Quick answer

If an employer has not paid salary or wages that are already due, the worker should document the shortfall, make a written demand, and promptly file a Request for Assistance under the Department of Labor and Employment’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA). SEnA is generally the mandatory first step before a formal labor complaint and provides up to 30 days of conciliation-mediation.

If no settlement is reached:

A claim of ₱5,000 or less per employee, with no request for reinstatement, may be decided by the DOLE Regional Director under Article 129 of the Labor Code.
A claim exceeding ₱5,000, or one involving reinstatement, dismissal, or employment-related damages, generally belongs before an NLRC Labor Arbiter.
DOLE may also investigate labor-standard violations and issue a compliance order while the employer-employee relationship still exists, subject to the limits of its inspection authority.

Do not wait for employment to end. Money claims generally must be filed within three years from the date each payment became due. An unpaid payday from more than three years ago may already be barred even if later pay periods remain recoverable.

When salary or wages are considered unpaid

The Labor Code generally requires wages to be paid at least once every two weeks or twice a month, at intervals not exceeding 16 days. Force majeure may justify a temporary delay, but payment must be made after the circumstance ends. Lack of cash flow, delayed client payments, missing clearance signatures, or an internal payroll problem does not ordinarily erase wages already earned.

A recoverable wage claim may involve:

An entire unpaid payday;
Partially paid or delayed salary;
Payment below the contractual rate;
Payment below the applicable regional minimum wage;
Unauthorized deductions, deposits, cash bonds, or kickbacks;
Earned commissions or incentives that have become payable under the contract or established policy;
Unpaid overtime, night-shift differential, holiday pay, or rest-day premiums, if the worker is covered and actually performed the qualifying work;
Unpaid service incentive leave or proportionate 13th-month pay, when legally due; or
Final pay that remains unpaid after separation.

Minimum-wage rates are not uniform nationwide. The correct rate depends on the workplace, sector, establishment classification, and wage order effective during each pay period. Check the applicable order through the National Wages and Productivity Commission, including any staged or tranche increases.

Final pay after resignation or termination

DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06-20 directs employers to release final pay within 30 days from separation or termination, unless a more favorable company policy, individual agreement, or collective bargaining agreement applies.

Final pay may include, depending on the facts:

Unpaid salary through the last day worked;
Proportionate 13th-month pay;
Cash conversion of unused leave when required by law, contract, CBA, or company policy;
Unpaid commissions or incentives already earned;
Tax adjustments or refunds;
Separation pay, but only when required by law, contract, or applicable company practice; and
Other amounts already vested or due.

Final pay is not automatically the same as separation pay. A worker who resigns may still be entitled to earned salary and other accrued benefits even when no separation pay is due.

Identify the correct amount

Prepare a pay-period-by-pay-period computation. Avoid using one unexplained lump sum.

Item	Practical computation approach
Unpaid basic salary	Contractual or lawful rate multiplied by compensable days or hours, less amounts actually received
Minimum-wage differential	Applicable wage-order rate minus the rate paid, multiplied by covered days or hours
Unauthorized deductions	Total deductions not supported by law, regulation, or valid authority
Overtime	Covered hourly rate and applicable premium multiplied by overtime hours actually worked
Holiday or rest-day pay	Applicable statutory rate multiplied by qualifying days or hours actually worked
Night-shift differential	Applicable differential for covered work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Thirteenth-month pay	Generally, total basic salary earned during the calendar year divided by 12 for covered rank-and-file employees
Earned commissions	Amount due under the written plan, contract, established practice, or provable agreed conditions
Final pay	All accrued amounts due at separation, less lawful and documented deductions or payments

For monthly-paid workers, the correct daily or hourly equivalent may depend on the employment contract, work schedule, paid days in the year, and the divisor consistently used by the employer. Do not automatically divide monthly salary by 30 or 26 without checking the applicable arrangement.

Premium-pay claims also depend on whether the employee is covered by the Labor Code’s hours-of-work provisions. Managerial employees, certain field personnel, and other excluded categories may be treated differently. A job title alone is not always conclusive; actual duties and working conditions matter.

Evidence to preserve

Keep copies outside the employer’s device or account, but obtain them lawfully. Do not enter systems, accounts, or files you are not authorized to access.

Useful evidence includes:

Employment contract, job offer, appointment letter, or salary-adjustment notice;
Company handbook, compensation plan, commission rules, or CBA;
Payslips, payroll summaries, vouchers, and signed acknowledgments;
Bank statements and e-wallet transaction histories showing actual deposits;
Daily time records, biometric logs, schedules, attendance sheets, dispatch records, or logbooks;
Approved overtime requests and messages directing work beyond regular hours;
Emails, texts, and chat messages about salary, deductions, payroll delays, or promised payment dates;
Work outputs, reports, delivery records, login histories, and other proof of days or hours worked;
Notices of resignation, termination, suspension, floating status, or clearance;
Receipts or documents relating to deductions, shortages, uniforms, tools, loans, or alleged damage;
Names and contact details of co-workers with direct knowledge; and
Copies of every demand, SEnA filing, referral, pleading, notice, and proof of submission or receipt.

For ordinary unpaid salary, salary differentials, service incentive leave, holiday pay, and 13th-month pay, the employer generally bears the burden of proving payment because payroll and personnel records are normally under its control. For overtime and premiums for work on holidays or rest days, however, the employee must first present substantial evidence that the qualifying work was actually performed. The Supreme Court explained this allocation of proof in Dela Cruz v. National Labor Relations Commission, G.R. No. 265553.

Step 1: Send a clear written demand

A demand is not a substitute for filing a claim, but it may resolve a payroll mistake and create useful evidence.

State:

Your full name, position, and employment dates;
Each unpaid pay period;
The rate, days, hours, or benefit involved;
Amount paid, if any;
Amount still due;
The documents supporting the computation;
A reasonable deadline and payment method; and
A request for a written explanation of any disputed deduction.

Send it to the employer’s authorized HR, payroll, owner, or company representative through a channel that produces proof of delivery. Keep the original message and any response.

A written extrajudicial demand may interrupt prescription under the Civil Code in appropriate cases, as recognized by the Supreme Court in Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation v. Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa URSUMCO, G.R. No. 177524. Nevertheless, do not rely on repeated demands while the three-year deadline approaches.

Step 2: File a SEnA Request for Assistance

Most labor and employment issues must first undergo mandatory conciliation-mediation under Republic Act No. 10396 and the revised SEnA rules in DOLE Department Order No. 249, Series of 2025.

A worker may file:

Online through DOLE ARMS; or
Onsite at a DOLE Regional, Provincial, Field, or District Office, an NCMB office, or an NLRC office with a Single Entry Assistance Desk.

A worker, group of workers, union, association, kasambahay, or OFW may request assistance. An immediate family member may file for an absent or incapacitated worker with a Special Power of Attorney; legitimate heirs may file if the worker has died.

Include every known issue, such as unpaid basic salary, minimum-wage differential, illegal deductions, overtime, holiday pay, 13th-month pay, final pay, or dismissal. The request should identify the employer’s correct legal or business name, address, contact information, and, where relevant, the contractor, agency, principal, or foreign employer.

SEnA generally provides a 30-day conciliation-mediation period. Either party may ask to pre-terminate the proceedings and obtain referral or endorsement to the office with jurisdiction. Filing the RFA tolls the applicable prescriptive period under the current NLRC rules, but keep the filing acknowledgment and proceed promptly after referral.

Statements made during conciliation are generally privileged and are not used as evidence before the NLRC. A signed settlement, however, can be binding.

Before signing a settlement

Check that the agreement:

Itemizes the claims being settled;
States the exact amount, payment date, and payment method;
Identifies whether payment is full or partial;
Provides what happens if the employer defaults;
Does not contain blank spaces or figures;
Does not describe an installment or partial payment as full satisfaction unless that is genuinely intended; and
Gives you a complete signed copy.

A settlement voluntarily reached with DOLE assistance is generally final and binding. Formal tribunals ordinarily revisit it only for noncompliance or prima facie fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion. Do not sign a resignation, quitclaim, or acknowledgment saying “fully paid” merely to receive an amount that covers only part of the claim.

Step 3: Proceed to the proper formal forum

If SEnA does not settle the dispute, obtain and keep the referral or endorsement document.

DOLE Regional Director: claims not exceeding ₱5,000

Under Article 129 of the Labor Code, the DOLE Regional Director or an authorized hearing officer may decide a claim when:

It arises from an employer-employee relationship;
The aggregate monetary claim of each employee does not exceed ₱5,000; and
No reinstatement is requested.

The Labor Code directs the Regional Director or hearing officer to resolve the complaint within 30 calendar days from filing. An Article 129 decision may be appealed to the NLRC within five calendar days from receipt. This deadline is very short.

NLRC Labor Arbiter: larger or connected claims

A Labor Arbiter generally has original and exclusive jurisdiction when:

The employee’s aggregate claim exceeds ₱5,000;
The worker seeks reinstatement;
The dispute includes illegal or constructive dismissal;
Employment-related damages are claimed; or
The matter otherwise falls within the Labor Arbiter’s statutory jurisdiction.

