Text of the provision
Art. 89. Emergency overtime work. Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases: When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive; When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity; When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature; When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer. Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
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 employer may compel overtime work only in the listed situations — war or a declared national or local emergency; to prevent loss of life or property or imminent danger to public safety from an actual or impending calamity; urgent work on machines or equipment to avoid serious loss or damage; to prevent loss of perishable goods; and where finishing work started before the eighth hour is needed to prevent serious prejudice to the business. Even then, the employee must still be paid the additional compensation required.
Questions about this provision
- Can I refuse to render overtime work when my employer orders it?
- Can my employer compel me to work overtime during a typhoon, fire or other calamity?
Related provisions
- Article 88 — Undertime Not Offset By Overtime.
- Article 91 — Right To Weekly Rest Day.
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.