Employee Sick Leave Rights in the Philippines

A comprehensive legal primer for private-sector workers and employers (Updated as of 16 June 2025; not a substitute for legal advice)

1. Statutory Foundations

Source of right	Coverage	Core benefit	Notes / qualifying conditions
Labor Code, Art. 95 – Service Incentive Leave (SIL)	All rank-and-file employees in the private sector who have completed at least one (1) year of service, except: field personnel, workers paid by results, government employees, household helpers already receiving equivalent leave, etc.	5 paid leave days per year, convertible to cash if unused at year-end	SIL may be used “for vacation or sick leave purposes”; employers cannot require the worker to prove illness when he/she opts to treat a SIL day as sick leave.
Social Security Act of 2018 (RA 11199), §§ 13–14 & SSS Circular 2019-009	SSS-covered employees who are sick or injured for at least four (4) consecutive days, whether work-related or not	SSS Sickness Benefit—daily cash allowance = 90 % of average daily salary credit (ADSC), up to 120 days per calendar year; employer must advance the benefit within 30 days, then reimburse from SSS	Employee must have paid at least 3 monthly SSS contributions in the 12-month period immediately before the semester of contingency and must notify employer within 5 days of confinement.
Employee’s Compensation Program (PD 626, as amended)	Work-related sickness or injury	Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefit equal to 90 % of ADSC, up to 240 days; plus free medical services and rehabilitation	TTD stops when employee resumes work, is declared fit, or reaches 240 days (then potentially becomes permanent disability).
Occupational Safety and Health Standards (as amended by RA 11058 & DO 198-18)	All establishments	Employer must provide medical services and full wage for the day the worker is injured/gets ill in the course of work; thereafter ECC/SSS applies	Establishments must keep an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) program, including procedures for sickness reporting and return-to-work.
Civil Service Rules (for comparison)	Government employees	15 days sick leave + 15 days vacation leave with cumulative credit and commutation	Provided here only for reference; private-sector employers are not bound by CSC rules.

Key takeaway: In the private sector, there is no standalone “statutory sick-leave” bucket beyond the 5-day Service Incentive Leave. Anything more generous is purely by contract, company handbook, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

2. Contractual & CBA-Granted Sick Leave

Company policy / handbook – Many Philippine employers voluntarily grant 10–15 paid sick-leave days per year (often convertible to cash or cumulative up to a cap).
Collective Bargaining Agreements – Unionized workplaces commonly negotiate 15–30 days paid sick leave, “leave conversion” rates, and even extended sick leave with half pay.
Banking & accrual – Policies should spell out whether unused sick leaves:
- Expire at year-end (“use it or lose it”);
- Accrue and accumulate without limit; or
- Convert to cash, SIL-style.
Proof of illness – Employers may require a medical certificate after two or three consecutive days of absence, but the requirement must be reasonable and uniformly applied to avoid an unfair-labor-practice (ULP) claim.

3. Interaction with the SSS Sickness Benefit

Step	Employer action	Timeline
1	Determine eligibility (at least three SSS monthly payments in the last 12 months)	Immediately upon receipt of employee notice
2	Advance payment of SSS sickness benefit to employee	Within 30 days from filing
3	Submit SSS Form CLD-9N (“Employer’s Notification”)	Within 5 days after employee’s return-to-work / confinement
4	Reimbursement claim (Form B-309)	Within 1 year from the last compensable day

Tip for HR: Maintain a ledger of advanced sickness benefits to facilitate SSS reimbursement and to avoid disallowance for late filing.

4. Special Statutory Leaves Often Mistaken for “Sick Leave”

Law	Purpose	Duration	Who may avail
RA 9710 – Magna Carta of Women, “Special Leave Benefit”	Surgery for gynecological disorders	Up to 2 months with full pay	Female employees with continuous aggregate service of ≥6 months in the last 12 months
RA 9262 – VAWC Leave	For women victims of violence to attend court, medical, or psychological concerns	10 days with full pay (extendible)	Female employees regardless of marital status
RA 8972 – Solo Parent Leave	Parental responsibilities due to absence of spouse	7 days per year with pay	Solo parents with at least 1-year service
RA 11210 – Expanded Maternity Leave	Childbirth/miscarriage/emergency termination of pregnancy	105 days basic + options	All female employees
RA 8187 – Paternity Leave	Support to wife during childbirth/miscarriage	7 days	Married male employees

These leaves are independent of SIL and sick-leave benefit structures.

