Multiple positions in a Certificate of Employment (COE), Philippines

A practical, Philippine-specific guide for HR, employees, and counsel. Private-sector focus. Not legal advice.

1) Legal backdrop: what a COE is—and isn’t

COE duty to issue. In Philippine practice (reinforced by DOLE labor advisories), an employer must issue a Certificate of Employment upon the employee’s request, typically within a few working days of the request. Employers should not condition issuance on return of company property, clearance, or settlement of accountabilities; those affect final pay, not your right to a COE.
Purpose and scope. A COE confirms employment facts—period(s) of employment, position(s) held, and sometimes a brief description of work. It is not a character reference, performance evaluation, or waiver.
Neutral tone. Avoid inserting disciplinary history or pending cases in a COE; if another document is asked (e.g., reference letter), handle separately and with consent.

Tip: Maintain a written policy that mirrors DOLE guidance: “The Company shall issue a COE upon written request of a current or former employee within X working days.”

2) What to include when the employee held multiple positions

When someone has been promoted, transferred, reclassified, seconded, or “dual-hatted,” the COE should accurately map titles to dates. At minimum:

Employee identifiers – full name (as per government ID), optional last 4 digits of TIN/SSS for matching, and company ID number (internal).
Employment period(s) – start date, end date (or “present”). If there were breaks (resignation–rehire), show separate ranges.
Position history – every title held, with effective dates and worksite/department.
Employment status – probationary, regular, fixed-term/project, seasonal, part-time, secondment (host entity).
Nature of work – short role line per position (1–2 clauses, not a performance review).
Work schedule basis – full-time/part-time; compressed week if relevant to verifying hours.
Compensation line (optional/consent-based) – last monthly basic or daily rate only if requested by the employee or legitimately required by the recipient.
Authentication – date of issuance, authorized signatory with title, company letterhead, contact channel, and (ideally) QR/serial number.

Why the granularity matters: Banks, embassies, and licensure boards often cross-check title vs. tenure. A single-line “Position: Manager” can trigger follow-ups if the applicant spent years as Analyst → Sr. Analyst → Supervisor → Manager.

3) Format choices for multi-position COEs

A) Chronological table (clearest for promotions/transfers)

POSITIONS HELD
• Junior Accountant — 15 Jan 2018 to 31 May 2019 — Finance (General Accounting)
• Senior Accountant — 01 Jun 2019 to 30 Nov 2020 — Finance (Reporting)
• Accounting Supervisor — 01 Dec 2020 to 31 Aug 2022 — Finance (RTR)
• Finance Manager — 01 Sep 2022 to present — Finance (Controllership)
Employment Status: Probationary (15 Jan 2018–14 Jul 2018), Regular (15 Jul 2018–present)
Work Schedule: Full-time, 40 hrs/week (compressed workweek effective 2021)

B) Matrix (good for concurrent roles/dual hats)

CONCURRENT/ACTING ASSIGNMENTS
• Finance Manager (primary) — 01 Sep 2022 to present — Finance
• Acting Head, Procurement — 01 Mar 2023 to 30 Jun 2023 — concurrent assignment (25% time)
• OIC, Treasury — 15 Nov 2023 to 31 Dec 2023 — concurrent assignment (as needed)

C) Rehire or separate stints

EMPLOYMENT PERIODS
• 01 Mar 2016 to 30 Apr 2019 — IT Support Specialist → Sr. IT Support Specialist
• 10 Aug 2020 to present — Systems Administrator → Sr. Systems Administrator
(Note: Resigned effective 30 Apr 2019; rehired 10 Aug 2020.)

D) Secondment / project-based detail

• Seconded to ABC Subsidiary — 01 Feb 2022 to 31 Jan 2023 — Role: Project Coordinator
Home Employer: XYZ Corp. | Host: ABC Subsidiary (service agreement on file)

4) Salary and Data Privacy: when can you state pay?

Data Privacy Act compliance. Salary is personal data. Best practice: include only if the employee asks for it or the requesting institution requires it and the employee consents in writing (e-sign OK).
Level of detail. Provide basic monthly rate (or daily rate) and allowance summary without disclosing confidential formulas, bonuses, or variable incentive plans unless specifically requested and consented.
Historic vs. last pay. If the recipient needs progression (e.g., immigration skills assessment), you may list last basic rate per position; otherwise, the last basic rate usually suffices.

