Dear PAO,

Prior to my resignation, I worked at a domestic shipping company involved in the delivery of consignments from Metro Manila to different parts of the Philippines. I would like to know if I can receive overtime pay since I stayed in the cargo vessel for at least three months whenever I am called for duty. Although we are not working beyond eight hours, we can only leave the shipping vessel once all the cargoes are delivered. I am now demanding my former employer of overtime pay before I sign the quitclaim they sent me. Am I legally entitled to overtime pay?

Benchie

Dear Benchie,

The Labor Code mandates the payment of overtime pay for works performed in excess of the normal work hours of eight hours a day. The rate of overtime pay is additional 25 percent of the hourly rate for work performed in excess of eight hours on ordinary day. (Article 87, Labor Code of the Philippines)

In several cases, the Supreme Court has already ruled that the rendition of overtime work and the submission of sufficient proof that said work was actually performed are conditions to be satisfied before a seaman could be entitled to overtime pay.

In your case, you already admitted that you were not mandated to perform your work beyond the eight-hour work period, and your basis for claiming overtime pay is that you were required to stay on board until the cargoes were delivered. Citing an earlier case, the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Jose Vitug Jr., ruled in Stolt-Nielsen Marine Services v. National Labor Relations Commission, et al., GR 105396 Nov. 19, 1996, that:

“We cannot agree with the Court below that respondent Malondras should be paid overtime compensation for every hour in excess of the regular working hours that he was on board his vessel or barge each day, irrespective of whether or not he actually put in work during those hours. Seamen are required to stay on board their vessels by the very nature of their duties, and it is for this reason that, in addition to their regular compensation, they are given free living quarters and subsistence allowances when required to be on board. It could not have been the purpose of our law to require their employers to pay them overtime even when they are not actually working; otherwise, every sailor on board a vessel would be entitled to overtime for sixteen hours each day, even if he had spent all those hours resting or sleeping in his bunk, after his regular tour of duty. The correct criterion in determining whether or not sailors are entitled to overtime pay is not, therefore, whether they were on board and cannot leave ship beyond the regular eight working hours a day, but whether they actually rendered service in excess of said number of hours.”

Hence, the correct criterion in determining whether or not you are entitled to overtime pay is not whether you cannot leave the ship for a specific period, but whether you actually rendered service in excess of the regular work hours. Corollary thereto, you must submit sufficient proof that you actually rendered overtime work if you wish to claim overtime pay.

We find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attomey’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected].