New Job Posting Advertising Requirements Forthcoming

The situation

The Department of Labor and Employment in the Philippines announced that starting May 5, 2021, employers will face new advertising requirements as part of a labor market test for Alien Employment Permit (AEP) applications, and employees and employers will face additional new rules for the AEP permit process.

A closer look

• New labor market test steps.
  
  • Employers will need to publish job vacancies in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines at least 15 days before an application for an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) is submitted. The new job advertisement requirement is in addition to the existing rule to publish the applicant’s position with the Regional Labour Office upon receiving an application for an AEP.  This requirement, however, will not apply for foreign nationals renewing their AEPs or those who will be holding appointed and elective positions.
  • Additionally, employers of AEP applicants will also need to submit a notarized affidavit certifying that no applications were received or no Filipino applicant was suitable for the position. Fragomen can assist with preparing the affidavit.  
• Changing positions. Additionally, starting May 5, foreign nationals with valid AEPs who plan to change positions or employers will be required to surrender their AEP and apply for a new one under the new position or employer.

Impact

• Longer lead time. Employers will face new administrative hurdles when hiring AEP applicants, and applicants and employers will see that the AEP application process will take at least 15 days longer with the new advertisement requirement.
• Consequences for failure to comply. Foreign nationals working without a valid AEP and employers who fail to follow the new rules will be barred from filing AEP applications for five years and will face fines. Foreign national employees without an AEP must immediately stop working in the Philippines until they obtain a valid AEP.

Background

• Reason for change. This is the first time the Philippine government has required employers to follow strict job advertising rules. This is likely being introduced to compensate for high unemployment rates during COVID-19.
• Global trends. This change follows the trend of stricter labor market testing across the world, especially in light of high unemployment rates during COVID-19 and government efforts to protect local labor markets. In October 2020, Singapore started requiring employers of S Pass applicants to fulfill the job advertising requirement, which was previously only required for Employment Pass applicants. Also in October 2020, Australia implemented additional Labour Market Testing requirements for Temporary Skills Shortage or subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) nominations.

Looking ahead

The Philippine government will likely introduce stricter requirements for Work Visa requirements to protect the local labor market as the country tries to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Stricter requirements will likely come in the form of higher eligibility requirements for experience and education that will affect new Work Visa applicants as well as those who will be renewing their Work Visas.

Fragomen will report on related developments.

We worked closely with our Philippine affiliates in Manila to prepare this alert. This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].