5) Edge cases and how to draft them

Title changes without promotion (rebranding): Note “title reclassification (no change in band/pay)” to avoid the impression of promotion.
Acting/OIC roles: Mark start–end and that it was acting; do not overstate as permanent.
Concurrent duties: Use a separate “Concurrent Assignments” section with time allocation (e.g., 70/30) if known.
Project or fixed-term employment: State the project name and term to satisfy visa/engagement checks.
Part-time / reduced hours: Indicate hours/week to clarify earnings vs. tenure.
Breaks in service: Keep distinct employment periods; do not merge tenure unless your handbook grants bridging of service for benefits (note it if applicable).
Overseas assignment under PH payroll vs. host payroll: Clarify which entity employed and paid the worker and where statutory contributions were remitted.
Name change (marriage/court): Put current legal name with “formerly known as” for matching certificates.
Independent contractor stints mixed with employment: Do not put contractor roles in an employment COE; issue a separate engagement certificate (to avoid misclassification risk).

6) What not to include

Adverse remarks (disciplinary actions, ratings) — keep COE neutral.
Confidential metrics (P&L, client names under NDA) unless expressly required and cleared.
Speculative content (“eligible for rehire” is a reference, not a COE fact, unless your policy standardizes it).

7) Authentication and anti-fraud practices

Letterhead with office address and trunkline.
Authorized signatories (HR Manager, HR Director, or Head of Admin).
Verification channel (email alias like hr.verify@company.ph or a short link/QR that resolves to a verification page).
Unique reference/QR and issue date; many banks/embassies reject undated COEs.
Digital signing (PDF with visible signature block) is acceptable when policy allows; note if wet signature can be furnished on request.

8) Turnaround and internal process (HR playbook)

Request intake (ticket or email) with fields: name, date needed, positions to display (default: all), salary line Y/N, purpose (bank/visa/employment).
Data pull from HRIS: employment periods, titles, departments, status changes, salary history (only what’s consented).
Draft using an approved template (see models below) and peer review for dates/titles.
Sign-off by authorized officer.
Release as PDF with QR/serial and instructions for verification.

9) Model COE templates (copy/adapt)

Template 1 – Comprehensive (multi-position progression)

CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT

This is to certify that [Employee Full Name] (Employee No. [____]) has been employed by [Company Name] under the details below:

Employment Period: [DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY / present] Work Schedule: Full-time (40/48 hours per week)

Positions Held: • [Title 1] — [Dept/Unit] — [DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY] • [Title 2] — [Dept/Unit] — [DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY] • [Title 3] — [Dept/Unit] — [DD Mon YYYY] to present

Employment Status History: Probationary ([dates]), Regular ([dates]). Nature of Work (summary): [1–2 lines describing core functions across roles].

(Optional upon employee request) Compensation: Last basic salary of PHP [____] per month (exclusive of allowances/benefits).

Issued upon the employee’s request for whatever legal purpose it may serve.

[City], Philippines, [DD Mon YYYY]

[Name] [Title], Human Resources [Company Name] | [Email] | [Trunkline] Verification: scan QR / visit [short link]; Ref No.: [####-YYYY]

Template 2 – Concurrent/Acting roles section

Positions Held (Primary): • Operations Manager, Ops Division — [DD Mon YYYY] to present

Concurrent/Acting Assignments: • OIC, Logistics — [DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY] (concurrent) • Acting Head, Customer Care — [DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY] (concurrent)

Template 3 – Rehire / separate employments

Employment Periods:

[DD Mon YYYY] to [DD Mon YYYY] — Sales Associate → Sr. Sales Associate

[DD Mon YYYY] to present — Account Executive (Note: Resigned effective [date]; rehired [date].)

10) Review and correction rights

Employees may request corrections for factual errors (dates, titles, spelling).
Keep a simple amendment process (ticket/update within a set timeframe) and reissue with a new reference number; do not overwrite the original in your log.

11) Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

Mismatched dates between HRIS and payroll: reconcile before signing.
Inflated job titles: state official titles; if there was an external-facing title, you can add “(external/working title: …)” as a note.
Omitting secondments that explain gaps: include them; embassies scrutinize gaps.
Unconsented salary disclosure: obtain explicit written consent first.
Mixing contractor gigs with employment: issue a separate certificate of engagement for vendor/contractor work.

12) FAQ

Q: Can an employer refuse to list earlier positions and only show the last title? A: Best practice is to list all positions with dates when requested, especially if needed for verification. At minimum, include the last title; but where the employee asks (and records exist), enumerate the path.
Q: Can HR issue separate COEs per stint (rehire)? A: Yes. For clarity, either one comprehensive COE listing each stint or separate COEs per period—both are acceptable so long as dates match payroll/201 files.
Q: Who should sign? A: Any authorized HR/Admin officer per board/authority matrix. Avoid line managers unless authorized.
Q: Are digital COEs valid? A: Yes, if properly authenticated (company domain email, QR/serial, or verifiable contact).

Bottom line

For multiple positions, the gold standard COE is timeline-true, neutral, and verifiable: show every title with dates, clarify status/tenure, include pay only with consent, and authenticate the document. This approach satisfies banks, embassies, and future employers while keeping you compliant with Philippine labor and data-privacy norms.