Under the 2025 NLRC Rules of Procedure, a worker may generally file in the Regional Arbitration Branch having jurisdiction over either the worker’s workplace or residence, at the worker’s option. “Workplace” includes recognized alternative workplaces for telecommuting and similar arrangements. Special venue rules apply to OFWs.

The complainant must personally sign the complaint and execute the required verification and certification against forum shopping. Bring the SEnA referral, the employer’s correct identity and address, a detailed computation, and supporting documents. Follow all conference, position-paper, service, and filing instructions issued by the Labor Arbiter.

A Labor Arbiter’s decision must generally be appealed to the Commission within 10 calendar days from receipt. An appeal filed in the wrong office does not stop the appeal period, and the 2025 Rules require strict compliance with the requisites for perfecting an appeal.

DOLE inspection and compliance proceedings

Article 128 gives DOLE labor inspectors access to employment records and permits compliance orders for labor-standard violations while the employer-employee relationship still exists. This authority is not limited by the ₱5,000 Article 129 threshold.

The inspection route may become unsuitable when the employer contests material findings and presents documentary proof not considered during inspection, especially where the existence of an employer-employee relationship requires fuller adjudication. The receiving DOLE office should determine whether the concern proceeds through inspection, Article 129, or referral to the NLRC.

Important exceptions and special situations

Unionized workplaces

If the claim turns on interpreting or implementing a CBA or company personnel policy, the grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration provisions may control. Contact the union promptly and obtain the CBA’s internal deadlines. A statutory wage claim is not automatically transformed into a CBA dispute merely because the worker belongs to a union; the source and nature of the right matter.

Contractors and agency-hired workers

Name the actual contractor or agency and provide the principal company’s details. Under the Labor Code, a principal may be jointly and severally liable with its contractor for wages to the extent provided by law. Whether an arrangement is legitimate contracting or labor-only contracting depends on evidence; do not assume that the label in the contract resolves the issue.

Kasambahays

Kasambahays may use SEnA, and labor-related disputes under the Batas Kasambahay are elevated to the proper DOLE Regional Office. One narrow statutory exception allows forfeiture of unpaid salary equivalent to no more than 15 days if a kasambahay leaves without justifiable reason. That exception should not be generalized to other employees. See Republic Act No. 10361.

OFWs

NLRC Labor Arbiters have original and exclusive jurisdiction over qualifying money claims arising from overseas employment relationships, laws, or deployment contracts. The local recruitment or manning agency and foreign principal may have solidary liability under the Migrant Workers Act. Workers still abroad should also contact the Department of Migrant Workers or the Migrant Workers Office for immediate assistance. See Republic Act No. 8042, as amended and the DMW contact directory. Seafarer claims may be subject to additional procedures under the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers.

Government employees

Ordinary NLRC wage-claim procedures generally do not govern government employment. A government worker should first use the agency’s HR, payroll, administrative, Civil Service, and Commission on Audit processes, depending on the nature of the claim and employing entity.

Genuine independent contractors

A genuine independent contractor’s unpaid professional fee is ordinarily a civil or contractual claim rather than a Labor Code wage claim. The contract’s label is not conclusive, however. If the hiring party controlled the means and manner of work or the relationship otherwise had the legal characteristics of employment, the proper classification may require adjudication.

The three-year filing deadline

Under the Labor Code, money claims arising from employer-employee relations must be filed within three years from accrual or they are forever barred.

For recurring wages, the safer approach is to treat each payday as a separate accrual date. For example, a complaint filed today may preserve recent unpaid pay periods while older pay periods have already prescribed.

If nonpayment accompanied an illegal or constructive dismissal, the dismissal claim is generally subject to a separate four-year period. The wage components remain subject to the rules governing money claims. File early instead of trying to calculate deadlines at the last moment.

Common mistakes that weaken wage claims

Waiting until employment ends or until the oldest payday is almost three years old;
Making only verbal demands;
Claiming one lump sum without identifying pay periods and calculations;
Using the current minimum wage for older periods instead of the wage order then effective;
Assuming that the employer alone must prove overtime, holiday, or rest-day work;
Deleting messages, schedules, bank records, or attendance evidence;
Naming only a supervisor or trade name instead of the proper employer;
Omitting the contractor, agency, principal, or foreign employer where relevant;
Filing a formal NLRC complaint without the SEnA referral when one is required;
Missing conferences, position-paper deadlines, or notices sent by registered mail or courier;
Signing a blank, antedated, or unexplained quitclaim;
Accepting a partial payment labeled as full settlement without understanding the effect;
Treating DOLE ARMS submission as the formal NLRC complaint after SEnA ends; or
Missing the five-day or 10-day appeal period.

