The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill providing protection to freelancers or those who accept work on a per-project basis.
House Bill No. 6718 defines a freelance worker as a person, whether incorporated under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), registered as a sole proprietor under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), or registered as self-employed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), who is hired or retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as an independent contractor to do work according to one’s own methods and without being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as to the results of the work.
The bill stated that written contracts must be executed before services of the freelance worker are rendered such as:
- Itemization of all services to be provided by the freelance worker;
- Details of compensation and other benefits, including rate, method, and schedule of payment;
- Period of employment;
- Grounds for breach of contract on the part of both the hiring party and the freelancer; and
- Any other condition, term or clause that the Department of Labor and 35 Employment (DOLE) may direct.
It also said that “no modification of the terms of the contract shall be enforceable unless signed by both the hiring party and the freelance worker.”
Pangasinan Representative Christopher de Venecia, one of the authors of the bill, said the measure acknowledged the changing landscape of “how jobs are performed” through granting the protection of law for the unique circumstances of freelance workers by providing them protection and promoting their welfare.
“Freelancers with this measure will get to feel their place in society especially as they grow into awareness over their rights, privileges, and even responsibilities,” he added.
Other authors of the measure include Representatives Paolo Duterte of Davao City, Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr. of Camarines Sur, Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva of Cibac Party-list, Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay, among others.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
House approves on 2nd reading bill safeguarding freelancers
Source: Balita News
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