Salient Points of the JobStart Philippines Act

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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.

AT A GLANCE:

The JobStart Philippines Program aims to shorten the youth’s school to work transition by enhancing the knowledge and skills acquired in formal education or technical training by jobseekers in order for them to become more responsive to the demands of the labor market. With the participation of the private sector and other stakeholders, the program will also help develop the life skills of the youth, including those relevant to the values of professionalism and work appreciation, and provide trainees with a conducive and safe work environment or venue where they can apply relevant theories and code of ethics. Another objective of the program is to further improve the delivery of employment facilitation services of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO).

The JobStart Philippines Act was enacted in June 2016 to promote full employment, equality of employment opportunities for all, and afford full protection to labor.

JobStart refers to the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) program designed to enhance the employability of at-risk youth to improve their integration into productive employment through the provision of full cycle employment facilitation services including job search assistance, free technical and life skills trainings, placement in internships, and job referral from the PESO.

What are the qualifications of a JobStart Trainee?

To qualify as a JobStart trainee, a person shall:

Be a Filipino citizen;
Be eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) years of age at the time of the registration period. Those who are seventeen (17) years old may also register provided that they will be eighteen (18) years old at the time of the technical training;
Have at least reached high school level;
Not be employed, studying, or undergoing training at the time of the registration; and
Have no work experience or have less than one (1) year of accumulated work experience.

The JobStart registrant shall be considered as a trainee and not as an employee of the participating employer for the duration of the training program. JobStart graduates shall be given preference in the hiring of workers by the participating employers. After life skills training, the PESO shall assess and determine whether the JobStart trainee is ready to be referred for decent employment or would require further training.

The trainees shall receive a daily training allowance from the JobStart unit beginning from the life skills training stage to the technical training stage. The amount of the training allowance shall be determined by the DOLE.

What is the DOLE’s role?

It shall be the executing agency of the JobStart Philippines Program. The Bureau of Labor Employment (BLE) shall serve as the program manager that shall provide the necessary technical and administrative assistance to concerned regional and field offices, and PESO. The DOLE regional and field offices shall supervise and monitor the implementation of the JobStart activities in their respective jurisdiction. The DOLE shall conduct capacity-building activities to train the PESO in adopting the new model on employment facilitation services, particularly on career coaching and life skills.

The JobStart training period shall be divided into three (3) phases:

A. JobStart Life Skills Training:

(1) The life skills training shall be conducted by the PESO with technical assistance from the DOLE for a period of ten (10) days, with at least one life skill being taught in each day of the program.

(2) The JobStart life skills training modules shall be developed by the DOLE in consultation with the DepEd, CHED, TESDA and other stakeholders.

(3) The JobStart trainee shall receive a daily allowance for the duration of the life skills training to be provided by the PESO with funding support from the DOLE.

B. JobStart Technical Training:

(1) The JobStart technical training shall be for a period of up to three (3) months. Upon the recommendation of the participating employer and as approved by the PESO, a JobStart trainee can skip or be exempted from undergoing the technical training and transition directly to internship stage. The technical training period may also be less than three (3) months depending on the skills and competencies that the JobStart trainee must achieve and as determined by the participating employer.

(2) The JobStart trainee shall receive a training allowance from the JobStart unit for the duration of the technical training.

(3) The JobStart technical training shall allow the trainee to acquire a qualification or a set of competencies aligned with the appropriate TESDA training regulations, as applicable, and be qualified to get a National Certificate (NC) or Certificate of Competency (COC). The TESDA shall set the mechanisms and guidelines for the evaluation of competencies not covered by existing training regulations.

C. JobStart Internship:

(1) The JobStart internship period shall not be more than three (3) months or six hundred (600) hours. The total daily training hours shall be eight (8) hours exclusive of not less than sixty (60) minutes time off for the regular meals.

(2) The internship period may be beyond eight (8) hours a day: Provided, That said overtime shall not exceed two (2) hours a day. The JobStart trainee shall be paid for the overtime stay an additional stipend equivalent to the daily internship stipend plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof.

(3) In case of night shift training, the JobStart trainee shall be entitled to a night shift differential pay of not less than ten percent (10%) of the internship stipend for each hour of training between ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.

(4) A JobStart trainee may be trained during regular holidays: Provided, That the trainee is willing to and will be compensated twice the daily internship stipend on a regular holiday.

(5) The time spent on overtime stay shall be duly credited to the trainee’s number of training hours.

(6) A JobStart trainee shall no longer be required to undergo a probationary period at the end of the internship phase should the trainee be hired in the same establishment upon completion of the program: Provided, That said trainee also completed his or her technical training within the training plan prepared by the same participating employer.

JobStart Allowance

Upon entry into the internship stage, the participating employer shall provide the JobStart trainees with a daily stipend of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the prevailing minimum wage in the city or municipality where the establishment is located. The amount of the stipend shall be based on the trainee’s actual attendance. Absences, tardiness or undertime incurred shall be deducted therefrom in accordance with the training plan.

Training allowances and stipends shall be paid at least once every two (2) weeks or twice a month at intervals not exceeding sixteen (16) days.

Termination of JobStart Contract

Section 16 of R.A. 10869 provides that any of the following shall be a valid cause to terminate the training contract:

A. By the Employer:

(1) Habitual absenteeism of the trainee;

(2) Willful disobedience by the trainee of the establishment’s rules, or insubordination of a lawful order of a superior;

(3) Theft or malicious destruction of the establishment’s property or equipment by the trainee;

(4) Engaging in violence or other forms of misconduct in the training or establishment’s premises by the trainee; and

(5) Inefficiency or poor training performance for a prolonged period despite warnings duly given to the trainee.

B. By the JobStart Trainee:

(1) Substandard or harmful working conditions within the establishment’s premises;

(2) Cruel and inhumane treatment; and

(3) Prolonged or continuing illness.

Either party may furnish the other party a notice of intent to terminate the training contract for cause as defined in this section.

In case the training contract has been terminated, replacement of a JobStart trainee in an establishment shall be allowed subject to the cause of termination. In case the termination is caused by the employer, the JobStart trainee may still be referred to other participating employers. In case the termination is caused by the trainee’s non-adherence to program guidelines, a new trainee may still be provided to the employer provided that there are other trainees available for deployment.

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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 09175772207/ 09778050020.

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