Common employer defenses

“The worker signed a quitclaim”

A quitclaim is not automatically invalid, but neither does every signed document defeat a lawful wage claim. The employer must show that it was voluntary, understood by the worker, supported by credible and reasonable consideration, and not contrary to law or public policy. The Supreme Court applied these safeguards in Bernarte v. Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc., G.R. No. 243139.

“The worker did not complete clearance”

Clearance may support specific lawful accountabilities, but it is not an unlimited basis for withholding all earned pay. Deductions must have legal or regulatory authority. For claimed loss or damage, the worker must at least be heard and responsibility must be clearly established.

“The company has no funds”

Financial difficulty does not extinguish earned wages. If the employer is closing, liquidating, transferring assets, or entering insolvency proceedings, seek legal help immediately. The Labor Code recognizes worker preference for wages and monetary claims in bankruptcy or liquidation, but actual recovery depends on the proceeding and available assets.

“There was no employment relationship”

Gather evidence of hiring, payment, dismissal, control over work, schedules, supervision, tools, exclusivity, reporting requirements, and integration into the business. The answer depends on the real working arrangement, not only on labels such as “freelancer,” “partner,” “talent,” or “service provider.”

When legal help is urgent

Consult a labor lawyer, union representative, qualified legal-aid office, or the appropriate DOLE or NLRC assistance desk immediately when:

Any unpaid amount is approaching the three-year deadline;
A five-day or 10-day appeal period is running;
Nonpayment is connected with dismissal, forced resignation, demotion, or prolonged floating status;
The employer is closing, insolvent, transferring assets, or becoming unreachable;
You were pressured to sign a resignation, quitclaim, blank document, or false payroll;
The employer denies that you were an employee;
Several contractors, agencies, principals, corporate entities, or foreign employers may be responsible;
The claim involves a CBA, OFW contract, seafarer contract, or government employment;
The employer retaliates, threatens, reduces benefits, or dismisses you for complaining; or
The computation involves substantial overtime, commissions, wage-order changes, or competing payroll records.

The Labor Code prohibits an employer from refusing payment, reducing wages or benefits, dismissing, or discriminating against an employee because the employee filed or participated in a wage proceeding.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file while I am still employed?

Yes. Wages become claimable when due. Resignation or termination is not required, and DOLE’s inspection authority is particularly relevant while the employment relationship continues.

Do I need a lawyer for SEnA?

No. SEnA is designed to be accessible and inexpensive. A worker may also appear personally before the NLRC, although legal assistance is advisable for disputed employment status, dismissal, large computations, or appeals.

What if I have no payslips?

A claim is not automatically lost. Use bank records, messages, schedules, contracts, attendance evidence, and a detailed sworn account. Employers ordinarily control payroll records and generally bear the burden of proving that ordinary salary and certain statutory benefits were paid.

Can I claim overtime based only on my estimate?

A bare estimate may be insufficient. Identify the dates, start and end times, work performed, person who directed or knew about it, and supporting logs, messages, schedules, or outputs.

Can the employer deduct shortages or damaged equipment?

Not automatically. Wage deductions require legal or regulatory authority, and deductions for loss or damage are subject to strict conditions, including an opportunity to be heard and clear proof of responsibility.

Is unpaid salary the same as backwages?

No. Unpaid salary is compensation earned for work already performed. Backwages are generally a remedy for illegal dismissal and are computed under separate rules.

Can I accept partial payment?

Yes, provided the document accurately says it is a partial payment and preserves the unpaid balance. Read any waiver or quitclaim carefully before signing.

Where should a remote worker file an NLRC case?

Under the 2025 NLRC Rules, the worker may generally choose the Regional Arbitration Branch with jurisdiction over the worker’s residence or workplace. Workplace includes a recognized alternative workplace for telecommuting or a similar arrangement.

What happens if the employer ignores a final decision?

Once the decision becomes final and executory, enforcement may proceed through a writ of execution, including lawful levy or garnishment. Coordinate promptly with the Labor Arbiter, DOLE office, or assigned sheriff rather than assuming that payment will occur automatically.

Official references

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular dispute. Jurisdiction, coverage, computation, and remedies depend on the employment documents and facts. Official sources and procedures were checked as of August 1, 2026.