Senate OKs work-from-home bill

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate approved on third and final reading yesterday a bill that seeks to encourage companies to adopt a work-from-home program for employees as a means of easing traffic congestion in Metro Manila and other urban areas.

Senate Bill 1363 or the Telecommuting Act of 2017, authored by Senators Joel Villanueva and Cynthia Villar, was approved with 22 votes.

The bill defines telecommuting as the partial or total substitution of computers or telecommunication technologies, or both, for the commute to work by employees.

The adoption of the program would ease the worsening traffic situation in urban cities by allowing more employees to work at home.

Villanueva, chair of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said the measure also sought to protect the rights of the home-based workers by ensuring that they had equal pay, leave benefits and promotion as their counterparts in the office.

In 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment reported that there were 261 companies with employees who were under voluntary flexible arrangements, he said.