act of misrepresentation for the purpose of securing a license or authority under this Code. To induce or attempt to induce a worker already employed to quit his employment in order to offer him to another unless the transfer is designed to liberate the worker from oppressive terms and conditions of employment; To influence or to attempt to influence any person or entity not to employ any worker who has not applied for employment through his agency; To engage in the recruitment or placement of workers in jobs harmful to public health or morality or to the dignity of the Republic of the Philippines; To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by the Secretary of Labor or by his duly authorized representatives; To fail to file reports on the status of employment, placement vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange earnings, separation from jobs, departures and such other matters or information as may be required by the Secretary of Labor. To substitute or alter employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor from the time of actual signing thereof by the parties up to and including the periods of expiration of the same without the approval of the Secretary of Labor; To become an officer or member of the Board of any corporation engaged in travel agency or to be engaged directly or indirectly in the management of a travel agency; and To withhold or deny travel documents from applicant workers before departure for monetary or financial considerations other than those authorized under this Code and its implementing rules and regulations.
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
This lists what a recruiter, licensee or holder of authority may never do: overcharging beyond the allowable fee schedule or inflating a worker’s loan; publishing false notices or documents; misrepresenting facts to obtain a licence; enticing an employed worker to quit unless the move frees him from oppressive conditions; pressuring anyone not to hire workers who applied elsewhere; and placing workers in jobs harmful to public health, morality or the dignity of the Republic. Also forbidden are obstructing inspection, failing to file required reports, substituting or altering a verified employment contract without approval, being an officer of or managing a travel agency, and withholding a worker’s travel documents for money.
Questions about this provision
- Can a recruiter persuade me to resign from my present job so he can place me somewhere else?
- Can an agency deploy workers to jobs that are harmful to health or degrading to Filipinos?
- Can an agency pressure employers not to hire workers who did not apply through it?
- Can the owner of a recruitment agency also be an officer or manager of a travel agency?
- I was made to sign a different contract with lower pay upon arrival abroad — is contract substitution illegal?
- Is it unlawful for a recruitment agency to publish a job advertisement for a position that does not exist?
- My agency charged me more than the allowed placement fee — what can I do about it?
- My agency is holding my passport and travel papers until I pay them — can they do that?
- My recruiter made me repay more than the cash advance I actually received — is that allowed?
Related provisions
- Article 33 — Reports On Employment Status.
- Article 36 — Power To Regulate Recruiters.
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.