For Employers

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Requirements for Overseas Employers

The recruitment of Filipino workers is highly regulated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) which is tasked to regulate and protect Filipinos in getting “fair” contracts. All recruitment activities are permitted only through POEA licensed agencies. The only exception is if POEA has direct contracts with a specific government such as the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). All other recruitment in the absence of a POEA licensed agency is illegal. If you are a foreign company or individual interested in hiring professionals from the Philippines, you are generally required to conduct your recruitment and hiring through recruitment agencies duly licensed by the Philippine government. The Philippine government strictly enforces laws against illegal recruitment performed by non-licensed individuals or agencies.  Illegal recruitment is a criminal offense, hence due care needs to be taken to avoid it.

RECRUITMENT AGENCIES: The Philippine government closely monitors and strictly regulates the activities of companies engaged in the recruitment and deployment of individuals for work abroad.

POEA REQUIREMENTS for Employment Contracts:

1. Fair salary for the worker which is not lower than the present market salary range in the city of work.
2. Free housing or housing allowance
3. Separate monthly food and transportation allowances for the worker to live comfortably in the foreign country.
4. Vacation and sick leaves are equal to workers from other countries.
5. Overtime pay
6. Medical and Accident Insurance
7. Free Airline tickets from the Philippines to the site of employment at the beginning and end of the contract.
8. In the event of the death of the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), repatriation expenses and arrangements should be made by the employer.

Note: Employees hired under an Employment-Based immigrant visa (EB-3) to the US are not subject to the guidelines above.

Recruitment Process for Foreign Employers

The process for an employer to recruit Filipinos is as follows:

a) The employer needs to select a POEA licensed agency and have a Recruitment Agreement with them.

b) The employer should submit the following to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate in their county for “verification”.

1. Business profile and business licenses: To verify that the company is legitimate.
2. Sample Employee Contract: To verify that the employee is getting fair compensation and adheres to the minimum benefits required by the POEA
3. Manpower Request: Stating the designation and the number of employees the employer needs to hire.
4. Affidavit of Undertaking: This document states the authorized person(s)  of the employer and guarantees that the contracts will be followed.
5. Special Power of Attorney: This designates the POEA licensed agency and authorizes the agency to recruit on the employer’s behalf. It also makes the employer jointly liable with the agency in the event of a labor complaint.
6. Contingency Plan: Serves as a guarantee by the employer to cover for remedial measures that will apply in the event of any contingency such as civil unrest, natural calamities, man-made disasters, wars, etc.

Once the above documents are “verified” by the Philippine Embassy, the documents are sent to the designated recruitment agency in the Philippines and will then be submitted to the POEA for “registration”. Once the employer is registered, recruitment and deployment can be made by the agency on behalf of the employer.

Employer Recruitment Fees

The fees of SEAPCI vary, depending on the number of workers required, the length of time that workers will be processed, and the complexity of the requirement.

Over the past 13 years, since new management took over, SEAPCI has not charged placement fees to the applicants.  All recruitment fees are shouldered by the employers, in consideration of the quality of professionals they hire through us.