Under Article 294 of the Labor Code, an employee who is unjustly dismissed is entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority and to full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits, computed from the time compensation was withheld up to actual reinstatement.
That last phrase is why the number moves: every month a case runs, the figure rises. This calculator applies the formula and shows every step with the provision behind it.
Your case
Basic salary plus regular allowances — Art. 294 says backwages are "inclusive of allowances". Exclude one-off bonuses.
"As of" defaults to today. Backwages keep running past this date — to actual reinstatement, or to finality of the decision where reinstatement is no longer ordered.
Art. 294 covers "other benefits or their monetary equivalent", which in practice includes 13th month pay.
Enter this only if you also want an estimate of separation pay in lieu of reinstatement — awarded instead of your job back when reinstatement is no longer workable (commonly one month per year of service).
What this number is — and is not
- It assumes the dismissal was illegal. That is the whole dispute, and it is decided by the Labor Arbiter, NLRC, or the courts — not by a calculator. If the employer proves a just or authorised cause, backwages are not owed at all.
- It is a moving figure. The clock runs to actual reinstatement, or to finality of the decision where separation pay is granted instead. A case that takes three years produces a far larger figure than this snapshot.
- "Full" backwages. Since the Article was amended by RA 6715, backwages are awarded in full — what you earned from other work during the period is generally not deducted. Older material describing a deduction reflects the pre-amendment rule.
- It is not the whole award. A successful case may also carry separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, moral and exemplary damages, attorney's fees, and legal interest — none of which are estimated here.
The legal basis
- Labor Code Art. 294 (formerly Art. 279) — "An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement." As amended by Section 34 of RA 6715, which introduced the "full backwages" formula.
- Separation pay in lieu of reinstatement — where reinstatement is no longer viable (for instance because relations between the parties have become strained), tribunals award separation pay instead, commonly at one month's pay per year of service, in addition to backwages.
- Prescription — an illegal dismissal action is treated as an injury to the employee's rights and must be filed within four years (Civil Code Art. 1146). See our prescription & deadline calculator.