Dear Atty. Kathy,

My father is a new security guard in Company X, earning the minimum wage. His work schedule is 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., then he resumes work at 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. According to Company X, under this work schedule, the security guards are not entitled to overtime pay since they only work for a broken period of eight hours, and they can use the four-hour break however they want to do, including even lunch break at home. However, my father does not leave the Company X compound during breaktime because it is impractical and costly to do so, considering that the Company X compound is located in an area not readily accessible to public transportation. Shouldn’t my father get overtime pay, since he has to be at work for 12 hours?

Alexa

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Dear Alexa,

The Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code provides that the time during which an employee is inactive by reason of interruptions in his work beyond his control shall be considered working time, if the interval is too brief to be utilized effectively and gainfully in the employee’s own interest.

Based solely on your narration, your father does not leave the Company X compound during breaks, considering the location of Company X, and also that your father earns the minimum wage.

In accordance with jurisprudence, it would be simply impractical, inconvenient, and uneconomical for your father, who earns the minimum wage, to report to work, go home during break and leave Company X’s premises, only to report back within the same day. It would also appear that the broken period setup of Company X circumvents our labor laws in avoiding payment of overtime pay since if Company X truly intended that your father should work only eight hours a day, then Company X should not have resorted to such a four-hour break period setup.

Subject to supervening circumstances, your father, therefore, is entitled to overtime pay.

(Lorenzo D. Cambila Jr., et al. vs. Seabren Security Agency, et al., G.R. No. 261716, 21 October 2024)