Philippine lawmakers propose 10-day paid bereavement leave for workers. Employers will not grant them any punishment.

If proposed House Bill 2345, the Bereavement Leave Act of 2022, becomes law, private and public sector workers could soon receive 10 days of full pay bereavement leave.

The proposed measure, written by Tingog Party MPs Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre, allows employees to mourn the death of their families without losing their income.

In an explanatory note to the bill, they said: "At present, employees are entitled to the following statutory leave: service incentive leave; maternity or paternity leave (whichever is applicable); parental leave for single parents; special leave for women, and leave under the Violence Against Women Act. However, no mandatory leave is granted to employees who have recently lost a family member,"

The lawmakers added that the funeral leave "should allow an employee to take time off to mourn and recover from a sad event without sacrificing his/her income".

Article 3 of the proposed "Bereavement Leave Act 2022" stipulates that bereavement leave refers to employees to mourn the death of immediate family members, such as the employee's spouse, parents, children, brothers or sisters, and relatives within three generations, or to attend or Organize the leave taken for funeral.

If enacted into law, the proposed measure sets the fine for violators at 20,000 pesos, or 15 days to one month's imprisonment.

According to the Act, if the offender is a company, trust, partnership, association or any other entity, the penalty of imprisonment shall be imposed on the responsible officer of the entity, including but not limited to the president, vice president, chief executive officer, general manager, managing director or directly responsible partner.

Act No. 2345 provides that "existing benefits granted under existing laws, executive orders of decrees or any contract, agreement or policy between the employer and the employee" shall not be reduced, and that employees who will take advantage of bereavement leave "shall ensure the safety of their tenure". The bill also emphasizes that leave may not be used as a reason for misconduct, demotion, termination of employment or any form of poor performance.

The legislator stated: "Article 18 of the Philippine Constitution of 1987 states that the state shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare. It affirms the state's responsibility to provide adequate protection to workers and promote their rights, including their right to paid leave to improve their welfare and efficiency."