THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it will issue guidelines in less than the 60 days required on the law granting workers 100% of service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and other such establishments.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said DoLE has been tasked by Republic Act (RA) 11360 or the Service Charge Law to draft the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within 60 days, but he added that he does not expect the drafting to take up the entire period allotted.
“(W)e hope to come up with it as soon as possible so our workers in hotels and restaurants can finally receive reasonable incentives from their hard work and quality services,” he said in a statement Monday.
On Aug. 7, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the Service Charge Law. The law calls for all service charges to be equally distributed among rank-and-file and supervisory employees.
Previously, 85% of the service charge was allocated to employees while 15% set aside for management.
Mr. Bello said the law could also boost the productivity of service workers, adding: “The law will keep our workers in the hotel and restaurant industry motivated in providing quality services, as well as a chance to give them a simple reward for their hard work.”
The law prohibits any diminution of benefits for workers after increasing their take from service charges, nor does it allow employers to pay less than minimum wage.
The law also implements a grievance mechanism between the workers and management in case there is a disagreement over the distribution of the service charge. — Gillian M. Cortez
