Kooperatiba walang SSS, PhilHealth at Pag-ibig

MA’AM, good day po. May I ask if it is legal for a cooperative with not more than five staff or emplo-yees not to give SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig benefits while they are still on job order status for not more than six months? This is because the staff are under observation if they could handle the job which most often, they get out when they find better jobs outside. the cooperative is a consumer and eatery service. Thank you and hoping for clarification on the issue.

Respectfully,
Coopbiz

REPLY:  This refers to the query that was sent to your column by Ms. Cirila Budaden regarding the SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG Fund coverage of their cooperative’s personnel.
We can only answer her question regarding the SSS’ coverage as other agencies may have different coverage guidelines. It is stated under the Sec. 9 of the Republic Act No. 11199 or SS Act of 2018 that: coverage in the SSS shall be compulsory upon all employees including kasambahays or domestic workers not over 60 years of age and their employers. To better understand this, let us use the definition of terms under the Sec. 8 of the SS Act of 2018 for the following words:
Employer- Any person, natural or juridical, domestic or foreign, who carries on in the Philippines any trade, business industry, undertaking, cr activity of any kind and uses the services of another person who is under his orders as regards the employment, except the government and any of its political subdivisions, branches or instrumentalities, including corporations owned or controlled by the government: Provided, that a self-employed shall be both employee and employer at the same time.
Employee – Any person who performs services for an employer in which either both mental or physical efforts are used and who receives compensation for such services, where there is an employee-employer relationship: Provided , that a self-employed person shall be both employee and employer at the same time.
Now, regarding the date of coverage, it is stated under the Sec. 10 of the SS Act of 2018 that: compulsory coverage of the employer shall take effect on the first day of his operation and that of the employee on the day of his employment: Provided, that the compulsory coverage of the self-employed person shall take effect upon his registration with the SSS.

To summarize and relate to Ms. Budaden’s question, all employers except the government, regardless of their business structure and number of employees have legal obligations to the SSS. This includes reporting all their employees for coverage using the SS Form R-1A within 30 days from their actual employment date.
Employers must also deduct from the salaries of their employees their SS contributions; pay the employer share of contributions, including Employees’ Compensation; and remit these to the SSS.
Ms. Budaden did mentioned in her question that their staff are job orders. This, however, lacks necessary details for us to determine that whether by job order, she implies that there is no employee-employer relationship. We advise her to immediately inquire at any SSS branch to further clarify the issue and avoid violations against the SS Law.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
May R. Francisco
Acting Department Manager Media Affairs Department
Noted:
MA. LUISA P. SEBASTIAN
Vice President
Public Affairs and Special Events Division

May nais ba kayong isangguni sa Aksyon Line?
Maaari kayong sumulat sa aming tanggapan Aksyon Line c/o Inquirer
Bandera, MRP bldg., Mola st. cor. Pasong Tirad st., Makati City o kaya ay mag-email sa [email protected] or jenniferbilog1977@ gmail.com. Hangad ng Aksyon Line na buong puso namin kayong mapaglingkuran sa abot ng aming makakaya.