Senator Joel Villanueva filed Senate Bill No. 2375 to establish a statutory legal framework for part-time workers, guaranteeing proportionate wages, social security benefits, security of tenure, and protection from workplace discrimination.
The measure aims to expand employment opportunities for students, senior citizens, PWDs, and 3.93 million underemployed Filipinos seeking additional work while supporting the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan 2025–2034.
If enacted, the Department of Labor and Employment, along with the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council and key stakeholders, must issue implementing rules within 90 days from the law’s effectivity.
SENATOR Joel Villanueva has filed a bill seeking to establish specific labor protections for part-time workers, including proportionate wages, social benefits, security of tenure and other labor rights.
Senate Bill No. 2375 seeks to establish a legal framework for part-time employment as flexible work arrangements become more common and more Filipinos look for additional or alternative sources of income.
“An express legal framework on part-time employment is necessary because the Labor Code contains no specific provisions governing part-time work,” Villanueva said in a news release on Monday.
He noted that regulation of part-time work has largely depended on a 1996 Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) explanatory bulletin, while technological advances and changing business models have increased demand for flexible work arrangements.
Under SB 2375, employment would be considered part-time when a worker’s normal hours are substantially shorter than those observed in an establishment or rendered by comparable full-time employees.
Part-time workers would be entitled to income not lower than the applicable minimum basic wage, calculated proportionately on an hourly basis.
The bill would also provide for Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG benefits based on hours worked, contributions or earnings, as well as security of tenure, statutory leave benefits, retirement pay and other labor standards.
The measure would guarantee part-time workers the right to self-organization and collective bargaining, as well as a safe and secure workplace free from discrimination.
More flexible path to employment
Villanueva said formalizing part-time work could particularly benefit Filipinos whose circumstances make conventional eight-hour employment difficult.
“Establishing a statutory framework will also expand employment opportunities for students, parents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and workers with caregiving responsibilities,” he said.
The proposal cited 3.93 million underemployed Filipinos as of December 2025 who were seeking additional or more suitable work.
Villanueva said the measure also supports the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan 2025–2034, which identifies legislation on part-time employment as a priority toward a more inclusive, flexible and future-ready labor market.
The measure excludes irregular, temporary or intermittent employment from its definition of part-time work, as well as cases in which hours are temporarily reduced for economic, technical or structural reasons.
If enacted, the Dole, in consultation with the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council and other stakeholders, would be required to issue implementing rules within 90 days from the law’s effectivity. / PNA