5. Termination, Due-Process, and Prolonged Illness

Labor Code, Art. 299(b) (formerly 283) allows dismissal for “illness” only if:

A competent public health authority certifies that the employee’s disease cannot be cured within six (6) months even with proper medical treatment; and
Continued employment is prejudicial to the employee or co-workers’ health.

Due-process checklist for employers

First notice: State the facts of prolonged absence or medical findings and require the employee’s explanation.
Medical certification: Obtain (and furnish employee) an independent doctor’s opinion.
Second notice / decision: If dismissal is justified, pay statutory separation pay (one month salary or ½ month salary per year of service, whichever is higher).
Quitclaim not mandatory but advisable.

Illustrative cases

Lao v. NLRC (G.R. No. 90655, 1993) – Dismissal invalid where employer failed to obtain proper medical certificate.
Fuji Television Network v. Espiritu (G.R. No. 204944, 2016) – Reinstatement ordered after employer substituted its own physician’s opinion for that of a public health authority.
Auto Bus Transport Systems v. Bautista (G.R. No. 156367, 2005) – Employer solidarily liable for SSS sickness benefit it failed to advance.

6. COVID-19 and Emerging Public-Health Directives

Labor Advisory No. 01-20 (13 Jan 2020) urged paid leave for employees on mandatory quarantine—even if leave credits were exhausted—citing the “exceptional nature” of the pandemic.
RA 11712 (Magna Carta of Public Health Workers) granted an additional 10-day paid isolation leave for health workers who contract COVID-19; some private hospitals replicated this by policy.
Bayanihan I & II laws temporarily gave DOLE authority to direct flexible work arrangements and wage subsidies, but did not create a permanent sick-leave mandate.
Several LGUs (e.g., Quezon City Ord. SP-2985) enacted local ordinances requiring 14-day paid quarantine leave for COVID-positive workers. Applicability depends on the workplace location.

7. Practical Compliance Tips for Employers

Draft a written Sick-Leave Policy aligned with Labor Code SIL, SSS requirements, and any special leaves. Circulate in employee manual.
Train payroll on SSS sickness-benefit mechanics and reimbursement deadlines.
Keep medical information confidential under the Data Privacy Act (RA 10173); store certificates in a secure HR file.
Return-to-Work Protocols: Require fit-to-work clearance or mandatory isolation based on DOH/OSH guidelines; never use medical data to discriminate.
Audit CBAs annually to ensure negotiated benefits still conform with the latest SSS rules and new legislation.

8. Employees’ Checklist

Accrual of at least one (1) year tenure? ⇒ You have 5 days SIL that can be used as paid sick leave.
Sick or injured ≥4 consecutive days? ⇒ File SSS sickness benefit within 5 days.
Illness work-related? ⇒ File both SSS and ECC claims.
Prolonged illness >6 months? ⇒ Expect medical certification; cooperate with employer’s notice; you may be entitled to separation pay instead of termination for cause.

9. Frequently-Asked Questions

Question	Quick answer
Can unused sick leaves (beyond SIL) be converted to cash?	Only if the CBA/company policy says so; SIL credits are legally convertible.
May an employer deduct sick-leave over-use from future SIL?	Yes if agreed upon in clear policy, provided no diminution of existing benefits.
Is a positive RT-PCR result enough proof for paid sick leave?	Under pandemic advisories, yes. Post-pandemic, it depends on company policy.
Does part-time or probationary status affect SIL entitlement?	No, as long as the employee renders ≥1 year of service (even if broken).
Are BPO night-shift differentials affected by sick leave?	Night-shift differential is computed on actual hours worked; SIL days are paid at basic wage (no premium).

10. Conclusion

While the Philippine Labor Code does not mandate a robust paid sick-leave regimen beyond the modest five-day Service Incentive Leave, Filipino employees are protected by a patchwork of statutory mechanisms—SSS, ECC, OSH, and various special-leave laws—supplemented by employer-initiated or CBA-negotiated benefits. Understanding how these layers interact is crucial for:

Employees seeking proper compensation during illness, and
Employers aiming to stay compliant, control costs, and maintain a healthy workforce.

Stakeholders should stay alert to evolving public-health policies and jurisprudence that continue to shape the contours of sick-leave rights in the Philippines.

Prepared by ChatGPT (o3). For personalized advice, consult a Philippine labor-law practitioner.